By NANCY JANE KERN
OVER THE WEEKEND the morning fog was a strange, ash gray, and came across the field in waves and wisps. It was reminiscent of the bluish smoke of the summer of 2023 Canadian fires. On the porch, the same haze was in my yard. My eyes burned, my throat became irritated, and I returned indoors. I could still smell the smoke on me. The daily gray wave intensity varied with little relief unless the wind direction changed, and it was worse on Sunday afternoon. DEC issued unsettling air quality reports.
Friends wondered what this was doing to water supplies, plants, animals, and insects. The smoke was irritating but how toxic was it? Since it was forest woodsmoke the toxicity was better than factory chemicals although it had a more chemical essence than 2023. I wondered if it came from drops of fire-retardant liquids. An occasional deer came through to eat the bird corn on the lawn. Gray squirrels were absent as well as birds and insects. Life was quiet and I began to worry. I was safe inside with an air purifier and allergy medicine. I began searching online and thought of childhood memories.
My grandfather kept bees, and I often watched him use a hand-held smoker. The smoke calmed the bees, and he used clean wood chips in the smoker that wouldn’t harm the honeybees. Birds have an interesting breathing system with no diaphragm like we have. Air flows in and out of their nostrils by body muscle contractions against air sacs, and the air sacs may also enter some of their bones. As the sacs are squeezed the air passes through the lungs and out of the nostrils providing oxygen levels necessary for a bird’s high metabolism. Birds are susceptible to smoke, particles, and pollutants which can cause infections and death. During my church service, we mourned the death of a young volunteer firefighter and prayed for all the firefighters and our Columbia County volunteers who were helping. I was driving through Yosemite National Park in the 1970s and didn’t realize a large part of the forest was burning out of control. Rangers rerouted us and it was very unnerving to see the smoke and fire in the underbrush near us.
Eventually, the ancient Phoenix bird rises from the ashes, and the forest returns with new vigor, feeding on the nutrient-rich ash. The earth is good at healing itself, and it is on this hope we need to focus.
