We
ended up NOT going to McMinnville. Air
quality has shifted. Yesterday we were
at a Very Unhealthy and McMinnville was moderate. Now we're at Moderate and McMinnville as at
an Unhealthy level worse than Roseburg - which seemed more breathable the last
time I was there. And forget
Eugene. As there is no direct line from
Myrtle Creek to McMinnville, we'd have to take I5 and through Eugene - which
may have been worse off than South Umpqua all along.
This
morning I read that I84 was/is closed due to the smoke (here). That's crazy.
We are stuck . . . fires north of us (Washington and Canada) fires east
of us (Idaho) fires south of us (California) fires to our West (Oregon) Schools
have closed or are on delay due to the smoke.
Jenna had school. That floors
me. I mean, yeah, the air quality is
better today than yesterday. Still can't
see the sky or mountains though (I may be seeing more trees) Our state is on FIRE! (here)
There
has been concern about the crops - particularly those that have been growing
grapes in vineyards. They wonder how the
wine will be effected if smoky grapes are used.
That is just one of many crops. I
remember the air quality in Medford was not so great when our family joined others
with a pear picking project. I wondered
then how the smoke would/does effect the produce.
The
family next door gave us three buckets of fruit this weekend. We left them on the back porch and so they
have been exposed to the smoke, but I don't taste it. There are more peaches than we can eat before
they start to spoil. We decided to freeze what we can and pull it out as we
need it. Using this video to help guide
us, Roland and I decided to start on the peaches this morning. I say start as there is a lack of trays and
freezer room. So we have decided that we
will work on eight peaches per day until we have them all. We have also bagged frozen apple slices and
will continue with apples before moving on to pears.
So
there is your update for today. BTW THANK YOU to Better Homes and Gardens for that Tutorial. Very helpful!
