We had a smoky day in Vancouver.  Which is to say, we had a relatively clear day for Beijing.

This is the first time in my memory when our coastal rainforest has been dry enough that we’ve had real forest fires in our vicinity.  Fires are burning near Sechelt and Pemberton, and the smoke has blanketed the city in a haze worthy of a Chinese industrial city.  But ours smells better — like the entire city decided to have a campfire together.  It’s the smell of burning forest.

Coming home, I noticed that I could look directly at the sun without squinting.  It looks like the moon:  A clear disc, tinted various shades of yellow and orange.  How often do you get a chance to photograph the sun directly?

The Sun is fallingThe Sun is falling

No, that’s not MarsNo, that's not Mars

A burning orb, aimed right for VancouverA burning orb, aimed right for Vancouver

Descending into the smokeDescending into the smoke

Who wants to play baseball with the sun?Who wants to play baseball with the sun?

What Photoshop thinks the sun should look like…What Photoshop thinks the sun should look like...

The birds know it’s time to leaveThe birds know it's time to leave

Goodnight bird flying under the sunGoodnight bird flying under the sun

So long sunshineSo long sunshine

Now you see it…Now you see it...

Going … going …Going ... going ...

… gone... gone

Symbols of progress, standing proudSymbols of progress, standing proud

Vancouver pollution forecast: A clear day in BeijingVancouver pollution forecast: A clear day in Beijing

Visibility: ImpairedVisibility: Impaired

See? Under construction, just like BeijingSee? Under construction, just like Beijing

Progress of CivilizationProgress of Civilization

Penthouse viewPenthouse view

The Day the Sun Refused to Shine by Devonavar is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.