My drive to Houston and back today reminded me of how much weird stuff I would learn on my old commutes....Today I learned the reason for the moon's hazy aura last night - dust from storms in the Sahara. Really. Dust from storms in the Sahara Desert has gotten caught up in trade winds and will make things hazy in Texas this weekend before it moves on to other states. Apparently this happens every summer. Who knew?
At first I thought this was science robbing me of the drama and romance of the evening view of the moon, but then I recognized the romance of trade wind borne earth from half-way around the world dropping like fairy-dust on our heads. [Unfortunately unromantic science still wins as it seems that there is a health warning issued - small particles in the air will make breathing difficult for folks with health issues.]
Moving on...
This was my second trip to Houston and back in a week (que lastima). I have a love-hate (mostly the latter) relationship with Houston too. It is a different world for more than issues of politics, population, chaotic development, and traffic (things that make me shake my head, cringe, scowl, or swear). It seems that Houston is always blooming - almost tropical growth to be found everywhere (while most of Texas is dry, crispy and brown). Huge patches of wildflowers are still blooming there, but the lush plants are not enough...not enough...
While Houston will never be my favorite Texas town, I will try to love her more as she hosts thousands of ceramics artists in March of next year....I plan to be there.
In case you do not believe me...
http://blogs.kxan.com/2012/07/20/african-dust-cloud-moving-over-texas/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_storm
One of my works shown in Houston this month:
 |
| Package #4 |
Many of us have a love/hate relationship with Houston. All three of my children were born there. It has two arboretums, one wild, one more formal. There are hikes near there that will change the way you see nature, forever. It is close to Galveston and close to a beach can never be all bad. This is my short, short list. My dislikes would take weeks to complete and wouldn't be uplifting.
ReplyDeleteAnd - to address the issue of dust from the Sahara, there is this bit of news - smoke from Canadian (and perhaps Alaskan) wildfires is reaching into Texas. Who even knew that Canada and Alaska were suffering from wildfires (we hear about California constantly, but Californians are not alone)?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.citylab.com/weather/2015/07/smoke-from-canadas-wildfires-is-reaching-all-the-way-to-texas/397409/