Ash on the car this morning
Ash falling in the yard last night.
Not very much, just a dusting, but still strange. By strange, I mean that something instinctive kicks in when one sees an giant black cloud heading towards your home; first turning the sun the shade of orange usually seen during forest fires, then obscuring the sun completely. Something in the cerebral cortex says "run", or "do something now", when there is nothing to do but wait and see.
I was just out this morning watering the ducks and the strangest thing about the ash is the lingering odor. It's a mix of the mineral smell of the pulverized rock with a whiff of sulfur and ozone thrown in. The smell triggers some deep seated instinctual "fight or flight" response from my cerebral cortex. The morning seems somehow "off" and the gray light of the cloudy day is ominous. A little part of my mind is is telling me that "vigilance is required, so don't let your guard down". Interesting feelings generated by just a little ashfall, but I'm sure that through the ages our brains have given us these "red flags" that trigger this fight or flight response whether it be because severe weather, fires or even volcanic eruptions.
The really cool part of it is that parts of a mountain 120 air miles from us are now in our yard. The power of Mother Nature is never less than spectacular!
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