“the smoke is bad today,” she said, “so hard to breathe. I almost called in.”

our black cat drinks from her water bowl that I change out every other day.

Neighbor, Jim, waters his two hundred plus varieties of dahlias, shirtless wearing just shorts and boots.

“the fires in Canada are spreading,” she said. “the winds push the smoke down across the border into our bay.”

our white cat curls into my lap purring, giving me kisses and soft bites.