A Smokey Day

Barton Mountain ridgeline about 3 PM

We had a vicious outbreak of wildfire smoke from Quebec yesterday. The air quality index rose throughout the day to a high of 219 around 3 AM this morning. The forecast said that it would improve at 9 AM today, but it has not been as quick a scouring as I had hoped. The air alert is now extended to 12 noon today. The AQI at 9:30 AM today is still at 169. I have opened one door and one window because it has been suffocating inside the house, even with a fan upstairs and down. Sleep was fitful and interrupted often. Lucy panted in the heat, but she and the cats remained in bed throughout the night.

The road to Lyndonville about 4 PM

This outbreak of smoke is not as bad as it was for Connecticut and Washington, DC in May, when their AQI went over 300 for days. But this doesn't happen here, and it was scary. I also have my end-of-school cold, so I was anxious and coughing and miserable.

Northern Vermont State University, Lyndonville

Leaving Orleans County to Caledonia County

Amy's neighborhood about 6 PM

I am, though, counting my blessings and more aware of the danger of forest fires. There almost was one here in the 1990s but it was doused before it was big. It could happen, and we have to be aware of our actions to avoid any fires. I also don't have to live in a fire area like the Canadians. I can't imagine what it is like to live close to it and see the land and wildlife that you love destroyed. 

Sunset in Barton

This was a high AQI at 9:30 PM but it only got worse

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Our Smoky Dawn — The Canadian Forest Fires

The sun rose in a smoky, yellow sky.

I woke up at 4:30 AM this morning because of a strong smell of smoke and kerosene. I tried to wake up my new husband by saying, "Smoke! Honey, there is a fire somewhere!" But there was no response. So I got up and checked everywhere inside the house, including the furnace and wood stove. I went outside in the cold dawn and checked the forest, the wood pile, I checked everything. The kerosene smell came and went. But the wood fire smell, as if an entire campground started their fires in order to cook breakfast all at once, continued and at times intensified. Finally at 5:45 AM, John got up and reminded me of the forest fires in Quebec. "Ohhhh," I said. "Thank goodness." That was an unfortunate choice of words, because many people in Quebec are suffering and working hard to stop the fires. But I was relieved to have confirmed that there was no fire here. In Portland, Maine the fire department is getting an unprecedented number of calls because of people fearing a fire nearby.

Conditions in Montreal are much worse than here.

Here is a map I made from the resources at https://nofc1.cfsnet.nfis.org/mapserver/cwfis/index.phtml. The red states are New England. The yellow star is where we live in Vermont.

The moon this morning in the western, hazy sky.
Waning gibbous moon, 88% of full

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Heads or Tails: First or Last: Newport, Vermont

Poulin Grain: In the middle of the city

Newport, Vermont is at the southern end of Lake Memphremagog. Memphremagog is a 32 mile (51.5 km) long fresh water glacial lake straddling the international border between Newport and Magog, Québec. Newport is, therefore, the first (or last) American city on the lake. These are photographs of sites and views in Newport taken from the shore of the lake.

Owl's Head Mountain (elevation: 2,450 ft or 746.76 meters), in Québec, Canada as seen from Newport across Lake Memphremagog, viewed in the last light of day (which, with the dark cloud bank, explains the darkness of the photo). Owl's Head is way back in the darkness and can be seen more easily if you click on the photo and view the large version in a new window.

The Gateway Center, site of many social functions in the area.

To see more Heads or Tails participants, visit Skittles

or click Heads or Tails.
Thank you so much for visiting.

Technorati Tags: Heads or Tails, Newport, Vermont, Magog, Quebec, Owl's Head, Poulin Grain, Gateway Center

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Haskell Free Library and Opera House

On Saturday, I went to the Haskell Opera House in Derby Line and saw The Complete Works of William Shakespeare in an hour and a half. The three actors above played all roles. I laughed so hard that my face hurt. It was one of the best evenings I have had. The play was produced by QNET Productions, the resident theater company of the Opera House.

These are photos that I took of the Free Library (the big left door) and Opera House (the little right door) but I don't like the wires in the first and the cut off tower in the second. It is a gorgeous building. I have included some photos from the web below from the inside.

The international border goes through the Opera House and Library and is marked with tape on the floor. I sat on the US side.

Below is the stone obelisk that marks the border on the outside. There are cameras on the phone poles to see if people try to come across the border without reporting to Customs. If you accidentally park in the wrong country you have to report to both Customs on your way home. Even though I walked into Canada to take these photos, I did not bother to report because my car remained in the US.

The Haskell Free Library and Opera House straddles the Canada-United States border. Since its construction in 1901, it has become a symbol of the harmony between the two countries. The Haskell was a gift to the community given in memory of Carlos F. Haskell by his wife Martha and son Horace Haskell. It was designed by Boston architects James Ball, a Rock Island (Canada) native and his partner Gilbert Smith. The position of the border is depicted by a black line painted on the floor. It starts at the south-west tower and is visible through the center of the building. The library stacks, the Opera House stage and some seats are in Quebec (Canada). The rest of the seats and the main entrances are in Vermont (USA).

The structure rests on a granite block foundation. The cut granite blocks on the first story and the yellow brick on the second , bear the load of the building. The Opera House's hand-painted scenery, roll-up curtain and balcony level frescoes are the work of vermont born, Boston artist Erwin LaMoss. The Haskell has been classified as a historic site the the Quebec, Canadian and United States governments.

And now for the inside (not my photos!):
Nudity everywhere!:


The painted curtain:






I am thinking of buying season's tickets. I don't know what kept me away from these productions before now.

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