Help me, I'm drowning

Whoever doesn't think that our climate is changing, please stand up.

Actually, better that the millions of people who read this don't do that all at once or it might throw the earth of its axis and cause some REAL trouble.

Our weather is just not right. We moved here to the small country place because the big suburban place was getting too crowded and too oppressive. Summer there was often a marathon slog of mind numbingly hot days where you sweat standing still and the night was as hot as the day (how DO people in Atlanta survive).

The trade off was that we got a hard winter here and spent six months of the year digging foot upon foot of snow off of the sidewalk and wearing half of the clothes in your closet in one go just to stay warm.

Now it's JUST NOT FAIR that we also have to deal with the same heat and sticky weather that we used to have before we moved. Maybe it's the 'little black cloud' syndrome - it's following us.

Yesterday I completed my NWCG Wildland Firefighter course. Briefly, this is the basic qualification that allows me to go fight those big western wildfires (or any wildland fire for that matter). For anyone who isn't familiar with wildfires, it's where lots of trees, brush and grass catch fire. They can often get very big, and require thousands of people to put out. Not with water mind you. With DIGGING.

So, we're out there in the woods yesterday. Temperature - 85 degrees, Relative Humidity - 95-100%. Imagine now that you're wearing long pants (fireproof), t-shirt, long sleeve shirt (fireproof), helmet (plastic) and backpack (heavy) and are carrying some kind of amped up garden tool with which to whack at the soil.

Now go at it for a couple of hours digging what amounts to a long wide scratch in the dirt - up hill and down dale (or steep dropoff). I can't remember the last time I worked so hard. I can't even find an adjective to describe how hard this is. Maybe just think about the last time you dug over the garden with a fork and add in all the other elements mentioned above and multiply by 10.

You'd think that breathing air at 100% humidity would be like breathing underwater, and it ain't far off.

So much fun !

Of course, out West it's never much more than 25% humidity, but still. On Western crews you dig line for 12-16 hours a day and go day after day. I thought I was in good shape (I run). I now have a whole new appreciation for Wildland Firefighting, and realize that I have a long way to go.

So, if you live out West - the next time you see a firefighter in snazzy green pants and a yellow shirt, give them a hug. On second thoughts, they'll probably stink and be covered in soot, dirt and shit so maybe just a warm thankyou instead.