It’s mid-July but it’s seriously nasty outside with a permanent beige-gray haze over everything thanks to Canada.
I’ve been sitting here with the AC running, and when I opened the windows last night Bud mrrrrrrp’d in protest and the whole place immediately stunk of funky Canadian ash. I could actually feel the filth as I inhaled and closed the windows again.
This is unacceptable! I know President Donald Trump was joking when he called Canada the 51st state and summoned Justin Trudeau to kiss the ring in the aftermath of the 2024 presidential election (and has properly and correctly blamed the Canadians for this unacceptable situation), but it’s time to start seriously considering invading that frozen hellscape, subjugating the Canadians, and getting it through their floppy little heads with their beady little eyes that fires can be doused, and that modern countries have these organizations called fire departments which are called upon when things combust.
I mean, who just sits there and says “Aboot that fire, that’s some smoke, eh?” and allows it to continue burning? Canadians, that’s who!
I’ll stop it there lest people really think I’m some crazed American who actually wants to invade Canada, but seriously, the air quality is awful. I hope this clears quickly.
And yes, I am aware Canada has remote wilderness that is difficult to access and manage. However, I hope this doesn’t become a regular thing. It’s 2026, not 1850, and human ingenuity has led to the development of some seriously powerful, rugged vehicles and tools that make it possible to manage forests — if the will and the resources are there.
Canadians are suffering too, so it’s not as if they’re happy with the situation. Let’s hope they demand more effort and less talk aboot how difficult it is to manage remote forests.
As this weather image shows, distance does not provide protection when it comes to this sort of thing, as we’re at the mercy of winds and weather patterns. Casa de Buddy is in that tiny corner just north of the city, right smack in the middle of the deep red indicating high risk from air pollution:
Meanwhile Bud and I will remain indoors with the windows closed, watching the South Park movie and singing along to Blame Canada!
Pain In The Bud 
First thing that came into my head as soon as i heard it was Canada. Those evil Canadians! I bet some evil Canadian lit a match just to get back at us. 🤣Love South Park. Have to see that one.
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Nefarious Canadians! Fueled by their intense jealousy of ‘Merican freedoms, healthcare and sensible gun laws, they will stop at nothing to sabotage us!
(Again, because internet, I must note this is sarcasm. PITB friends, please don’t hate me.)
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That tune will never leave my head! And i hope to God this does not affect outside cats. I was looking at my feral Bootsy laying in shaded leaves and worry about him. He lays there because its cooling.
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Poor little guy. I don’t know what you can do besides change his water frequently and make sure he has access to some form of shelter.
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I couldn’t quite believe what I was hearing when the reports of the latest high-level tensions between the US and Canada were reported over here. You couldn’t make it up!
Incidentally, I think you are wise to flag up your use of sarcasm . While it’s easy to identify in face-to-face communication, written sarcasm can easily be misinterpreted.
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Especially since people unfamiliar with South Park would not know Canadians are portrayed with floppy heads and beady eyes in that show as a running gag and to visually distinguish them from the Americans.
So in South Park, Canada is portrayed as an absolutely ridiculous country and there are frequent plots to invade or subjugate the Canadians in some way, and now we have a president who talks about doing that. (The Canadians have their own plots against us, but are portrayed as even more deranged and incompetent than Americans.)
As for the wildfires, it’s really true that the particulate matter is worse than pretty much anything else. I couldn’t believe it in 2023 when it looked like all of reality had a sepia filter over it, and last week was the sequel.
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I am one of those people unfamiliar with South Park (never watched it, I’m a Simpsons man at heart!), and I had no idea that badmouthing Canadians is one of its motifs. It’s kind of OK to joke about these things in moderation (we Brits make a point of badmouthing the French!), but when people start believing the jokes to be true and acting upon those falsehoods the humour quickly wears a bit thin.
Regarding the “sepia filter”, when we visited New Zealand in 2019 we were amazed to see the sky colour turning a hazy yellow due to raging bushfires way across the Tasman Sea in Australia. To the best of my recollection, New Zealand’s Prime Minister did not propose imposing any tariffs on imported kangaroo meat!
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If you have to go outside get a N95 particle filtration mask. That smoke can be nasty. As a Californian I’ve had way too much experience with smoke. And keep little Buddy inside. One morning a few years back I walked outside and the ski was dark orange. Scary. And spooky. Wildfires north of us. Take care MaryOn Jul 18, 2026,
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Thank you, Mary. I am definitely keeping little Bud safely indoors even as he wistfully looks out at his beloved balcony. We’ll have to make do with toys and catnip.
That last bad stretch was in 2023. The photos look identical.
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People need to be reminded that those evil Canadians took in strangers, including New Yorkers, who were stranded there after 9/11. Gave them shelter and fed them and never asked for any money.
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We’re getting air from the Sahara Desert this week … Along with the usual heat and humidity … Groan.
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I didn’t realize there were cross-ocean currents that strong. Just looked it up and Google says it’s a 5,000 mile plume of hot, dusty air. Stay safe!
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A few years back when California was a literal inferno, we had the same problems here.
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Yeah, it’s 2023 all over again, the photos of orange/beige haze over the skyline look exactly the same. Apparently wildfire smoke is off the scale unhealthy compared to “normal” poor air quality.
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Yes. My feral stays under open outdoor roof in summer and winter shelter for winters. His water was filthy. Yellowish. Change it every hour.
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I had forgotten how funny the song is — thanks for including it!
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Apparently Trey Parker and Matt Stone are fans of musicals, thus their interest in making The Book of Mormon, which I still have not seen.
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I haven’t seen it either . . . Someday maybe!
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It looks like Blade Runner 2049.
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Awesome movie. One of the rare worthy sequels
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We’re in Michigan. For a while it was a combination of Minnesota and Canadian wildfires. And extremely hot air. No A/C, so it was the best of all worlds. Glad it’s gone for now
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I’m guessing you’ve never really needed AC in Michigan, yeah? Unfortunately the way things are going, with the wildfires as well as wild deviations from normal weather patterns, people in areas where it wasn’t needed might be shopping for them soon.
The particulate matter from the wildfires was so overwhelming here that I’m extremely grateful I was able to keep the windows closed while still circulating air.
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We’re away from the city, so there’s very little concrete to hold the heat. It’s usually only a couple of weeks in July that are truly uncomfortable. It’s an old farmhouse with a boiler so the whole HVAC would need to be updated. Sarge is the only one with thick “northern cat” fur. I got him a couple of space coolers
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