It is a good thing that Aki isn’t here to breathe the smoke. She is back in Juneau going on wet walks with her dog buddy. Here on Washington State’s Crescent Lake smoke turns the blue sky white and softens the lines of mountain ridges. Carried by prevailing winds from fires burning British Columbia, the smoke creates a terrible beauty. Children swim under white skies and adults guide paddle boats into the haze. I feel like I am living out the earth’s last days.