In Tennessee we prefer the smell of woodsmoke in our autumn air

This evening I took a quick trip out to one of the local дукендер (shops) to pick up a few things. On the way out I noticed that the air pressure and wind direction was such that all the exhaust from the smokestacks of our local industrial buildings was blowing into town and being held at about 5 stories and lower. Lucky me on the third floor. Right in the middle.

I thought it seemed kind of nasty this evening. That would explain why.

On the way back I could see all the nastiness that was being spewed my way. If it weren’t for the fact that there’s a law against it I would have take photos. All the stacks of the ferrous alloy plant were running at full tilt. Same for our coal-fired energy plant. The image was really eerie. Almost like something you would see in pictures of a huge fire. The sun was almost completely set, so the remaining light was very reddish orange. The remaining light also occupied a very small section of sky because the pollution blacked it out. It was quite literally like looking at a smog generator.

The craziest thing of all was this plume of flame at the ferrous alloy plant. I don’t know exactly what its purpose is or what it burns, but it’s pretty bright even in the day. But tonight it was just insane. That flame had to have been over 20 feet high and so hot that it would have vaporized a marshmallow had you tried to toast one on it.

It was really something else. And I get to breathe it all in for another year every time the wind shifts this way. At least I’ll have something to look forward to.