I initially thought the smoke drifting from our Canadian neighbors was not too big a deal.

Yes, at times the smell was yucky and I kept my windows closed even when the temperature would otherwise have allowed me to open them, so my AC got more usage than usual, but I didn’t notice much more than that.

But then the Phillies postponed a game, and the Inquirer published a story about the effects of the air quality on pets:

Pet owners and dog walkers say they’re struggling with Philly’s air quality. Veterinarians say ‘stay inside.’

Still, other than staying inside more than I usually would, I didn’t think it was affecting me too much.

Except I realized that my eyes were burning a bit.

Hmm.

That’s not really normal, is it?

Then, not feeling like cooking, I walked over to Lorenzo’s on Ninth Street for a burger and fries (both mediocre, I’m sorry to say; I’ll stick to their hoagies and cheese steaks in the future).

And I noticed that a lot more folks were wearing masks. Plus there were a lot fewer folks outside on the sidewalk at Lorenzo’s.

So, yes, there does seem to be more going on here than I originally thought. I’m going to continue to play it safe and stay indoors with the AC turned on until the air quality returns to some semblance of normal.