fire on mountain, fire in dead rice-fields' stubble:

plus march's fiery solar rays: triple-dip-o'-trouble;

usually we choke this time of year from pollution,

confounded by inner-city transport smog bubble:

air-con all day-night's too dam_n costly a solution

praise be this March's Chiang Mai rains' surprise,

cleansing particulate matter out of our hazy skies

gently cooling down farangs' sun-frazzled brains:

to draw a breath in with ease is tease of paradise:

imagine Thai traffic not randomly changing lanes!

how lucky we are to have Mapguy and Priceless

analyzing this month's uniquely special niceness:

whether March's weather's anomaly: do we care

if global warming bares its cause phenomenally,

or rejoice air hasn't yet blighted us in bronchitis?

songkraan comes fast: will clear, sweet, sky last?

hard to be optimistic, if you can't forget our past

best, ~o:37

Splendid! I couldn't have said it better myself.

This time last year we were lamenting how our A/C couldn't "keep up" despite running 24/7 and seriously considering installing new A/C units and/or a second set of windows/doors at our own expense in a rental unit.

I just hope Hubby's prediction doesn't come true. He says that once things dry out "they'll be burning with a vengence to make up for lost time!"

How privileged we are this time of year to have such reasonable temperatures! Enjoy it while you can folks!

Dear Bifurcated Beast,

In plain language, yes, it has been raining and cooler, and, yes, it is not typical compared to the recent past. And, yes, it is wonderful.

When the fields are not too damp, however, the burning does resume. That's what the satellite observations and simple driving around tell us. The satellites tend to detect the larger sustained fires to the north and west in the Doi Suthep - Pui area better than short-term local burning most of us actually see. For those who like to blame Myanmar and Laos (especially Myanmar), they do have big problems, by problems here are basically caused by burning here (and more south in the Central Plains of Thailand).

/s/ One without a Fundamental Identity Problem

I have bronchitis!

Never got it in previous years.

I think the "aa-gaat-dee" relief covers a much larger area than just the North. I was visiting friends in Bangkok this past weekend and during some afternoon outdoor activities under cloud cover I WAS COLD! I was looking around for a store to buy a hoodie. The whole place has gone mad!

Lovin' it,

NG

I'm on record that the rainy season owes me a week of sun

This is the only time of year that I (normally) dread. Broiling hot every single day for months on end is just not enjoyable to me.