The Howling Wind

This is one of our big dust days, with high winds and dry condtions creating a big danger of grass fires. Springtime on the high plains is a time of high wind and blowing dust. The cotton fields are bare and there is not much other vegetation. The air quickly fills with dirt. And in that dirt, if you looked closely enough with modern lab equipment, I'm sure you could find plenty of traces of herbicdes and pesticides-- all the chemical junk cotton farmers have sprayed on their crops to control weeds and bugs. AHHHH! Take in a lungful and feel refreshed! Nothing like fresh air! Not. Of course, that crud probably beats the hardcore industrial pollution, the many and varied hydrocarbons, you can inhale in Dallas, Houston, or San Antonio. I associate Dallas with the stink of pollutants. So it could be worse. It could be much worse. It was much worse, here in Lubbock, in earlier days, before the more virulent pesticides and herbicides were banned. DDT is a thing of the past, as well as Toxaphene and Dioxin (Agent Orange). Today, those dust particles carry traces of Round-Up and Atrazine, at worst. So take a deep breath. And relax.