Shelter in Place, San Francisco, California, August 25, 2020

I don’t know the name of this succulent, but it fills the pot on our deck like a strange sea creature searching for every inch of space across a coral reef. This usually cheerful plant seems cleverly designed to capture even the slightest bit of moisture in the air, but that intricate structure makes it susceptible to the ash now falling from the sky. The fallout has begun. In the past hour the wind has shifted, darkening the city and making the air too acrid to venture out. My garden is now beyond my reach, which makes me sad and a little more depressed than when I woke up this morning restless, and dreading the headlines yet to come. And yet. And yet, looking out the window I remind myself that I’m one of the lucky ones.