Haze. It's a strange phenomenon out here in LA. Some days it's so dense I can't see the buildings going down the 405. I used to think it was only smog but according to David Sweet, a meteorologist, 'it's a marine inversion.
From a recent Los Angeles Times article "Inversions form when the layer of air close to the surface is cooled by the ground at night or by cold ocean water. The layer of air above it is warmer, and it acts like a lid, trapping the cooler air. The inversion layer can trap pollutants or smoke from wildfires along with the cool air." I'll be on the 101, Ventura Highway and it's cloudy, but I can still see the road and buildings. As soon as I cross over the Santa Monica mountains to get to the LA basin, it's hard to see half a mile in front of me. If it's early in the morning, you can smell the dampness and the light is totally different, like the start of an Agatha Christie murder mystery.
There's something wonderful about walking amidst the haze in Los Angeles, especially when the air is clean and crisp. I power walked along a stretch of Santa Monica beach recently with a friend; we let the cold water run over our toes. There's nothing like stepping on the hard, clay-like sand and feeling the unevenness of the ground underneath.
When was the last time you walked in the early morning fog? 🦶
"I reach toward the shining mountains, beyond the fog of daily worries." ----Jonathan Lockwood Huie
