Faya on the playa

It looked worse than it was -- 15 minutes to put out, not a lot to feed on -- but when the scrub vegetation on some dunes at Smathers Beach caught fire the other day, everyone felt even hotter, if that's possible.

Before people say "How are you," they're saying "Damn. Early summer!"

And if you've seen the Interstate closures in central Florida, or the smoke clouds over Miami from the giant Everglades blaze (which, not incidentally, threatens the already ridiculously rare Cape Sable seaside sparrow), you know that the mainland shares our drought.

The Weather Service says it's getting into the high 80s here daytime. Tell that to the two t-shirts I sweat through by 8 a.m. doing little garden stuff, or to the thermometer in the car, which is registering high 90s.

I know this carries huge risk in the "be careful what you ask for" department, especially in the tropics, and especially with The Season That Must Not Be Named approaching, but please:

Let it come down!