It’s been an interesting early summer around the Crystal Coast. Many mornings I wake up to find a thick covering of smoke and fog. To the northeast of us a forest fire has been burning in the Alligator River Wildlfe Refuge. Now almost contained, at one time it was the main source of those smokey mornings. Now, burning to the southwest of us, a forest fire in Pender county provides the thick smell and sight of smoke when the wind is out of the right direction. While these fires certainly aren’t doing anything positive for local air quality the smoke can make for some interesting photos. Below is an image taken along Taylor’s Creek on one of those smokely monrings.