A woman in a blue and white lace 1950s hat with feather sees a hawk flying in a sky made of swirls of blue and sparks of orange heat. A tree with spirals for leaves leans in the hot wind. Painting by Jen Greta Cart

Heat Wave

One Day in August We had almost a week in the summer of 2024 where the temperatures climbed to the nineties here in Hallowell, Maine. That’s unusual for us. Things began to take on a surreal shimmer as life in our mostly un- airconditioned houses and workspaces slowed down to essentials. Except for me, who…