January 13, 2020

Well, here we are mid January of a new year which feels so much like the old one we look at a calendar (or to our computers) to be convinced of the fact. Our weather veers madly from fall to winter to spring and back. The heavy rains over the weekend felt more like early April than January. Today is colder and we have frost, ice and the remnants of snow but not cold enough to make it feel like winter.

The political scene is equally chaotic. I don't follow polls and all I really know about the Democratic primary races is what turns up on the news reports. I said early on that I would vote for any Democrat over the miserable excuse for a human being who now occupies the White House. That intention was challenged a bit when Steyer and Bloomberg entered the lists. I firmly believe we do not need another billionaire as President. Running a country is not like running a business as the last three years should have demonstrated--in spades. However, with every atrocity #45 commits I have wavered and now will vote for any Democrat--even the billionaires.

Isn't it interesting how the situation in the Middle East has gyrated between extremes. 1) Rockets fired by some Iran aligned militia (we think) kills an American contractor and a couple of Iraqis; 2) we retaliate by firing rockets as a militia base killing 25-30 "fighters" (depending on the source of the info); 3) for two days irate Shia crowds (supposedly members of Iranian linked militias) demonstrate at the American Embassy, set fire to a guard post, actually climb the wall before being driven back by tear gas; 4) a U.S. drone murders a high ranking member of the Iranian government/military (and it was murder however you want to pretty it up with euphemisms) which reconciles opponents of the Iraqi and the Iranian governments who had been demonstrating just a week before;  5) the Iranians fire off around two dozen rockets after giving warning they are going to do so resulting in no casualties (though their own media claimed 80 dead in the first reports); and then 6) shoot down a civilian air liner while still on alert expecting an American retaliation but not closing their airspace; followed by 7) lying for three days about the incident which has now led to renewed demonstrations against the government; oh, and 8) led to renewed demonstrations against Iranian and American influence in Iraq. Anyone else suffering from extreme vertigo and ready to upchuck all over? And the rally sad thing about all this mess is that situation is no closer to resolution than it was before the above chain of events occurred. Can you spell "futility?"

Ah well, I have other things to focus on. Several needlework projects on the hoop or hook and all my seed orders are in and it is time to figure out when to start what and where to put it when it is time. I have no tomatoes or peppers even as free gifts from the seed companies for my orders so I have no temptation to just put in the odd plant. I have some givens for the garden: lavender, basil, stevia, peppermint, spearmint, chives. Those always go in. This year I have a number of dye plants to try: woad, indigo, madder, Hopi black dye sunflowers. Otherwise, I have flowers: other sunflowers, blue butterfly pea, hibiscus, marigold. I have said before that the gardens I plan in the spring are never the ones I get in the fall. We'll see what happens.