May 28

Oh, my!!! how time has flown! Memorial Day weekend already and June coming up next week. Right now you wouldn't know how far along in the year we are because it is very cool and very wet. The cool temps will last through Sunday. The local "farm" market opens for the season on Tuesday, June 1. I put that in quotes because the market is a place for all kinds of local sellers and does an on line business all year. I am anxious to see what and who is going to be there after the last pandemic year. I think we went to two market days last year before we shut down almost all outside activity besides basic shopping which we also curtailed.

May 29

It is really cool this morning. I turned the furnace on this morning when I woke up. It just turned on again after I came in from looking at the gardens. But at least we have sun after rain most of yesterday and the night before. We saw a lake across the street on the parking side of the building and a small river running fast down the street in front. The only plants that looked unhappy by the cooler temps were the purple leaves of the sweet potato vines. I hope they perk up.

I have had absolutely no ambition for anything over the last couple of weeks. I was going to plants some seeds but finally decided to put in transplants instead. I still have 8 containers to fill. The open air market is supposed to start on Tuesday, as I said a couple of days ago and I hope I will find some interesting plants there.

I think part of my mood has been because both of my once favorite reading topics (politics and economics) are now frustrating, depressing or irritating--often all three at once. I read part of a book titled "The Last Great Senate" whose members entered in the late 60s and early 70s and finally faded in the mid 90s. Those senators managed to work across party lines to produce monumental legislation that changed the country. I am certain that the current crew will not be remembered so well. They couldn't even agree to pass a bi-partisan commission to study the Jan. 9 insurrection which a considerable number of Republicans now seem to remember as a mere inconvenience caused by a few rowdy tourists. Crap!!

On the economics front--our pundits tout every vague sign of "recovery" as if it really means that we will partying like it was thirty years ago and ignoring any signs that "new normal" will not be anything like the old one.

The local news isn't much better. Some time ago Mom said that nothing changes. They present what ever car crash is most dramatic, which ever shooting has the most emotional impact, and which ever multiple shooting has the highest body count.

And at the same time--on our local level--things seem to be settling into patterns that aren't really the old normal but not as abnormal as only a few weeks ago. We had to pick up a few things so we stopped at the close grocery store and found that all the signs abut masking and distancing had been removed. We still wore our masks and so did most customers and all the employees. When we did our usual shopping at our larger supermarket (major restocking the pantry) They had smaller signs telling customers they were required to wear masks but not the ones that occupied half the doorways. We are planning to go to my grand-nephew's graduation in two weeks--the first family gathering for over a year. 

 May 14

I am not going to post this today but I found this interesting article from the Guardian interviewing people who are planning to continue wearing masks after the pandemic has receded.

May 17

 I wasn't too energetic for the last weekend. Not much needlework and not all that much reading. I noted the Guardian article above. It was interesting because none of the people interviewed planned to continue wearing masks for health reasons. One said the mask was like an "invisibility" cloak: people paid less attention to her and most of the interviewees were women. Another said she wore her sunglasses as well as the mask so people didn't realize she was Chinese American. Another mentioned the annoying tendency of some people to insist they "smile." 

I don't have those problems--being a female in the 70+ age group I am pretty well ignorable and ignored by our society. I have said before that we plan to keep masking because we can't be sure whether those who aren't masked are vaccinated. The politicians and talking heads keep mentioning an "honor system" but I am not confident that many of my fellow Americans have any honor. Reminds me of a woman character in a book I read who commented that her "gentleman's agreement" with her male agent was funny since neither of them were gentlemen. Also no vaccine is 100% effective in preventing any infection. The COVID vaccines are 100% in preventing serious infections/hospitalizations/deaths--so far. I'll take it--have actually. But I will keep my mask. And there is always flu and the common cold to consider. This last season has been one of the mildest flu seasons on record thanks to masking and distancing. Since either usually knock me on my back for two weeks, that provides another strong reason to keep wearing masks.

Euronews is reporting unseasonably warm weather in Siberia and the first wildfires of the season. We have already had a record setting early fire season in our West which doesn't bode well for the rest of the year.

 May 13

I had to check my calendar this morning to see if it was really 2021 and not 1984.  Why? Because I was watching a segment on the news this morning where a number of "back bench" Fauxpublicans tried to "right think" what happened on January 6. Among the ridiculous comments: there was no violence or destruction from the Former Guy's supporters, all the people there were ordinary and orderly "tourists" who stayed "between the ropes,' no one threatened legislators and no one assaulted any of the Capitol police. I have trouble thinking about these (insert your favorite profane epithet) without uttering the most vile slurs. I have been trying to curb that tendency.

As Colonial is trying to get its system up and running after the Darkside cyber attack here is another problem with our fossil fuel infrastructure. Michigan's governor has ended the easement that allows Enbridge to run its Line-5 pipeline through the Straits of Mackinac after several accidents where boat anchors have damaged the pipeline causing various leaks. That is on top of a more than 60 year history of leaks that have spilled over 1 million gallons in 30 separate incidents throughout the state. The Line-5 pipeline is 20 odd years over its 50 year life expectancy and the company has been avoiding doing necessary replacements and repairs. The last paragraph sets up an interesting dynamic: an irresponsible company failing to meet even basic duties to maintain its property and deliver its product safely (to people and the environment) and various parties opposed to Enbridge for a range of reasons.

I just found this Reuter's article which describes the can of worms which is the Enbridge situation. But I have a very basic question: how to you bring to heel an irresponsible multi-national corporation whose operation is considered absolutely vital. Canada has obviously not been interested in ensuring it operates responsibly not when there is a 60 year history of ignoring maintenance and leaks.

 May 11--Almost half past another month

Nice sun today though it is a bit cool. The plants I have put out already are doing well in the gardens. The valerian is blooming. I need to cut back some of the tall spikes of lavender and let the new growth have some more space. The other lavender is recovering well from winter also. Pretty soon I will start putting seeds in the planters. A friend of mind posted pictures of the snow that fell in Colorado. Other western areas are also getting snow and rain. They need it given the latest drought monitor map. We had a couple of days with really nice long lasting rain which we needed.

Gail Tverberg at Our Finite World has an interesting article centered on energy primarily but she makes some observations that apply more broadly. She makes the point that much of the energy problems we face and will be facing are papered over with rhetoric designed to soften or even completely hide the reality of declining energy supplies. She also observes that our various crises  are interrelated: shortages of potable water mean shortages of food and we are already seeing that in many areas of the world including here in the us. Notice her discussion of wages/energy/economic activity.

 May 12

It is much too early to see what the weather is like. The Weather Channel predicts sun and mid-to-high 50s today. I still resist doing much planting because it is still just a bit too cool to do much. So far the most tender of my transplants (tomatoes and peppers)s  are doing fairly well. They are in the warmest area of the patio and the pot keep some of the heat the acquire during the day over the cool nights.

Watching the Liz Chaney saga a thought connection came to me. One of the "man-on-the-street" interviewees from Utah on the matter expressed a sentiment that was also expressed by a Republican Party officer in a Pennsylvania county on a representative who voted against overturning the counting of the Electoral College votes for that state: we didn't send them to congress to vote their consciences but to do what we tell them to do. What the hell makes those people so sure that theirs is the only votes that matter? What the hell makes them so sure that everyone who voted for any given representative did so for the same reason?

I have had an increasing sense of unease with our dependence on high tech. The hacking of Solarwinds that had been going on for some months but only came to light a few weeks ago and the ransomware attack on the Colonial pipeline company are only the latest two high tech assaults on our infrastructure. Similar attacks have been directed against towns and cities, against health care conglomerates, and almost every sector of our economy. Yet we find ourselves unable to counter them effectively. Most of the affected entities are privately own for-profit companies and aren't willing to invest the money in good security, and no government has the authority to mandate they do so. Interesting catch-22.

Just when you think the electoral saga can't bet any stranger---it does. By the time this year ends we will be as glad to see the end of it as we were to see the end of 2020.

 Sometimes the courts see scams for what they are--scams. The bankruptcy court has ruled against the NRA and its attempt to escape the reach of the NY Attorney General by declaring bankruptcy and re-incorporating in Texas. 

 May 7

Hello, on this cool May morning day (I just noticed it is  a few minutes after noon so no longer morning. We had sun early and now clouds are moving in. I did get everything I wanted to do done in the gardens. The last plants, petunias, put into the tower pots and pulled the woad and sage. The sage had been trying to come back after the winter but the frost really set it back. I didn't intend to harvest any this year so I decided to pull it to make way for something else. The woad did very nicely but it is well past the optimum age if I wanted to try to dye with it. I don't and it isn't really a pretty blooming plant. Again I opened up space for something else. It is still a bit too cool to plant the seeds

May 8

Oh well, the day has started in a mixed mode. The plants already in the planters, including the tomatoes and peppers, did well even though the overnight temperatures fell just above freezing. In fact we had frost on the roofs. That was the good. The bad was finding a mistake on that table topper I have been crocheting and had to take out completely after a bit more than 40 rounds. This time I had to take out a full round because I missed a part of the pattern. I put it away for now.

Some time ago I noticed that our political system has been exhibiting some of the attributes of a religion. This is especially true of what used to be the Republican Party. Clinging to an orthodoxy is the more important that anything else. Right now the orthodox Republican position is that The Former Guy won and was cheated out of his rightful second term. That swindle was accomplished by wide spread voter fraud and our election systems need to be reformed. The Party has canonized The Former guy almost to the point of deification. Anyone who doesn't agree with the current orthodoxy is a heretic and The Party is purging those from positions of influence. There is no place for anyone saying anything that isn't what the Maralago Vatican approves. 

 May 9

Happy Mothers' Day. It is very wet outside with the rain providing rivers running down the curb sides of the streets. No work outside today.

As I noted above I have been watching the dissolution of the Republican Party. That process was evident at the nominating convention last year when they didn't put out a platform. Instead they simply pledged their fealty to The Former Guy and what ever he wanted. Normally, both parties would have competing blueprints for what they wanted to do with power should they win the election. They proposed no values, no ideas, and no programs.

May 10

I have been totally lazy for the last several days. I have been reading my e-mail but not wanting to post anything on it. So much in the news and in the e-mail seems so utterly repetitive it is hardly worth commenting on. Half the time I am thoroughly irritated by the commentary. Have you noticed how linguistically sloppy so many commentators are? Almost anything the Biden administration proposes is greeted with screens of "Socialism!!!" as though that were akin to child rape and murder. There is noting particularly socialist or communist about supporting child care or elder care so that women (and some men) can work in the wider economy. There is nothing particularly socialist about having a comprehensive and efficient health care system. Or about a broad education system. I haven't seen any proposal that would eliminate private ownership of any of the components. No one is saying that we have to have a government take over of hospitals or clinics or doctors' offices. The have had a long history of public education because once upon a time it was considered a benefit for our economy and society.

Continuing on that theme--how often are today's Republicans described as "conservative?" And yet ask yourselves what exactly they want to conserve? A society/economy where most people are kept barefoot, threadbare, and hungry? I hear that a number of businesses and business organizations want to end the expanded unemployment benefits arguing that they are too generous because all of us lazy untermenschen won't work for wages that don't keep body and soul together. It reminds me of apologists for slavery who insisted that their black slaves wouldn't work with out the lash being ever present and liberally used.

 May 4

Well, it is cloudy with bouts of misty rain. I don't think the temperature broke 60F. The new plants are doing well but haven't been transplanted yet. We should have sun tomorrow so I will wait a day.

We got all our shopping done over the last two days. It is too taxing to put it all on one day especially when one of those days means going to our local big box (but not Wal-Mart or Target) store. We finally got back to our favorite little shop that sells loose tea, coffee, spices, nuts and grains. They had been shut down completely for part of the pandemic. Then to local health department kept them closed because they were self-serve. They managed to do a custom order and curb-side delivery business. Things have changed though. They require masks, ask all customers to wash their hands and wear plastic food service gloves, and have cut hours down. But it was nice to go back there again.

An interesting theme has arisen in the new/talk shows: what if we never reach "herd immunity?" This piece in the New York Times covers the issue nicely. I wasn't surprised by any of it just that it took so long for the possibility to sink into the minds of journalists, epidemiologists and such. Or perhaps it took so long because they didn't want to throw cold water on all the many people who so want to get back to the old normal they long for. About this time last year I wondered if we could really vaccinate our way out of this mess. After all we have a vigorous vaccine skeptic crowd and even for the yearly flu vaccines only about 40-50% of us get the shot in spite of vigorous ads urging us to do so. Then the variants started popping up like zits on a teens face--a new one every time you checked the news. The vaccines finally came to great fanfare and everyone swooned at the blistering pace the companies were going to turn out doses--40 million by the end of December (as reported in early November). Oh, wonderful--and we have a population of 300+million here in the U.S. alone. I figured then that most of the people who wanted to take the "jab(s)" would finally be getting them by June  or July at the earliest. We will be learning to live with this virus and its mutated offspring for a good long while.

 Welcome to May

Yesterday was May 1st and I was almost totally lazy. I played most of the time--making up for the problems Facebook was having starting on Friday and which were finally resolved late that day. I did go out and plant the transplants we bought Friday. It was way too cold and windy to do anything Friday. So two tomatoes, two peppers and two begonias are doing nicely. All of the veggies are varieties I haven't grown before. I had wanted cherry tomatoes but I did't see anything on the shelves. We should have nice temperatures this week so it might be a good time to plant the seeds I have. So far the sage, 1 of the mums from last year, dyers woodruff, valerian, both roses, and chamomile are doing well--all winter survivors. And that was without much protection. 

It is already shaping as a bad fire season out west. I thought I would check out the Drought Monitor and it looks grim. I looked it up because two things came together: a memory from the last time--a week or so ago--I checked the monitor: we were in one of the lower categories of drought and our city is encouraging the installation of rain barrels even providing barrels at low cost to homeowners. If we owned our building we would take them up on the offer.

India has been in the grip of another devastating surge of COVID that has even cracked the media bubble in the U.S. I saw a bit this morning (sorry I forget where) which showed a graph of world COVID cases and though the Indian numbers are astounding those are only part of the world story. The pandemic is still raging not only in South Asia but also South Africa and South America. The blurb listed about 8-10 South American countries that are all in the top ten of the areas which are leading the numbers of cases and deaths. We have a simple rule which we aren't going to change even though we were vaccinated over a month ago: when we go out we will have masks in our purses and when we go into stores or crowds we wear them. We normally avoid crowds but summer is coming and the outdoor market will open in a month. For a good article on the Indian situation with some discussion of the economic ramifications see this Asia Times piece.