August 6

I haven't posted for a few days--nothing much interesting to say. The gardens are in minimal maintenance mode right now--just deadheading and grabbing a weed that decides to poke its head up where it is noticeable and watering of course. Some of my energy is going to deciding what I will need to clear out starting in early September. That is when the garden shops and others start carrying mums. I need to clear a space for them. I am also thinking about a different arrangement for the containers next spring--something I hope will allow me to reach all of the plants more easily. Over the last week I have been collecting a couple of sweet peppers every couple of days and six pretty red peppers were ready to harvest. Over the last week the temperatures have been a bit lower and didn't rise high enough on the patio to make just watering the pots exhausting.

I just cut out the pieces for a new face mask--one based on scarves. We are not going to put the masks away. Why? you wonder. New variants of COVID, the possibility of breakthrough infections, and a flu season coming on. 

We have been following the fires in Idaho and California. It is easy to forget that other areas suffering catastrophic fires also. Just this morning the news mentioned one that had already burned over 6000 hectares (14000+ acres) on the Michigan upper peninsula. (The story was on BBC, surprisingly, which is why the area was in hectares). However, another story just along with that one was this. Yesterday I read a piece which said that people in tourist areas of Greece and Turkey had taken to the ocean to get away from the flames. One report described the Mediterranean as ringed fire from Spain through Greece and Turkey.

I listened to one of the economics pundits this morning touting the employment numbers and insisting that the current inflation was transitory because (they think) it is driven by a few sectors--cars, hospitality and housing. Pardon my skepticism. Another reporter noted that the Dixie fire in California has gone from 8th largest to 3rd largest fire in California. One just now noted that parts of California (and I assume other fire prone areas) will soon be uninsurable. They thought that would make them uninhabitable but the insurance problem didn't really affect the coastal areas because powerful interests pressured the federal government to change the flood plain maps so their expensive buildings could qualify for government flood insurance. I wonder if something similar will happen to support the real estate market in California. The problem though is the hit the local economies will take because of the destruction and loss of wealth and income. And the ongoing drought is affecting a much wider area. Already dairy farmers and cattlemen have reduced or eliminated their herds. Other farmers are giving up or plowing under crops that are dying for lack of water. Remember the groundwater is increasingly difficult and expensive to acquire. To say that the COVID will be gone and the economy will continue to bounce back ignores other factors that will drag on economic growth.

Another "sign of the times" appeared on my Facebook feed yesterday. Our favorite tea/spice/bulk grains store is going to close for good in early September. The owner's husband lost his job two and a half years ago and after failing to find a new job in the area decided to try out of state. He found one and after six months with the job appearing likely to be a stable, good fit his wife will close up her shop and join him. Damn! that is the only such shop in the area.

Gail Tverberg at Our Finite World has a long (and I did read it) on the push for vaccination against COVID and the serious questions involved. Pay special attention to the part on antibody-dependent enhancement. I checked it out an found among the virus categories noted for this phenomenon are SARS, HIV-1, and influenzas. Note also that no effective vaccine has been developed for HIV or SARS. And influenza vaccines have to be recalibrated each season.

For another long read that makes some interesting conclusions on our political condition take a look at Richard Heinberg's recent Museletter #341. And it I did read it as well as posts by Peter Turchin before.