October 25

 Good Morning. It is still dark since it isn't yet 6am. My patio is finally accumulating fallen leaves which I will sweep up and use as mulch around the plants I hope will come back next year. The cooler days and cold nights are taking a toll on the remaining annuals. The impatiens are gone. I haven't yet pulled out the plants but will do so soon. The hardier plants I leave in as ground cover to prevent hard rains from splashing soil out of the pots. I need to rearrange some of the pots (with perennials planted) so that when spring comes they will get sun and warmth sooner.

Several news stories over the last few days have reported that children's hospitals are close to capacity with an upsurge in RSV infections. This is an early start for this type of respiratory virus but the medical experts are expecting a COVID surge (with at least two new variants) and a declining vaccination rate especially among those who are most vulnerable, and the flu season in Australia, which often presages what will happen here, is bad.  That is in addition to other colds and such. This morning one of the reporters called it a "triple-demic". Most pundits attribute the increase to the end of COVID restrictions (especially masking and social distancing) and low vaccination rates. We both got our COVID and flu vaccines (we are both over 70 and Mom was hospitalized in January with viral bronchitis) but what will happen next year is a question mark for now. Phizer has announced that their vaccines will now cost $130/dose. If Medicare continues to cover the yearly boosters we will probably get the next one next fall. If not we will have to think about it more. The same for the flu vaccine especially if some of Republicans take control of the House and Senate. They may not be able to get rid of Medicare (or Social Security) but, considering how they crippled the ACA over time, they can do a lot of damage.

Well, the UK has a new Prime Minister, the third this year. Liz Truss, if the reports are correct, made a major miscalculation with her proposed fiscal program. She catered to her own hard core supporters and when the S--- hit the fan didn't have the support of the rest of her party. When the proposals first came out I thought she was channeling Maggie Thatcher and wondered if the electorate could remember their grandparents suffering under Maggie's Ayn Rand inspired austerity. One of our  Republican politicians, I can't remember which, gushed enthusiastic over the Truss policy and thought it a perfect blueprint for us.