January 25

 The temperature is definitely going up. Last week we couldn't get a temp above 10F and today we are headed for 40 or better. We had some fog earlier and sporadic rain continues to melt the remaining snow. I finally got the last of the ice away from the gate area and the gate post shifted to its original position--in other words I could close it again. I think the subfreezing temps and heavy snow did in most of the hardy plants. I look at the patio and start thinking of what I will have to do when spring comes and the soil thaws out.

I linked to an article about the rise in measles (and other childhood diseases) here in the U.S. This piece in Euronews describes a big rise in measles in Europe. In 2023 they counted 30,000 cases after a 2022 number of 941. That includes 21,000 hospitalizations with 5 deaths. Although the E.U. has high rates vaccination the article says the rates are still suboptimal. Four of the deaths were among unvaccinated patients (3 children, 1 adult).

Stray thought: I think the death penalty is inhumane largely because of the propensity for error. I came to that conclusion when I was in 8th grade. The teacher told of visiting a cemetery in a ghost town where one of the headstones read "Sorry, we hung him by mistake." This story illustrates a major problem with our system. There really is no humane way to execute someone. I often think our search for supposedly humane ways of death dealing is more an effort to sooth everyone's sensibilities--to say "see, it isn't so bad after all. We gave a terrible person an easy way out." But suffocation isn't easy.

We had a bit of a chuckle over this story which can be filed in the "failed good intentions" folder. We have a stack of both canvas and the heavier plastic bags and we have been trying to get back into the habit of taking them with us when we go shopping. We did that before the pandemic but, after the early reports came out that COVID was spread by touching contaminated surfaces, the state health department ordered all stores to not allow customers to use their own bags. That order was not rescinded even after the evidence showed it was actually airborne. The plastics industry also hyped the supposed hygienic qualities of their products. Even after the worst of the pandemic was over one of the stores used a carousel system to speed up the cashier's lines so bringing our own bags just gummed up the process. Another store used to give a 5 cent discount for every one of your own bags you used. They don't anymore. We are almost back to reliably taking our own bags again. And the single use bags we still get are not single use for us. We use those bags we still get as trash can liners and for cleaning our cats' litter boxes.