I can't Breathe

When I saw the video the other night of a man being suffocated by a police officer kneeling on his neck, I turned to my daughter and said, "There will be riots over this."

I was living in a suburb of Washington DC when Martin Luther King Jr was murdered.  My grandmother was living in an apartment "in the district" and my mother ran police lines to bring her out as her mother's block burned.

Some of my readers are well aware that I am a wildlife advocate.  Some may even call me an activist, and I would take that as a compliment.  I have attended hearings, submitted comments on proposed legislation, and made many comments on editorials and forums and surveys regarding the treatment and hunting regulations regarding Maine's wildlife.

One of the methods trappers use to dispatch an animal caught in a leg hold trap is to first stun it with a blow to the head, and then press a foot to the throat until the animal is suffocated.  Many of us in the wildlife advocate group feel, justifiably so, that this method of killing an animal is inhumane and cruel.

Yet, right in my own living room, I see a HUMAN BEING, forcibly held to the ground and then slowly suffocated by a knee to the neck -which took at least 6 minutes and continued several minutes beyond that.

ALL if the officers involved should be charged with murder.  The responding EMTs should be called to account for reportedly merely "checking several times for a pulse".  Where was the CPR?? What was the reaction of the murderer when he realized he had just killed a human being?  Where is the video that would feebly attempt to justify such a violent response from the officers?

Why didn't the bystanders jump in?  If I had been in the vicinity of such a crime, you would have certainly heard me if not seen me attempting to stop what was happening.***

Edit:  the following is a link to the story of the 17 year old African American girl who took the video  https://www.tmz.com/2020/05/28/teen-recorded-george-floyd-video-traumatized-backlash/

Everyone owes this girl a huge thank you for her calm and action while this was happening!



I am sure many people feel the same shock and frustration.  While my daughter and I both agree burning and looting is not an agreeable response, I attempted ot explain the frustration of demonstrators and how this mob mentality can develop under certain circumstances.

If only one of the responding officers had tackled the murderer things would be so much different.  Society cannot stand for this kind of abuse and condonment of violence.  It's way past time to make sure your vote counts.

American Bullfrog

American bullfrog

This bullfrog has been a summer regular, wintering probably under the house and taking advantage of the rain barrels and old bathtub on the north side of the house.  I was going to call it "Herman" but I think it may be a female, in which case I will name it "Hermanita"

Morons

Well that seems like a harsh title.  But, I had to make a run to the local grocery store today, and didn't get there until after 12.  The parking lot was about half full and I didn't have to wait in line.

However, I was extremely aggravated to note that about half the customers were not wearing any face coverings.  One couple in the produce section was opening pre bagged cherries and putting them in a produce bag to buy a lesser amount since they were @\$2.99/lb and the bags were rather large.

However, since neither were wearing masks and the man was handling bags of cherries-there are signs thougghout the store not to touch things unnecessarily-I shot them a dirty look on the way by,  When I circled back around, the produce bag with the cherries was sitting on top of the other cherries.  Perhaps a store worker had caught them or they changed their minds_

They weren't the only ones I saw without face coverings.  The store did have boxes of ten disposable masks for $9.99/box right next to gloves, so there are choices available.


But it seems as though this has turned into a political statement led by our esteemed leader, and it's tragic. 

The TV is full of segments featuring people scoffing the recommendations, instead of focusing on people that think the rest are idiots.  The local paper has letters to the editor of people commenting on the non mask wearers and complaints of being coughed at. 

 I saw headlines of a recent Harris poll that showed over 90% of people thought it was too soon to re-open.

Maine had it's lowest in several week new case report of 17 -but I only have to think of my 90 year old something neighbor who hasn't been able to visit his wife in the local nursing home since March.

Most of the outbreaks in nursing homes have been brought in by staff who have picked it up in the community, and to see selfish people waltzing around the grocery store without a face covering really fries my cookies. 

But when the news covers store security getting shot and killed for trying to enforce mask wearing, what store wants to require it and what police department wants to enforce it ?  Especially when you have DOJ and the esteemed leader threatening legal repercussions if they do.

 God save the weak and vulnerable. Set an example and cover your mouth and nose in public.  Thanks!

Eastern Black Swallowtail

Photo by CWR reprinted with permission

Today is Memorial Day 2020. The weather in Maine has been extremely dry with Temps ranging from near 90F Friday May 22 to a low of 30F the morning on the 24th.

Insects are still doing their thing-the above photo of a tentatively identified Eastern Black Swallowtail feeding on dandelion was taken yesterday.

The Willow tree along the drive, which I pollarded hard at ten feet, has sprouted a lot of new growth which has become the focus of the Blue black Willow beetle, an invasive species.  I suspect the infestation is in part what devastated the original tree, along with a soaking of herbicide by a wayward roadside maintenance man half dozen years ago.

The quasi-style Hugel beds I use for vegetables are also apparently insect friendly.  I have some medium sized black ants making a large colony in one and two separate species of bumblebees have also found them ideal for nesting.

The latter has created an inconvenience, since I had plans for that part of the bed which was not yet planted. Ditto with the Eastern Phoebes nesting under the north eaves.  I desperately need to do some serious roof work on that part of the house, and the current stretch of dry weather would have been ideal.  (If I had known it was coming, of course)

The plan is to do that work in July-  after the fledglings have left the nest and before the parents start a second brood.

The squirrels are gradually expanding their territory and return from down the ridge every late afternoon.  Hopefully when the serious hot weather hits they will find the roof too hot to their liking and move out.

Momma duck was spotted again a few days ago-with at least half dozen ducklings.  She is tentatively identified as a mallard, but I thought I caught a flash of blue which would make her a wood duck.  The wood ducks had been seen in that location for enough time for a brood to hatch, with the mallards latecomers.  I am hoping they are wood ducks since that would be a nod to my ego, as wood ducks nest in tree cavities and appropriate nesting sites can be hard to come by.

Nothing has been heard from the loons.  We have always had at least two nesting pair and I am concerned something or someone has caused them to disappear.

No sign yet of the Great Blue Heron, either, but sometimes that does not appear until later in the season.

The Willow created a Netflix by mail account, and we have watched several movies.  I think my favorite so far was the remake of Jumanji.  I laughed out loud on several occasions and one scene had me on the edge of my seat.  Very entertaining. We both send a nod to Jack Black for his performance as well as the other actors and actresses.

Stay safe~

Greening Up

The trees have sprung to life, no wonder it is called spring.  One day the beech leaf casings were fluttering down like snow then the next day the whole back yard's beech grove had greened out.

It's been a race against the black flies to get things planted.  I searched the house for hours for the yellow wax bean seeds I had saved.  Or thought I saved.  I had a bumper crop last year of beautiful long pods and had let some set.  The house ghost alone knows where I put them.

I found some crummy looking ones marked 2015 and planted them in a window box since I expect poor germination.  I think those are the ones I used last year and I had maybe 5 out of 25 or more seeds come up.  I ended up transplanting the 5 and babying them and got a ton of beans off 5 plants.  Plus all the seeds I can't find.

I am hoping I get a few to come up out of the last seeds and can repeat the process this year.

I was supposed to make a town run today, but nothing critical on the list and I think I can stretch it to next week.  It is absolutely gorgeous weather and I really don't want to waste one of the remaining days of my life in town worried about getting COVID.

The state has finally increased its testing capacity with a deal with IDEX.  We were told to expect cases to go up with better detection since they dropped the requirements to get a test.  But that's not stopping them from opening full steam ahead.  Restaurants and campgrounds have been added to the kk list, but our town office is still closed go figure.

I had a nice socially distant chat with a 90+ year old neighbor whose wife went into a nursing home right before this happened.  He hasn't been allowed to visit her in weeks.  They have been married 60 years.  It makes me so sad to see him suffering when people can get their hair done or sit in a restaurant. 

Update on my vaccine comment-I have since heard that the RNA is from part of the virus, not from people's immune response.  But then Stephen COlbert had a bit on last night that cows  being used to create vaccines. Usually his stuff is rooted in truth so now I will have to go look that up.  Stay tuned.

The Right Solution?

I have always had reservations about vaccines.  It must have started about 3rd or 4th grade when there was a public vaccination program through public schools.

We were all lined up like good little soldiers and "BAM!" hit with a multi needled gun in the left upper forearm.  Many people of my generation still bear the scar from that injection.

Now, the general premise of exposing someone to a killed version or a mild form of a virus to stimulate the bodies natural immune system if confronted with the virus in the future is a great one.  It's the other things that go along with it that worry me.

Like Thimerisol, a form of mercury that has been used as a preservative.  Or the load of contaminated vaccines that went out from some shady company a few years back. 

What is actually in that injection?

The push to create a vavvine for COVID 19 rapidly, (even given a nifty little code name), concerns me. I have read that one of the approaches is to take genetic material from people who have recovered, isolate the different immune responses, pick one which seems like the best, take a bit of the RNA and inject it to stimulate the body to replicate that particular immune response.

Immune responses are both good and bad.  The body identifies an invader and sends in the troops, overwhelming it.  But there are many health issues associated with immune responses.  For example, that is what causes allergies.  The body treats a substance as an alien invader and launches a response.  the result is sneezing and inflammation-accumulation of fluid from cells that are lysed, or literally exploded.

The greater the amounts of the invader, the larger the reaction.  So a lethal immune response can happen with larger exposure as well as a delayed response that allows the virus to replicate in massive quantities before the response kicks in.

People are individuals.  There are different blood types, as well as different medical histories which can include inherited as well as acquired traits. For example, I know someone who had an ancestor exposed to malaria and they have a blood condition which creates a negative reaction when exposed to sulfites.

Ideally a proper vaccine would be tailored to different types.  But that is not how it is addressed.  Massive broad testing is required to select the vaccine that will benefit the most people with the least negative effects and then it is put into production for everyone.

That is the road we are on.  The search for the cure, and then it will be distributed.

But is that really the best road?  What happens when the next virus comes along?  What happens when this one mutates beyond what the vaccine will target?

Don't we really need a worldwide cultural shift in behavior to stave off the current and future pandemics?

There are health reasons why we have sewage processing plants, cover our bottoms, wash our hands after using the bathroom.  But upper respiratory infections? 

We have been told during flu season "stay home if you are sick" and then don't offer sick pay for low wage earners.  We reward students for perfect attendance.

Walmart has been running an ad crowing about how they are open shorter hours to allow them to clean stores, showing them spraying carts and wiping the handles of cooler doors and registers conveyor belts.  Isn't this something they should always do?

I was happy when stores started putting out sani wipe dispensers near the carts and always wiped my cart off while having mixed feelings.  In the past, I was worried people with look at me as a germaphobe.  Yet I was also miffed that I had to clean the carts for the store.  Shouldn't the store be sanitizing the carts when they were brought in?  Turns out, yes, they should.

What about the negative association with burkas?  How some societies got on their high horses and harassed the wearers of same, even though it was a religious choice and even requirement.  Now some in  society refuse to wear face coverings, perhaps rooted in that face covering stigma.

IMO society, worldwide society, should adapt everyday healthy habits to protect public health, and not sit back on their laurels waiting on a cure. 

Hopefully a cure won't create more problems...

Yay May

Well I had a couple pics I wanted to share, but I took them on the digital camera and have no way to get them on this current machine, since it takes a micro card and the only USB is occupied with an external mouse since the touchpad crapped.

So who wanted to see a pic of WIllow's homemade General Tsao chicken (one of her specialties), jasmine rice (always) and a big heaping side of steamed dandelion greens.?

Dandelion greens are really a pain to clean, multiple rinses and picking pine needles and grass bits out-it must be the serrated leaves that tend to catch everything.  They were just ready to bloom and a little bitter, but they are chock full of vitamins and minerals and best of all, free!

The other pic was of two types of violets, tiny white ones and good sized violet ones.  They and the daffodils have been the spark of spring color on my property so far.

Things are leaping and jumping, I am feeling the strain since I don't get full sun here it is imperative I get things going early, but the cold weather created some delay this year.  I am glad I threw together a small cold frame and actually have two zucchinis just emerged so they will have a bit of a jump when I transplant them.  DItto with cauliflower and broccoli if they don't get full of cabbage moth caterpillars.

Looks like Homegirl had four squirrel "kittens" Mayday and Icharus climbed the wall (finally,) and along with number three were trying to tease number four out of the eaves. I can just imagine what they have done to the insulation.

Barn cat and kitten have been moved to the Firebird's old room.  Kitten is getting very large and Willow spends some time everyday trying to socialize it.  Not sure how an only kitten will turn out, lacking other littermates to rumble and tussle with.  Dreading the long trip to the shelter, but one good thing is a lot of shelters are empty since many people wanted to adopt while stuck at home.

I made a store run the other day.  I am not sure that some of the changes are for the better. The aisles are one way, up and down, and if you generally skip aisles you might find yourself forced to go down one to get to the one you want.  And the supposed six foot spacing at checkout has the line stretched along the front of the store, so if you come out that end of the aisle you are quite close to those in the line.

Overall, I spent more time trying to maneuver through the new set up than I would normally, less cars in the lot but it seemed more cramped.  I have avoided making the big run to the city, which requires standing for some time in line outside to gain access to one store.  Even though they have lines marked out, I don't think they took into account that people take up space, so if your lines are spaced six feet apart, people are really only four feet apart. 

WIllow asked if I actually take up two feet of depth, but you don't exactly stand like a soldier in line.

I still chat people up-now I have a captive audience haha.  One fellow about my age expressed anxiety that he couldn't breathe in his cloth mask, and coupled with waiting in line he was ready to bolt. 

And bolt he did-from the self check out next to me with a cryo packed beef tenderloin tucked under each arm.  At least some of us are eating good during the lockdown. 

Willow's making her chicken peanut lomein tonight-yum!

 Eat well, stay safe.

Tuesday

May is moving right along.  I want this time to go slow, like the days when the snow is piling up and the woodstove is eating fuel as fast as I can carry it into the house.

Despite our well below average temperatures, that last snow on Saturday really was poor man's fertilizer-at least the grass that grows as weeds along the path thought so.  The bearded iris leapt to attention, a few of the all yellow daffodils bloomed and then got whacked and brought in before the snow could flatten them.

That was a crazy day, snow being driven sideways, first one way, then the other, then a finale of big fat flakes, and cold enough Sunday in the shady spots a little of the snow lingered for a day or two.

That's what is so odd about living so far North.  The snow just thinks it owns the land.  It falls and it stays.  Even in the crevices after a freak May snowstorm.

I was thrilled to have a male rose breasted grosbeak at the black oil sunflower seed this morning.  I had just said that I hadn't seen grosbeaks in a long time, and boom, there he was.  Willow was thrilled -she said she had never seen one.  I got out my Audubon field guide and my last note was 1995, and that was at a different home back then. 

There was also a note for the year before, '94, and they were both May 5th.  So a week later this year.  Of course, I might have neglected to jot down a sighting.  For a number of years I kept track of when the Eastern Phoebes returned, but haven't kept up with it.  I know it is usually in April, which seems bold for an insect eater this far North.

At least the grosbeaks would have found seed a month ago, so why they land here the first week or so of May- a month after the insect eater seems odd.

Willow and I also spotted a mother mallard and a half dozen new born ducklings in the stream yesterday.  We were on the way to check on a neighbor(not the barn cat one) at the request of her daughter who had been unable to reach her.  Luckily she was just out of phone minutes.  I had some pretty horrible thoughts on the way over with the pandemic going on.

Update on the kitten scenario-I found the orange one that Willow had revived dead and rejected.  Then the Queen had another orange one, stillborn and deformed. Final count, one tabby kitten.

Considering how inbred that cat colony is, and how many back to back to back litters this female has probably had, I am surprised her solo kitten is thriving.  The Queen is a good mother, though.

A second grey squirrel nestling spent a day trying to get into the front door and crying.  The older one must have shown it the ropes since I saw it eating seeds on the bottom step where I left a small pile today.  They have both quickly become wary and flee if surprised, a far cry from the fearless small one that climbed my pantleg ---a week ago?  Time is really flying.

Maybe it's the energy of all the nest building songbirds. Time is flying right along with them.

Spring Growth

Kittens are being born as I type this.  I am sure millions of kittens are being born around the world at this moment, but from my perspective, one of the neighbors barn cats is having kittens in my kitchen.

I am a sucker. I have taken in many animals over the years.  I think I have a blinking sign on my door that says, "animal sucker lives here".

I have been feeding a feral cat for about three years.  This is not the cat kittening in my kitchen.  But, when you put food and water out daily, especially during brutal Maine winters when the neighbor's barn cats have to travel all the way to the stream for a drink, this place becomes a halfway house.

This particular queen adopted us back in December.  Her current round of kittens started joining her, as well as a local tom and at least one of her elder brood.  I was pissed since I had at least 7 cats coming around on a daily basis.

I texted the neighbor several times asking if they were feeding or if they were having trouble feeding.

Finally I started letting one of my own out, and he prompyly drove most of the miscreants back where they belonged.  (he was also a salvaged stray several winters ago)

But not the queen.  Since Willow has returned from college, the Queen had been getting rounder and rounder.  I tried in avail to send her back-she lounged on the deck until well past dark, but would show up in the late mornings, clearly preferring our hospitality.

She attempted to dart in the house on several occasions, my daughter being quite vocal in not allowing her entrance.  She has been getting rounder and more determined.  This morning she darted in the door first thing, then put herself in front of wheelbarrow as I was moving mulch.  I tried three times to chase her off.  I cleaned out the old rabbit hutch and put a box with towels in there.

The signs were not to be ignored.  She was having kittens tonight, and it was like the 17th century revisited, turning away a young woman in labor onto the streets, shutting the door and turning out the lights.  Heck, she might as well have been Mary giving birth to Jesus and being told to have her litter in the manger.

So, I finally succumbed, and dragged out a pet kennel from under the house, and scrubbed it and fitted it out for kitty labor.  We brought her in, imminent, and so far she has delivered two, a tabby and an orange.  The latter rolled out of reach, and the Willow, an experienced cat midwife, moved it back to Mom.

Willow then, a little while later, rescued the apparently deceased kitten from underneath Mom.  Head rolling, limbs outstretched, kitten looked deceased.  She was giving it light strokes on the chest and I said, "breathe into it"  which she did, and a few seconds later the kitten revived.

Back with Mom, a couple more interventions to get it latched on-we have both bet that the end total will be four, but time will tell.

The end plan?  In a week or so to take Mom and kittens to the shelter (an over an hour drive away).  We have been through this before, and I swore then it was the last pregnant female I would take in.  All the kittens and Mom were adopted.

The neighbor?  Maine law says if you feed an animals for 2 weeks you own it, and I have several texts to prove I asked her to take care of it.  Not only that, but she told me two years ago animal control had offered to spay and neuter and release all her barn cats, but "she hadn't had time" to address it.

She also thinks indiscriminate breeding is fine, so to hell with her.

Out of the frying pan and into the fire

Homemade jelly donuts by Willow

This is the Willow's first attempt to create anything using yeast.  But, as she said, that's if you don't include the bio lab where they killed the yeast because they forgot to add the sugar.

No absence of sugar in these delicious creations.  We each ate three before they had even completely cooled  Slightly crispy on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside, filled with organic raspberry jelly-with a few blueberry since she used most of the jar of raspberry. 

They were the best jelly donuts I had ever eaten.  They were so good, I felt compelled to take two to my older widowed neighbor.  Mask in place, I knocked on her screen door and proudly handed over the little brown bag.

"Would you like some eggs?" she asked? "Come in, come in."

I stepped in while she was collecting well over a dozen homegrown eggs, and after she handed them to me she started telling me about her Gdaughter who was working at the local convenience store.

"I went to pick her up and she came out without her mask.  She said that it was so tight it gave her a headache, and that NONE of the customers who had come into the store that day had been wearing masks."

(our state has told us to wear masks if we go out or work in public)

I thanked her for the eggs and beat a rather hasty retreat.

I don't suppose any of those customers thought about possibly exposing her Gdaughter, who could then expose her elderly Gmother, who could then expose the neighbor dropping off a couple of freshly made donuts.

If just one customer at that store had been shedding COVID-19, the amount of people potentially exposed is exponentially astronomical, even here in rural Maine.  That person might have felt the whole thing is a Demohoax, or that they didn't need to worry because they are fit and forty.

While they might not be concerned about infecting others and only worried about themselves and their families, evidence is coming to light that COVID does not just kill by respiratory failure.  The virus potentially affects clotting factors in the blood, and can lead to sudden death from heart attack or stroke.

Children in NY are exhibiting unusual inflammatory responses when infected, showing heart issues as well as a skin condition that resembles Kawasaki disease.

So people, if you are being told to wear a face covering, just do it. We all want to live another day to eat donuts.

Nesting Season

Despite the fact that we are forecast to receive 1-3 inches of snow tomorrow night-with 5-9 forecast for Northern parts of the state, the birds have been busy building nests.

The creepers I mentioned in a previous post must have picked a nest site.  One of them was picking cedar strings off a piece of slab in the backyard and was so focused on the task at hand that I watched for some minutes from a distance of just a few feet.

Ditto with the black capped chickadees-I had a close up observation of one patiently picking Moonie's fiber off the fence-I couldn't tell if it was after the coarser guard hair or soft undercoat remnants that Moo had wound around the fence while rubbing on it to relieve the itching of shedding.

I have been pretty slack about combing my goats this year- I have at least six large garbage bags full of fiber that needs to be processed and don't see that happening in the near future, so this year is for the birds.

The Phoebes, a type of flycatcher, are back building nest under the eaves.  They build a fresh one each year, made of moss and mud.  The robin has decided to use the fir by the deck again, despite the giant maple limb dangling straight down from about thirty feet.  The limb let go about a month ago and got hung up and since I couldn't pull it free, it will have to stay until fall when the robins migrate.

The limb is actually compressing the fir branches at the nest site even closer together so hopefully the hawk doesn't try to get the nestlings again.

The wayward squirrel nestling is still hanging in there.  I had put some sunflower seed on the deck-even though the site on raising squirrels said not to feed them sunflower seed or corn.  I figured Momma had been feeding on my offerings and the nestling had access to other things, like the red maple buds which had fallen on the deck which Willow had seen it nibbling.

Today we saw the young squirrel had found the squirrel feeder which I had relocated closer to that side of the house.  It tried to climb the young pine the feeder was hanging on , and had some difficulty with slippage, and at one point retreated back under the house, which must have turned into its substitute nest site.

It's quite nice to hear all the seasonal birds -the yak yak of the nuthatches, the robins, goldfinch, and even a pair of purple finch.  I have not seen any grosbeaks in years- I used to get rather large flocks of evening grosbeaks in the winter and rose breasted in the summer less then ten miles form here as the bird flies. 

It could be habitat, and I am glad that the current birds population can take advantage of the goat fiber, the spilled straw and various dried grasses and herbaceous plant stalks that are readily available in  my yard, as well as the moss and mud from the springlet that runs down the drive.

I have a cold frame going this year, and glad for it.  All next week we have night lows at freezing, very bizarre for us even though our last frost date is the end of May.  I usually pull off getting most of the garden planted by now.  

Propaganda or stupidity

I have a scientific mind.  I ask a lot of questions and gather a lot of information then run scenarios out in my mind before I come to conclusions.  People such as my family get mad when I ask their opinions, because they say I don't do what they recommend. 

That is because I am info gathering and inputting that information.  Often I have already run that "data" or can see immediately that it would lead to a less desirable result. 

I am not always right, but any means.  Sometimes I am way off.  Part of that is due to false information input.  That is why I hate liars.  One bit of false information can make it impossible to come to a correct conclusion.  Liars do not want you to know the truth, so they feed you false information. 

Sometimes the "data" is corrupted because the incorrect information you are given is made up out of ignorance-they have come to incorrect opinions but due to ego announce falsehoods as facts.

Take the US response to COVID19 for example.  I am sick and tired of all the lies and BS

On January 22 I texted a relative who has spent almost 50 years working in various capacities at one of the nations most re known hospitals. I had been watching the regular over-the-air news and was getting very disturbed about the new virus. My concern came from information I was receiving that was readily available to the US population.

January 22,2020 7:04 pm EST

Me:  "Should we be worried about the new virus?"

7:10 pm EST

Them:  " Not really.  They are screening at the big airports.  3 cases in USA all isolated.  It's a Virus like a Cold similar to the SARS and MERS virus of years past.  Those never really took hold in America especially after it was recognized and screened for"

I followed with additional texts about the dangers of virus that mutate from animal to human, referring to the ones they mentioned as well as swine flu.  I looked up the research on COVID 19 and linked a Scientific American article that suggested the genetic material looked like the virus went from bats to snakes to humans.

Last text exchange 8:08 Thanking me for the link.

Several hours later they were on their way home from work and were at a stop sign.  Someone hit them head on.  The person got out of their vehicle and walked away, right by them pinned and bleeding in their destroyed car.

The relative was able to call 911 and spent several weeks recovering from airbag and seat belt injuries.  Their car was totalled.

A week later, on January 29, I went to a local drug store and bought a box of ten surgical type masks for $18.  I handed them out to my kids and urged them to order more.  My daughter ordered a box of 50 simple procedure masks.

Where am I going with this story?

1. On Jan 22 the US had 3 cases and were supposed to be screening at "major airports"

(after that date, someone flew into Logan with symptoms and was not identified as positive for 48 hours while they traveled around Boston area, Nevermind how many travelers used that plane in the meantime)

2.  It was common knowledge it was a respiratory virus transmitted via airborne particles, yet it took THREE full months before the CDC and local governments started recommending the wearing of masks. in fact, we were told NOT to wear masks and I was too intimidated to wear the ones I had bought when out in public.  Eventually (weeks later) I would see one or two people wearing masks and began to wear mine.

3.  In the meantime we have been ordered to stay at home (with a few exceptions) and wash our hands.  It has cost trillions of dollars-taxpayer dollars, will be the end of many businesses, and has the country on the edge of rebellion.

A lot of people (including the VP) still believe there is no reason to wear a mask.

To my mind, if in addition to washing hands, from the beginning, if everyone was required to wear masks in public or group settings, with temperature screenings before entering any public building, we might have averted the shutdown of the country

Remember the relatives initial response on 1/22 that SARS and MERS were stopped as a result of SCREENING.

My state's criteria for testing has been very stringent, over 65, or in critical care.  Doctors simply would not test, and if they did, first they would test for the flu.  So an average person would have to not only pay for the doctor's visit (and or co-pay with their lousy insurance if they had any) but flu testing, all the while moving about unmasked in the general public and doctor's offices. 

To those of you who feel mask wearing impinges on your constitutional right, what about wearing underwear or coverings on your bottom?  Why do you think THAT is mandatory?  Why do you think washing your hands after going to the bathroom is so important, or treating human waste, or burying people 6 feet deep?

I think one change that should come out of this is that schools need to be teaching sanitation and microbiology from the time children enter public education.

When you see what happens to a dish of blood agar (think jello made from blood) that has been scratched with a wire contaminated with Strep or Staph and then kept warm for three days, you will live your whole life differently.

And everyone in the World will be a lot safer and happier.  THAT is our constitutional right!

Saturday

One of homegirl's babies can't get back to the next in the eaves.  It is not really a baby, probably old enough to leave the nest, but they must go back to the nest occasionally beofre they graduate because this one is pretty distressed,  He has been hanging under the house and on the deck since yesterday,

It has tried to get in the front door several times-I am guessing it thinks it must be part of the home tree.  I was outside this morning and looked down and it was at my meet, sniffing my shoe, and I said, "Hey there" and then it climbed my leg past my knee while I was reaching for my phone to take a pick.

Needless to say I said, "hey!" wondering what it was going to do when it got to my face and it jumped down and hopped back under the deck..

The nest is a straight shot about 25 feet up and must be too much for Jr. to handle.  I tried leaning a couple boards from the deck to the side of the house, and it has climbed them but not tried the wall.

It's very distressing, there is no way I can get it back up there, and it is not a helpless baby, just a very young squirrel.  I am surprised Mom has not heard it fussing-I did from inside the house.

I did just try and call the Center for Wildlife for advice but of course they have closed for the day.  The Willow and I are hoping that it will manage somehow.  I don't dare try and catch it and put it in a tree because it might be more vulnerable to other squirrels and predators.

I did move the skirting on the opposite side of the house, where the feeder is located, hoping it might venture that way and reunite with Mom.

If it was any younger I could probably hand raise it until I could get it to a rehab, but the age it is makes me think it is weaning anyhow.

A day doesn't go by without some sort of excitement around here!

Trees

Sciurus carolinensis

Tree

Here's a pic of our homegirl.  Not exactly the pic I wanted to capture, as she usually is facing directly at the window.  This is taken through a double glazed window with the cloud covered sun behind her.

Yes, her, she is a nursing female and the boss of the local squirrel scurry.

The winter of 2018-2019 was a tough one for squirrels.  It was an off year for mast-the oaks dropped no acorns, and the same for the beech.  I got tired of the squirrels hogging all the bird feeders, so I started supplementing small piles of cracked corn spaced out along the hill path to the goats.

There was at least a dozen squirrels that came on a daily basis, usually showing up around 10:30 am  We even had a color mutation we named "Goldie" she had an absence of black coloration and was tawny and white.

My neighbors were not happy with the desperate squirrels-both known to shoot anything that encroaches on their rural properties, and I beeged both groups to "spare Goldie" if they went on a rampage.

I have not seen "Goldie" for over a year, whether she fell victim to a bullet or a bird of prey is unknown.  There is also the possibility that she saw no need to leave her territory last winter,(she was always one of the late arrivals the previous winter) as it was a crackerjack year for both acorns and beechnuts.

I know because I picked up several gallons off the goat path and left them by the back door, playing with the idea of turning them into acorn meal and attempting acorn pancakes.  It is quite a process of soaking, cracking, and shelling and drying and grinding, and I never got around to it.

The few squirrels that showed up in the back yard this winter thought that was the best acorn stash ever and ate most of the bucket.

I wish they had scrounged a little more through the asparagus and perennial beds out back since it took several days of raking and handpicking  MORE acorns unless I wanted to be pulling oak seedlings later in the year.  The ground was literally carpeted with them.

I had intended to use those leaves for garden mulch, but due to the massive amount of acorns I dumped them along the property line at the edge of the woodland.

One year I played with the idea of selling red oak seedlings, and potted up quite a few of them.  I gave some away and kept a few for a potential bonsai project.

We will have to see if acorn production is impacted by weather or is cyclical.  I have heard the term "off year" for fruiting trees-whether that is just the habit of the tree to fruit every other year, or if it depends on the type of weather during flowering season I am unsure.

One thing I am pretty sure on- we won't have a ton of maple keys, or seeds later.  We had that huge wet snow just as the red flower buds were swelling, and it has been cold and wet most of the month-not good conditions for pollination.

I have my beehives set as a swarm trap, but we have yet to see any honeybees.  One sure way I determine how local colonies overwintered is when the pussywillow buds mature, as honeybees cherish that as a pollen source and the small trees are low enough to the ground to inspect visually.

We have seen on or two tri colored bumblebees (Bombus ternarius) already this spring, and I expect to see the first hummingbirds any day.