Consider the lilies

News blues…

Grim data. 

• South Africa suffers more than 200 Covid-19 deaths and 8,300 new cases in 24 hours 
• USA surpasses 300,000 confirmed Covid deaths  and more than one million new infections in the first five days of December.

Let’s leave it at that for today.

***

The Lincoln Project: Silver Alert  (0:23 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

The catastrophic Covid-19 pandemic also offers a chance to reset humanity’s approach to the future. It’s entirely unclear whether We the People have the will or the gumption to force our reluctant elected officials in that direction. First order of business, however, is to inform yourself and to make pragmatic reality-based decision.
Food for thought: According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s latest Red List, an inventory of threatened species, more than 35,700 species — representing almost 30% of all plant and animal species evaluated — are currently threatened with extinction.

These include all of the world’s freshwater dolphins, almost one-third of all oak trees and 40% of all amphibians.
At least 31 species have been declared extinct… [including] several freshwater fish species endemic to Lake Lanao in the Philippines, which, according to the IUCN, were killed off in part by overfishing and the introduction of predatory species to the lake. Three Central American frog species have also been declared extinct.
“The growing list of extinct species is a stark reminder that conservation efforts must urgently expand,” Bruno Oberle, IUCN’s director-general, said in a statement. “To tackle global threats such as unsustainable fisheries, land clearing for agriculture, and invasive species, conservation needs to happen around the world and be incorporated into all sectors of the economy.”

Interested in knowing more about how to secure a healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable future – unmarred by ever-more health crises and other disasters? The World Economic Forum offers a place to start …. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

No shortage of water in this part of the country as summer thunder storms continue to gift the Midlands.
The garden pond thrives, as do the kingfishers dining on freshwater critters – frogs, crabs, and indigenous fish (no sign of any goldfish I added last summer).

(Left) The lilies are blooming. Actually, these lovely yellow lilies are exotic to KZN. We’ve tried to clear them from the pond, but they’re hellbent on surviving. 

(Right) Nymphaea nouchali var. caerulea, the lovely sky-blue lily is South Africa's most commonly grown indigenous water lily.