Doom sun

 

Sun through smoke air
7:30 pm August 6, 2021

News blues

It’s day 501 of lockdown in South Africa where the Covid news ain’t good.

The Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal both accounted for more new Covid-19 cases than Gauteng in the past 24 hours, a clear indication of the current coronavirus trajectory across SA.
While cases are on the decline in Gauteng, the two coastal provinces were showing a worrying upward trend.
There were 13,652 new cases in the past 24 hours, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said on Friday. Of these, 4,128 were in the Western Cape, 2,673 in KwaZulu-Natal and 2,534 in Gauteng.

Read more >> 

***

As the US falters on Covid and it’s vaccination program, six European Union states - Malta, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Denmark and Ireland - have all overtaken the UK in terms of the percentages of their populations who are fully vaccinated.

While Britain’s hugely successful campaign was bound to slow first as it ran into harder-to-reach, more vaccine-hesitant groups, the rate of decline is dramatic: the UK is currently administering a fraction of the daily doses of some EU states. 

Coronavirus cases worldwide surpassed 200 million on Wednesday as the more-infectious Delta variant threatens areas with low vaccination rates and strains healthcare systems. 
And, Dr. Anthony Fauci, top U.S. infectious disease physician and the scientist hated by a segment of the American population for doing, you know, his scientific work, says Americans should expect 'a flood' of COVID-19 vaccine mandates after full FDA approval. According to USA TODAY, Dr Fauci doesn't see future lockdowns but expects vaccine mandates to be common.
Time will tell. Who’d a thunk ‘Mericans would have been as whacky as many have been around health and safety, conflating it with some voodoo idea of “freedom” . Go figure.

***

Healthy planet, anyone?

In California, at least eight people were missing on Saturday as the Dixie fire, what has become the largest single wildfire in California’s recorded history, continued to scorch through northern communities, forest and tinder-dry scrub in the Sierra Nevada mountains. 
In Greece news of the extreme heat have given way to news of suburban forest on the Greek capital’s northern fringes had gone up in flames.

Infernos seemingly redolent of Dante’s hell had incinerated everything in their path; friends had lost homes; thousands had been evacuated with residents and tourists fleeing blighted zones by any means possible. Terraces, an Athenian’s respite against the blazing heat, had been transformed into ash-laden no-go zones. 

In western Canada, a second community has been destroyed by wildfire as authorities in the region scramble to contain the destructive toll of climate change.
The popular summer holiday destination, of Monte Lake, with a seasonal population of nearly 3,000, likely suffered extensive damage when the White Rock Lake wildfire jumped a highway. Conditions remain too dangerous for a full damage assessment. Residents had been ordered to evacuate and no fatalities were reported. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Up here in the Delta, fire-related smoke and haze is the order of the day. The AQI (Air Quality Index) is better than yesterday – in the upper 90s to low 100s today.
I snapped the above photos of the sun at about 7:30pm last night. The photo doesn’t do it justice: the orb was bright luminous orange. It looked scary. Might it be the dreaded "Doom Sun"?

Throughout the summer, you might have looked to the skies and noticed that the Sun looked distinctly scarier than usual. Maybe it’s taken on dark shades of crimson and burnt orange not-too-unlike that of hellfire and scorched brimstone. It’s also typically accompanied by smoke and bad air. This is the dreaded “Doom Sun.” 

***

Trips to the California coast often result in me leaving behind traces of my visit. 

I leave no plastic or other human tainted debris. Instead, I cast around on the beach and construct in situ art, usually of the totem variety. Traces of my most recent visit may still remain on the beach….

Smokin'

News blues

The surge in pediatric infections worries doctors as Delta makes a growing number of kids very sick. On the cusp of flu season, doctors say Covid's potential impact on kids is "beyond what flu would ever do." 
The Best Way to Keep Your Kids Safe from Delta? Get the adults in your community vaccinated. 

***

Couple of weeks ago, I wrote of the Lambda variant. Sorry to say, it is heeeere…. First cases of COVID Lambda variant reported in north Louisiana 
Buckle up.
More importantly, get vaccinated….

***

The Lincoln Project, Last Week on the Republican Party (part 2) (1:28 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

So much bad news. It’s time for some unexpected news – about birds. Gotta love ‘em.

Hair from dogs, raccoons and even humans has been found in the nests of birds, which scientists believe makes the nests better insulated. For a long time, scientists assumed that birds had to collect hair that had been shed or scavenge it from mammal carcasses. However, a new study, published last week in the journal Ecology, shows that several species of bird, including chickadees and titmice, don’t just scavenge hair, they steal it.

Read >>  “Sneaky Thieves Steal Hair from Foxes, Raccoons, Dogs, Even You It’s simple: Mammals have hair or fur. Birds want it.” 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

I rose early to apply the first coat of roof paint to the houseboat. As I painted, I noticed the weather wasn’t conforming to the weather report. The day, instead of bright and sunny, appeared foggy or overcast. I continue to work until I’d applied the first coat then, bathed in sweat, I packed up the tools, cleaned the brushes, and made my way to the shower. After that, I consulted the online weather forecast. What I’d assumed was fog or low clouds was smoke from the fires burning around California. This time of the year, until now until mid to late October, the wind blows offshore. This means Californians will be subjected to smoke for the next several months.

Our quality of healthy life will nosedive. 

And the Air Quality Index (AQI) shows that. Earlier in the day, the AQI reached 187, then dropped to 157, then 107. (AQI increments by 50 so from 1 to 50 is classified “good”.) 

Interestingly, as I write this, it’s at 93 - “moderate” - although in this area the smoke haze is actually thicker than an hour previous and the air smells of smoke.

I was out of the country last year when Californians hunkered down under vast clouds of thick smoke so it’s a new experience, not pleasant but the sign of the times… 

That news deflates… 

and that's perfectly expressed by what was, two days ago, an astonishingly lovely blossom on my barrel cactus. Today? Deflated. 

Not sure if this is its regular lifecycle – I’ve never seen it blossom before.)

Nevertheless, I’ve applied the first coat of roof paint. Tomorrow I plan to do the second coat. Smoke permitting.
It’s hard work … both to paint and to breathe.

Hyacinth as virus

As fog rose off the water, I captured drifting water hyacinth.

Doesn't it look like illustrations of the coronavirus?

Worldwide (Map) 
August 5, 2021 – 200,670,800 confirmed infections; 4,264,000 deaths
Vaccinated worldwide: 4,303,804,250
June 3, 2021 – 171,746,400 confirmed infections; 3,693,300 deaths
Vaccinated worldwide: 2,002,900,000

US (Map) 
August 5, 2021 – 35,392,700 confirmed infections; 615,150 deaths
June 3, 2021 – 33,308,000 confirmed infections; 596,000 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
August 5, 2021 – 2,497,655 confirmed infections; 73,875 deaths
June 3, 2021 – 1,669,300 confirmed infections; 56,610 deaths

***

The Lincoln Project, Made  (0:55 mins)
Trump’s North Carolina Speech in 70 Seconds  (1:05 mins)

Healthy planet, anyone?

Fires, drought, and Covid plague California and the Pacific Northwest.
Scary.
Fires: The Dixie Fire is still uncontained after burning for several weeks and taking down towns  .
Another, newer fire near Auburn in the Sierra foothills  brought evacuees to share friends’ home in Grass Valley.
Even small Bradford Island in the Delta – population estimated at 15 to 20 individuals - was alight. Three residents were assisted by the fire district to evacuate via ferry boat.

Bradford Island was flooded to put out a brush fire that started early Monday morning on what is a reclaimed peat wetland in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.
The fire was reported at about 1:30 a.m. on the 2,100-acre island, according to the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District and prompted evacuations. As of 5 a.m. the fire had burned 212 acres and two structures, but no injuries were reported.

Drought: As irrigated crops compete with fish for scarce water, farmers in the Klamath Basin lose hope as drought closes in. ‘It’s like a sad country song’ and they lament they may be the last generation to work the land. >> 

Covid:

Worldwide, more than 200 million people have been infected with COVID-19, more than 4.2 million people have died from the virus, a staggering figure that includes more than 614,000 Americans, 558,000 Brazilians and at least 425,000 people in India.
…remember that those figures are only the known accounts of infections and deaths associated with COVID-19. Various studies have estimated that the true toll of the pandemic is much higher in some areas. In India, for example, experts suggest the official death toll could be one-half, one-fifth or even less than one-tenth of the actual figure, which may never be known.
It took about 12 months for the coronavirus to infect the first 100 million people worldwide; the next 100 million were infected in just a six-month time frame.
Read more >> 

And yet, in the US, particularly Florida, politicians continue an idiotic path. Florida’s governor chooses to squabble with the president instead of the virus… 
Louisiana’s Attorney General Jeff Landry advises how to invoke the Bible to object to face masks in schools and encourages employees to undermine COVID restrictions.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Based on a lower temperature forecast for today, I began, soon after sunrise, to patch the houseboat’s deck roof. I’d picked up materials while visiting the inner Bay and had my schedule neatly planned. Alas, 88F has the same effect on this human body as 98F: just too hot to tiptoe around with tools.
I’d swept dust from the deck last night and this morning I schlepped up a hosepipe to wash the deck then I patched assorted cracks and holes. While waiting for this material to dry, I prepped other sections and, alas, had to destroy a nest of wasps ensconced in canvas. By the time I was ready to paint, the heat had blossomed, and it was just too hot to continue.
I’ll wait until late afternoon after the heat dissipates to continue.
Best lain plans of mice and (wo)man, etc., etc.

Seeing red

News blues

In the US, the summer COVID surge is predicted to get worse before it gets better. We the People can either take precautions and get vaccinated, or allow the surge to accelerate. Read >> 

Healthy planet, anyone?

With many of the world’s pollinator insects in decline, what does this mean for global food production? Just how much of the world’s food production is dependent on pollinators? 

***

Seeing red:

• Why are patches of snow in the French alps taking on a garish red hue during the summer months? 
• The red tide has been an issue on Florida’s coast since 2017. This year, hundreds of coastal sharks are sheltering in Florida canals to avoid it.  

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Departing my idyll on a relatively slow-moving tributary of the San Joaquin River to visit friends in the inner Bay Area, I noticed the next step in California regulators voting to restrict water access for thousands of California farmers amid severe drought.
Background: The Sacramento Delta – ‘the Delta” - is California’s largest surface water source, supplying two-thirds of Californians with at least some portion of their drinking water. The state is going through what is expected to be the second driest two-year period on record. April, May and June were the warmest and driest on record since 1896.

The California State Water Board unanimously agreed to issue an emergency order that bans some farmers from diverting water from rivers and streams in the Sacramento and San Joaquin watersheds to irrigate their crops.
Amid one of California’s worst droughts, the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta watershed has been suffering from low supply as demand continues to climb.
Under the new order, Californians who plan to divert more than 55 gallons per day from rivers or streams in this region must submit a petition and proposal to the state’s deputy director for approval. All water rights holders must also report their water use and submit a certification to comply with the new standards.
Any person, business or group that violates the order will be subject to possible penalties and fines. The water board said enforcement will be incremental and focused mainly on high-grade water violations that significantly impact water flow.
The order must be approved by the Office of Administrative Law and filed with the Secretary of State before it becomes effective, according to a news release from the state water board. The regulations are expected to go into effect August 16.

Read more >> 

Any water from the Delta earmarked for drinking must first be thoroughly de-contaminated. It’s a long way from potable. My mistake, when I moved onto the houseboat, was drinking water that came out of taps. A day later, I vomited outside my office at work, into the garden of the hospital emergency department. Naturally, emergency workers noticed – and brought me inside for diagnosis. Cure? Get a clue, girl and do not drink Delta water. Now I carry potable water into the boat and carefully monitor its use.
Moreover, I hope the water board monitors  the effects of their diversion plans. Or I, and others, might end up living, not on houseboats, but on a tiny houses on deep mud.
Quelle horreur.

Babes in the water

News blues

Vaxed, yet feeling The Covid Angst?
Not surprising. It’s a Covid-angst-provoking time….
Too many opinions, too much contradictory messaging from officials, and way too much deeper, thicker, stinkier … mulch… from The Whackidoodles. Take this Whackidoodle in Tennessee …
Meanwhile,
Anthony Fauci, the White House’s chief medical adviser and The Whackidoodles’ most-hated scientist, warns, ‘Things are going to get worse,’ and shares his COVID-19 Projections >> 
How did it comes to this? The Delta variant is winning, for the moment, and the CDC’s coronavirus map shows that we’re failing to fight it >> 
Some sanity from South Africa: Things to know about vaccines and Covid :

• Vaccines will give you near-complete protection against severe illness and dying from Covid.
• Vaccines are safe. All vaccines used in the vaccination programme in South Africa have undergone extensive trials and have been proven to be effective and safe.
• The risk of serious side effects is similar to the chance of being struck by lightning, and side effects are treatable and generally go away on their own.
• It takes time for vaccines to start working well — usually about two weeks, and their working steadily improves after this.
• Vaccines differ in how well they protect against infection and mild Covid. Most vaccines will require at least two doses and provide good protection against severe illness from Covid two weeks after your first shot. Until you are fully vaccinated you should continue to take the same precautions as if you are unvaccinated.

Healthy planet, anyone?

As heavy rains and floods around the world displace people and those living in conflict zones – from Asia, Latin America and Africa (not to mention the “heat domes” over North America continent) – a Malawian farmer visiting the US wants to know: ‘Why not do more on the climate crisis?’ >> 
What not, indeed?

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Even as I settle into my floaty life – my version of a tiny house and living gently on the planet – I rise to new challenges. The latest challenge suggest a parallel between babes in the woods and a babe on the water.
Background: with help, I attached the heavy 1983 15 HP Johnson/Evinrude outboard motor to the transom of the Sea Eagle inflatable. Alas, I had trouble starting the motor with the rope pull. Turns out the fellow that I hired to “service” – and check, replace if needed, the pull rope – instead simply greasing various joints after he - strong, healthy, young - easily started the motor.
Trustingly, I paid him… before he dashed off to Las Vegas… and after learning he couldn’t help attach the motor as he has “a bad back.”
I found someone else to help to attach the outboard. Even then, I wasn’t able to start the outboard. Instead, I switched out the gas/petrol-fueled Evinrude motor with a small, light and easy to manage, battery-powered electrical trolling outboard.
I hopped into the inflatable, pushed off from the pier, and… ran into weeds. Yes, I know there are weeds, after all I swim through these long stringy weeds every day. This babe in the water, however, never guessed a motor would be beaten those same weeds!
For, alas, the trolling motor cannot handle the long strands of water weeds that tangle in the propeller and prevent it from propelling.
Additionally, the outgoing tide simply carried away the inflatable. Trying to paddle with oars, I watched the houseboat until it was out of sight.
Invasives to the rescue! Tangling with invasives slowed the vessel as I entertained scary thoughts (carried willy nilly into fast water? arriving in San Francisco Bay … then under the Golden Gate Bridge …then into the ‘potato patch’  ?).
I noticed nearby a lovely boat with a large 120 HP outboard - and a trolling motor - piloted by two confident fishermen.
I called out, “Can you tow me home?”
I explained the weed/outboard/lack-of-experience experience. Generously, they towed me back home.
Back to square one.
A short while later, I noticed another, smaller Sea Eagle inflatable with a man, woman, and young girl aboard, struggling with their similar-sized trolling motor succumb to tangling weeds and outgoing tide. That family, too, was towed to a pier.
Babes on the water….
The reality? If I’m to enjoy the inflatable, I need to fix the rope pull.
You Tube to the rescue. As always, You Tube offers great, on the ground information. I found a detailed demo on how to replace the rope pull.
A new challenge. And, a name for the inflatable? The Challenger.

Turning tables

Worldwide (Map) 
July 29, 2021 – 196,414,175 confirmed infections; 4,194,100 deaths
September 17, 2020 – 29,902,200 confirmed infections; 941,400 deaths)

US (Map)

July 29, 2021 – 34,724,000 confirmed infections; 612,050 deaths 

September 17, 2020 – 6,630,100 confirmed infections; 196,831 deaths

SA (Coronavirus portal) 
July 29, 2021 – 2,422,155 confirmed infections; 71,431 deaths
September 17, 2020 – 653,445 confirmed infections; 15,705 deaths

News blues

There’s a new trend beginning: no more BS about “freedom” and “rights” to not get a vaccination… As idiotic Republican congress people continue to whine about masks  it looks like commonsense is resurging. Let’s hope so, anyway….

***

The US is giving 5.66 million Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines to South Africa, the US embassy in Pretoria has announced. Half of them will arrive by plane on Sunday and the other half on Tuesday.
The acting US ambassador to SA, Todd Haskell, explained this was part of President Joe Biden’s promise to give 500 million vaccines to the world by the end of 2022.
The vaccines will be channelled to South Africa through Covax, the international aid initiative to try to ensure that low- and middle-income countries are not left behind in the global effort to vaccinate against Covid-19.
Haskell said the 5.66 million vaccines for South Africa would be the largest donation of Covid-19 vaccines to a single country by the US. The second-largest would be four million to Nigeria.

Read >> 

***

The Lincoln Project Heroes  (0:57 mins)
LP chief breaks down at cruelty… 
Rematch  (0:58 mins>

Healthy planet, anyone?

Photos: the week in wildlife >> 

***

Three Americans create enough carbon emissions to kill one person, study finds 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

More heat. It’s been unrelenting heat since I returned to my houseboat in California. Sure, I take time to hunker down in friends’ air con homes, but no air con on my boat. My small fan doesn’t cut it as an effective cooler. And, no, I do not intend to buy a portable air con system. The reality for millions of us, in California and beyond, is that climate change is here to stay (at least for the remainder of my lifetime). Temperatures unhealthy-for-humans are now part of life.
I’ve been waiting out the heat – getting up early to work on the boat, siesta-ing during maximum heat, finding enjoyment as the day wanes and cooler temps prevail. But productive years of my life are flitting away. Can’t go on this way….

***

So, Prez Biden suggests $100 to each vax-hesitator who overcomes his/her hesitation and accepts a jab. 

We shall see. 
California offered $50 to anyone getting the jab after April or May.
I had intended to be vaccinated asap after re-entry to US. The day after I returned, I did exactly that. At the local grocery store. Vaccinations are available almost everywhere.
Soon after my second dose and quarantine ended, I was sent a congratulatory text with a one time code that, supposedly, would allow me to claim my $50 within 65 days. I’ve tried several times and – no go. The online site will not accept my code. I followed directions and contacted the help line. I was shuffled from one human filter to the next, each passing me to someone who was promised to help. No dice. The final person – fourth person and 55 minutes later – said someone else would call me “within 3 days.” I’m still waiting. So, my advice to the $100 bribe-for-vax folks? Don’t hold your breath.
The irony? I didn’t get vaxed to get $50, but now I’m determined – well, sort of – to harass the system until it does what it promised.
Fifty more days to go.

Time out

News blues

President Ramaphosa addresses South Africa on coronavirus and the recent violent looting.  (32:55 mins). Level 3. Alcohol available again.

***

The Lincoln Project Wayne Berman  (1:18 mins).

Healthy planet, anyone?

For climate campaigners, 26 May seemed like the start of a long-awaited reckoning for oil and gas companies.
Over a single 24-hour period, a Dutch court ordered Shell to dramatically cut emissions, shareholders voted to force Chevron to reduce emissions from the products it sells, and a tiny activist investment firm secured three positions on ExxonMobil’s 12-member board for candidates committed to climate action.

Read “The truth behind corporate climate pledges” >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Day at the beach was marvelous. Kehoe beach never disappoints. Yesterday’s weather was cool, some might say cold. I wore a short-sleeved t-shirt under a long-sleeved t-shirt, a hoodie and a windbreaker… and a cap with the hoodie pulled over it. Long pants. I’ve not worn that many layers of clothing all at once in… well, years! It was a treat.
Excerpt from and information about a different visit to Kehoe beach, in 2018:

My intrepid hiking partner and I braved weekend freeway traffic and headed to Kehoe Beach at Point Reyes. The weather was perfect: not too hot, not too foggy. We exited the freeway at Lucas Valley Road, and it was clear why California is called the Golden State.

On this map, draw an imaginary line through the middle length of Tomales Bay south (to the bottom right corner). That’s the approximate location of the California’s most famous fault, the San Andreas, and the current boundary where the Pacific Plate meets the North American Plate. Tectonics explain much about California’s geology and geomorphology and it’s quite visible at Kehoe Beach. (This map of faults in northern California  show how dizzyingly rocky life can be around here.)

Rocking near Elephant Mountain Lucas Valley Road presents many views of Elephant Mountain , also known as Black Mountain (after cattle rancher James Black who bought it back in 1851 for $2000). Despite never having hiked it (it’s private property) Elephant Mountain has worked its way into my visual memory ,and I look for it each time I visit. Maybe it’s its rocking history…. If it looks familiar it may be because the rock band Youngbloods used a similar photo for an album cover whose music was played near here, in 1969. RCA Records published the album, “Elephant Mountain.”

The area is replete with rock ‘n roll history. Grateful Dead played music around here. Elephant Mountain could be seen from the spread of late music impresario Bill Graham. (Sold, razed and rebuilt after Graham’s demise, the replacement $25 million home is Marin County's most expensive...so far.)
Star Wars’ George Lucas located Skywalker Ranch here, to the dismay of locals fighting the idea of more development and more traffic. So far, of the more than 4,700 acres (1,900 ha) of the secluded ranch, only 15 acres (6.1 ha) have been developed. (Lucas Valley Road is named after an early 20th century landowner not related to George Lucas.)
Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall dropped by Marin County and Pt Reyes Station in November 2005 as newlyweds. Of that visit winemaker Sean Thackrey of nearby Bolinas said, “Prince Charles is serious about organic agriculture, and Bolinas is serious about organic agriculture....He's kind of an oddball prince, in a good way. And, this is an oddball town. It somehow fits.”
Redwoods. Marin County is home to youthful redwoods, too. There’s nothing like a grove of redwoods to induce feelings of inner contentment and awareness that life is a precious gift. (Feelings were enough on this day. We didn’t stop to photograph redwoods but many others have. )  Exquisite Kehoe Beach caption: Google Earth view. 

Kehoe - birds eye view.
The first (man-made) thing a hiker sees (after the clean, well-supplied long drop toilet) on the trail to the beach is a well-intentioned sing warning of tsunamis.
The trail beckoned us into tsunami corridor...and we followed….
We’d just commented on the joy of hearing the loud buzzing of bees among the summer blooms, interspersed with the occasional call of birds--buzzards, harriers, and seagulls--when a fawn hiding near the trail broke cover. It was more curious about than frightened of us for it stopped and took a longer. We weren’t quick enough with the camera to photograph the osprey that pulled a large fish from the surf - first time I’d ever seen that - but we saw the resident blue heron in the nearby marsh.
Besides miles of beach and water, Kehoe Beach offers intimate views of the meeting places of granite, sandstone, and thoroughly unique. Look for Doris Sloan’s book,  “Rocking Out at Kehoe Beach: A Trip Through Time on the Pacific Plate".

Other trips to Pt Reyes: Limantour Beach 

***

Shocker: Nicasio reservoir, in environmentally conscious Marin County, is drying up. While I did not take photos of the drying devastation, the local newspapers reports this, as does local water board. The same thing is happening all over the west. In California: Lake Mead  … and Lake Shasta to name just two.
In Utah ….
Drought is here to stay >> 

***

Today, back to the marina where temps will rise into the triple digits for the next 3 days.
OMG!