Rose-Breasted Grosbeak
The other day it was in our Lilac (hence the photo), but Mr. Chipmunk kept climbing up the bush and leaping over to the feeder. I only saw the Chippy, opened the window and groaned at him and Chippy left. But Rosy stayed! Rosy flew to the feeder to chow down, but Chippy returned. I banged on the window so he left, but Rosy stayed! A third time Chippy came back. I opened the window and told him to vamoose. And Rosy stayed! It amazed me that the bird realised what I was doing.
Took me awhile to catch up tonight.
ReplyDeleteNotes on the last thread.
Some notes added to notes.
DeleteSo noted.
Delete‘Because of my stupidity.’ COVID-19 victim’s last words a lesson for all Californians [Click]
ReplyDeleteSo sad, especially as it was preventable.
DeleteIt sounds like hard times for California. How are the numbers near you Alan? May you stay safe!
The raw numbers are big for California because it is so populous. These numbers will help to put things into proportion:
DeleteUnited States
Population 330,000,000
Covid deaths 130,000
Deaths per 100,000 = 39
California
Population 40,000,000
Covid deaths 6300
Deaths per 100,000 = 16
Fresno County
Population 1,000,000
Covid deaths 77
Deaths per 100,000 = 8
That doesn't take away from the fact that many people have become too casual about it, particularly of late.
I have no confidence in the reported numbers of cases. The number of deaths attributed to Covid are also questionable, but not so much. Hereabouts we do see substantial compliance with mask use in stores. I would like to scold people who have only their mouths covered, not their noses as well. And of course there are those who have only their chins covered. But it could be dangerous to one's health to scold such people.
DeleteHere are some figures on US excess deaths during the Covid pandemic [Click] One ought also to adjust for the decreased numbers of auto accident deaths, which was at the least notable during lockdown.
DeleteAbsentee ballot requests spike in Vermont as early primary voting begins
ReplyDeletehttps://vtdigger.org/2020/06/29/absentee-ballot-requests-spike-in-vermont-as-early-primary-voting-begins-%EF%BB%BF/?u=bf27c4dcc3&utm_source=VTDigger+Subscribers+and+Donors&utm_campaign=33a8772f30-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_07_04_06_48&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_dc3c5486db-33a8772f30-405965485
https://www.politicalflare.com/2020/07/salon-our-nations-powerful-intelligence-community-has-decided-to-stop-trump/
ReplyDelete"Salon’s final paragraph seals it, with a bullet of a sentence that leaves no doubt that there is “no doubt” what is happening here: “Trump is not a president, he is a co-conspirator with a dictator trying to weaken the United States. He is a traitor and he needs to go.”
I am not familiar with this source,
Deletebut I sure believe every word.
Here is the Salon story. [Click] What it seems like to me is rats leaving the sinking ship. I see some early signs of the same thing in the GOP, but hope (bad me) that it is too late for them.
DeleteVT: 1249/ 56 (+11/ 0)
ReplyDelete187 active/0 x 18 days
Recovered 1007
In Hospital = 1 ( 0)
Tests 70,024 (+627)
Deaths per 100,000 = 9
DeleteThanks, Alan
DeletePerspective helps.
OHIO: As of Sunday afternoon, there have been at least 57,151 confirmed or probable cases in the state, 2,911 deaths, and 8,172 hospitalizations, according to the Ohio Department of Health.
ReplyDelete5.09%
Delete24 deaths per hundred thousand. Ouch.
Delete24.9...essentially 25
DeleteFor perspective, Massachusetts has had 8172 deaths with a population of 6,893,000.
DeleteThat shakes down to 119 deaths per 100,000 people.
Susan Rice’s stock rises in Biden VP race [Click] Would a Biden-Rice ticket move me to vote Democratic this year? Well, it would be enough to make me think about it.
ReplyDeleteWhoo hoo!
DeleteShe is the person I suggested to Bernie, last year, as a VP!
We hadn't seen any possums lately, and the food we had been putting out for them had not been eaten. We figured they had enough fruit to eat. I think it was the day before yesterday that we put out some bones and bits from a store-bought roasted chicken; it went undisturbed. Then this morning it had all disappeared--the plastic tray was completely clean; it appeared to have been licked. So I guess the possums are OK, just hiding for some reason.
ReplyDeleteAre you sure it was possums who took the meat and bones? Here there could be any number of creatures who would be glad to snag the feast: fox, coyote, fisher cat...
DeleteWell, one can't be sure, but it is the most likely explanation hereabouts, especially since every last bit of bone disappeared. There are very few coyotes since the river bottom flooded about twenty years ago. Our foxes (San Joaquin kit fox) are very small and fugitive, but we do see their scat from time to time. We haven't seen or heard of raccoons in this neighborhood for several years now. Possums love chicken bones, and will eat everything--they take turns, and I think they also carry food home to share. They are nocturnal.
DeleteWe have joked about putting a motion activated camera out to catch nocturnal critters in the act, but we aren't all that curious about it.
DeleteNice! Possums are also tick vacuums! Well worth feeding!
DeleteWe saw a fox running across the street when out for our morning constitutional a few days ago; and last night Miyoko saw what cold have been a fox running full tilt across our lot outside the back fence when she stepped outside after dark. Information:
DeleteSan Joaquin Kit Fox [Click]
Re mask-related violence in the Chicago area: The incident I especially remember is the security guard who was killed for telling the younger of two women that she couldn't enter the store without a mask. There have been a number of other reports of threats or physical violence. My memory isn't clear, but I think most of this was in the weeks immediately after masks became mandatory.
ReplyDelete😢
DeleteRobert Reich: Profit sharing, a century-old way of stabilizing both corporations and their workforces. [Click]
ReplyDeleteJennifer Rubin: Trump’s ‘Toe-tally-terry-tism’ speech [Click] You want better, read Joe Biden’s Fourth of July Op-Ed (included)
ReplyDeleteHow cats demonstrate affection [Click]
ReplyDeleteAxios: Bolton's hidden aftershocks [Click] Strongest effects seem to be on foreign governments.
ReplyDeleteWhy Biden Could Go Big [Click]
ReplyDeleteMichael Cohen caught at NYC restaurant — and it could land him back in prison [Click] He should have been wearing a balaclava.
ReplyDeleteHa! Once you get to thinking you're privileged, it's hard to believe you're not.
DeleteTwo Incumbent Democrats, Neal and Lynch, getting squeezed in Massachusetts’ Sept. 1 primary. [Click] Springfield in the news...
ReplyDeleteDiscovery of Frederick Douglass letter sheds light on contested Lincoln statue [Click]
ReplyDelete