Here We Go Again

 Another new variant?

COVID-19 is mutating again! A new, and of course more  contagious variant that could replace the Delta variant has made its appearance in Russia according to a report on Reuters this morning.

Russia reports cases of more contagious COVID-19 variant - reports

Like we actually need another variant in the world. 

According to the report, 

It is possible that the AY.4.2 variant will spread widely, RIA quoted the state consumer watchdog's senior researcher Kamil Khafizov as saying.

That could cause the rate of new COVID-19 cases, already at record highs in Russia, to rise even further.

The new variant could even replace Delta eventually, although the process is likely to be slow, he said.

Like we really need more COVID-19!

Hopefully the vaccines will stand up to this new variant. And of course, it is clear that COVID-19 is not going away anytime soon.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Sports Junkies

 

The excitement of the mid-week has arrived. 

Mike and his now famous "Hump Day" camel have made Wednesday a thing.

It is a busy week in sports with the MLB playoffs underway, NHL Hockey finding its stride for the long season ahead, the NFL in the middle of the season, and the NBA opening its season last night! We are in that small yearly period when all of four of the biggest sports in America are underway.

And do not forget golf! The PGA is playing as well.

Coupled with college football--there is a lot of sports available to become distracted from the realities of life. 

Who will play in and win the World Series? That is the most immediate sports question at hand. Following that, I wonder are the Dallas Cowboys for real at 5-1?

I am not the sports junkie that I used to be, but I follow teams in three of the "Big 4."

So with sports, there are plenty of distractions, not to mention I am still a coach on a Fall Ball baseball team.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD 

Winding Down in the Yard

Freshly Mowed
Elkridge, MD
October 18, 2021

I spent some quality time on my lawn tractor yesterday afternoon. It felt good to be out on the yard mowing and relocating the leaves which are beginning to fall. Since the year is quickly moving to conclusion, it is likely that I will not be mowing the lawn too many more times. But it sure looked beautiful in the Autumn afternoon light. All of the leaves were gone and I could enjoy the grass again. It was like a golf fairway.

Hibiscus on the Pool Deck
Elkridge, MD
October 18, 2021

I noticed that our hibiscus is blooming like mid-summer. It has burst forth in brilliance with its multi-colored flowers and made me smile as I was clearing the pool deck of the leaf accumulation.

The shortened days of Autumn are clearly here. The darkness arrives almost before I am ready and in three short weeks I will be setting the clocks back and preparing for the dark days. The clocks need to get reset because the school kids can barely be seen walking to their bus stops as I depart for work during the morning. 

And yes, it is Tuesday. I am reminded of the outdoors projects still remaining to prepare for the winter season. Hopefully, the first frost is still some weeks away--but it is colder this morning than last. The arrival of 40 degree nights caused my heating system to kick-on overnight. 

Another day and I'm beginning to get in the mindset of playing out the string.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Monday Musings - October 18, 2021

 

1. Welcome to the 3rd Monday of the month. There are just 10 Mondays remaining in the year! Don't look now, the year is slipping away.

2. Family NFL results:

   Ravens (5-1) defeat Chargers (4-2), 34-6

   Cowboys (5-1) defeat Patriots (2-4), 35-29

   Washington (2-4) lose to Chiefs (3-3), 13-31

   Steelers (3-3) defeat to Seahawks (2-4), 23-20

3. I have a thought--the use of turn signals while driving in is a direct reflection of a community's consideration of others. 

4. The temperature outside as I woke this morning was 49 degrees. The high today is expected to be only 66 degrees. These are sure signs that Autumn has arrived. 

5. The leaves are beginning to turn and fall from the trees. I suppose that even though the lawn does not need mowing, I will have to get the leaves removed so that I an hold onto the last vestiges of summer just a bit longer.

6. Here is a thought for the day:

 “Winning doesn’t always mean being first. Winning means you’re doing better than you’ve done before.”

---

Bonnie Blair

Speed Skater

7. Today in History. On October 18, 1867, the U.S. formally takes possession of Alaska after purchasing the territory from Russia for $7.2 million, or less than two cents an acre. Indigenous peoples settled the unforgiving territory thousands of years earlier. The Alaska purchase comprised 586,412 square miles, about twice the size of Texas, and was championed by William Henry Seward, the enthusiastically expansionist secretary of state under President Andrew Johnson.

Russia wanted to sell its Alaska territory, which was remote and difficult to defend, to the U.S. rather than risk losing it in battle with a rival such as Great Britain. Negotiations between Seward (1801-1872) and the Russian minister to the U.S., Eduard de Stoeckl, began in March 1867. However, the American public believed the land to be barren and worthless and dubbed the purchase “Seward’s Folly” and “Andrew Johnson’s Polar Bear Garden,” among other derogatory names. Some animosity toward the project may have been a byproduct of President Johnson’s own unpopularity. As the 17th U.S. president, Johnson battled with Radical Republicans in Congress over Reconstruction policies following the Civil War. He was impeached in 1868 and later acquitted by a single vote. Nevertheless, Congress eventually ratified the Alaska deal. 

Global Energy Crisis Shows Strain of Shift to Renewables - The Wall Street Journal

Group of 16 Americans and a Canadian Kidnapped in Haiti - The Wall Street Journal

As Manchin Blocks Climate Plan, His State Can’t Hold Back Floods - The New York Times

Analysis: Is the U.S. in a Cold War With China? - The New York Times

Denver museum to return artifacts to Cambodia - The Washington Post

Fully vaccinated travelers can come to the U.S. even if their doses are mixed, authorities say - The Washington Post

Sydney eases more COVID-19 restrictions as vaccinations pass key milestone - Reuters

Oil prices climb to highest in years as COVID recovery, power generators stoke demand - Reuters

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

A Cold Autumn Rain

 The rain that fell yesterday afternoon was definitely a cold Autumn rain.

How do I know? I was out in it coaching baseball and I was cold and wet as the rain soaked through my shirt.

Although Severn Seminoles 14U managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory in both games, we were able to complete the second game despite the rain beginning during the 3rd inning. The rain stopped and we were able to play the 4th inning. 

I mostly dried out and warmed-up by the end of the 4th where the Seminoles a 3-2 lead and were playing up to their potential.  The rain began again during the 5th inning after the opposing team had taken a lead. Unfortunately as the rain fell harder, the play of the team began to get as sloppy as the field. 

In the end we lost. The rain fell harder and the play got sloppier. I was wet and cold. When I finally got to my car and took my hat off it was dripping and created a huge wet spot on the seat. 

It is Autumn after all and we have been having some really warm and great weather. The low 50s temperatures of this morning and the rains were to be expected some weeks ago. 

Today is crisp and clear! Exactly the weather expected after a cold Autumn rain. All that is missing are the brightly colored leaves of Autumn.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Surging into Saturday

 I made it to the weekend. It was touch and go for a bit, but as I cruised through Friday the reality of the weekend was confirmed. 

I made a scary and stunning realization this morning. While there are 11 Fridays remaining in the year, I will only be working for 7 of them. Two Fridays follow holidays (Veterans Day and Thanksgiving) both of which I am planning to be off, and two more are, themselves, days upon which holidays are being observed: Christmas and New Years. 2021 is shorter than we think! Of the remaining 11 workweeks in the year, two are three-day weeks and two are four-day weeks. So of 55 scheduled work days, I will be working only 49, not counting if I take some time off for travel or, weather permitting, a golf outing next Friday.

Where is the time flying.

Well, if my Saturday is any measure, the time is flying because I am so very busy. Today the Severn Seminoles will, hopefully, return to their winning ways during the scheduled doubleheader. That is the bulk of my Saturday.  And then there is grocery shopping--the cupboards are getting bare so I need to replenish supplies. I have run out of strawberry jam to put on my peanut butter and jam sandwiches! I may be out of bread as well. And milk. And the coffee is getting low. But I have plenty of dog food, cat food, and litter!

A busy weekend to set up for a likely busy week ahead at work.

But--it IS the WEEKEND!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD 

Thursday Night Lights

Severn Seminoles 14U Working Out
Severn, MD
October 14, 2021

 It was Thursday, also known as Friday Eve, and I was out under the lights of the baseball field with the team preparing for the Saturday's doubleheader. I realized that just a two short months ago it would have been daylight at 7:30 PM, but last night the cool evening air had already arrived and the lights were illuminating the field.

I used to enjoy practicing and playing games under the lights. It reminds me of playing high school football in and all of the excitement of a Friday night game. Lately though, it has become apparent that my contact lenses do not work well under the lights at night. I find it hard to see the ball, I remember thinking as a foul ball whizzed by my head.

But the workout last evening was good and the effort should result in some wins on Saturday during the scheduled games. 

At least the games are "day" games!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Vaccine, vaccine, vaccine

 I wonder about the real reason that the Texas and Florida governors are directing vaccine mandates not be enforced in their states?

Are they thinning the herd?

Are they callous to the suffering that COVID-19 is causing?

Vaccines have become a rallying cry for a vocal minority who have chosen, for some reason, this particular hill upon which to make their stand. I view this hill as being similar to the hill upon which Custer and the 7th Calvary made their stand--and only some of their horses survived.

The arguments do not make sense in the face of staggering numbers. The numbers are so bad that Florida's governor is trying to hide the figures--which we must remember represent people: fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, sons and daughters.

This is not really about the virus--it is about saving lives. And not just the people who become infected with COVID-19--but the other people who need medical care but are finding in some places that the hospitals are appropriate care is unavailable. 

Second and third order effects!

Get vaccinated. The life you save may not be just your own!

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Black Walnuts

Black Walnuts on the Ground
Elkridge, MD
October 11, 2021

 It must be a banner year for the Black Walnuts. They are everywhere in my yard and are going to be a real problem when I start my tractor and attempt to mow. 

The side yard has more than a bushel of the noxious nuts lying on the ground. The squirrels are happy and I hope they run off with more of them before I have to deal with removing them or trying to mow over them.  

I remember when we lived in Louisiana and the pecan trees dropped nuts all over the yard and the surrounding park. At least they were edible--although I remember my hands turned green removing the husks from the nuts. We gathered grocery bags full of them. 

While I was outside, I heard the nuts dropping from the trees. I bet they hurt as much as when a coconut falls on one's head. It would be a painful experience. 

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD

Grasses

 

Grasses After Cutting
Elkridge, MD
October 11, 2021

Grasses Before Cutting
Elkridge, MD
October 11, 2021

It is that time of year when the ornamental grasses that we use as a privacy screen around our pool need to be trimmed. Originally, I had thought it would be too wet to cut them, but unlike Sunday they dried out by about 10 AM and were ready for cutting.

It is quite a job, cutting the grasses and stacking them in the truck to haul to the recycling center at the landfill. Its takes two trips to get them all removed. All told, with the travel time, it is about a five hour project. And normally it is a two person project, but today, with Chris in New York with her sister, I did it alone. 

OK, I am tired and sore. I wore a short sleeve shirt for the first run, but as I broke out with welts I remembered that I am allergic to the grasses. So a little washing and Benadryl took care of that problem. 

I normally attempt to get the grasses cut on Columbus Day--so since I am not in Florida at least I was able to get a major project completed on-time for another year.

-- Bob Doan, Elkridge, MD