Social isolation day 853 – swampwalk report

Very flippin’ hot, but sometimes it feels good to have all of your pores open up. 88F, “feels like 94 in the sun”

Got a minor walk in, but temperature had all the neighborhood kitties inside, or at least hidden in shade. I am very thankful for the bay breeze when it could get to me, and canopy shade when it couldn’t.

Other critters spotted include – three squirrels, a groundhog, multiple brown birds, a small bird with yellow (zebra finch?) , one very talkative osprey and three turkey vultures.

I only walked the outskirts of the bog today, and I saw absolutely no humans on my midday promenade. Our neighbors have some really gorgeous sunflowers that are maybe 12-13 feet tall! (4m for those who use reasonable measurements)

I’m pretty worried about covid variant ba.5 creating yet another surge. (From what I understand, it is 65% of new infections in the US for the last week)

Eric Topol, a cardiologist and professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research, has called BA.5 “the worst version of the virus we’ve seen.” He explained in a recent newsletter: “It takes immune escape, already extensive, to the next level, and, as a function of that, enhanced transmissibility,” well beyond earlier versions of Omicron.

In other words, BA.5 can easily evade immunity from previous infections and vaccines, increasing the risk of reinfection. Though the variant does not appear to lead to more severe illness, in an interview with CNN on Monday, Topol said that given the extent of BA.5’s immune evasion, he expects to see an escalation in hospitalizations, as we’ve seen in Europe and elsewhere that the variant has taken root.

I got my second booster a few months back, and I am concerned for pretty much everyone’s health. Pretty much nobody in town wears a mask anymore, and many of our local restaurants have indoor dining, despite that being just irresponsible in my opinion.

#swampwalk #bogsafari #july142022 #walkabout #crittercount #streamofthought https://instagr.am/p/CgABFCXuU5U/

via IFTTT