Wednesday, March 4, 2020

The Desert and Stuff

Well, it's the day after Super Tuesday.  Biden seems to be snatching victory from the jaws of defeat.  Bernie is still leading in the delegate counts, but big donors are sending money to Biden, so perhaps he has a chance.  Nope, I was wrong.  Biden has the lead in delegates now, and big money donors are sending him money.

Arizona has vote by mail.  Given that it's a red state, I was not expecting that.  People in Texas had to wait in line for up to seven hours to vote.  If that's not voter suppression, I don't know what is.


It's the beginning of allergy season here.  This is round one of the steenking yellow bushes.  The Acacias look like they'll be blooming soon.


The brittle bushes are blooming out in the desert.  They're such an unlovely plant, but they are cheerful.


Teddy bears, they want to hug you.  We hiked for about two hours today, over hill and over dale.  My feet are tired!  It was a beautiful day, warm and not windy.  It's about time.


Today was the annual burning of the Sweetwater wetland.  It's part of Tucson's water reclamation system.  They torch the bullrushes and cattails so that the mosquito poison can make contact with the water and kill the larvae.  Overgrowth of the vegetation is also a fire hazard so they do a controlled burn.  It will grow back, but it's going to look terrible for awhile.


So, we have an outbreak of Covid-19.  Why are people storming Costco and buying up all of the bottled water?  Can someone explain this to me.  It's highly unlikely that enough people will die from this that the public water systems will grind to a halt.  I get buying toilet paper and hand sanitizer, but not water.  We were in Target yesterday and noticed that all the Purell is gone, but there is plenty of soap.  Why aren't people hoarding soap?  It's an interesting psychology.

Other than that I have zippity doo-dah all to report.

9 comments:

  1. I've always heard the hand sanitizer doesn't really work, so yeah, why aren't they buying soap?? I'm itching for a hike as soon as I feel better!!

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  2. yeah, this crazy buying and stocking up of hand sanitizer and other things baffles me. people are crazy. I never use hand sanitizer.

    I'm not happy with either Biden or Sanders. I don't think Sanders is electable, too extreme even though I like his stand, and Trump and the Republicans are going to go after Biden just like they did HRC with the fake corruption bullshit. and because they are both old white men. I'm over old white men. and I don't think Biden, if he is elected, will be strong enough or direct enough to sit down day one and start undoing all Trump's executive orders with his own.

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  3. All this hoarding is truly bonkers.

    I always worry about critters in controlled burns -- the beneficial insects, the birds, the rodents. I hope they're able to get out of the way!

    Love your hiking photos, as always!

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  4. The best anti bacterial is plain ole dish washing detergent...

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  5. The hoarding?? because people are just weird. And, don't listen to the experts that say the hand sanitizer isn't as good as soap and water. Or that more people die of cancer, heart disease, or any of many dozen other things than this virus.

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  6. I think people hoard because they think their childhoods were beyond horrible. Then I hear about all the Purell disappearing and wonder how so many can be so delusional. The stuff is inferior to a bar or soap, or even a freaking plastic bottle of pump soap that foams magic colors. Except a bar of soap biodegrades and does not come in a freaking plastic bottle. Well, that's my rant of the hour.

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  7. I'll be sending in my ballot today. No need to wait any longer. I heard from a few other people that all the hand sanitizer is gone from the shelves. Strange!

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  8. I agree with the fact that soap and water are better than hand sanitizer, but something is better than nothing when you get into your car after shopping, or other appointments. It's hard to take soap and water along to all these places so I'll use my sanitizer in between washings! Say, are those "steenking yellow bushes called feathery cassia by any chance?

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  9. I live in the hood. Many people can't afford to stock up. The shelves are full of canned goods and hand sanitizer. Water and TP too. Makes me feel kind of laissez faire. After the national trauma we have been going through for three years, we can handle covid 19. Thank you for voting.

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