Hiking in Prince William Forest – Reassurance about the vaccine – Merrick Garland – Caviar to the general (or at any rate to the DNR) – Evening statistics
The weather today was as clear, as it was yesterday, and somewhat warmer, reaching about 40 degrees in the afternoon. I met with AD and several other fellow-Wanderbirds to hike in Prince William Forest. In the past we have generally done a counter-clockwise loop via the North Valley, High Meadows, and South Valley Trails but on this occasion we reversed the direction in order to head upstream along the South Quantico Creek Fork and thereby get a better view of the waterfalls it contains. Not everyone in our group went on the entire loop; some used Taylor Farm Rd. to cut off the mileage added by taking the High Meadows Trail. The complete hike was about 14 miles and perhaps 1700 feet in elevation gain. Afterwards we enjoyed various snacks together, including some genuinely sharp cheddar cheese supplied by MB, purchased from a farmer’s market in Baltimore – infinitely better than the bland cheddar one finds in stores. There was a good deal of residual snow and ice on the trails, and while it was possible to hike without micro-spikes, they certainly made matters easier. The ascents in this park are neither long nor steep, but they are fairly numerous and when they are covered with icy snow they become more difficult.
I received an Email today from the Fairfax County Health Department assuring me that my registration for the vaccine is confirmed and that I must simply possess my soul in patience until it comes about for my turn to make an appointment. There is no alternative, as in other states. A quantity of the vaccine has been sent to pharmacies such as CVS, but it is not available in any of the Virginia outlets.
Merrick Garland’s appointment as Attorney General is to be submitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee tomorrow. Unlike the episode five years ago, when the Republican portion of the Senate deliberately delayed the hearing of appointing him to the Supreme Court until the Obama administration ended and the appointment became moot, no significant opposition is expected this time. At present the Republicans’ political capital is at a fairly low ebb; they have a minority in the House of Representatives, a precarious parity in the Senate (any tie vote will be decided by Kamala Harris, who is not likely to vote on their side), and they must be aware that they have not shown to advantage during the recent energy crisis in Texas.
I frequently scan the news items for comic relief, and I rarely fail to find it. Ryan Koenigs, who has been the top sturgeon expert of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources since 2012, is the lead coordinator for the season during which sturgeon can be legally speared and oversees the 60-odd DNR workers who staff registration stations during the season. At one point the state received complaints that the DNR workers were illicitly selling, purchasing, bartering or trading sturgeon eggs. When questioned during the investigation, Koenigs said that the DNR workers were conducting research in regard to the eggs’ fertility. “Then why are workers at registration stations putting eggs in a cooler marked for a caviar processor?” the investigators wanted to know. It eventually transpired that Koenigs’ staff members were taking eggs from five to six sturgeon to processors annually after research rather than throwing them away. He also admitted to accepting 20 to 30 jars of caviar annually from processors and disbursed it to as many as a dozen co-workers for their personal use. Who knew that scientific research had such exotic fringe benefits?
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 111,952,175; # of deaths worldwide: 2,477,781; # of cases U.S.: 28,765,423; # of deaths; U.S.: 511,133. The figures are still grim, but hospitalizations are going down in nearly all states; there is a resurgence, hopefully a brief one, in North Dakota and South Dakota. Death rates are also declining; in Texas the number of deaths this week from the virus is 57% less than the number of deaths last week.