At Signal Knob and Meneka Peak – Perspectives on the latest winter snowstorm – The attempt of a rioter to shift the blame onto more notable parties – COVID abroad – The ubiquitous element – Evening statistics
It rained steadily over the past two days, but the rain moved out at last. It was in the 50s earlier, while today it never rose above freezing. But a dry sunny day is much more comfortable than a perpetually wet one, even if the latter is twenty degrees warmer. The forecast included sharp blasts of wind of 20 MPH and more, and it may have been so in other areas; but Signal Knob and Meneka Peak, where we hiked today, was fairly sheltered. We had occasional cold breezes along the ridgeline but nothing more, and next to no wind at all in the lower elevations. Surprisingly, there was little ice on the trail after the long rain and virtually no significant blowdowns. We used the counter-clockwise route, which is preferable to the clockwise one in my opinion: the slope of the descent is gentler and less rocky than that of the main ascent at the beginning. Even this main ascent is not especially steep, climbing up slightly over 800 feet in 1½ miles. The route passes overlooks of historic as well as scenic interest. The Fort Valley Overlook provides a view of some of the land George Washington traversed in his early career as a surveyor, while Signal Knob was a significant Civil War outpost, used (as its name implies) for the purpose of sending semaphores to various other outposts along the Shenandoah Valley, of which a wide swath several miles long can be viewed from the summit of the knob.
The long rainfall here came at the tail end of a devastating snowstorm further north. As much as 17 inches of snow was dumped in upstate New York and much of New England. However, tastes differ in weather as in everything else. I have already mentioned how, during winter hikes, I prefer it when the temperature never rises above the high 20s, thereby ensuring that the muddy patches on the trails remain frozen. Even today was a bit warm by my standards; the temperature was just over 30 degrees, which was sufficient to melt some of the remnants of snow and ice from previous storms and to make portions of the trails a bit soggy. Similarly, in Vermont, where most residents were deploring the ice-coated roads, fallen tree limbs, downed power lines, and canceled airplane flights, skiers and snowboarders gleefully described the current conditions as being the best of the entire season. “We’re just having a blast,” one winter sportsman said. “The sauce is flowing.”
Dustin Thompson has been charged with multiple counts related to the riot of January 6, 2021, including entering restricted grounds, theft of government property, and disorderly conduct. He has pleaded not guilty. His attorney, Samuel Shamansky, has asked the judge to subpoena Trump and some of his allies, including Giuliani and Steve Bannon. “It is anticipated that, when called as a witness, Donald J. Trump will testify that he and others orchestrated a carefully crafted plot to call into question the integrity of the 2020 presidential election and the validity of President Biden’s victory,” Shamansky wrote. “Moreover, it will be established at trial that Mr. Trump and his conspirators engaged in a concerted effort to deceive the public, including Defendant, into believing that American democracy was at stake if Congress was permitted to certify the election results.” I have no doubt that Shamansky might have as well spared himself the effort. But it is worth noting that he represents an increasing trend among the defendants charged with crimes related to the insurrection to direct the blame towards the ex-President. Whether such a trend will have any tangible result, of course, remains uncertain.
Various developments with respect to COVID from abroad:
In the U.K., the number of COVID patients admitted to ICUs is now 20 per day, as opposed to 400 per day at the peak of the second wave in January last year. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, President of Turkey, and his wife Emine Erdogan have tested positive for COVID, the latest of the heads of state and/or their spouses to contract the disease. Both are reporting only mild symptoms. About 50 members of Iran’s 290-seated Parliament have also ontracted COVID. Parliament was suspended in Iran for two days last year in April, when several lawmakers died from the virus. At this point it is uncertain whether similar measures will be required this month, since the effects of the omicron variant are milder than the ones that emerged last year. Hospitalizations and admissions to ICUs have each fallen in Italy by about 2% since yesterday. Starting tomorrow, Russia will ease some of its COVID-related restrictions. Residents will no longer need to self-isolate after contacting those infected with the virus. In Moscow, schools and nurseries may end isolation requirements for pupils beginning next week.
Ah, those dried salted plums (also known as saladitos)! So flavorful, so healthful, so low in calories, so effective in relieving constipation, so replete with anti-oxidants, so full of useful nutritional substances such as fiber, potassium, magnesium, and . . . lead?
It appears that lead can get into food fairly readily during drying, storing, and grinding ingredients if the process is done improperly. Even the soil on which our produce is grown contains a significant quantity, due in a large measure to lead additives in gasoline that was used on a regular basis in the past for decades. The amount in this particular case is not trivial: a serving of 1¼ ounces may contain anywhere from 8 to 12 milligrams of lead, clearly well in excess of the 1 part per billion (ppb) maximum lead level recommended by the FDA. Three brands have already been recalled from the shelves of American food stores, and there probably will be more of these recalls in the near future. Such adulteration is not confined to this foodstuff alone. Many use lead additives deliberately, especially those from Asia. Turmeric from Bangladesh, for example, may have lead added to reinforce its bright yellow coloring. One needs to be especially wary of products that are touted as “health foods.”
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 393,554,762; # of deaths worldwide: 5,751,829; # of cases U.S.: 77,623,624; # of deaths; U.S.: 925,655.