Hiking in Calvert Cliffs and Cypress Swamp – Recurrence of mask mandates in several areas – COVID fells another anti-vaxxer – Further Republican demonstrations of treachery – Evening statistics
I scouted the hike in Calvert Cliffs State Park that I am to lead for the Capital Hiking Club on August 28th, and it is a good thing that I did. I have not been there for at least two years, and many of the details of the hike had faded in my memory. In addition, the boardwalk is closed on account of blowdowns, which necessitated some re-routing. The long hike is about 9½ to 10 miles, but the elevation gain is only 900 feet, and it seems to be still less on account of the gentle slope of the majority of the hills. The hike at one point skirts along a marsh that at this season is covered with beautiful pink-tipped, white-petaled water-lilies and it eventually reaches a beach along the Chesapeake Bay, which is the site of numerous shark-teeth fossils. The water is very warm at this time of year and I enjoyed a swim there, despite the presence of sea nettles. Sea nettles are a type of jellyfish, but their sting is not especially dangerous or lasting. They are quite numerous this year on account of temperature of the water, which is higher than usual; but I did not allow them to deter me. Although I got stung a few times, the tingling quickly faded once I eventually got out of the water and dried myself.
Afterwards I went to Battle Creek Cypress Swamp, a forested wetland near Prince Frederick that is one of the northernmost sites of naturally occurring bald cypress trees in North America. We generally stop there after finishing the Calvert Cliffs hike; it is a small place (only 100 acres) with trails totaling to perhaps a mile in all, but these lead through (or over, for much of it is boardwalk) a swamp with the majestic trees (even the smallest of them are well over 30 feet), their densely-growing lacy green leaves forming a protective canopy that provides a cool and comfortable stroll even during a humid day in July.
Many states and cities have been re-instituting the mask mandate as a result of the CDC guidelines. Washington DC is among these, which is hardly surprising. Muriel Bowser, the city mayor, lost a sister to the pandemic, so she naturally is fairly wary about the rate of infection within the area in her jurisdiction. In any case, most DC residents have not ceased to wear masks out of doors even after the CDC relaxed its guidelines. Other cities that have re-instituted the mask mandates include Atlanta and Kansas City, while the states of New Mexico, Illinois, and Oregon have issued the mandates on a state-wide level. Phil Murphy, the governor of New Jersey, has not issued a mask mandate for his state yet, citing the fairly low levels of new infections there; but he has indicated that he will put one in place if the infections increase. On the other hand, the governors of Michigan, Maryland, and Pennsylvania have all said that they have no plans to re-instate a mask mandate at this time.
Yet another anti-vaxxer has discovered rather late in the day that the vaccines, after all, might have some merit. William Ball of Mississippi staunchly declined to receive the vaccines after his wife Alicia had received her doses. In this he is hardly alone: Mississippi now holds the undesirable title of being the most unvaccinated of all 50 states, with only 34.4% of its residents being fully vaccinated. He suffered a heart attack and, while he was recovering in the hospital, was stricken with COVID. At the St. Dominic-Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he was being treated, 59 COVID patients are hospitalized, and as he learned to his cost, the Delta variant in particular is very infectious. Now he is unable to sit up, his lungs are filled with fluid, and his recovery is uncertain. In any case, he will be bedridden for days, if not weeks. Alicia Ball was also infected, but she recovered quickly. As a result of her husband’s experience, she is vigorously urging others to accept the vaccines. “We have really tried to, after this, talk to as many of our friends and family as possible that they should get it,” she said. “I never really realized how bad it would be – how bad this Delta variant would be.” Quite a number of people are probably echoing her regrets: today the nation’s daily increase in new cases was nearly 85,000 and the number of new deaths approached 400.
A Festival of Fools was held in the House of Representatives today – no, wait, I’m getting that mixed up with the Festival of Fools held in Burlington, VT, which is an annual 3-day event that brings together musicians and street performers to provide music, circus acts, and comedy for the participants. While no one can question the folly of the activities of certain members of the House, their intentions are a good deal less benign: specifically, members of the Freedom Caucus have urged Kevin McCarthy to expel Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger from the House Republican Conference for their temerity in wishing to bring the inciters of the besiegement of the Capitol of January 6th to justice. And McCarthy has shown himself to be senseless enough and pusillanimous enough to be likely to cave in to their demand.
Today’s statistics as of 8:00 PM – # of cases worldwide: 197,298,080; # of deaths worldwide: 4,212,951; # of cases U.S.: 35,571,633; # of deaths; U.S.: 628,467.