Not so Nasty News March 27

With a clear sky tonight we are seeing (to the west) a waxing crescent moon and a bright Venus. In the same direction there is the star cluster known as the Pleiades, or the Seven Sisters.

Item #1: What next?
Caption: People have been turned into pigeons. !!

It is good to know that most folks have not lost a sense of humor.

Item #2: Back home

Sister-in-law, Kit, is back home after a month. Some of that time was on the Grand Princess cruise ship, and some on Travis Air Force Base – quarantined.
Family and friends have been in touch the entire time.
Still, she is very happy to be back to her own things.

We wonder if she left her home well stocked with toilet paper?

Item #3: WTA & trail work

Not that I was headed to a trail, but Washington Trails Association has not been doing trail work. All has been cancelled until May, and those might be culled too.
If they stick with that schedule, the first thing is local – across our Valley on Manastash Ridge.
Meanwhile . . .

Item #4: Grape vines

Washington State was the initial hot spot of the virus that has rattled the country. Thus, just about everything in the State has been closed or restricted. Signs on the Interstate Highway say “Stay home. Drive less. Save lives.”
I know this because this is grape vine pruning weather – cold before the plants start to show life. Agriculture and food production activities need to go on and the workers are classed as “essential.”
This is a new category for me, something like “I prune, therefore I am.”

Item #5: variations

We haven’t needed much of anything, but I have visited several retail outlets and the Post Office. The P. O. has plastic sheets hanging between clerks and clients. Still, the clerk took my package, weighed it, and took my envelope with stamps, and placed my stamps on the paper.
A grocery store in Quincy (town nearest the vineyard) has folks out front wiping carts, and there are lots of signs about social distancing. I was followed – at a discrete distance – to my car by a lady with a mask and the cart I used was immediately cleaned.
In Ellensburg during the past 10 days I’ve visited 4 grocery stores and 2 animal feed outlets. I think I noticed a slight increase in politeness, but nothing more. For example, when standing in front of an item – deciding on flavor – others wait for my exit, rather than reaching across or in. Going into the stores, you can wipe your cart, but that’s not new.

And that, for this week, is the not so nasty news.
John