The old man is having the last laugh this morning as the temperature is back down in the teens and we’ve a breeze to cool it off even more. 17° with a wind chill. But spring is around the corner as by mid-week we will see 50’s and a possible 60 or two.
I am about done with winter. On a different note, we both got our firsts this past week and are scheduled for the second dose at the end of the month. It won’t change our entire behavior, we’ll still mask up and keep our distance, but will be able to go out a bit more with confidence, especially Mary Beth who has never spent this amount of time at home with all her activities becoming Zoom events. My work requires my entering our customers’ homes at times and not everyone masks up for us, we always do, so that will be a worry eliminated.
Stephen Gingold Nature Photography Blog 
It’s good to hear you both got your first doses this past week. We’re scheduled for ours this afternoon.
In your ice I see a jumbled map of Europe.
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Glad that you and Eve are getting started with the shots and that so many millions are as well. Things are looking a bit more positive.
Yes, it is that too.
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It went well and efficiently this afternoon at a CVS pharmacy about 25 minutes from home (I see that chain has a bunch of stores west of Boston). Things are definitely looking better.
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Glad it went well. We got ours at CVS also. There are two CVS shops in Amherst but they were not yet offering the shots so we went to Holyoke, about a 20 minute ride. This past week the Amherst senior center starting making appointments but we are already set for ours so leave the slots open to someone else.
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I am longing for spring now. Congrats on the covid shots. I expect to get mine around Christmas…
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Oh no! I hope that is a bit of sarcastic humor and not the reality, Ann-Christine. It would be terrible to have to wait that long.
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I am afraid it is not only sarcasm, Steve. So slow here in Europe, as we have ordered vaccin through EU. And the companies have sent us less than one third of what we were promised. So…autumn maybe… But the eldest and most fragile are getting theirs.
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Well autumn sounds better than Christmas. But that still is a long time to wait. Other sources are coming onto the market, Sputnik and recently our Johnson and Johnson, so maybe they and others will add to the supply and speed things up for you.
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We can only hope. There are hundreds of countries that have not got anything so far. I shouldn’t complain.
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Congrats, Steve, on the getting the first shots. Retirement affords me the freedom to avoid people more easily than if I had to go to work. We have had a series of sunny days that were unfortunately cold and windy, but we are definitely heading into more spring-like temperatures. Yay!
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I had a taste of what you experience retired during the shut down here in March and April last year. About the only contact I had with others was my shopping trips for groceries. I think I will enjoy that when it is permanent. 🙂 I am always disappointed when our customers don’t mask up. I realize they are in their homes but still think they should. I now wear a double mask as the CDC advises when in homes or the market, at least until we get our second shots…then it will be one mask.
Our forecast indicates spring-like weather starting Monday. Yay indeed. 🙂
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In your ice I see my wife laughing her butt off at my falling on the ice.
Good on getting your shots, and even better on staying masked up.
A plug here for my wife, who has been sewing high quality masks for nearly a year now, and she has given away (for free) between 2000 and 3000 masks at the little convenience store here in town to anyone who needs them, especially tourists who travel here with no masks.
(We have had both shots and it’s sure a good feeling to have that extra protection).
(Feel free to delete this public service announcement from your blog after you read it!)
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That’s an outstanding public service by your wife and in no way will I remove this PSA. That’s so kind and generous of her. It’s nice to know there are folks like the two of you who take the health of others besides themselves seriously.
I’ve just had one fall this year which is better than my annual average. Plenty of water filled boots though. That gets cold.
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If you listen very closely, you can hear that little sprig of vegetation that’s poked itself through the ice saying, “You’ll never stop me.”
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I did listen and it said that you can’t keep a good hemlock down.
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I see a grinning boar’s head! Congrats on your first C-shot… we’re still waiting, but soon, I expect.
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Thanks! If you don’t mind the travel, the CVS in Holyoke is where we got ours and they seem to have slots open daily. The senior center in Amherst is giving them now too but I don’t know how easy making an appointment is there.
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He won’t be laughing for much longer then! Nice to have those positive things coming your way, warmer temperatures and being fully vaccinated.
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The next we’ll hear from him is “I’m melting”! How are vaccinations happening in Belgium? I hope on a par with here at least if not better. There have been some distribution problems but things are getting better.
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Haha, yes he will! Here in Belgium they are struggling with supply issues, as in much of the EU, so I think it’ll be the summer before a vaccine comes my way (I’m in my mid 40’s so am lower down the pecking order). I’m waiting for the borders to reopen to be able to visit family in England, who have been vaccinated, it’s been so long now…sigh.
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We have had our problems with distribution as well. The previous administration was not exactly proactive. But of course the availability of great numbers was also limited then. We are now seeing millions getting their shots and eventually younger people will get theirs. Teachers were just approved here which should have been done earlier with the states pushing for schools to reopen. It will all be sorted out. I expect this Covid virus to eventually become like the common flu with variants developing each year and new vaccines formulated to deal with that. A new reality in many ways. It is a bit different though as it is more aggressive and there will always be those who remain antivax.
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Things do seem to be moving in the right direction, and yes we’ll have to rely on science catching up with the new variants. We might do well to examine other big risk areas for the emergence of new viruses, e.g. factory farms make ideal breeding grounds, but big agri-corps want to carry on with business as usual.
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Yes, it will always be very difficult to convince corporations that their profit chasing is killing important parts of our ecological environment to our eventual and sometimes immediate detriment.
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And, for something completely different, we’ve had a lovely hot spell but it’s chilly again today and I’ve got a flannel shirt on again. We ramped up to Level 3 for a week but dropped back to 2 at 6 am today. We don’t expect the jabs to be made available to normal folks until the latter part of the year.
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I hope the end of the year isn’t actual but at least your fellow citizens there take this seriously unlike many here who are enjoying their super spreader events.
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We are very, very happy to be among this delightful minority.
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I’m keen to see winter gone here too – it almost is. I’m glad to hear that you and Mary Beth have had your first shots – Colin and I had ours yesterday. Vaccinations seem to be going well here. They’re about to start on folk aged over 56 now.
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Glad to hear about your shots, Ann. We haven’t got down to that age yet and Mary Beth and I only became eligible the week before last at 65-74.
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I was surprised at how quickly they got to us. (I think they’re working long hours to get it done.) 🙂
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Frontline folks have been working heroically long hours and I bet now means a lot to them as they see the end possibly near at hand. Or at least an easing of the overwhelming numbers.
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I imagine that they will be exhausted by the end of it! The infection rate is going down a lot here and some of the restrictions are being eased a bit. We’re still being very cautious though.
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Our infection rates were sinking as more folks are being vaccinated. But in a few places the governors have decided everything should open up again and have done away with the mask mandate. It is expected that will boost the numbers again. As well, it is spring break for a lot of colleges that were back in session, live or virtual, and that means thousands of students will be going to Florida etc to party. Another virus boost.
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Oh dear, that sounds like trouble! I hope, by some miracle, that it doesn’t get too bad. Here we have realised that double-masking is a good idea.
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I do see the old man, neat! And also a wolf.
Had the first shot, I work at a university and expect to be in contact with students again at some point, after an entire year of working from home.
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Despite having done it for years before, I imagine getting back in the classroom will be a bit of culture shock. Will have to wear pants most likely.
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Ha! Yes, pants or at least pressed pajamas are kind of expected. But I don’t go into classrooms, I just sometimes meet up with incoming grad students.
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What is it that you do? Help them adjust to campus life?
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Hi Steve
I don’t actually do anything with them once they arrive in the US. I do all the pre arrival work, from helping them apply to organizing communications and recruitment efforts
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Thanks for explaining.
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