Red-winged Blackbird Making a Territorial Display

Dan and Britt arrived at the cabin, late last night. In an epic day of driving, they drove strait through to the UP. Today, Maren and Dave leave upstate New York for the cabin. They don’t plan on driving straight through. They’ll make a brief stop in Ann Arbor to visit Harry, before continuing on to Bay City for the night. While visiting Maren’s parents, these newly engaged lovebirds have also been scouting wedding locations. They now have a venue and a date, but I am not permitted to disclose either of them. I’ve probably said too much already.

Here in the Lou, our all too brief respite from the heat has drawn to a close and each new day is warmer than the last. With weather like this we strive to get out and do our daily walk earlier and earlier. Tower Grove is our go to destination. With its many paths and many more trees, a mostly shady stroll can be counted on. Today, we were talking politics, until in disgust Anne changed the subject, “Let’s talk about all of this green stuff around us instead of politics.” And we agree on our politics. I can’t imagine being together if we didn’t. Before leaving the subject altogether though, she lamented about this year’s census and how the Coronavirus could be affecting its count. Then in a segue that still has my head spinning, she asked, “Do you think that there are more squirrels or robins in the park?” I would have guessed robins, but we did see more squirrels.

When we walk, either in a park or the neighborhood, most of the people that we see are not wearing masks. Anne religiously wears hers, while I only pull mine up when someone approaches. I read in the news today that 83% of Americans say that they wear masks. I’m guessing that they mean like when they are in a store, where wearing one is required for service.

Part of the problem is that initially health experts were saying that wearing a mask wouldn’t protect you from the virus. I learned this week why they were saying that and have since changed their story. Dr. Fauci testified before Congress this week that they were saying that masks didn’t prevent the spread of disease, because at the time there was a severe scarcity of such masks and the government didn’t want people hoarding them and further exacerbating the critical shortage of masks for health professionals. Remember toilet paper?

They are uncomfortable to wear, especially in the summer heat and humidity. That is why I pull mine down when no one is around. I do tend to wear it up longer if the people who are approaching are also wearing masks, peer pressure. It would be nice that enough people wore their masks that one would feel naked without one, because other people were starring at you. It would become similar to the phenomenon of why women wear bras in public. 😉