Even herons have an itch to scratch.
It is particularly humid this evening, which means it is also particularly buggy. The swallows seemed to be the only ones happy with that state of affairs, if the annoyed scratching the heron was doing is any indicator.
I was taking my evening stroll once the thundershowers had cleared, hoping for a cool breeze. No such luck. I had actually thought that maybe it wouldn’t storm this evening and I would be able to mow the jungle out back. Alas, it is now even more of a jungle.
You can tell it’s been hot for a few days because people are behaving strangely. I watched someone drive on the wrong side of the road for a good 100 yards before they realized they were in the wrong place. Good thing it was in a 25 MPH zone with pedestrian crossings. I could not believe my eyes.
Another evening stroll observation: pandemic habits die hard around here. People still give one another a wide berth on the sidewalks – often stepping out onto the road – in lieu of being completely masked out of doors. I am still wearing my mask in stores, whether they are required or not. Anyone who has to deal with the general public surely deserves the respect of a masked customer.
I’m thrilled that the constant high alert we were on a year ago has dissipated a bit. I look back at the posts I made last year, two years ago, and am amazed. We are now in the “what idiot lawmaker is getting in the way” period of the new administration. It is anxiety inducing, no doubt, but not the constant, PTSD-producing mania we lived with for the entirety of the last year of the previous administration.
Lately, I have been concerned with the US Senate; specifically Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema and their obstructionist stance. Why in the world do they say they are Democrats? Either those two stop smoking crack and get with the program or we are in deep, deep shit. We thought we’d rendered Mitch McConnell powerless, but he is still stinging where it hurts. Until any hope of these rabid wolves in sheep’s clothing are no longer receiving powerful lobby support, we are sitting ducks. I just cannot understand how any logical, thinking person can oppose voting rights. How can that even be? Why would that even be a thought they could have?
I’ll be honest. I am not paying as close attention as I had. I simply do not have the bandwidth after all we have been through. There are really, really important things that require attention: racial injustice, economic injustice and protecting the right to vote. Democracy is far too fragile. But so is my brain these days. I am hopeful that I can take a breather and then get back into the fray once I’ve recovered some brain cells.
Soon, I will be back on the biking and hiking trails, mending my lagging spirit and strained brain. There are midterms to worry about, and they are coming up quickly. And I really, really, really wish someone would kill the filibuster.
Knowing that the filibuster will dash all hopes of protecting people’s rights is about as annoying as whatever that heron was trying to scratch.