- Quarantine Day 310
- Livermore cases: 3,524
- Alameda County cases: 66,219; deaths: 766
- U.S. cases: 24,135,000+; deaths: 400,000+
Inauguration Day. I am pleasantly surprised to say that we got through the day without any violence. I did not expect that was likely to happen. Also, apparently many of the disconnected-from-reality conspiracy theorists are starting to wonder if their delusions are actually real since Trump slunk away this morning (the coward didn’t even attend the inauguration) and Biden was actually sworn in as president (they had been convincing themselves the inauguration was an elaborate set up by Trump to seize power [why they thought _that_ would be a good idea, I don’t know]).
But here’s Trump’s legacy: Over 400,000 Americans dead from a preventable disease because he failed to act and intentionally did the opposite of the best available medical advice. Impeached twice. Incited an insurrection and attack on the legislative branch of the federal government. No doubt a strong contender for the title of “worst president in U.S. history.”
But he’s gone, for the moment, and we can at least get back to a time when government is boring again.
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The first weekend of the year we went on a hike at Brushy Peak Regional Preserve. The clouds were still hanging low over the hills which made it kind of fun (especially more fun than being in the sun).
We stopped for a rest at the top of a hill. Corinne came prepared with a book and asked me to read some while she rested. So here I am reading to Heather and Corinne.
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I went for a bike ride on the 16th and rode along part of the arroyo. I took my camera and spent some time practicing “seeing” and I managed to capture this feather floating on the water which I rather like. There were two feathers floating around–spinning and swirling across the water in the wind. So I just kept snapping pictures as they went. This one came out best.
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On the 17th we went on another family hike. This time we went up to Morgan Territory (regional preserve) which we’ve never been to before. There was one section of our short hike that I really liked. Trees and rocks and moss! It felt almost a little like New England. If there’s more like it up there I’ll probably want to go there more often, but the drive is pretty bad. 10 miles or so of one-lane road winding up into the hills. Pretty dicey passing at times if there are two wide vehicles.
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Our friends, and former social bubble buddies, have had confirmed COVID-19 for the last week or so. We haven’t seen them since the beginning of December when the health orders were tightened up and social gatherings were banned. They seem to be doing okay, so that’s good.
Other than that, not much happening. We pretty much don’t go anywhere, and we pretty much don’t do anything. Our county is still on “purple” tier and the region is still on “lockdown” orders due to low available ICU capacity.