winter doldrums and 'big news'

I'm rarely in front of the TV when the news comes on but I was last night because I had spent the better part of the day on the couch reading. It was a degree or two warmer than the day before but still cold, overcast and wet and dreary and I did not step foot outside once. Well, twice. Once to fetch the bird feeder that's about 15' out the back door to refill it and again to hang it back on the shepherd's crook.

So one of the big stories was 'gun violence is on the rise'. No shit Sherlock! Seriously, this is news? Have they not been living in this country for the past 20 years? What the fuck did they think the all guns all the time for all people, no restrictions on buying or carrying, the whole gun worship culture was going to lead to? Less violence? When there are more guns than people, as there are in this country, when the worship of or the reliance on the gun becomes ascendant and it becomes the first and only response to whatever pisses you off as it has in this country, when the only response to this epidemic of gun violence by lawmakers is a shrug as it is in this country, when the myth of the 'good guy with a gun' overcomes common sense as it has in this country it leads to more gun violence... more mass shootings every year than days in the year, more vigilantism, more anger fueled murder because that gun is at a fingertip. We aren't safe anywhere now, not at work, not in stores, not on the street, not at an entertainment venue, not at school, not in our cars, not even in our own homes sleeping in our own beds as a recent visitor from London found out when a stray bullet went through his brain. All this coupled with the Republican politics of hate...division, racism, bigotry, repression, stoking fear of the 'other' as a means to garner support combined with their refusal to accept any common sense regulations on gun ownership has brought us here. More guns have not made us safer and we have more to fear from our fellow citizen who might be having a bad day than any outside terrorist. "Gun violence is on the rise". Yeah.

So what else is going on? Sunday I got out and dug up the sow thistle in the big backyard, well, most of the big backyard.

these things can get 4 or 5 feet tall

Still have the section behind the back flower bed that the poppies bloom in to do but I did fill the garden cart. 

Overcast again today and the wind is from the north with temps staying pretty much in the 40˚s and 50˚s which seems to be our forecast for the next week to 10 days. Did the weekly grocery shop, walked the dog. That's about it. Actually made some progress in my book and I'm ready to finish it. Gotta make a meatloaf later for dinner. Winter doldrums. I want to start the new models but I'm not the least interested in going over to the unheated studio though I have an electric space heater I could take with me but the dreary weather is robbing me of motivation. I even passed on yoga last night which I rarely do. Tomorrow the sun is supposed to show up but then it was supposed to show up today too.