After sifting through the news, as is my daily habit every morning, I sat outside watching the plum blossoms. It was an eventful moment to do so. The weather was springlike as it only can be in Northern California in mid-February, when much of the rest of the country is coated in snow.
But at 76 degrees, Sunday was the last in a string of super-hot days for now, according to my weather app. The heat caused the native plum trees to go from leafless to laden with white blossoms, seemingly overnight.
It was more like four nights, actually, with each succeeding dawn disclosing more flowers than were there at sunset’s last view. Along with the plum blossoms and many other blooms came the pollinators — bees and hummingbirds primarily, angling in for the nectar in lavender and other favored local crops.
Anyway as sweet as all that is, the main thing I noticed while sitting in the sun was that a cloud of blossoms was drifting on occasional puffs of breeze through certain sections of the landscape, like a tiny snowstorm or maybe dandruff or even confetti.
Take your pick.
I was aware of course that it was Super Bowl Sunday, but since “my’ team had come up one game short of the prize, its arrival was a mixed blessing. The quintessential celebration of capitalism’s excesses is an odd event punctuated by brands new and old striving to establish or reinvent themselves in the minds of U.S. consumers.
Accordingly among the stories moving on the wires was one informing us that one in four (25 percent) of Californian men watching the game would consume at least one entire six-pack of beer.
In the winner-take-all war on the field, 22 giants were kicking, throwing, catching, carrying, dropping, blocking and otherwise fighting over a single, odd-shaped ball while other more normal-sized people jumped up and down, screaming bloody murder.
Meanwhile, back in the yard, a hummingbird turned into the breeze and caught a ray of sun. For just a second, it glowed like it had a gold crest. And just beyond that, another burst of plum blossoms rode on the wind, oblivious to crypto, the cars or the guys with all of the beer.
TODAY’s NEWS (40):
U.S. Battles Putin by Disclosing His Next Possible Moves — Declassified information is part of a campaign to complicate what officials say are Russia’s plans to invade Ukraine. (NYT)
VIDEO: Paris Police Fire Tear Gas to Disperse Banned Protest Convoy
(Reuters, AP and Storyful)
Freedom convoys: legitimate Covid protest or vehicle for darker beliefs? (Guardian)
’Freedom Convoy’ protesters, police face off at U.S.-Canada border as Trudeau looks at ‘all options’ (WP)
Blockades on Canada-US border continue as protests swell (AP)
Canada bridge protesters cleared by police after a week of disruption (BBC)
Omicron’s Threat to the Global Economy Runs Through China (WSJ)
COVID-19 Is Over (If You’re Rich) (Atlantic)
Newsom wants to end school masks, but teachers say not yet (Politico)
Autocrats, Not Terrorists, Are Increasingly Taking Americans Hostage (New Yorker)
A weakened Trump? As some voters edge away, he battles parts of the Republican Party he once ran. (WP)
Neither Biden nor Trump has their party's full support for a 2024 run (CNN)
Selling Trump: A Profitable Post-Presidency Like No Other — Much as he did while in the White House, Donald Trump has thoroughly blurred the lines between his political ambitions and his business interests, with a wide-ranging set of moneymaking ventures. (NYT)
Every Republican has to answer about Jan. 6, Kinzinger says (Politico)
US says Putin intransigent over Ukraine invasion despite diplomatic efforts (Financial Times)
Top Biden Official Renews Warning of Imminent Conflict in Ukraine (WSJ)
Ukraine advises airlines to skirt Black Sea due to Russian drills (Reuters)
U.S. and NATO to bulk up eastern flank as they watch for a potential Russian attack on Ukraine (WP)
Ukraine’s leader asks for evidence on new invasion warnings (AP)
Inside the Bitcoin Laundering Case That Confounded the Internet (NYT)
NFT marketplace suspends most sales, citing 'rampant' fakes and plagiarism (CNN)
Declassified Afghanistan reports back commanders who said Biden team was indecisive during crisis (WP)
Ex-Afghan president: Biden order on frozen funds an atrocity (AP)
Afghan woman activist released after arrest in January (BBC)
Arctic seed vault to receive rare deposits (Reuters)
Cities aren’t facing up to their ‘long covid’ crisis: Downtown is in deep trouble (WP)
Inflation, Ukraine Invasion Threat Stoke Outlook for More Stock Volatility (WSJ)
Russia has surrounded Ukraine on three sides. Here's where an invasion could be launched (CNN)
Inflation Was Hottest in Atlanta, Mildest in San Francisco in 2021 (WSJ)
From campus to Congress, colleges urged to end legacy boost (AP)
What American Mental Health Care Is Missing — Scientific research alone cannot address the challenges that Americans with mental illness face. (Atlantic)
Do dreams mean anything? Why do I feel like I’m falling? Or wake up paralyzed? We asked experts. (WP)
Wild Horses Are Removed From Government Land as Drought Shrinks Food Supply (WSJ)
Biologists Investigate Smallest Propeller on Earth – Used by One of the Fastest Organisms on the Planet (SciTechDaily)
A rocket is still set to slam into the Moon next month — but it may not be from SpaceX after all (The Verge)
Demócratas desalentados aun con mayor poder de voto Latino en nuevo distrito (NPR)
Son Ye-jin and Hyun Bin of hit K-drama 'Crash Landing on You' are getting married (CNN)
‘Death on the Nile’ tops domestic box office (NY Post)
The rap star of Karachi: ‘My veil cannot take away the talent I have’ (Guardian)
New Streaming Service Still Struggling To Come Up With Name Stupid Enough That Public Becomes Furious When They Hear It (The Onion)
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