Christmas colours . . .

. . .   but they might not be looking as nice come December, so enjoy them today.    Always looking for some place to stick ti cuttings when I cut them back, so these green ones were added into the red ti pot, and evidently they like it there.

Morning newspaper headline  :  MORE CLUSTERS FLARE UP
A Washington state man is the 10th person to die from the new corona-virus in Hawaii as two clusters in the islands (Maui and Big Island) continued to grow over the weekend.

And  :  Farmers facing new kind of calamity
"Unlike traditional disasters that destroy crops, impacts from the coronavirus have wiped out much of the market to sell what local farmers produce - from fruits and vegetables to flowers and livestock.
. . .   farmers reported losing 50% to 60% of their market last month, largely because of hotel and restaurant shutdowns."

And,  Economic and health concerns clash
"The global health crisis is taking a nasty political turn with tensions worsening between governments locked down to keep the new coronavirus at bay and people yearning to restart stalled economies and forestall fears of a depression."    "To have an American president encourage people to violate the law  . .  "  Washington's state governor, Jay Inslee, says it's  "dangerous because it can inspire people to ignore things that actually can save their lives."   
"With the arc of infection different in every nation and across U. S. states, proposals have differed for coping with the virus . . .  "
"The actual extent of the pandemic is likely to be significantly higher due to mild infections that are missed, limited testing, problems counting the dead, and some nations' desires to underplay the extent of their outbreaks."
"Still, many governments are resisting pressures to abruptly relax lockdowns. "
(from an article by Associated Press)

And,  Lockdown has gone too far, protestors say
Happening here too.    A caravan of about 50 vehicles . . .

And, in the Science column  :  Determined duo finds 10 'lost' apple varieties (by the Lost Apple Project, Pacific Northwest)
A team of retirees that scours the remote ravines and wind-swept plains of the Pacific Northwest for long-forgotten pioneer orchards has rediscovered 10 apple varieties that were believed to be extinct - the largest number ever unearthed in a single season.   They have rediscovered a total (so far) of 23 varieties.  North America once had 17,000 named varieties of domesticated apples, but only about 4,500 are known to exist today.  

Stay well, stay inside, and take care, everyone.