I saw a fox!

Why did I see a fox?
Because I thought it was going to rain, I already had my blip, so I went out without a camera, that is why I saw a fox, and that is why the fox did not run, but stopped and watched us. oh sigh. It was a good-looking red fox too. I have neighbors who get to see the fox all the time but this was my first time seeing this fox and definitely my first time ever getting to observe a fox for so long. 

No tree tomorrow. So sad. I guess I agreed to it. Brant said part of the tree was leafing out and part wasn't yet and it would probably be fine but he's getting more trees in two weeks and if the tree wasn't looking good by then we could switch trees. This is either lovely or highly suspicious. 

I also saw the rabbit, but the rabbit was safely near its home under the gazebo. 

Germany tech company SAP announced they are leaving Russia. They had been supporting their software in the country but had a big backlash. They had previously paused all sales and then ending its cloud computing services. SAP is one of the largest tech companies in the world. In 2018 53 of Russia's 100 largest companies used SAP services. The lack of support will at some point hurt. 

Patron, the bomb-sniffing dog in Ukraine, was branded "the mascot of Chernihiv" and has fans across Ukraine. People across the country are drawing pictures of him. 

Visa and Mastercard suspended operations in Russia last month. Russia hoped to strike a deal with China's UnionPay system as an alternative, but yesterday UnionPay pulled out of talks with Russian financial institutions. It is believed they are afraid they'll be sanctioned if they cooperate. 

There is a rule or a promise in Russia that new conscripts won't be sent to war. They were sent to war. Russians are getting angry as they realize their kids were on the Moskva warship even while Putin is denying that conscripts have been sent to war. 


Speaking of the Moskva, the captain, who was initially reported dead, actually abandoned his ship and his crew to save himself. 


Romanians and Russians are volunteering at a train station in Bucharest, Romania, to help Ukrainians navigate the bureaucracy. They wear fluorescent vests with what languages they speak. Many are teenagers. Many are recent refugees themselves from Russia. Passage on the rails is free for refugees (to please take them to some other country). Most of them do go on to another country. 


In 2018 Romania carried out a major exercise to test its ability to respond to a disaster that required thousands of people to be medically evacuated. Now they are using that training and helping children who arrive without a guardian to get into their Child Protection System. 


A fantastic weapon in Ukraine's fight against the Russians is ..... mud!! Napoleon's invasion of Russia was slowed by mud. Hitler's armies, invading the Soviet Union, were slowed by mud. But why learn from history? Russian analysts and military experts can't believe Russia's military commanders weren't better prepared but no, there are images and videos of Russian tanks, trucks, etc stuck and abandoned on muddy roads or in fields.