“Adult house flies are affected by temperature as much as their young, becoming inactive when temperatures fall below 45 degrees and dying when they fall below 32. Because house flies thrive in hot environments and die off in colder ones, they are generally a summertime pest, rather than an autumn or winter one.” Since it was 22 degrees last night and only a high of 47 degrees today, I guess this fly didn’t get the memo that he shouldn’t still be active.
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Friday the 13th US COVID News
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"US reported more than 184,000 Covid-19 cases on Friday in its worst day of the pandemic." CNN

YES, that number for just today is 184,000 new COVID victims!!! That is the same 153,000 NEW daily infections as yesterday; PLUS another 31,000 MORE new infections ON TOP OF the record high of just one day ago. COVID is totally out of control in the USA.

"It's hard to overstate how much the U.S. coronavirus outbreak has deteriorated this past week, with each day ushering in new, disturbing records," NPR's Will Stone wrote Friday.

“More than 130 Secret Service officers assigned to protect Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus or have had close contact with infected co-workers.” Washington Post

“The White House Correspondents Association emailed members Friday afternoon to disclose that a member of the press corps had tested positive Thursday evening.” CNN

“I am the president-elect, but will not be president until next year. COVID-19 does not respect dates on the calendar, it is accelerating right now. Urgent action is needed today, now, by the current administration.- Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) Twitter

“In his first appearance before reporters since losing the election, Trump held a briefing on the coronavirus. But instead of speaking in stark terms about the reality of the situation, or offering empathy to those who have lost their lives or find themselves in the hospital, the president did what he has done for months. He played politics (suggesting, for instance, he might withhold the vaccine from New Yorkers). After lending the floor to members of Operation Warp Speed, Trump ended the press conference without taking a single question.” CNN

Missouri: “Governor Parson held a press conference that declared students and staff who are deemed exposed to COVID-19 can stay in schools as long as they don’t show symptoms. Parson said the new guidance was meant to limit the number of students and staff who need to quarantine, which has caused staffing issues at districts across the state and in the Kansas City area. The Missouri National Education Association called the new guidance "dangerous" and said it would jeopardize the health of students, educators and families. KSHB News

“KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Hours after Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced new COVID-19 quarantine guidance for schools, the Kansas City, Missouri, Health Department said that it would not be instructing schools to follow the updated statewide recommendations. Jackson County issued similar guidance, pushing back against Parson's suggested guidelines later Thursday afternoon. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said in a statement that the city will not recommend that schools follow the new guidance related to quarantine periods in schools. ‘Based upon the advice of our Health Director and given the increasing uncontrolled spread of COVID-19 in our community, we respectfully cannot recommend schools in Kansas City follow the updated non-quarantine guidance shared from Jefferson City today,’" KSHB News

“Coronavirus Patients From Rural Communities Without Mask Orders Are Crowding Kansas City Hospitals. Many rural communities have resisted masks and calls for social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic, but now many of them are experiencing record-high infections and deaths. Critically ill rural patients are often sent to city hospitals for high-level treatment, and as their numbers grow, some urban hospitals are buckling under the added strain. ‘We’ve had this huge swing that’s occurred because they’re not wearing masks and, yes, that’s putting pressure on our hospitals, which is unfair to our residents — to our residents that might be denied an ICU bed,’ Archer says. KSHB News

“Hospital officials have pleaded with Missouri’s Republican Gov. Mike Parson and with Kansas’ Republican-controlled Legislature to implement statewide mask requirements, but to no avail. Parson, who was just elected governor by nearly 17 percentage points, accused critics of “making the mask a political issue” at his COVID-19 briefing on Nov. 5. ” KCUR

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As the news worsens, I am having trouble selecting a current photo that is in tune with the somber news… It’s not that my photo opts don’t exist. Nor that I'm not taking advantage of them. Instead, it’s that this gallery (based on current times) has so much bad news. A pretty picture doesn’t go along with horrible news. Blessedly, our life in Stay-at-Home isolation (to stay “safe”) is better than what a lot of the rest of America is facing. Sadly, however, these are not cheerful times.

Although our extreme caution has so far made us some of the “lucky ones”, I admit that I still am concerned. In America, no one today is 100% safe. At the same time, my heart also aches for those who haven’t been as lucky as we have been.

Below kind of sums up what is currently happening in America as I post today’s so-so photo:
“Anderson Cooper started off his program on CNN Friday night by explaining that he initially planned to detail how President Trump has not yet accepted the results of the election. But Cooper instead chose to spotlight ‘what really matters. There are people right now in crowded ICUs all across the country. Some ICUs don't have any more beds,’ Cooper said, nearly breaking down during the poignant segment. ‘There are people in ICUs right now, tonight, fighting for their lives, fighting for each painful breath that they can get. ... This is what matters now.’ News about Pfizer's vaccine greeted a weary nation Monday, allowing the country to see a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. But it has been overshadowed by the horrifying numbers showing a surge in positive cases and hospitalizations. Trump and Fox have spent months priming the public to not take the virus seriously, to think that it is no longer a threat to their lives. They have turned mask-wearing into a partisan issue. They have mocked science and the public health experts who are pleading with the public each day to take basic preventive measures to slow the spread. ”