One of Mabel’s pups either didn’t go into hibernation yet, or else woke up to enjoy the sunny, warm weather today.

After a week of cold temperatures and not seeing any of the groundhogs at all, I was surprised to find this one in my back yard when I went outside this afternoon with the dogs.

Following the early snowfall 4 days ago and day after day of killing hard freezes, today weather was back up in the mid 60’s. Today was also the first sunshine I’ve seen in a week. In all honesty, I truly didn’t expect to see any of the groundhogs again in 2020. So spotting this one was a happy surprise.

She’s not one of the two pups that stayed late in the season with their mom, but instead a different one that hasn’t been seen by me since August. She’s smaller than her siblings that liked to graze very close to our back deck.

I am so thankful to this groundhog family with their presence (and countless hours of photo opts) for making these past several months of Stay-at-Home isolation easier to endure. The surprise reappearance of one of the pups today was definitely a treat.

Only two days away from November, the groundhogs should all be asleep by now. However, Nature no longer seems to follow traditional rules.

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Friday US COVID News

“US reports its highest daily surge in Covid-19 infections yet.” CNN

“Covid-19: U.S. Breaks Daily Record With Over 98,000 New Cases as Surge Quickens.” NY Times

“Trump claims the worsening U.S. coronavirus outbreak is a ‘Fake News Media Conspiracy’ even as hospitalizations rise.” CNBC

“U.S. only at ‘the beginning of the steep part’ of the coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Scott Gottlieb says.” CNBC

“The U.S. is reporting an “extremely high and quite unacceptable” daily number of new coronavirus cases ahead of the winter season, Dr. Anthony Fauci said in an interview that aired Friday. Unlike previous outbreaks the nation has faced so far, the most recent surge appears to be spreading in nearly every corner of the country.” CNBC

“American shoppers panic-buying as coronavirus spike aggravates year of upheaval. Americans buying guns alongside their toilet paper and canned goods in anticipation of Nov. 3” FOX News

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The news becomes more and more distressing each day.

Maybe we should, but my husband & I haven’t given into the panic buying and hoarding (like much of America); as the country heads toward election day. We're not preparing for Armageddon. Having enough in the house to last us for two weeks, we don't want to contribute to the hoarding. We're hoping that the country remains civilized no matter what the election results may be.

As for COVID, I don’t know how long I can continue to do these daily reports. As that situation worsens outside our door, my stress level is going up and up. I’ve been trying to stay optimistic, but it’s really hard with so much death and suffering across the world. And with no end to the pandemic in sight...

I pray that America really isn’t forced to follow natural herd immunity practices; with an catastrophic and avoidable loss of life as the by-product. Things are already bad enough. Guess we’ll know more after the election results are tallied (and perhaps the courts brought in). That could be late next week, or it could be weeks from now. Election Day is only 4 days away. Those results may indicate how the pandemic will be handled in America going forward. No matter what your political beliefs, natural herd immunity definitely is NOT the way things should go if anyone cares about human life.

Pandemic concerns aside, I had a good day (thanks to my husband, our dogs, and the local wildlife) today. Although life is far from perfect - due to the times - having a good day makes me feel lucky. I count my blessings of which I have many.