The fall equinox arrived on Wednesday, September 22, 2021, at 2:20 P.M. EDT in the Northern Hemisphere. The autumnal equinox—also called the September or fall equinox—is the astronomical start of the fall season in the Northern Hemisphere and of the spring season in the Southern Hemisphere. On the equinox, day and night are roughly equal in length. Equinoxes are not day-long events, even though many choose to celebrate all day. Instead, they occur at the moment the Sun crosses the celestial equator – the imaginary line in the sky above Earth’s Equator. At this instant, Earth's rotational axis is neither tilted away from nor towards the Sun.

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Above Photo: "White Snakeroot"

A member of the sunflower family, Snakeroot is a tall growing native plant of North America. With its delicate clusters of brilliant white blooms, it’s one of the longest lasting flowers in the fall. All parts of the plant are extremely poisonous. The leaves and stems of white snakeroot plants contain tremetol, a fat-soluble toxin that not only poisons the livestock consuming it but also passes into the milk of lactating animals. Nursing young as well as humans consuming milk from contaminated animals can be affected. The toxin is highest in green growing plants but remains poisonous after frost strikes the plant and when dried in hay. Toxicity from consuming contaminated milk was epidemic in colonial times when backyard farming practices prevailed. In the fall of 1818, Abraham Lincoln's mother became desperately ill, and Nancy Hanks Lincoln died of Milk Sickness. Milk Sickness is a poisoning caused by drinking milk from cows that have eaten the White Snakeroot plant.

The plant in my photo is growing wild in our backyard.
However, other White Snakeroot plants can be found growing extensively all over our neighborhood.
It's a very common, local plant.
Missouri Mabel likes to sit on the log in the photo. This is her habitat.

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COVID News

A new season and the pandemic continues on…

“CDC panel recommends Pfizer boosters for older and some higher-risk Americans, with agency expected to accept recommendation. But advisory panel goes against the FDA & declines to recommend extra shots for people whose jobs may put them at higher risk of infection.” Washington Post “Just a day earlier, the Food and Drug Administration had authorized booster shots for certain frontline workers.” New York Times “Jonathan Reiner, a D.C. cardiologist, tweeted: ‘So a 25 yo smoker can get a booster but not an ICU nurse? The CDC ACIP committee is disconnected from reality. I suggest the members spend some time rounding in a COVID ICU and then decide whether it makes sense to withhold boosters from healthcare workers vaccinated 9 mos ago.’

“Because the FDA authorization pertains only to third doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and federal guidance encourages consumers to get boosters from the maker of their original doses, many policy questions remain about implementation. The inability to mix and match vaccine products, he said, ‘poses significant operational challenges.’ Federal officials have suggested clearance of booster shots for Moderna and Johnson & Johnson could happen in a few weeks.” But what is meant by ‘few weeks’ and when anything may actually may happen is unclear. Washington Post 'I just don’t understand how we can say to people 65 and older, ‘You’re at risk for severe disease and death, but only half of you can protect yourselves right now,’ said Dr. Sarah Long, a pediatrician and infectious diseases expert at Drexel University College of Medicine in Pennsylvania.” New York Times

The seniors in our family, who received the Modern vaccine 8 months ago, must wait to see what the CDC may eventually do about approving boosters that will protect them... They are currently in limbo. Pfizer boosters may start to be given just as soon as the CDC director officially approves them. That is good news for some.

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Meanwhile…

“Vaccinated people are not as likely to spread the coronavirus as the unvaccinated. In the United States, the unvaccinated are responsible for the overwhelming majority of transmission. To spread the coronavirus, you have to have the coronavirus. And vaccinated people are far less likely to have the coronavirus—period.

Despite concern about waning immunity, vaccines provide the best protection against infection. And if someone isn’t infected, they can’t spread the coronavirus. It’s truly that simple. Additionally, for those instances of a vaccinated person getting a breakthrough case, yes, they can be as infectious as an unvaccinated person. But they are likely contagious for a shorter period of time when compared with the unvaccinated, and they may harbor less infectious virus overall. That’s why getting more people their shots is crucial for controlling the spread of the coronavirus. ” The Atlantic
To read the entire article https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/09/the-vaccinated-arent-just-as-likely-to-spread-covid/620161/


VACCINE UPDATE 9-23-21 "U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky late Thursday endorsed the Pfizer coronavirus vaccine booster shot for younger at-risk workers, which is seen as a rare break from the agency's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices panel. The younger at-risk group includes teachers and front-line medical workers." FOX News