Well, what can one say? Kyrgystan's president has revealed to his adoring public, just when the nation is once again being mired in a new wave of COVID-19, that there is a cure. An old family recipe, in fact, that can cure the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is a liquid concoction distilled from the root of a plant. Plants have given us miraculous substances, chemicals that have been a boon to humankind over the ages. Think Aspirin, derived from the shrub genus called spiraea, the acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) has anti-inflammatory properties and a whole host of curative-assistive properties we rely on as a basic medication.

The president of Kyrgystan's plant, however, is one that should be handled with care. It can be grown in a garden, and it's called Monk's Hood, aconitum. It's a lovely looking plant, the flowers quite beguiling -- and of course deceptive to those who have no idea ... It's also popularly called Wolf's Bane. Any plant with the word 'bane' attached to it, signals poison. If you're poisoned with it, there is no known antidote. It can cause respiratory paralysis and heart rhythm abnormalities leading to death. {Two conditions, just incidentally, which COVID-19 also causes.{

According to Kyrgystan's president, his parents used the concoction, and swore by its efficacy. Known to be a cure for cancer, you see. In effect, telling the population: 'try it, you'll like it'. Some trusting souls have done just that and hospitals are doing their best to treat them from the poison they naively subjected themselves to.

As for us, we'll continue to rely on medical science, it has most certainly proved itself. 

Meteorology isn't quite as settled. The weather forecast warned us yesterday that we'd be receiving ten cm of snow, starting overnight and throughout the day to follow. The temperature sinking to zero. To comfort ourselves we thought that a fully-loaded pizza would be appropriate, and the two of us set about preparing one. Easy, since I always have a bowl of rising yeast in the refrigerator and just have to  haul it out, then discuss what'll top it with. Anchovies made the grade yesterday on a crowded pizza top.

And this morning? A flurry of light, lazy snowflakes. Yes, it was cold, 0C for the entire day. But the wild wind of yesterday was absent. And by the time we were ready to get ourselves out to the ravine the sun had emerged from that leaden sky, and the day was quite transformed. Cold it was, and so we resurrected some winter gear and off we went.

The wind and the cold have dried out and frozen the forest trails. Which, unsurprisingly, we had to ourselves today. The wind was there, but tolerable, since we felt fairly snug in our warmer clothing. There is now a faint green screen appearing on the landscape as shrubs and trees in the understory and above begin to fill out with tender young foliage.

Even raspberry canes are now sporting emerging leaves. The trout lilies are as numerous in their presence as they were last year, which had resulted in a bumper crop, and we hope that their shy yellow flowerheads will be as much in evidence within the next few weeks as they had been last spring, the first time we could ever recall seeing so many in bloom.

Last year, the wild apple trees had borne few fruit in fall, because while they were in spring bloom, a cold front had moved in and zapped the blooms the absence of which accounted for a paucity of apples. This is one of those cold snaps, but this year it's earlier and the fruit trees haven't yet put out their blossoms.

We took our time today dawdling about, in no great hurry to escape the blasts of icy wind that had so chilled us yesterday afternoon. Jackie and Jillie didn't much care for yesterday's wind either; its sound and fury seems to bother them. So there was nothing today to cause them to exhibit any undue sensitivity too the environment, which made for a good, relaxed course through the forest for all of us.