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Just a reminder - Ruth writes the blog text and John takes the photos.

Kitties

The sun is out more often and the kitties sit in the windows or on the kitty tree. Visitors stop by almost everyday. I placed a note on the window welcoming visitors and telling them the kitties' names and that the kitties enjoy the visits from neighbors. I always enjoy the responses of the visitors and of our 3 babies. So much fun.

A rare moment when all three cats are
pointing in the same direction.





Oberthür Park

With the warmer weather we visit our local park and neighborhood more often. Spring flowers are abundant and small animals scurry about. A very pleasant environment.

The park has new wooden sculptures and neighborhood buildings have new murals. Art in Rennes is prolific and changes often. It's a bit like several (small) outdoor museums.

Peaceful morning scene at Oberthür Park. One of the local mudhens. Oberthür Park has many benches for the visiters
to enjoy the wildlife.
There are many picturesque spots
in this gem of a park. 		Some of the older trees have little tags
identying them. 		The Oberthür mansion (1862).
Flower beds in front of the Oberthür mansion. The view from the flower beds to the pond
in the background. 		Cat sculpture in the playground.
There are several benches for kids
sculpted into reptiles. 		Wooden bird sculpture in the playground area. Whimsical sculpture along a park path.
Chalet at the southern end of the park. Mosaics from the Odorico family make up
the chalet floor. 		There are a few bird houses high up in the trees.





Walking through Rennes

A great weeping willow near the canal in downtown Rennes. A second weeping willow near the canal lock. Two male ducks hanging out by the canal.
The La Vilaine river becomes a canal
as it passes through Rennes. 		The Ille river is the second river that passes through Rennes. Several of the older homes of Rennes have been
converted into offices.
Some street art in the style of
Native American petroglyphs. 		Springtime flowers.





New Omicron variant BA.2

Europe has many more cases of the new Omicron variant BA.2 than most other countries but the death rate per capita is lower than many other countries (including the US) because the vaccination rate is higher in Europe. The death rate in the US is among the highest in the world because of the lower vaccination rate there. NY Times Free link

So far France has distributed only 1 booster to the vast majority of the population although the over 80s and those with compromised immune systems have had their 4th (2nd booster) vaccination.





Ukraine

Of course the situation in Ukraine is still unnerving. It's fairly far away but Russian soldiers stirred radioactive dust from Chernobyl spreading toxic isotopes into the air. Ukraine's state power company, Energoatom, says Russian troops suffered radiation poisoning "very quickly" after digging trenches in the ground surrounding the site of the 1986 meltdown.

On Thursday, March 31 after reportedly poisoning themselves with radioactive dust, Russian troops returned Chernobyl to Ukraine

Chernobyl is about 1,200 miles (2,000 km) NE of Paris, about in the middle of the northern border between Ukraine and Belarus . That's about the distance from San Diego to Seattle or 3 times the distance from Paris to Nice.

Norway urged its citizens to 'dust off' bunkers amid threat of nuclear fallout from a Chernobyl accident.

Several nuclear facilities in Ukraine have been attacked by the Russian military over the past fortnight : a nuclear research facility at Kharkiv; two radioactive waste storage sites; the Chernobyl nuclear site; and the operating Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The military assault on the Zaporizhzhia on March 4 damaged the "reactor compartment building" of reactor #1 and two artillery shells hit the dry storage facility containing spent nuclear fuel. Zaporizhzhia, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, with six reactors - is now under the control of the Russian military.

The operating nuclear power plants pose by far the greatest risks. Ukraine has 15 power reactors located at four sites. Eight of the reactors are currently operating.

Europeans are buying iodine pills and hundreds of people from France to Saudi Arabia are ordering bunkers including luxury bomb shelters (the rich and their toys!).

The Russian people now either support Putin or stay quiet. A poll released this week by Russia's most respected independent pollster, Levada, showed Putin's approval rating hitting 83 percent, up from 69 percent in January. A whopping 81 percent said they supported the war. (NY Times free link) That's mainly because of Russian media, where all of the news coverage is aligned with the Kremlin's message. The war's opponents are becoming targets of propaganda that depicts them as the enemy.

If you want to check out my Facebook page I have much more information on Ukraine, Covid and many other issues.

Thanks for sharing our adventures in France.