If Rehoboth can move on from COVID, so can I

I recently wrote a story about how Rehoboth Beach officials are catching up on meeting minutes that are years old. If everything goes as planned, commissioners will be all caught up with the approval of 32 sets of minutes at their meeting Friday, Feb. 20. That would push the total number of meeting minutes approved in the past few months to nearly 150. Many of those minutes are from the special meetings that took place through the COVID era.

That inspired me to do the same – move on from some COVID-era supplies I still have at home.

I began the process a couple of weeks ago. I had some use-it-or-lose-it vacation time, but it was during the cold spell, so instead of getting some outdoor projects done, I cleaned up areas inside that had been acting as catch-alls since we moved five years ago. In that pile was a container of years-old, pocket-sized hand sanitizer containers. We had them from when the kids went back to school and everyone was still wearing masks. They had all expired. Out they went.

The big moving-on-from-COVID action will be the use of a package of paper towels and two packages of toilet paper. We’ve had them as our emergency supply from before we moved in 2021. Our friend Mel managed to secure a large shipment of the two products from Amazon just as the run on supplies was taking place. She was nice enough to think of us. We’ve been holding onto them ever since. Rehoboth’s catching up on all those meeting minutes has inspired the use of those supplies.

I figure now is as good a time as any to use them. If nothing else, the recent snow and following cold spell reminded us all that COVID-era purchasing limits can be implemented overnight, because that’s just what happened when there was a gold-in-them-hills rush on bags of salt.

Turtles, mysterious lantern fireflies and now horseshoe crabs

Over the past couple of months, this space has featured items related to the installation of new signs on Route 1 south of Dewey Beach to warn drivers about crossing turtles and about how Sussex County’s own mysterious lantern firefly is being considered for the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants.

Now, I’m writing about horseshoe crabs because there have been a couple of notices recently issued about the area’s living dinosaurs.

Beginning with the most recent, the National Marine Fisheries Service issued a finding Feb. 18 that basically says the arguments made by two petitions seeking to have horseshoe crabs listed under the Endangered Species Act didn’t make a strong enough case.

“Having thoroughly reviewed the information presented in the petitions and other information readily available in our files, we conclude the petitions do not present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action to list L. polyphemus as a threatened or endangered species may be warranted,” reads the Feb. 18 finding.

Exactly a week prior to that finding, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife issued a notice Feb. 11 saying that it would like to continue to participate in a cooperative tagging program for the horseshoe crab. Federal and state agencies, universities and biomedical companies participate in the program. The information collected under the program is used to evaluate migratory patterns, survival and abundance of horseshoe crabs, said the notice.

“Horseshoe crabs play a vital role commercially, biomedically and ecologically along the Atlantic coast,” reads the Feb. 11 notice. “Restrictive measures have been taken in recent years; however, populations are increasing slowly. Because horseshoe crabs do not breed until they are 9 years or older, it may take some time before the population measurably increases.”

The two notices represent a mixed bag for the horseshoe crab. It’s a little disappointing it wasn’t listed as endangered, but that appears to be because scientific information available says the population is generally stable. However, data collecting is going to continue, which means if the population sees a noticeable decrease, the data would be available to support inclusion on the endangered list.

Joke of the Week

There are a handful of people who submit jokes on a regular basis. Two of them, John and Jeff, have recently submitted jokes that could be interpreted as making me the joke. One is about being follically challenged. The other is related to my last name. I guess that’s what happens when I ask for jokes – I open myself up to jokesters. As always, send jokes to cflood@capegazette.com.

Q: Why do bald men still carry their combs with them?

A: Because they can’t part with them.

Q: What kind of lighting did Noah use on the ark?

A: Flood lights.