Covid Journal, Days 77 & 78: All Quiet on Railey Ridge

60 yesterday morning, 55 this morning. Blessedly cool and clear and the humidity has left us, at least for a few days.

It has been a whirlwind weekend, and yet we really didn't go anywhere except to drop off a couple chairs at the antique mall. But busy? Yes indeed. I spent yesterday researching the things we got from the estate we bought this week--a small estate, thankfully. I'll post photos later of some of what we came away with.

Today has been all garden all the time. Not just the veggies, but the flowerbeds and lawns too. We've tilled, hoed, weed-eated, planted, and fertilized. We put together a planter wall, moved a small rosebush, re-did the edging along the flowerbed that borders the walk, and restacked part of the wall of the rock-wall garden.

All meals except one were eaten outside on the deck or patio; we even barbecued, something we haven't done in years. Here's a bit about our weekend meals: Saturday morning was waffles from scratch with strawberries, West Virginia maple syrup, and turkey bacon. We usually don't eat lunch if we have a big breakfast like that, so we held off til evening when Larry barbecued chicken and I made potato and tossed salads. Breakfast this morning was fried eggs, grits, turkey bacon, baked beans, and toast. I cooked while Larry made a fire in the firepit, so we could have our coffee out there. We kept the fire going all day since it was nice and cool, and stopped several times to just sit and enjoy. We had leftovers for dinner, and later a cheese, apple, and cracker tray with our wine. Lovely.

It was a perfect weekend, full of work but also of pleasure. The gardens all look good, the grass is mowed, the weeds are trimmed back. We can sit back a bit and enjoy the results of our labor.

And yet. Out there in the wider world, there is such terrible strife. We haven't listened to the news and just get bits and pieces online since we don't have TV, and what we have heard is horrifying. It is difficult to reconcile the peace and beauty here with the images we have seen of some of our great cities. I won't get into a debate about the rights and wrongs--there are plenty on both sides, probably, but how sad that on this gift of a day there is so much hatred and violence across our land. We are in some dark times, and I know many of you are old enough to remember the other dark days in 1968 when we also saw our cities burn. We don't seem to have made much progress in 50+ years. If anything, in the last few years we have gone backwards by leaps and bounds.

All I can do is to do as I have always done--maintain normal in this one small spot on the globe. It isn't much, but perhaps if enough people did it, sanity and kindness might return. It's a small, dim hope, or so it feels today. But it's a hope I have to hold on to. Because what else do we have?

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.