Covid Journal, Day 340: Drip, Drip, Drip

34 and cloudy. We had rain showers overnight. More rain or snow or sleet predicted for today.

It's getting messy out there. The beautiful, dangerous ice is gone from the trees. The snow has melted quite a bit, but turned to ice in places where it's been packed down, like on paths and the driveway. The melting continues, however, and we hope it will be enough today to get rid of the worst of the ice. I am sad to see the beauty being turned to the mundane--dirty snow replacing the pristine white and sparkle. 

Then again, people are posting photos of flowers in bloom--crocus in my nephew's garden in Richmond, Virginia, daffodils in the Carolinas. It would be nice to see a little green again, and maybe a few of the early blossoms. But I am patient. I'd rather wait and not have them killed off by a freeze.

Larry took my camera for a walk yesterday afternoon, the dogs keeping him company. I considered going, but honestly I feel no motivation to get out in this weather. Am I getting old? I used to love to take walks in the snow, often being out for hours when I was younger. Now I am content to just look at it. My man can't stand being cooped up, as he calls it--I call it being snug and warm. So off he went, and came back with these photos. 

Apparently his first stop was the henhouse. The chickens have been literally cooped up for a week, so they were happy to see him open their trapdoor to the outside. Until they saw the snow. Larry said the birds just hovered in the opening, but none went out. I understand completely. 

Looking across the field we call "the flat" although as you can see it's not really flat, just more level than most of our land.

A drift almost always forms in this area. The snow hangs around here longer too, as this is a sheltered spot. The small trees have certainly taken a beating.

He had some happy companions. These two love it when we go out for walks. This is one our driveway.

Up on the ridge, you can just see the ice glinting on this poor bent tree.

And our old stalwart oaks, still standing though both are quite hollow in their centers. They've withstood so many storms, yet here they still are.

This is Day 340 of our Covid journey. We locked down a little earlier than some people, a little later than others. I began my count the day we decided that we'd have to hole up. Since then we've loosened up a little. We go into the grocery store now a couple times a month, have been to Wal-Mart a few times in the past year--a very few times. We shop at the thrifts when we go out, and have made a few road trips. What we haven't done is eat out, gone to any music or theater event or any other public event. We haven't made any overnight trips, and I've done no storytelling. We see only a handful of people, usually outside and for short periods of time. We've gone to only 5 or 6 doctor appointments between the two of us. 

I have to wonder, what will change for us now that the vaccine is becoming more available? I think that we won't change the way we're doing now, except that we will visit family, and maybe go to some outdoor live music events. We might make more road trips, but will probably continue to pack our own meals. Eating out will be rare, and only in open or outdoor settings. But maybe I'm wrong, and we will go back to the way we were? It's hard to imagine.

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