March 18, 2021
I recently received an email from someone who said she does read our blog!
The past twelve months have taken us on a long, strange trip. The day the COVID19 pandemic was announced is etched into my memory. I was probably the only person in the world who, at the time, was grateful for the announcement. In short, here's why: Last February I received a subpoena from the Los Angeles Superior Court to appear there as a "material witness" in a criminal case involving a person I knew forty years ago. I fought the subpoena in the local court on the grounds that I had not seen that person for forty years, knew nothing about the other parties in the criminal case, and had no information about the case to give to the LA court. But the only grounds the judge would consider was the fact that a pandemic had been declared and that because of my age, I was in the high risk group who were being advised not to travel.
No one could have predicted how long the COVID pandemic would last. For the first six months we took each day one at a time, not being able to plan on anything. Mixed messages from the government wasn't any help in guiding us. In June we closed our doors to guests and canceled house concerts that were on the calendar through December. We had a trip to England planned for June 2020 and we had to cancel all of those plans. The rest of the year played out with us in isolation at home.
We got through the winter with one bad ice storm in October that not only kept us stuck at home but also caused a multi-day power outage. The ice took down lots of dead wood in the forest but also several live trees and branches from live trees. We have a lot of downed wood that needs to be cut up and/or burned. Andy has his work cut out for him this spring. We had another snow event in February but didn't lose power. We're hopeful that we've gotten through the winter and that we got enough moisture for a colorful spring. The redbuds are starting to put out buds but the quince hasn't bloomed yet. Daffodils and crocus are blooming and iris shoots are popping up all around.
It is now mid-March and there is light at the end of the pandemic tunnel. Andy and I have both been vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine, and Drew is eligible for it because he is a teacher. News reports say that there is plenty of vaccine available, or will soon be available (May 1), for every adult who wants the vaccine to get one. Though the number of COVID cases have been going down, we may be in for a spike and a resulting delay in controlling the spread because state governments are loosening restrictions for mask use, business openings and large group gatherings (such as sorting events), and getting kids back into schools in spite of warnings by the head epidimiologist Mr. Fauci to slow down for another month.
