So, social-distancing and shelter-in-place is no hardship for me. But oddly, while the world spirals into TP hysteria and conspiracy theories — BTW the Apocalypse is a lot more fun as fiction, the non-fiction version sucks! — I am busier than I have ever been, helping out shut-in relatives 6 days a week, continuing my weight-loss and exercise program, and raising chickens, dogs, and puppies!

When I’m not working out there, I’m working back here. I’m in a manic Spring Cleaning phase brought on by imposed cabin fever.

Meanwhile, this social-hermit-by-choice has a massive craving for someone to set a plate of food in front of her — a plate I ordered, did not cook, do not have to eat in the car, and do not have to wash after!

After a cold & rainy April, sunny & warm May has arrived with a vengeance. I’ve cleaned the deck, end to end, removed junk and planted veggies in pots. I’ve hung my bird feeders and already clocked our year-round Cardinal pairs, plus Red-Breasted Grosbeaks pairs, Common Grackles, Morning Doves, Titmices, Downy Woodpeckers, and hummingbirds. There are some small gray birds I haven’t ID’d yet, but if they keep coming back, I’ll get a name for them.

I’ve got the waist-high veggie beds going and I’ve spruced up the dog kennels. I’m bagging grass-leaf-mint clippings from my push-mower and putting them in the chicken coop for chicken-tilling into compost for next Spring’s gardens. I reclaimed the terraces behind the agility yard. In the front yard, I took down the gone-wild flower bed, pushed the edge of the woods back where it belonged, and we’re planting sunflowers in the lower field. There’s much much more too do, but I’m having a blast while the sunshine lasts and before the heat sets in.

May 2020