No COVID-19 stuff, just a picture I was lucky enough to snap several years ago. It has been one of my favorite nature photos ever since. Hope you like it.
Full Flower Moon
The coronavirus seems to be ushering in a new normal, a new world for all of us. Does this mean we need a fresh start, or rather, being forced to make a new start? May 7th is a full moon, it is also called the Full Flower Moon or Full Blessing Moon. It means new beginnings as the flowers and trees blossom.
Perhaps the Full moon this May will bring new beginnings for us. A time to change. We should be using this time of isolation to have self reflection. Take what we’ve learned and set some blossoming goals to achieve them.
Flower Moon verse
The Flower Moon, beauty in light
shines and glows on this May night
Announcing fresh growth on Mother Earth
its healing power firmly echos its worth
Young animals romp, new foliage grows
the Spirit of life in everything, you know
A different 10th anniversary for Roadtirement
Our comfortable site near Austin
Right to the point, today is the tenth week anniversary of the beginning of our self- imposed isolation which began on February 25th.
Sher and I were on our Winter Texan living when the coronavirus thing was starting to heat up big time. We got out of Seattle in the end of January after visiting our daughter and her family, just before that Nursing home COVID-19 outbreak was reported. We were in our RV Resort in the Hill Country west of Austin. We’d planned on finishing February in Austin, and then heading to the Rio Grande Valley for March.
As the media brought more and more accounts of an upcoming pandemic, regardless of source, we decided that we would be better off in our home base in Indiana. As it turned out, that was a good decision because as things got worse most RV parks and campgrounds closed. So we got back to our house on February 25th.
Nearly empty lot at Cracker Barrel: carry out only
That began what is now our tenth week in “isolation”. We are both over 65, and I have more than one of those pesky underlying health issues that make for a scary scenario if the coronavirus infects us. So for the past 10 weeks we have been basically stuck at home. We’ve been out just a few times, with our son driving. He has been going to the grocery and pharmacy for us. The only retail place that Sher and I have visited was a farm store for some flowers. We stayed outside and way away from other customers and store staff.
The State of Indiana is now going through a series of stages getting back to “normal”. By July 4th any restrictions will almost be gone. There will still be warnings for us old folks with underlying health issues. We are supposed to “adhere to social distancing guidelines and remain cautious at work and in (sic) our communities” so states the Back On Track Indiana recommendations in Stage 5.
Roadtirement has had 70 days of isolation. We will have to decide what activities will be safe for us. I don’t think either of us can afford to catch this damned virus, and so far there is no treatment or vaccine. Sigh…
Spring washing other than hands
Before cleaning
During the cleaning
Spring is the time for some cleaning chores around the property. Today our son got out the pressure washer and went to town on the siding on our garage. The pressure washer does a great job, as you can see, in removing the discoloration on the siding, probably a green mold of some kind.
Got the flowers planted
The flowers we got a couple of days ago have been planted in some of our containers. We have had a beautiful couple of days in a row now, great for outside yard work. Our son was a big help in this project, and we also displayed some rocks we’ve collected during our travels.
Back On Track Indiana plan announced
On Friday Governor Eric Holcomb of Indiana gave the long awaited news conference outlining the state’s plan to reopen for business. The official COVID-19 “lock-down” order expired on Friday. New regulations begin on Monday. If you are interested, the details are pretty clearly listed on the new website Back on Track Indiana. It explains the five steps that the State has planned for the reopening of businesses.
The moon seen yesterday, has nothing to do with COVID-19. Just a pretty picture.
The Reader’s Digest version is pretty simple. It things go according to plan, July 4th is the date when Indiana is “back to normal”. This is if the previous four steps have worked out. The new normal, however, does include possible restrictions on nursing homes and K-12 school openings and still calls for social distancing.
What’s this do for Roadtirement? Well, dear friends, we are still basically under self-isolation. Not until Step Four of the plan does it mention the possibility of those over 65 and with underlying health conditions getting out in public, and then following social distancing guidelines. Are we going to even risk that? The coronavirus will still be out there. People will still be catching it, and will still be killed by it. Who knows when a viable treatment and/or vaccine will be available for all.
We will have to at some point decide when we will be willing to take the chance of catching the COVID-19 virus by getting out and into the public. There is so much we are wanting to do…
A surprise rainbow
Just a bit ago we heard a commotion in front of the house. Our neighbors were out and hollered at us to “Come see the rainbow”!
Sure enough, there was a rainbow, and on one end you could just make out a double. The rain has been off and on all day, and the dark clouds behind the rainbow made for good contrast to see the colors. Everybody maintained plenty of space, or as they say social distance.
We got some flowers
Yesterday was just beautiful out, partly sunny and warm in the low 70s. Our son drove us to the ag supply store, where they had the typical set up of flowers, trees, mulch, top soil etc. in the parking lot. We actually got out of the car, but stayed far away from anybody else.
We were hoping to plant the flowers today, but high winds and rain have put a damper on those plans so far. Maybe later today we can get out to do some yard work.
Stay safe and remember to wash those hands!
Feeding birds and umbrellas for social distancing
The phone image isn’t the best, but you can see the cute (?) little English sparrow enjoying a meal at our recently installed bird feeder. You can also see the corn cob, now devoid of any corn kernels, sticking up from the tree. We put a nail in the tree, drilled a hole down the center of the cob, and voila! a squirrel feeding station.
This danged COVID-19 stay at home stuff is really, really getting old. We still miss going out to eat, going to a casino (we like the free play!) and being able to travel to see the kids and grand kids.
Oh, and we saw something different on a CNN internet report. There is a village in India named Thannermukkom that has given out 10,000 umbrellas. The idea is that if you walk around with an open umbrella, and others do the same, it forces you to not get close to each other. Not sure you are the 6 feet away, but definitely not shoulder to shoulder.
Stay calm, remember the rules, and wash those hands and keep physical distance!
Roadtirement 