Like the rest of you, I’m still reeling from the changes happening in our world due to COVID-19. We all feel helpless, beyond social distancing and washing our hands. So while this is happening, I’m actually taking comfort in the pleasures of home. (Could it be that all this time I’ve been an introvert and never knew it? Hmmm….) Here are some of the things happening around here this week.
Nature is chugging happily along.
We planted our mature-ish fig tree last year, in late summer I believe. I say mature-ish because it was ~6′ tall when we planted it and actually bore some figs, which the birds got to enjoy. So when winter hit we were worried about whether or not it had put down roots enough to survive the cold temps, as we do sometimes get freezing temps here in NC. Well, now we know – it did!
It’s looks to be very happy and is starting to produce fruit already. Of course, I don’t hold out hope that we’ll get to enjoy more than 1 or 2 figs ourselves, as the nursery folks told me that until the tree gets really big and full, the birds will get most of the figs and there’s not much we can do about it. But hey, 1 or 2 is better than a dead tree, right?
And in other news from nature…the pollen is back.
We actually had a couple of days with temps in the 75-ish range, before we went back to the 50-ish Spring days; we BBQ’d and sat on the back porch. Then it seemed that overnight the pollen was everywhere, so the outdoor furniture is in hibernation (like us) for a few weeks.
That’s ok – Spring is here and it won’t be long before we’ll be back out there. It’s my happy place.
Reading a coffee-table book
Ok – do we ever really read those coffee-table books? Well, actually yes I do. However, this one had been sitting around for a bit, until I could ‘get to it’. But I started it when I was laid up a few weeks ago with a bum knee and it has been a delight – peeking into the fabulous homes of people I mostly never heard of before. Now that we’re really ‘laid up’ or ‘laid in’, I’m reading a few pages a day and parsing out the enjoyment.
A random bit of happiness with a cute video
I love seeing how well my grand-niece has trained her dog; apparently he can also run a simplified obstacle course too. It’s one of the loves of her young life, besides horses. Enjoy!
Thinking of ways to make a difference in other’s lives.
Even though we’re only going out for essential trips (grocery, medicine) and we’re not having any services brought into our homes these days, we can still make a difference in the lives of those folks who are being hit hard by this virus. Here’s a couple that we did immediately: even though we canceled our house-cleaning service, we still paid for it. Small businesses are really feeling the impact and we’re trying to do what we can to keep them afloat. The second thing is to order a meal from our favorite local restaurants and have it delivered. Every day I’m reading about more and more things that people are doing to be of service, even while sequestered in their homes. I’m sure you’re doing other things that are making a difference in your area – I’d love to hear about them!
Last, and most important, let’s remember to pray for all the healthcare workers, and other essential people like our fire and police, as well as the grocery clerks, delivery people and others who are showing up every day so the rest of us can keep our lives going. Stay safe everyone!
Thanks for reading!
Adena
