HAPPY NEW WEEK and HAPPY FULL SUPER MOON!
The full super moon is the night of 7-8 April.
I hope everyone stays healthy and has an easy week. Hang in there, folks! Here are some horses grazing Friday on the big sky prairie near Lafayette, Indiana, where I grew up.
Lindybird: A flower a day is lovely and cheerful; who cares if it was yesterday's or not! I've been buying flowers when I get groceries these days. I gather sales are down and the growers are hurting. When I left Trader Joe's the other day, they were giving away bunches to people going out the door and that isn't the only store doing it. I gather a local orchid grower has been leaving them on people's doorsteps. (We were supposed to have a huge annual orchid show in town but it was cancelled right at the beginning of the shut down - the ripples are far and wide and much more painful for so many other folks....)
Diane: I saw that a tornado touched down and wreaked havoc in Moorseville, not too far from you? We're lucky if we see any 'other' news these days. Also, there was a 6.5 earthquake in Idaho the other week. I gather the weather looks really bad for the southern states this weekend, which are already faring much worse with the virus and with a sadly predictable lack of protection from some governors.....
dibnlib: Those are brilliant little finger puppets and a great way for parents to play with tiny kiddies. : you said you'd bought hair clippers I thought they were for you and your OH! (But if this goes on long enough, who knows..... :-)
Heather: Apparently they really are being that strict about people being out - at least south of the border, but I'm sure no problem for Callum. An acquaintance of mine has a sister living in the UK. The woman went out, was stopped by the police who asked her where she was going. Three times they asked; three times she declined to answer (don't ask me why not!) and got slapped with a 650 pound fine. Was she planning on robbing a bank or what....
PatO: Re the folks who aren't taking this seriously, it would be almost comforting to think it was evolution at work; trouble is, they could infect others.
WendyB: Any news from daughter in quarantine today?
I went for walk this morning; stuck my head in the local hardware store and found - amazing and thrilling! - they had bottles of hand sanitizer (one each mind you); then stuck head in nearby supermarket and found - even more amazing and thrilling - tubs of antiseptic wipes (also one each). Life is grand.
Rain has stopped here; breezy cool with pretty clouds but lots of sun and more to come.
Interesting, though perhaps not surprising, to read of research that suggests folks living in highly polluted cities are more likely to be hit hardest by the virus. In addition, of course, to folks with little access to health care (more a problem here than in the UK I suspect).....
Take care all.
Annette: Thanks for asking. That tornado swarm went right over my house, but did not touch down here. My ears popped mightily. It looks like the Easter storm front will flow into Indiana by Sunday night. These storms are a real threat, because opening tornado and flood shelters poses a severe problem during the lockdown. Our Health Officer issued a warning that my county will face a surge in Covid-19 cases locally in the coming week. In response to the emergency proclamation, the pharmaceutical giant corporation in Indianapolis sent us 1,000 test kits containing a solution that will preserve specimens until they can get to a lab for analysis. My county has opened up limited drive-thru testing at the local high school. The tracking and tracing system here has become Orwellian.I made myself a mask tonight, because I have to go to the town where I usually get groceries. I'm hoping I can park near the McDonalds and use their free Wi-Fi to contact my phone provider and have them troubleshoot this new phone that won't recognize a cellular network. Sigh... I don't know whether I'll try to get groceries or not. Given the surge in infection, I may just stay in my car. Our grocery stores are very anxiety producing now. Only a few people are allowed in at a given time, purchases of everything are severely limited, and traffic through the isles is one way. The local hospital is almost out of masks, gowns, and equipment. Most of the women who are not working are sewing masks for our medical personnel.Did you see that John Prine died from a Covid-19 infection?
Diane: Yes, did read abut John Prine..... Gosh I really hope you can get that phone sorted out. I'm sure you've tried everything what with you being the techy person around here..... And I really hope you don't have to hang on the phone for help for too long. Take the charger! Let us know if you're successful. Re shopping, we have the same restrictions here, but there doesn't seem to be any kind of food shortage. I think people are settling down to a routine... Still, it's a matter of luck if you happen upon wipes, etc., and I've noticed that whatever they get in is gone by mid-morning. You likely quality for 'senior' hours but still, you have to get there early. Don't like to read that more bad weather is heading your way, but it's the time of year too, right? The virus plus tornadoes and all they imply is a perfect storm.... so many people are so darn vulnerable. I can't believe the Federal Govt (thanks to that idiot and his failure to fund the appropriate agencies) has fumbled it and left everything to the individual states. Really upset with some southern Governors who are shutting things down in their areas, but I suspect I know why....
Wendyb: Had to smile at the image of potentially suspicious transactions in car parks.
We had a nice event in the neighborhood today - something that's becoming a 'thing' apparently, with teachers in their individual cars forming a parade and driving up and down the streets of their respective school districts: Lots of signs, balloons, horns blowing, etc., as they wave to the kids, who come out onto the sidewalk to wave and cheer. We had about 20 cars go by. Lots of smiles, even for those of us with no kids in school.
I don’t mind friends sending me jokes, but a friend, who should know better, has just forwarded yet another of those stupid coronavirus conspiracy theories. Not one of you, I hasten to add. Maybe I’m grumpy because I am aware of the chocolate waiting for tomorrow to dawn.
A beautiful fine autumn day. I could do some weeding but my excuse is that the carpenter is working on the Grand Design – over the fence and just above my ex-veggie patch.