Wednesday, March 18, 2020

Norms, new norms, and no norms

As usual (normal), Poppy is the star of the show and the major "time hog" here at Boulderneigh. Thanks to the nice weather (after our little snow surprise), she is able to be outside more; I tracked down Brian's old baby gate so I could shut her on the deck to enjoy the sunshine and torment play with Chuckie. Except.... She has started digging at the rotten wood on the deck, opening up rather alarming holes and eating the pressure-treated wood, which doesn't agree with her tummy. So that option is now limited. 🙄







We interrupt this romp to watch what the neighbors are doing.



So yesterday morning I attached her Flexi-lead to a nearby tree while I weeded the island bed. The daffodils now look worse for wear play, but I did get pack two five-gallon buckets full of weeds.

Inside she is trying to master getting two tennis balls in her mouth at once. One of of these days she'll no doubt succeed; terriers are tenacious!



All that supervising and play can be exhausting!

So what are the neighbors doing next door? Coronavirus concerns don't impact construction crews; for the past few weeks they have been erecting forms for the house's foundation. This morning the concrete trucks came:

I imagine a lot of people are feeling isolated and lonely from complying with requests to limit contact with others (extremely important, since our country has so little information, thanks to paltry testing, on who is in fact positive for COVID-19). I'm a happy clam to be home alone, so for me this period is enforcing more human contact than I usually have because Brian is home. And I expect he will be schooling from home for the rest of his senior year and foregoing a graduation ceremony, too. The infectious disease specialists (along with health-care acquaintances who live and work north of us in Washington giving us news from working at the nation's epicenter) are saying we are many months, probably more than a year, away from seeing the worst of this. The scope of societal change is probably beyond comprehension....

But some things have to be done. This morning I shut Poppy in the laundry room and started on 'flock work, stage one' – trimming hooves and taking photos. I got four sheep done, which was my back's limit; I will wait until all 11 are finished before sharing, as I plan to do kind of a 'family tree' description showing how all my sheep are related to each other. Oh, and I'm still making yarn, thanks to the Jenkins spindle group on Ravelry:
My latest singles

Two previous spins, one plied and one awaiting plying (now started)
Now it's time to take Poppy to the vet for her next shot and a check of that leg. I'll report tomorrow.

That's it for now from . . .

10 comments:

Mama Pea said...

Life goes on even in a different way. I'm sure more changes are to come and we'll all be feeling our way through them as best we can. We're trying very hard to remain positive and help in any safety-first way we can. And I know you are, too.

Michelle said...

Yep, Mama Pea! For people like us, gardeners who live out in the country, either retired or with very low risk jobs, life doesn't feel all that different . . . yet. There's no crystal ball, so we feel our way forward with smiles on our faces and a helping hand wherever possible.

Retired Knitter said...

The distraction of animals are good. Now is when all those sheep and horses and Poppy and Chuckie really earn their keep.

Susan said...

I was so happy to find that the vendors in the farmers market I shop have worked out a system where you can preorder and then pick up in a parking lot in staggered order by last name. At least they will maintain a customer base and I will get organic produce until my garden is functioning.

wisps of words said...

Such a cutie!

Oh gracious, it won't be that long, for it to peak here! Look at other countries. That's a more logical guideline.

Meanwhile, if people would follow Guidelines... It would HELP.

to me, those who ignore Guidelines, are as good a KILLERS.

Love and Courage
🌱 🌱 🌱

Jeanne said...

I'm anxious to learn what the vet had to say about Poppy's injury.

Are the grocery stores in your area running out of food? We've seen empty shelves here. We have only one grocery store.

Church and all related activities are cancelled until further notice. So sad!

Leigh said...

I can't believe how quickly Poppy is growing. I love the photos of her and Chuckie. Such good playmates.

I think the recent necessary social changes are harder for the young. I know a lot of people will be bored, but for some of us, it's life as usual. I'm very thankful to be one of those.

MiniKat said...

Thank you for the glimpses into the gorgeous outdoors! We're isolating... from this point forward the only reasons we're leaving the house are necessary medical appointments, spinning Pokestops from inside the car at the nearby church parking lot, and picking up curbside grocery service. Even our prescriptions and pets' food is being delivered.

Himself's office shooed everyone out to work from home last week. I've been isolating because I was sick with something respiratory in February and still am having issues breathing.

Thank goodness I have lots of sewing and crochet to do. And miniatures. Now if I could just shake the anxiety long enough to sit down and do it.

A :-) said...

I'm glad that not all that much has changed for your day-to-day life, although having Brian home all the time is probably interesting . . . ;-) Life is very different here, but I do not mind being home. Poppy is really a cutie, and - as usual - your yarn is lovely :-)

Michelle said...

Elaine, the animals certainly demand our attention no matter what is going on "out there." And since they've been my main form of entertainment my whole life, I'm not feeling deprived by the closing of theaters, restaurants, concerts, and the like!


Susan, I picked up quite a bit of produce at the big-box grocery store after work today. They were totally out of bags of russet potatoes, but I can plan menus without those. And I have parsley, beet greens, and some kale from last year growing in my garden; yay!

Wisps, other pandemics (like the Spanish Flu, which many experts point to as a good roadmap for this current pandemic) often have a second surge of cases and deaths, which is why I think it may be a year or longer before we see the sum total of carnage to lives and economies.

Jeanne, I went grocery shopping today and did see some empty shelves but I wasn't looking for them (OR shopping for TP!). I got everything on my list but potatoes and brown rice (those were both sold out), but I can plan menus without those staples.

Bored? What is boredom, Leigh? ;-) Heh, the young will go out of their MINDS if the internet is disrupted. Ha!

Kat, I sure hope your breathing problems (and anxiety!) clear up soon! So glad Fuzzy Husband can work from home. Yes, you have a lot of creative outlets and pets to keep you pleasantly occupied; I hope you blog about them!!

I am so glad for your situation, A, although there are some downsides (like no traveling for now). I think the Lord was guiding things in your life with this in mind!