New virus cases in Virginia are still being reported, but, like many other countries and states, the rate appears to have begun to slow down. There have been a couple of local outbreaks, but these are in nursing homes and prisons, so we are not directly affected by them. There is still reason for caution by all for secondary infections, of course. So we are looking forward to a likely continuation as presently mandated until 10 June.
Now that Wuhan, Hubei has lifted its draconian lockdown, this will be a test case to see if there will be a second rise of new infections when restrictions are lifted.
More worrying is that the virus has infected and is harming other animals, not only in zoos, but domestic cats and dogs. If that's true, the pandemic may continue until a vaccine has been developed and is widely available.
This is an actual status of what we have done. These are mostly home things with excursions for supplies.
About once a week, Claire has done grocery shopping. The local store (Food Lion) opens at 7am, at which time it's reasonably quiet. Last foray was Wednesday, 23 April.
About every two weeks, Gareth has shopped at Costco for more major supplies. This is a hour's drive in Charlottesville. Costco opens at 8am for seniors only three times a week. Although we planned to have about a month's supply of everything, we sometimes didn't get it right. Then again, it's been almost a month already! The previous time (16 April) the largest item was wine! Last foray was 28 April.
One of the definitions of a household is an efficient device for converting mechandise into refuse. Living mostly at home increases the amount of stuff we're bringing in, and we're generating more garbage than before. Although we have curbside collection available, the curb is 1/3mi from the house, requiring automotive transportation. It's just as easy, less frequent, and much cheaper for us to take the refuse all the way to the dump (9mi) directly. I did this on 25 April.
Although we have had a few very hot days already, the nights have been cold enough recently that we needed to keep the heat on. As a consequence, we needed our heating oil replenished. Tiger Fuel came 22 April.
Since we use propane for on-demand hot water and for the main cooking stove, we will probably need this to be refilled soon too. However, we can't do it now because a family of Carolina Wrens is being raised in the space above the top of the tank.
Claire has masterminded the creation of a planter garden. She has also been weeding and mulching several gardens. Since it is spring, this work will continue, of course. This has required a few trips to the local hardware store (Ace) for supplies. A visit was also needed for the poles to more bird nesting box installations; 27 April.
It's also time to clear the fallen leaves; the most important sections of the driveway have been done. It's time for mowing; there are still three meadows needing attention. Both the rider mower and the tractor have been called into service (at the same time!).
As with most people I imagine, we have made extensive use of Zoom (and GoToMeeting). Claire can do her yoga twice a week by watching a Zoom feed. We have both used feeds to keep up with our Master Gardener (Claire) and Master Naturalist (Gareth) meetings and for continuing education.
One inconvenience was that my Subaru had a Check Engine alert in March. Unfortunately our usual local garage is closed. Although the alert was probably benign, we had no way of knowing without driving it to the dealer. Since this is 50 miles away in northern Charlottesville, driving there could be disastrous if it was serious. So I had to use the spare car for a month. This story has a happy ending. After returning from Costco (28 April), I passed the garage and noticed the owner and a mechanic in the shop working on their personal cars. I asked them if they could run a quick check on the Check Engine light. Yup. So I drove home and then back with the suspect car. The alert is benign, and has been cleared. This shows the benefit of keeping good relations with the important folks!
Last updated: 28 April 2020