My Sanity Project

Pretty isn’t it? Nature helps keep one sane. Thankfully, we live in a place of beauty.

Been quite a January in the good old USA.  Many of us, at least 80 million, but I bet more, were holding on for January, especially January 20 and the inauguration of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. We were ready to kick the shit storm known as 2020 out the door and welcome in something better, something adult, something competent, something calm and reassuring.

The month started out ok with two Democrats winning senate seats. While winning two seats was wonderful, all the criminal behavior leading up to the win….well it left many of us nauseous, anxious, and frightened — just like the previous four years. Millions, I believe, of Americans feared what additional terror the previous president might unleash in his final days.

That’s when I started mulling the idea of a sanity project.

Then January 6, as millions were watching (especially those who mostly hunker down during the pandemic) what was supposed to be the rather uneventful administrative process of certifying the electoral college votes, we witnessed the former president and other elected officials incite armed rioters, urging them to fight and march toward the Capitol, where our country’s leaders were meeting.

I watched in anxious horror as the riots unfolded, our Capitol desecrated, people killed and seriously injured. You’ve watched it, you’ve seen the videos. Millions of us felt nauseous, anxious, frightened, again, and filled with rage.

Time for my sanity project………

While the evening before the inauguration gave Americans a needed opportunity to remember, honor, and grieve those who passed from COVID-19 and all we’ve lost as a nation and while the inauguration was inspiring, emotional, beautiful and full of competent, strong smart women, 

I still needed a sanity project.  I felt, had been feeling, my grip loosening on…..everything. Go figure.

Vaccinations, while on their way, are still weeks? Months? Who knows how far away….? As a nation we are under threats from domestic terrorists, new strains of the damn virus, financial ruin and according to the scientists (Yes, science is back) we need to double-down on our COVID 19 precautions for….well a long time.

January has felt like a year and 2020 felt like 20 years. For now, I’ll attempt to remain mostly sane by posting nature photos, photos of my street dog, and a few of my other pandemic partner. Since we now don’t travel or do much of anything else, I can discuss what’s good on HBO, Netflix, PBS, Acorn TV, and the like.

Distancing snow shoeing in Edison Sno-Park wonderland. I felt fairly sane that day.

On Feb. 1, my guy will celebrate 4 years post-cancer surgery. That’s something to celebrate with my two pandemic partners.

I’ll end with some cuteness. Cuteness helps with sanity.

Hooray, We Made it to Labor Day…

I thought Americans were supposed to stay close to home this summer, thereby protecting themselves and others from COVID-19.  That’s what we thought, what my  friends thought, what we were told. Apparently, the message wasn’t sent to people in neighboring and far away states because tourists are visiting Oregon from California, Washington, New York, Florida, New Hampshire, Maryland, Texas, South Dakota, Minnesota, Montana, Idaho, Tennessee ….and on. On any given day in our neighborhood, we can see 15 or more out-of-state cars. This we find discouraging, especially since adherence to the mandatory mask requirement is woefully inconsistent.

But let’s move on — we made it to Labor Day….the last holiday of summer and traditionally the time when tourists return to their own cities and states. Here’s hoping that happens.

So what have we been up to this last part of summer while avoiding contact with tourists and others?

Lu doing what she likes doing — sleeping

Lu playing hard to get with her friend Chica

We adopted a two year-old female street dog from Guadalajara. On days when I’ve run out of ways to entertain myself before cocktail hour, I photograph the dog, brush the dog, walk the dog, feed the dog and love the dog. She is a sweet addition to our lives.

We kayaked on Hosmer Lake where we struggled to avoid unmasked people at the launch but loved seeing ducklings.

We were masked

Adorable ducklings

And more adorable ducklings

We kayaked with friends on Little Cultus, a beautiful, not as heavily trafficked lake about an hour from our home and visited Crater Lake National Park, about two hours from our home. The park was packed with out-of-state visitors who we avoided. Felt wonderful to view that magnificent lake.

Lu seems indifferent to large bodies of water

A friend guided us on a special hike to a magical little area of the forest. Who knew such beauty existed in Central Oregon.

Deer chewing our neighbor’s bush…He is a beauty.

That’s it. Stay safe and healthy and sane……

More of Life During the Pandemic

Big Summit Prairie in the Ochoco National Forest, our first visit there.  We visited a little late for wildflowers but enjoyed the area anyway.

I’ve stopped counting how many days we’ve been sheltering in place. How long doesn’t really matter. In May, much of Oregon reopened with Phase 1 restrictions and some places, like Bend, moved into Phase 2 in June while other areas, because of outbreaks, lingered in Phase 1. As a recreational destination, Bend welcomes lots of tourists seasonally and tourists are here, seeking some form of modified summer fun, though not necessarily safely. But if one is of a certain age (over 60) and has underlying conditions, life is pretty much still locked down to medical visits, strategic trips to the grocery store, and precious time spent outdoors.

The time outside, in nature, has made sheltering tolerable for these two aging, at risk, seniors who hope, in the future, to travel again.

I’m sure you’ve read story after story about the stress reducing and healing power of spending time in nature. Experts encourage people to take time in nature, while still social distancing and wearing a mask around others. We’ve used our time to explore places new to us and to revisit some favorites.

Another view of the beautiful Big Summit Prairie

With a friend, we took a socially-distancing, mask wearing hike on the Peter Skene Ogden Trail from McKay campground. This is a spectacular waterfall hike.

Paulina Falls, an old favorite that did not disappoint.

Our first kayaking trip of this strange season was to Crane Prairie, an area new to us. Our friend Lynda and her sweet Chica kayaked with us and Lynda pointed out lots of birds. Here they are about to be launched while a mama duck with her ducklings look on.

Crane Prairie 

I miss wildlife viewing but seeing this beaver lodge has to do for now — even though we did not see any beaver.  I’ve longingly looked at photos from Yellowstone, Galapagos, Africa, Baja and wondered…..will I travel again? I hope so.

 

And finally, we took a hike along the Fall River Trail, a new hike for us. Happily, wildflowers were still in bloom.

That’s how we are trying to stay sane. How about you?

Life during a pandemic

Neighborhood deer, emboldened by a reduction in traffic enjoy lunch near our house

It is our 47th day of sheltering-in-place, but perhaps you’ve been sheltering longer than we have and are ahead of us in figuring out, sometimes day-by-day, how to create some kind of life within pandemic guidelines.

We practiced social distancing, compulsive hand washing, and disinfecting weeks before the official order for Oregonians to isolate because in mid March we traveled to the Un of Washington Medical Center, Seattle for my appointment with a specialist. The Seattle area was hit early and hard by the virus. We were there just days before Washington State locked down. As we wandered the mostly deserted streets, distancing when anyone approached, or sat in mostly deserted restaurants, hand sanitizing anxiously, we imagined what lay ahead for the rest of the US. R and I were happy to return to our small town and began preparing for whatever form of lockdown was coming our way. Of course, that meant a trip to the grocery store and wine shop and then some time thinking about how we would manage.

Forty-seven days in, the free-floating anxiety, mostly, is gone. Each morning, I no longer compulsively paw through the freezer, taking inventory (like someone would steal food from us during the night?). While food shortages exist — who is buying all the gluten-free bread?— we both know we’ll have food. I haven’t been inside a grocery store in more than six weeks, though R has a few times, so we’ve patched together a system of Instacart orders, online shopping, quick grocery stops during deserted hours and —helpful family and friends who let us add our necessities to their lists. We are indebted to these folks.

Gluten free rolls, usually readily available pre-pandemic are nowhere to be found, except online.

How are people managing? In different, various ways, I suspect depending on where they live and how seriously they take the pandemic. In Oregon, we are lucky because we live in a beautiful area and can escape outdoors, at least for a long walk, each day.  Doing so has helped us both remain somewhat settled.

One day a month into sheltering-in-place, we drove the 20 miles or so to The Badlands for a hike on the Ancient Juniper Trail.

Only two other couples were on this wide trail.

Desert flowers brightened the walk

Another day, we visited the Crooked River Wetlands Complex in Prineville.

Beautiful yellow-headed blackbirds in the wetlands

Like so many others, we’ve cooked and cleaned up the kitchen everyday, cleaned out closets, cleaned out the garage, finished most spring cleaning (lots of cleaning!), made masks, read or listened to lots of books, watched shows like Belgravia, Miss Fisher (thank goodness for Acorn TV) and Homeland (we’d already finished Grace and Frankie) and as many documentaries about whales and the ocean as I could find, picked up pine needles in the yard, played too many games of Words with Friends, engaged in curbside, distancing visits with friends, watched birds build their nests, completely unaware of a virus danger, and tried to remain sane, which some  days was damn hard. We haven’t delved into discussions about future travel because…..it feels too soon with so much uncertainty.

And now states are beginning to reopen and reopening brings new anxiety about what might happen and what life will be like.

What’s life like in your community?