In which there's an update from the Plague Zone: it's hard but there are dragons

"I didn't go to a circus until after I was married."

   -- my mom, reflecting on quarantine measures for polio

My mom, age 4

I heard someone interviewed on the radio last week who bleated something like "there's never been a real epidemic here in living memory," and I thought, "what are you, about eleven years old?"

My mom remembers clearly that summer was called "polio season" when she was growing up.  Summer was when poliomyelitis would strike--fast--leaving children paralyzed and unable breathe without machine-assist.  Polio terrified my Gran, and she kept her kids in their own yard all summer.  No trips to the swimming pool, and definitely no fairs or carnivals or circuses where there were sure to be crowds.  That was normal child-rearing stuff then.

Mom and Dad at a school dance in 1955, the year that Jonas Salk's vaccine became available.
"We were pretty much first in line for the shot," said my mom.

Polio isn't even close to the only real epidemic we've faced "in living memory,"  for crying out loud. 

Epidemiologists have been Monday-morning-quarterbacking the response to Swine Flu in the 1970s and HIV in the 1980s all this time, and they still keep coming back to quarantine, quarantine, quarantine.

That's what we're doing now.  Washington State isn't "on lockdown"...yet.  Our governor was very clear about this in the press conference last night.  Many of us are doing all the stuff we should do.  Not everyone.  Not enough of us, yet.  But we are changing our group behavior, and that's important.

And it's hard.

It's hard not just to run into town for ingredients when we crave tacos and salsa.  

It's hard not to visit my folks every week or so.

It's hard not to see Usual Suspects at the gym, or meet up for lunch after a trail ride.

Patty and I had a "socially distant" lunch this week in the observation shed
by the outdoor arena at Fish Creek Farm.

Staying away from people is hard.  "Not working" sounds like a vacation, but it's actually not that easy.  I haven't been away from a library this long in my entire adult life--and all the libraries here are closed. 

At least it's not winter.  In spring, there is a lot to do on the farm.  I've been working in the gardens, planting peas, potatoes, and spinach, and continuing to clear the ground inside Hænaheim, with the help of the Assistant Gardening Staff, of course.

Pratchett the rooster and his harem are diligent about bug and larva removal.

I've been riding (of course).  I even got to ride with Duana and Hana yesterday.  "Social distancing" isn't very hard when riding mares.

Du and Banana and SWAMP TULIPS, signs of spring

Jim has a bajillion projects also, including making Amazing Food.

Hickory-smoked eggs!  They are delicious.

Monica has been Making Art. 

This event may not happen, but the poster Monica designed looks great

We declared that today was Dragon Making Day, and we all made our own dragon puppets.

We went through the costume trunks, the junk drawers, and the sewing kits
and dumped all the interesting-looking stuff on the table.

Jim's paper bag puppet is sweet and fun.

Monica made the "snapping jaws" of her dragon from recycled real estate signs.

My dragon has fur and fluff and spikes.

Spot the little surprise in the middle of the puppet supplies

So, yeah.  We're doing okay.  We'll get through this.  

But I still want tacos.