We put a whopping 152 miles on our car during the month of April.  I walked 51 miles in the month.  If it wasn’t for the 3 times we went for a “ride in the country” I might have walked farther than I drove!  I think some of my neighbors drive more than 50 miles in a month just going to Walmart and back. 🙂

One of my main goals for our unplanned “sabbatical” has been to complete processing of all of the unprocessed “picks” in my Lightroom catalog.  I’ve been chipping away at the backlog since we retired almost 2 years ago (time flies!), and at the beginning of March had just about 2000 photos.  As of today I am down to just under 700 in two years plus a few stragglers from my current photo-a-day project: 2007 (477) & 2008 (167) and 2020 (47).  There are another 1000 or so photos that are frames from attempts at HDR or Panorama, and I’ve found that current software tends to do a very good job even with old files, so I may play around some with that later.

Finishing those photos won’t mean anything to anyone but me, but it’s a place I’ve wanted to get to for a long time.  I may write in more detail about my organizational structure some other time, but I’d be surprised if more than a fingerful of people really cares about it. 😉

In a cruel twist of irony, an organizer of a North Carolina group calling on the state to ease its coronavirus restrictions was unable to attend two rallies because…she has tested positive for the disease.  She (thankfully) is “asymptomatic” but still.  Irony is irony.

Kathy & I drove into town yesterday for a doctor’s appointment, and were surprised by the number of cars on the road.  Traffic was lighter than usual, sure.  But it doesn’t seem like people are actually staying home, rather using their “free time” to venture here and there.  It will be interesting to see what things are like when stores start to reopen.

For those who don’t know, What the Duck was a photography-oriented comic strip that ran from 2006-2016.  It is now published by Universal Press Syndicate under the name W. T. Duck.  There are a number of sources, but one is GoComics.  I bought this plush W.T. several years ago, and he sits on my desk in this mini beach chair.  He has a twin that hides in a closet somewhere in the house.

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A New York Times article (yes, I read a lot of the Times and the Washington Post) about the reopening of restaurants was interesting.  It’s worth the time, as it delves into a lot of the strategy and planning that goes into re-opening a restaurant under strict virus guidelines.  The article states that a restaurant in Atlanta is planning to open Monday, and that “it intends to sell what will likely be America’s first dry-aged porterhouse steak served by a waiter at a white-tablecloth restaurant in the midst of a global pandemic.”

The article goes on to talk about all of the precautions that restaurants will need to take in order to operate safely.  I don’t know about y’all, but that’s not the restaurant experience I want to return to.  I’m getting along just fine without restaurants, thank you very much.  And if going out to eat means “an experience that is more like a trip to the dental hygienist” I think I’ll keep cooking at home, thank you very much!

All this good eating has resulted in a 10 pound weight loss – the last restaurant meal we had was 6 weeks ago today. 🙂

I’m constantly amazed by the images produced by the Hubble Space Telescope.  It’s even more amazing to realize that Hubble has been orbiting the Earth for 30 years.  Here is a link to a recent NYTimes article about that history, along with a stunning “Birthday Photo.”  Also be sure to follow the link to the 2015 article where various astronomers talk about their favorite photos.

On my walk this morning I was musing about how life is sometimes like a walk in the forest.  Sometimes there is a trail, clearly blazed.  Other times the trail is obscured, either by fallen leaves or by mud, rocks or water.  When the trail is hidden, we can’t see it more than a few feet ahead.  But with each step, the next step becomes clear.  Funny how our eyes always manage to tell our feet where to go next, while keeping an eye out for obstacles.  One step at a time.

Our governor announced yesterday that he is extending our stay-at-home order until May 8, at which time he hopes/expects to be able to implement a phased return to opening businesses. and getting people back to work  Based on that it may be June before we can return to many of our normal activities.  It’s a little frustrating but ultimately seems like a wise approach given the uncertainties.

It’s been interesting to read about the results of these so-called “antibody tests” that show whether or not you have had or have been exposed to the virus.  Evidently the numbers are suggesting that there are far more people that (a) have had the virus but didn’t know it, or (b) had symptoms which were not indicative of the virus but actually had some form of it.  It’s also interesting that the data suggest the virus may have been prevalent in our country a lot earlier than previously thought, and at a surprisingly high level.  I’d love to be able to get the test to see if either or both of us had been exposed.  Assuming that there is some level of immunity from previous exposure, it would be nice to have the peace of mind of knowing that maybe we had less to worry about.  I also think it is a key for getting people back to work again.

As far as these other states that seem to be jumping the gun on opening things up, I’m exercising my best Southern Hospitality and saying, “Y’all go ahead, I think I’ll just sit here and watch for a while and see how it works out.  Bless your heart.” 🙂

In the mean time, it sounds like I’ll be looking for more things to photograph around the house!