Gifts from the Pandemic

Living in New England is truly a gift during these days of the coronavirus. While Connecticut’s governor doesn’t get the publicity accorded some of our neighboring states, I’d say he’s done a pretty good job managing this outbreak (even though at this writing some in the state are freaking out that our positivity rate has leapt to 3%, the highest since June).

One step he and neighboring governors have taken has been identifying states with large outbreaks and requiring that people coming here from those states quarantine. The net result is that I, along with virtually everyone I know, haven’t ventured out of New England.

The gift in that has been the chance to discover the beauty all around us: from Maine’s rocky coastline to the sweeping sands of Cape Cod and the (usually) quiet tides along Long Island Sound; vast expanses of woodlands, vibrant in the spring with new green and flowering trees, and a riot of color in autumn.

I’ve been hiking a lot more lately, discovering magic close to home and clinging to these waning days of autumn. All of these images are from JB Williams Park, just a mile or so from my house.

I know several people who have used their confinement productively to clean out closets and basements. I figure there’s plenty of time for that when the dark, grey days of November are upon us. Meanwhile, our lovely fall weather has given me the gift of not feeling guilty about that now!