Welcome to April

Yes, indeed! Welcome to April. Lovely isn't it ? This was yesterday's view to the road from my landing. And this below is the entrance ( well the easy entrance) into the forest down below. As you can see I'm up above both the major forest, my lower fields and,of course, the road.

This morning I was struck by something rather powerful. Although I've been living it - for quite some time now - 90+ days - I reflected instantaneously on what everyone is going through, our current situation and, how that is reflected in my life.

How has this all changed my activities? Well, let's see.

I spend most of my day isolated. I do go into town, here and there, these days less than before. Our local market has its doors locked, one can only order out. And a coffee just seems like a lot to go through the steps of having to make a phone call, go over and pick it up. Post office life is still the same - although there is now a plastic sheet between the postal workers and the public. Yet much conversation and news is passed around as before. Food is being given out by the local church, they allow me, very graciously I might add, to practice on their Steinway and I get to exercise my voice as well. It's becoming something I look forward to each day. And, much more often than not, I'm alone when I practice. I spend days at the cabin seeing no one, There are, of course, cars which pass by. Usually three of four a day.

As I write this it becomes rather obvious that my lifestyle is quite conducive or aligned with the current reality. That's wonderful - yet, what occurred to me this morning was simple. How the hell did I end up here? I moved to this part of Vermont in the very last days of September, came with the idea of finding a cabin, went to a real estate agent, saw a few pieces of land and found my place on Craigslist. Began living here 12/19.

Apparently the first case occurred 11/17. The first diagnosed case was on 12/8. I made my first contact with the former property owner around Nov 7th.

So, this all came to be in 42 days, during which the virus we are all influenced by was doing it's thing. Does it not strike you on just how perfect the reality of my situation completely protected me putting me in a place which has all the prerequisites for a wonderfully creative isolation.

I say all of this out of wonder. Out of great appreciation and thanks. This is not to say that I don't have challenges. The snow made everything wet. I had not prepared enough kindling and had one interesting time of it getting a cooking fire started. It was quite a bit too cold to cook outside again, as I did on Saturday. So, the weather, has been playing April fools indeed. Tomorrow more rain, and the day after and the passageway up to my cabin is surrounded by ruts. Tomorrow I most likely won't come into town but will spend the full day working on the generator - which very much needs maintenance and won't run as before. The car, which is again giving me problems and I'm running out of money to fix it. I'm purchasing lumber for the ceiling and walls on Saturday two hours from here and then returning with it. It has to be housed a few miles from my house because we are a bit concerned putting it at my place, getting it up the road will not be easy with the mud. My point in listing the issues is simple. Life continues to have it's challenges - and yet - I can't believe how it has all been so perfectly orchestrated.

I find inspiration to right to you each day and yet, have not been able to follow it always. This is why there are pauses. Generator and battery issues, and my inability to stay in one place with internet and write. My style of writing with pictures requires me to move through a process which bounces off each picture, therefore it all has to be an active internet process. No power, no internet. No worries of course, next I have to find new batteries and solar panels.

Be well my friends!

As always, thank you all for being here with me. Thomas