2020 Life Logs, Day 159: Switching Gears Mid-Day
Date: Monday, June 8, 2020
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Windy; High 75, Low 54 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

The really good news of the day is that Ollie’s fever broke during the night and he is back to feeling fine. We have various ideas of what caused the fever, but no one thinks it was coronavirus related. I started my day thinking I would not be seeing the Goldstones as a safety measure because of Ollie’s fever, but I ended my day taking Sam, Jonah, and Ollie to beach. I had just finished watching a New York Times Living Well webinar on Lowering Coronavirus Risk with Professor Erin Bromage when Jed called to explore the possibilities. Together we decided that keeping the boys active and in outdoor activities is the best for all of us. So, I volunteered to take all three to the beach this afternoon and Jed agreed.
Jed delivered the boys here and then he left as he had to make a trip into Woods Hole to check on things at work. It was a beautiful afternoon with lots of sunshine, but it was windy at the beach which made it feel cooler that we expected. I was glad I had on a long sleeve beach shirt. Sam is the only one who got into the water today as he had his wet suit on. Jonah spent most of his time finding ways to hide under towels to stay out of the wind. And Ollie played on the edge of the water, just not jumping in. Just as we were getting in the car to go home, I got a call from Heather saying she was on her way to pick Jed up. He rode his bicycle into Woods Hole and had a bike accident on his way home. She didn’t know the details at that point, but said that he had called and said something about a flat tire and a wipe out, but that he sounded okay. By the time I got the boys home, Heather was pulling in with Jed. He had fallen off the bike when the tire blew and skidded on the pavement. Thankfully, nothing broken, but some areas of pavement ‘burn’. Ouch.

Now back to the webinar with Erin Bromage. He is the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Associate Professor of Biology whose blog discussing how to lower your risk of getting the coronavirus went viral a couple of weeks ago. His appeal is the down-to-earth way he takes the current data and translates it into practical ways of protecting yourself and your family. I took some notes today and will share them with you here. He had nothing to say that I really had not already heard, but it is the way he puts it all together that is so valuable.

1. His number one recommendation is for everyone to keep track of the number of positive test results being reported by your state. If it is between 2 and 5 per cent, then your state is probably doing well. Under 2 per cent is ideal. His advice is to simply Google your state and Covid-19 to get the results for your state. The lower the percentage, the less community transmission. And that is a good thing.
2. For parents, he recommends making a pact with neighborhood parents. You need to know what each family is doing in terms of safety. Then pick a group that you feel safe with and let your children play together outside—never inside someone else’s home. Once you pick a group, stick with it and don’t mix your circles of friends.
3. Bromage feels that most park environments are fairly safe as along as you maintain that six-foot spacing and have hand sanitizer with you. When at the beach, he doesn’t think you need to worry about which way the wind is blowing as it switches too quickly. Just pick a space separate from others and stay within your space.
4. For hair cuts, he recommends finding someone who will do your whole family at once. Skip getting your hair washed or any other thing done that is not absolutely essential right now. Just go get your hair cut, no waiting in waiting rooms, and make sure only every other chair in the salon is in use.
5. Bromage is really hopeful that we are going to be able to get kids back in schools, but it is going to take a huge amount of planning. He is suggesting a pod approach of 15 to 20 students and no mixing of pods for any reason. But he admits that no matter what is done, there will be transmission. Parents just have to ask what level of risk they are willing to take.
6. On public transportation. People are walking and using their own cars, but they are not yet convinced that public transportation is safe. If you do need to take public transportation, invest in a high quality mask as those become available. Be aware of the surfaces you touch. Carry alcohol rub and use it immediately after exiting. Use an N95 mask in high risk areas and treat it as contaminated. Wear it, then store it in a closed plastic box you carry with you. When you get home, open it up to air out. Using this protocol, he thinks you can use same mask over and over without risk. He mentioned that everyone on airlines must wear a mask, but airlines are not enforcing this. If everyone is not wearing a mask, it puts everyone at risk.
7. On bathrooms—vacuum flush toilets on airlines are the safest, porta potties are okay as long you use hand sanitizer when you exit, but indoor flush toilets are the most risky because they aerosolize. Just remember that the virus hangs in the air for about eight minutes.
8. If you do find yourself in a high risk situation, like being part of a protest, just make sure you self-isolate for ten days afterwards. And get tested if that is possible.
9. Final recommendations—manage your interactions. Constantly be aware of SPACE and the LENGTH OF TIME of encounters. Keep it short. WEAR MASKS. And never gather with TOO MANY PEOPLE. The way you manage your space is up to you and doing it responsibly is the most important thing you can do.
10. Bromage ended by saying that he is optimistic about the level of cooperation between scientists and that he really believes most people are trying to do the right thing.
This New York Times webinar is called Live Well and is aired every Monday at 1 pm EDT. It is hosted by Tara Parker-Pope. To register for future webinars, go to https://timesevents.nytimes.com/

2020 Life Logs, Day 158: Still Inching Along
Date: Sunday, June 7, 2020
Weather: Partly Cloudy; High 66, Low 53 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

It was a low-key day here, just inching along . . . breakfast outside while playing ball with Shadow, a trip to buy some plants for Heather and Jed’s front yard, a refrigerator clean-out, lunch, and a Skype call with Justin and family. Then I started digging the holes to plant more tomatoes in my new tomato patch. I took a break and delivered the Black-eyed Susans, Lupin, and Echinacea to Heather and Jed’s. We are taking precautions to protect me until we know what is causing Ollie’s fever. Heather and I both wore masks and kept a good physical distance. Ollie came out to say hello but he sat on the front door step. His fever is no better, but it is no worse. He is not eating much, but he says that other than an unsettled tummy, he feels okay—just no energy. Once the plants were delivered, I returned home and finished planting today’s tomatoes. I spent my evening watching a couple of episodes of Grantchester. This is a Masterpiece Theater production that will begin airing their fifth season in a couple of weeks. I had never heard of Grantchester, but when I learned that Season 5 would begin in June, I decided to go back and watch the first four seasons to be ready for Season 5. I am only in Season 2, so I have to binge watch in the next two weeks.

Things are going along okay in Puerto Rico and it as great to get an update from Justin and to talk to Jo, Ziggy, and Coco on Skype.
Gardening is going well and it was great to see how their horse Hopi’s baby, Barnaby, has grown. Justin says the beaches are still closed for general hanging out. You can go to the beach to exercise or walk with your family, but no sitting down and visiting. They are a bit nervous about the prediction that this is going to be a very active hurricane season, but otherwise they are doing what the rest of us are doing which is to find creative ways to survive this pandemic and its economic impact. While writing this, I am watching a special on the coronavirus around the world. I find it fascinating to see how different countries have dealt with this. Different countries came up with different plans, but once a country settled on a plan, everyone went all in to make it work. It is depressing to see how the people of this country have dealt with the virus. It has become a political issue and it is like we are not all fighting the same disease. No one has ever said, “Divided we stand.” But divided we are on everything right now and we are without national leadership. Very scary times.

2020 Life Logs, Day 157: Inch by Inch, Row by Row
Date: Saturday, June 6, 2020
Weather: Dibble Dops of Rain Here and There; High 72, Low 59 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Among the many ‘treasures’ in my basement is a song chart of The Garden Song. It has been sung by Pete Seeger, by Peter, Paul and Mary, John Denver, and every first grader I ever taught. Tonight I went down to the basement to dig that chart out and have a moment of remembrance with it as during the day today, I thought of it often.
“Inch by inch, row by row, gonna make this garden grow. All it takes is a rake and hoe and piece of fertile ground. Inch by inch, row by row, someone bless these seeds I sow. Someone warm them from below ‘til the rain comes tumbling down.” I thought of it this morning as I read more of Ta’Hanisi Coates book, Between the World and Me. I thought of all of the protesters out on the streets around this country. I wish the change to total racial equality could happen faster, but it seems to move inch by inch, row by row. But at least it is does seem to be moving now. Then I thought of the song as I worked in the garden. I seem to be moving at the speed of a snail this year, but I am making progress.
I was particularly proud of getting the bean tower restrung. I have two bean towers that have been in Heather’s garden for the past few years. It is a tall circular structure with vertical stringers for pole beans to run up. The last time these were strung it was done by Mark. I don’t remember if it was in 2015 or 2016, but they were definitely in need of being restrung. I was convinced that it was a difficult task, but it wasn’t. I got one done today and will do the other one in the next day or so. Again, it’s that old “inch by inch” mentality . . . a little bit at a time. The raised beds are partially planted and the area Jed cleared for me to turn into a tomato patch got three more tomatoes planted today. I hope to double that tomorrow, maybe even triple the number. Progress is being made.

This afternoon, just as I was thinking of driving over to the Goldstones to pick up some packages I got a text from Heather telling me that Ollie has a temperature. Normally that would not be earth shattering news, but in these days of the coronavirus, it is scary. The pediatrician is saying no problem. Lots of kids are experiencing a virus of some sort right now. But my question, as well as Heather’s, is what kind of virus? They are not testing, so they have no idea if it is coronavirus. Hopefully, whatever Ollie has is just a run of the mill virus. But to be on the safe side, I will keep a distance for a few days. I did go over this afternoon and took some Outshine juice popsicles for Ollie to share with his brothers. And one of the packages that had been delivered were dive booties for Ollie and Jonah, so I left those for them. I visited by being on the back deck while Ollie was inside. And I wore a mask. I will really miss being with the Goldpebbles for a couple of days, but best to be careful.

I’ll end with a quote from the book by Ta’Nehisi Coates’ book that I am reading that left me in tears this morning. The whole book is a letter form Ta’Nehisi to his 15-year-old son. “You have to make your peace with the chaos, but you cannot lie. You cannot forget how much they took from us and how they transfigured our very bodies into sugar, tobacco, cotton, and gold.” So true, so sad.

2020 Life Logs, Day 156: Lack of Ambition
Date: Friday, June 5, 2020
Weather: Rain Early, Overcast; High 71, Low 63 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

I’ll blame it on the dreary day, but for whatever reason, I had a total lack of ambition today. In other words, I was useless. I did have a list of emails I needed to write, so even though I wanted to do nothing, I sat at my computer and checked things off my list. As I was doing this, a bird made the rounds of the cottage rain gutters which desperately need to be cleaned out. But this one bird did part of the job for me. As I sat at my computer, I kept hearing a tapping noise. When I looked out the front door, I saw that the stoop and stairs were covered with dried leaves. Then I looked up and saw only the tail of the bird that was obviously finding food among the dried leaves in the gutter. I just let her continue and swept things up once she was finished. She did this on the front and the back of the house. Watching her work so hard finally got me moving. I needed to plant tomato plants in the area where Jed cleared out the small trees last week. The problem is raking the leaves away and digging the holes. The ground in that area is a web of various kinds of roots, so the digging requires some strength and then pulling on the roots to get them out. Not a great activity for my back. I worked slowly and got only 3 tomato plants in the ground. I also planted some sunflower seedlings that I started indoors. So not a lot done this afternoon, but I think things will go more quickly tomorrow now that I have a process.

When I came inside, I needed to just sit for a bit, so I downloaded a book from Kindle on Mark’s old tablet. I am still reading the Harry Potter series, but Heather mentioned a book by Ta-Nehisi Coates yesterday that she thinks should to be required reading for all Americans, especially right now. The title is Between the World and Me. If you are not familiar with the book, it is written as a letter from the author to his 15-year-old son about the realities of being Black in the United States of America. It is my very first attempt to read a book on a tablet. I’d prefer a hard copy, but so far, I find reading this book on the tablet is working for me. I’m only a few pages in, but I agree with Heather that this should be required reading.

I want to thank my friend Bruce Woodin who sent an email pointing out that I had wrongly identified the crabs that Jonah was finding yesterday. I called them ghost crabs, but ghost crabs are mostly found in tropical and subtropical parts of the world. I took many photos of them as we sailed around the world.

01 Crabby Pirate Greeting on Ile du Coin

My name for them was pirate crabs because they often had one eye closed making them look like they had on a pirate patch. I’m including a photo that I took of a ‘pirate’ crab in Chagos to get Bruce’s confirmation. The crabs I have been calling ghost crabs here on the Cape are from the genus Emerita and are commonly called sand crabs, mole crabs, or sand fleas. Bruce knows my passion for correctly identifying flora and fauna, so I really appreciate his correction.

2020 Life Logs, Day 154: First Beach Adventure of the Season
Date: Wednesday, June 3, 2020
Weather: Mix of Sun and Clouds; High 70, Low 60 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

We are experiencing a mix of weather during each day with sunny mornings that turn into afternoons with a mix of sun and clouds. When the sun is out, it can feel warm, but when the clouds take over and there is wind, you need to grab a jacket. I had offered to take the boys this afternoon since it was a live webinar day for Heather. I didn’t hear back, so I assumed they had made other plans. But while watching the webinar, I heard my phone ding announcing a text. I checked and then saw that Heather had texted earlier, but I had missed it. She was asking me to pick up the boys before the webinar. Oops. I headed that way, but by the time I arrived, the webinar was almost over. At least the house was quiet. Each of the boys was in a different part of the house reading. But Heather and Jed both had an afternoon of work to do, so the boys went home with me. Ollie brought his violin so he could have his 4 pm violin lesson on Skype, but before that there was time to head out in the kayaks for a little water play. It was cloudy and there were even a few raindrops, but that didn’t stop the fun.
Ollie headed back to the dock in time to get ready for his violin lesson and I went back to the house with him in case he needed my help. He didn’t, but it gave me a chance to do a little prep for dinner as I had invited the whole gang over. Since I always sit down on the dock when the boys are out in the kayaks, it can make getting dinner ready a little tricky. So the violin lesson gave me a chance to ready things. After the violin lesson, we headed back down to the dock and the boys spent another hour kayaking out to a shallow area where they were able to get into the water. The clouds had cleared and it was suddenly very sunny and warm. I had to wear a jacket prior to the violin lesson but certainly didn’t need one later. Sometime around 6 pm, the Goldpebbles returned to the dock and were ready to call it a day.
That is, until we got back to the cottage and Sam suddenly decided that we should head to the beach. Even Jonah, who is usually freezing, was anxious to make a first trip to the beach. I called Heather and Jed and asked them to meet us at the beach and we were off. The boys wanted their snorkel gear but I told them momma had already thought of that and was bringing it. Actually, what Heather had said to me on the phone was that she and Jed would meet us at the beach and they would bring masks. I assumed that meant snorkel masks. But what she meant was face masks! But that didn’t stop the boys from diving into the water. It was windy and felt cold at the beach, which is only 2 miles from the cottage, but they were absolutely ready for their first beach adventure of the season. I headed home to get dinner ready. We did have a late dinner, but it was worth it as we had three very happy boys.

2020 Life Logs, Day 153: More of the Same
Date: Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Weather: Mix of Sun and Clouds, Felt Chilly; High 64, Low 55 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

Today was just more of the same. More weather that felt cooler than it should, more gardening, another trip to a local nursery to buy a few plants. I did sit outside in the sunshine to visit with Karen Baranowski. She had come to help the aunties next door and we visited afterwards. And I did a refrigerator clean out that meant I spent time cooking some things to keep them from going bad. I had a Zoom physical therapy session and the trainer came up with a new exercise he wants me to do before I go on walks with Shadow. I have been struggling with pain during those walks and he thinks this new exercise might help. He also wants me to keep doing those press ups. He believes the good they can do outweighs the possible inflammation they can cause. I’ll try them until I meet with him on Zoom again on Thursday and then decide if they should remain as part of my daily schedule.

2020 Life Logs, Day 152: June 1st
Date: Monday, June 1, 2020
Weather: Mix of Sun and Clouds, Felt Chilly; High 62, Low 46 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

To me it seems like it was just yesterday that it was mid-March and we launched into the coronavirus stay-at-home time. Now it is June 1st and I am having a hard time knowing where the time went. It has just been a blur. I know that for the past 6 weeks I have been dealing with back issues and dealing with a puppy with gastro-intestinal issues. Those issues, plus the Goldstone move from Vidal Avenue to Grasmere Drive, filled the last two and a half months. Time just seems different in these coronavirus days.

I did work on gardening today and got a few things planted, but I am paying for it with increased pain tonight. I met with my primary care physician on Zoom this morning and he agreed to order an MRI to see what is really happening. I have an appointment on June 9th for the MRI. I meet on Zoom with the physical therapist tomorrow and I’ll have to report that I have not been doing those McKenzie press ups that he prescribed since our last meeting. I thought it was helping to relieve the inflammation by not doing them, but tonight I am in more pain that before. So maybe I should try them again. We’ll make that decision tomorrow.

Overshadowing everything in life right now are the protests in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd by a policeman. Our President today made what I consider crazy statements about how he plans to proceed to establish law and order by using our military against the people. We need a President of peace and justice, not a President of law and order. We all know that violence only begets violence. We need leadership to try to steer us away from violence and toward a peaceful and just solution. But we know that leadership is not forthcoming. Where things go from here is just too scary.

2020 Life Logs, Day 151: Kayaking, Silent Community Vigil, Visit with Friends
Date: Sunday, May 31, 2020
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 68, Low 45 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

It was a lovely Sunday. The sun was shining, and it felt warm despite the wind from the north. My back issue is no better, but at least I am able to do half-mile walks with Shadow twice a day. I didn’t really get to the gardening today. Maybe tomorrow.
Late morning the Goldstones arrived and took off on a kayaking and fishing adventure down the Eel River to the Washburn Island. Washburn Island provides the barrier between the river and the Nantucket Sound. Each of the Goldpebbles was in their own kayak when they left the dock and Heather and Jed were in the two-man inflatable. Once they were off, I went back to the cottage to organize things for lunch when they returned and took time to play ball with Shadow and just sit in the sun and read the New York Times daily news on my phone. When the gang returned, we had a late lunch, sitting outside. The Goldstones then headed home so they could ride their bikes to the Village Green for the 4 pm Silent Community Vigil honoring the memory of George Floyd. I traveled separately, but met them on the Green for the 15-minute silent vigil.
It was a very comforting feeling to see so many Falmouth families with children, young people, and the older generation all wearing masks and using physical distancing during the vigil. The bells from the Congregational Church rang to begin and end the vigil, and during the 15-minute vigil a woman kept beat on a drum. After the vigil, the Goldstones headed down Main Street and I headed to Midge and Bill Frieswyk’s home for a gathering of our dining-in group. We were minus Olivia and Terry White as Olivia is on the Steering Committee of the No Place for Hate group that sponsored the vigil and they were meeting on Zoom afterwards to make plans for future actions. I arrived late for the gathering of friends, but it was great to visit outside, using proper physical distancing, with Bruce and Jane Woodin, Karen and Peter Baranowski, and the Midge and Bill Frieswyk. This group has become my inner circle of friends and this was the first time we have been together since February. We didn’t have dinner together as usual, but each brought our own drinks and appetizers to enjoy while visiting.

Right now I am watching what is happening across the country tonight in protest of the murder of George Floyd. But it is much more. The rage of years of racism are exploding all over the country and it is so hard to watch. It seems unbelievable that we are living through a pandemic like none we have seen since the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic, an economic crisis that rivals the Great Depression of the 1930’s, and civil unrest that rivals what we saw in 1968. Our democracy is being tested. May we be strong enough to come through this and be a better people, a better nation.

2020 Life Logs, Day 150: Saturday—Not Sure Where It Went
Date: Saturday, May 30, 2020
Weather: Mostly Sunny; High 71, Low 57 degrees F
Location: At Home in The Cottage, East Falmouth, MA

This was one of those days that just flew by. I’m really not sure where it went. I went to Heather and Jed’s near noon to deliver a few things and just say hello. Then I came home, had lunch, and worked on setting up the drip irrigation system in my raised beds. I got started on this project last fall, but never completed it. I’ll continue to work on that tomorrow and hope to get things planted as well. I did watch the SpaceX launch this afternoon. That was a great success. And then tonight I watched a movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood with Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt. It was a nice diversion.