Normal is looking more normal

The day is warm and London's biggest park, Springbank, had a sprinkling of people engaged in a number of activities: walking, jogging, skateboarding and biking.

Oh, the pandemic is still modifying behaviour. Most people seemed to be giving others a very wide berth. Social distancing was clearly still in force.

And yet, there was a back to normal  feel to the day that may not be bested until a vaccine is released.

Life goes on

I read an article in The Lancet, I believe, that said we should learn from this covid-19 pandemic. We have been taken down by our hubris.What is hubris? Excessive self-confidence. Pride in oneself bordering on defiance of the gods.

We are changing the planet. Modifying the only home we have and we are doing it in way that can only bring disaster. Covid-19 is a window on the future.

I can recall as a small boy worrying that the immense herds of wild animals found in Africa back in the early '50s were threatened. My mom thought I asked too many questions. I thought adults didn't ask enough.

This little wren is living a life modified by the fact it lives in close proximity to us. But, take us away and this little bird's life will go on. It appreciates us but it doesn't need us. But, in a very real sense, we don't fully appreciate nature and the wild world but we need it. And, we need to keep it rich and diverse and somewhat separate. We need to respect the others with whom we share this planet. Wildlife markets are not places of respect.

The lonely tulip. It was missed by the rabbits.

Off with their heads. Or at least, off with the blooms. One lonely tulip stands in my wife's garden. Left intact, so far, by the grazing rabbits. My guess is that come morning it too will be gone. Heck, even I can see it is probably quite delicious, cool in the evening air and covered with moist raindrops. I'm sure it is not only very pretty but yummy as well.

This blossom is a real pistil.

Our Japanese magnolia, which originated in China but that is another story, is finally in full bloom. It blooms a bit later than the the more common, at least in our neighbourhood, pink magnolia.

I love the look of the blossoms but it is the pistil and stamens at the core of the flower that I find most interesting. I understand all magnolias hide treasures like this deep inside the flowers. They all don't look like this but they are all spectacular, especially in close-up photos.

Should puzzles be sanitized? It's a puzzle.

As self-isolation continues, folks in my neighbourhood are facing the challenge of finding interesting things to do. One answer has been jigsaw puzzles. To this end, folk have been passing puzzles from home to home, mom to daughter and friend to friend. But one question keeps me awake at night; can jigsaw puzzle cats carry the coronavirus?

We're told to keep six-feet or more apart. We're told to wear a mask to protect others from our possibly contaminated breathe. We're told to sanitize this and to sanitize that. Should puzzles be sanitized, and if so, how? It would take a long time to wipe a thousand individual puzzle pieces.

It is a puzzle.

Gardening while self-isolating

Our neighbours are putting this time of self-isolation to good use. They are all out working on their yards: fertilizing, weed-pulling, raking and planting.

I was surprised to learn that many of the garden centres are now open. Oh one must line up to get in and the number allowed into the store or the yard is carefully monitored. And there is little spontaneous, spur-of-the-moment purchasing. You must get, get what you came for and leave. If not the folks waiting to enter would wait a long, long time.

It is beginning to look that our urban lifestyle has been changed by this virus. Until there is a vaccine, we may not be living as we did just a few short months ago.

A silver lining

There have been some bad incidents it's true but for the most part the covid-19 pandemic seems to have brought out the best in people. Young couples with families assisting older seniors missing their grandchildren. Shoppers lining up politely and waiting patiently to enter the store and do their shopping. Strollers keeping their distance but still finding it possible to smile and shout a "hello" and "stay safe."

Signs thanking those who are on the frontline working are common. Seeing the good that the pandemic is drawing out of people seems to be a silver lining in this terrible, global disaster.