Today was one of those days when the changes the world has undergone which for us has meant an irritating interruption in our usual schedule, not much more, with the added complication of maintaining physical distance, wearing face masks when in enclosed spaces, and being unable to casually and spontaneously indulge in habitual albeit fairly rare shopping expeditions, somewhat complicating our days.

As, for example, having to get up at the truly nasty hour of 6:00, to arrive at our supermarket destination to do grocery shopping at 7:00 a.m.. Later, driving off to try to find a garden center reasonably accessible, searching for some of the annuals that our garden has been missing -- to find nothing at all of any use to us. Mere irritations given the complex changes that have taken place in people's lives; everything from being ill, to losing a family member, being unemployed, having to access a food bank, worrying about rent or the mortgage and coping with unhappy children.

People really are tired of being cloistered, of living under lockdown conditions. Not we two in particular, since the lockdown hasn't made that much of a change in our lives. Young people in however, miss their friends, their usual preoccupations, they are wistful and angry at one and the same time. We saw for the first time in months people sitting out at restaurant outdoor patios, enjoying themselves. Traffic was incredibly heavy, though many people are still not working.


But places of commerce and retail businesses are steadily re-opening. Garden centers not so much, as we discovered when we went looking and found them empty, and many with just hanging baskets or floral arrangements or perennials in stock, responding only to pre-orders and curbside pickup. We went by the pet groomers to ensure they had re-opened. Face masks are a must-wear, and people are escorted in, singly or in pairs. Our appointment for Jackie and Jillie is coming up; it'll be next week.

As for the supermarket, it was a ghostly place. Which suited us well enough. So few shoppers that the store employees vastly outnumbered them. Quiet and well enough stocked for us to zip along the aisles with practised ease, to pick up all the items we reminded ourselves not to forget. The entire process still takes us an hour. And almost as long once home again to unpack, clean and store everything. The empty store informed us that people are no longer willing to go out of their way to avoid social contact, preferring to go whenever they like, irrespective of close physical contact with a multitude of other shoppers.

It was still early, barely afternoon when we launched ourselves on our daily ramble through the forest with Jackie and Jillie. No one out on the trails at all until we were halfway through and then we came across others whose dogs were patiently walking them. But not many. No canine friends for Jackie and Jillie to romp with briefly; these were all strangers, as it were.

Buttercups are now appearing a little more frequently aside the trails, but though we've seen cowvetch trailing around and about other vegetation, none yet have flowered, and nor have we yet seen daisies anywhere in the forest to this point. We did see a pair of Hairy woodpeckers examining a pretty healthy looking mature tree trunk. Too healthy for their purposes; and they soon flew off elsewhere to continue their search.

By the time we were ready to leave the ravine after our circuit, we were in the company of two little hot-dogs, minus the buns and mustard. We had prepared a bottle of water to bring along but had forgotten it at home. When they'd been in the truck with us earlier in our search for bedding plants the sunglare through the windshield inspired them to drink plenty of water. When we arrived home from the ravine and they were offered cool liquid, this time they had no interest, so we had felt a twinge of unneeded guilt out on the trails.