Marvellous May

BBee5064
BBee5064 Posts: 1,020 Member
edited July 2020 in Social Groups
I hope this month of May is marvellous for you all.
How are you all doing?
Have anyone of you or your family been affected by covid 19? A couple of my siblings have had it but thankfully they’re ok.
Stay safe & well everyone xx

Replies

  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,724 Member
    I use one weird trick to avoid having family members get COVID: I don't have any family members (at least not immediate ones).

    I have friends who are in medical fields whose work world has been dramatically affected (so far, they haven't gotten the disease). I have other friends with auto-immune diseases who were unable to get their essential prescriptions for Hydrocholorquine, a drug they'd been routinely taking for a long time, because of people grabbing the supply on speculation due to COVID. I guess those are effects on people I know personally.

    I do know a few people (family members of friends) who've actually had COVID. So far, none have died, or been intubated, though some have been very, very ill.

    I've been sheltering at home solo since March 13, and doing fine. Been out a handful of times for groceries, had maybe half a dozen conversations with friends/neighbors in person during that time (from a long safe distance, and outdoors), and that's about it.

    I feel sort of weird (maybe even guilty) about the whole thing, hearing media reports of seniors suffering extremes of loneliness locked up at home, or seeing friends on social media struggling with isolation or stress-eating, or whatever . . . wondering if I'm in denial, or broken in some way.

    I guess I'm grateful to be an introvert, with a significant backlog of craft supplies, plenty of food/clothing/shelter for comfort, no major lockdown-related financial stress so far, and so far no disease.

    The only bump in my personal road is that I'm not yet rowing on water. Only one person at a time is allowed to be in the boathouse (which is in a public park). The only boat I can carry by myself is my racing single (26' long, 12" wide at the waterline, about 31 pounds), and the river water here is still a little bit cold for me to feel comfortable being out on the river in it all by myself, with my Winter-rusted technical skills. That time will come, though.

    I hope everyone else here is getting along fine, and staying healthy!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,724 Member
    Ugh, of course I meant hydroxychlorquine. 🙄
  • BBee5064
    BBee5064 Posts: 1,020 Member
    Thanks Anne
    You most certainly sound like your coping just fine. I’m so pleased to hear it. I’m a NHS volunteer here in the uk & their is an awful lot of lonely people struggling to cope. I think being an introvert is a blessing.
  • BBee5064
    BBee5064 Posts: 1,020 Member
    Sadly On a personal note . We lost a beloved family member to covid 19 yesterday. It’s my brother in laws mum. She was a delightful lady 88 years old. The saddest part is you can’t go & see them. By dear brother in law had to say his goodbyes to his mum over the phone. Heartbreaking!
  • AnnPT77
    AnnPT77 Posts: 31,724 Member
    BBee5064 wrote: »
    Sadly On a personal note . We lost a beloved family member to covid 19 yesterday. It’s my brother in laws mum. She was a delightful lady 88 years old. The saddest part is you can’t go & see them. By dear brother in law had to say his goodbyes to his mum over the phone. Heartbreaking!

    I'm so sorry to hear that BBee. That seems like one of the cruelest facts about this disease, that we can't be with those who are passing. So Sad!

    Sympathies to your family!
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 12,945 Member
    I did some gardening yesterday. Lots of weeding. Dividing some plants that were too thick in places but the seedlings were eaten by slugs or ants in others. I can't believe how many ants there are this year. They are damaging plants. I actually saw ants eating on a radish as I harvested it. I noticed a nest in what should have been snake habitat. Snakes eat slugs, so I put habitat out for them. This year, though it's insane. I mixed some borax and sugar in two formulations and put out bait stations. All stations were overrun by ants within minutes. I'm going to keep them filled so I get to harvest my own garden.

    I also did some work on some bonsai.

    I did a little trimming and wiring on the ginkgo. I am trying to root one of the branches I cut off. Silly me.

    zs4qps4gw7o1.jpg


    The Japanese maple was SO rootbound, I did a repot. Well, I hacked out a bunch of roots and put in new soil. I need to go to the Bonsai shop today to get more soil because the Doug firs could use a repot this year, too.

    73fq4jrpcu5m.jpg


    The cedar didn't need much work; I did a little work on a couple of the Douglas-fir.

    2yydkttehgbi.jpg


    I have a few hazelnut trees I am making into bonsai. I have a big tree out back, and the squirrels and jays plant them around for me where I don't want 'em. Sometimes I pull them and put them in soil. I am doing the same with mimosa trees (Albizia), but they aren't as hardy. I like this particular one:

    ksv5xjjoxk2p.jpg


    I have another I tied the stem in an overhand knot. I'm going to grow that into a LARGE bonsai. I also had a volunteer tulip poplar (Liriodendron) that I potted up. I need some new bonsai pots if I'm going to add to my collection because I haven't killed any recently. I'm kind of out of space, but... it's a fun hobby.






  • BBee5064
    BBee5064 Posts: 1,020 Member
    AnnPT77 wrote: »
    BBee5064 wrote: »
    Sadly On a personal note . We lost a beloved family member to covid 19 yesterday. It’s my brother in laws mum. She was a delightful lady 88 years old. The saddest part is you can’t go & see them. By dear brother in law had to say his goodbyes to his mum over the phone. Heartbreaking!

    I'm so sorry to hear that BBee. That seems like one of the cruelest facts about this disease, that we can't be with those who are passing. So Sad!

    Sympathies to your family!

    Thank you for your kind words 🧡
  • BBee5064
    BBee5064 Posts: 1,020 Member
    Great pictures mtaratoot
  • mtaratoot
    mtaratoot Posts: 12,945 Member
    I should post an updated picture of my maple. I treated it to a new pot which is now the largest bonsai pot I have. I like to keep them small, but when I went out to buy some soil, I perused their pots and some of their bonsai. They had some similar sized bonsai in larger pots; I decided to give mine a gift of more root space.

    I originally picked up a dark blue pot, then I thought about the red color around the edges of the leaves of this plant; I opted for burgundy. I think I like it.

    bm94y2hh3omc.jpg
  • BBee5064
    BBee5064 Posts: 1,020 Member
    Looks lovely 😊