Mockingbird Hill Cottage

Claudia (speaking of myself in the third person) tends to overdo – not always, sometimes she can be a slug. But on a day like yesterday, when oppressively cold weather finally leaves, she goes bonkers.

Okay, back to first person. I got up yesterday, had coffee, wrote a post, put on old clothes and was out the door without eating any breakfast and on my way to the nursery. Since Don was feeling under the weather, I had to get the plants, the produce, and stop at the pharmacy for his prescriptions. I tend to get anxious about going out into the world these days (who doesn’t) and the extra task of picking up the prescriptions added to the anxiety. I took my mask, some gloves (sometimes I wear them, sometimes I don’t, because there are two schools of thought on that) hand sanitizer, some Clorox wipes and drove to the nursery/farm stand. It didn’t start well. I parked my car. Another car pulled in next to mine. I was there first, out of the car first, and the woman in the other car proceeded to walk around her car to within two feet  of me, whereupon she said, “Oh, I’m sorry.” Two feet away. Luckily, we both had on masks, but really, what the heck? She was clueless and my muttering made that my feelings clear. Inside the farm stand, she exhibited the same sort of behavior, crowding people in the aisles. It was only 9 am, but there were a lot of people there. I guess everyone felt as I did, finally freed from freezing temps. Anyway, I spent most of my time avoiding others, moving six feet away when they were clearly in their own little worlds and blithely unaware of social distancing. Same thing happened in the nursery. I always had to be the person to move away. I think people feel that if they’re wearing a mask, all other restrictions are out the window. The whole thing left me feeling tense.

Additional note: this happens in NYC even in normal times. I am always the one to move out of the way, to let people go by, as they seem to be in some world other than the reality of the crowded streets of New York.

I got the produce, took it out to the car, went back to the nursery, got what I wanted while constantly dodging people in the greenhouses – moving to another aisle to allow 6 ft between us – it was like playing dodge ball. Even an employee who was in the greenhouse restocking never made an effort to let me by. I had to stand there and wait for her to make a move that would allow me to safely pass. Exhausting. I loaded up the car, all the while avoiding people in the parking lot. Some people, I must add, were very aware of social distancing and were cordial and friendly about it. Thank goodness. Everyone had a mask on, it’s the rule here in NY, so that wasn’t an issue.

Drove to the pharmacy, called their number, told them I was outside, and a technician appeared with a mask and gloves on and dropped the bag through my window. Drove home, tried to take my mask off while driving, then proceeded to worry that I’d touched my face, tried to squeeze hand sanitizer out of a tube to put it on my face, whereupon it plopped out in a big glob onto the steering wheel.

Oh my god.

I was in the house immediately upon pulling up in the driveway, washing my hands and face. And then rewashing them several times as we unloaded produce and plants. It’s frigging exhausting and since I don’t do it very often, I am unsure of myself. Did I wash my face and hands enough? Did I make sure to disinfect my credit card, my glasses, my wallet, my whatever? (I showered as well.)

This is the new normal.

Then I moved all of the plants outside except for the four heaviest pots, which I moved to the kitchen, near the door, so that Don could take them outside without having to take too many steps. I folded the tarps and stowed them away.

Then I potted all the remaining flowers and mowed the front lawn. I had to mow because rain was on the way, and I insisted Don not partake, although toward the last third of the job, he appeared and begged me to let him mow a bit. He had sunglasses on and his eye was all better, so I relented and let him.

But I bit off a bit more than I could chew, and I was tired. Plus…allergies from mowing and bits of dandelion fluff floating in the air.

I watered all of the pots, collapsed in my chair in the den, ate some pasta that Don made for lunch and remained inert until late in the day when I realized the sun was shining on the porch so I went outside and sat on the glider in a state of bliss. What I had been yearning for was finally here.

I’m so grateful. We have this almost two acres of property to work on and enjoy. We have the porch. We have the gardens. I guess the long wait makes this even more precious.

Stay safe.

Happy Friday.