Month: March 2022
Macro Monday: Hello Spring
I went for a walk in the woods yesterday to mark the first day of Spring with a few photographs. A thick layer of wet leaves covered the trail, along with puddles left over from the recent rains and melting snow. It was mostly overcast with a few peeks of late afternoon sun. Not too much was going on Spring-wise unless you stopped and looked close, which happens to be my favorite method of discovery.
Pricker bush branches never seem to take the winter off, so once I carefully moved those out of the way (ouch!), I spotted long spindly branches showing off pinkish buds. Aha! There it was…a sure sign of Spring.
Another sign of Spring? The tick who hitchhiked a ride home with me. Fortunately I captured it before it scurried all the way up my leg.
Wordless Wednesday
What a difference two years makes
On March 27th, 2020 I published a post about shocking prices at the gas pump…as well as on the absurdity of life. It was the beginning of a pandemic. A new virus that nobody fully understood – which would fast become a political football and plunge the United States and the world into a chaotic mess. A tumble into the Twilight Zone where toilet paper became the Item To Hoard. And the chicken that kept disappearing from the meat department at Market Basket. Empty shelves in my corner of America.
Wash Your Hands became the new mantra (although it had always been my mantra since taking biochem in college). The shock at the gas pump in March 2020 should have been a positive sign. But everything was shut down. Nowhere to go with a full tank of cheap gas…
Fast forward to yesterday morning. I returned to the same gas station…the same gas pump. It was another WTH moment. The metal signs that hung over the pumps in 2020 were gone and I suspect it was because the prices were rising so fast. Who has time to keep changing the numbers or maybe they didn’t have enough 4s. Whatever.
I just peek at the news now, in print only. Televised Breaking News is unbearable and horrific…and the horror has nothing to do with covid anymore. But somehow I didn’t expect this when I went to buy gas…prices doubled in 2 years:
The surreal is amping up again…falling into another version of the Twilight Zone. Toilet paper is stacked high in the paper goods aisle at Market Basket, costing 50% more than in March 2020. Chicken has doubled in price, but is usually in stock now. Hand sanitizer collects dust on shelf after shelf. I shop as quickly as possible. Grab, pay and go. Sale prices no longer seem relevant.
Once more, something else in life feels out of control. However, even as I continue to wonder if “normal” will ever return, I am profoundly grateful for the life I have…unprecedented high prices and all.
Ragtag Daily Prompt: March
Wordless Wednesday
Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Birds
Macro Monday: Hibiscus in Bloom
It’s the plant that keeps on giving.
My potted hibiscus has remained dormant through most of the winter months, resting comfortably in front of a large (often sunny) picture window. It surprised us recently though, when we noticed blooms bursting out…one after another. I am most grateful for this splash of color as we wait for Spring to arrive.
Hurry up Spring!
Happy Monday everyone.
one letter UP ~ diary 2.0 