04/13/2020
Happy Easter from Lucy's Place!
Some of you may be wondering how it's going here on the Outer Banks during these dark days of the coronavirus. Christine and I have been here since mid February, and we would not want to be anywhere else. The weather has been very nice -- lots of 70 degree days -- and the low population density on the OBX in general -- and here in Southern Shores in particular -- means that we practice social distancing without even trying. Walmart, Home Depot, Food Lion and Harris Tweeter are all open, so we have everything we need. We're getting a lot done at the house (more on that later). Internet is great. Christine is doing French tutoring on line and I've been working from Lucy's Place too.
But there is a downside. In mid-March Dare County closed down the causeway to non residents, including non-resident property owners (like us). The bridge is scheduled to stay closed until the end of April. (That date may be extended, who knows?). So our kids weren't able to join us for Easter, and we can't leave -- if we do, we can't come back. Like elsewhere, all the shops and restaurants are closed, so no eating out or shopping other than for groceries or building supplies. Probably a good thing for the bank account!
So far there have been about a dozen Coronavirus infections reported in Dare County, and one death. That's one too many, but the draconian measures seem to be working. We are making the most of it. Like us, all our friends and neighbors here have been quarantined on the sandbar for two months or longer, so we figure we are all ok and have started socializing again. If we were back in Alexandria we probably wouldn't risk it. Circle Drive is a great place to be. Neighbors from Ocean Boulevard and across Duck Road all come here for walks and bike rides. Local kids not in school come fishing in the turtle pond across the street. (The turtles are all done hibernating and are as numerous as ever.) Again, the low population density means that social distancing is pretty natural. We wave and say hi, but keep a safe distance. I've been going for long bicycle rides every day along the great bike paths in Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills. I have a 13 mile loop and a 22 mile loop mapped out, almost entirely on bike paths. I see other bikers and hikers and runners along the way. We wave or nod to each other as we pass. It's really nice.
Christine has been busy in the garden. We cleared out much of the underbrush in our lot, including plenty of pricker bushes and arm-fulls of poison ivy. (I have the rashes to prove it! Thank God for Calamine lotion.). We've planted a couple fig trees which the deers seem to love. (Chicken wire will hopefully end that romance!) We've planted blueberry bushes and hortensias. We've installed rain gutters and rain barrels and are using the rain water to water our garden. I joke with my neighbors that if the corona virus pandemic gives way to a zombie apocalypse, we'll be ready!
Today -- Easter Monday -- it's windy and rainy. We're getting the tail end of the storms that hit Mississippi and Louisiana so hard. Our prayers go out to those folks. But it reminds us just how nice it is to be stuck inside Lucy's Place, with or without a health emergency.
Stay healthy everybody, eventually things will get better. Hopefully the tough decisions our political leaders are making now will pay off soon. We still don't know if the OBX will be open for business this summer. We all hope so, but some things our out of our hands. God willing we will be. In the meantime here's a shot of the Easter sunrise on the Outer Banks. Hurry back!
