Homebound: life amid coronavirus pandemic

I was browsing through a TN magazine when this poem caught my eye. It won third place in a poetry contest for people age 14-18.

To Be A Selfish Sympath
Hamsa Javagal

China’s distraught and in a panic
While more are reported “dead”.
Spreading uncontrolled and rapidly,
Their pleas for help, misread.

No solution reported from China
Leads to Italy’s despair.
Once a small and petty problem,
Now an international nightmare.

Still, no worries come from us-
Our alarms are left on snooze.
We know of no Coronavirus
Except for the one in the news.

But soon the US confirms its first case-
The affirmation seeming surreal.
It’s when the virus could possibly affect us
That problems become a big deal.

Big deal is a massive understatement! I read today's news on Covid-19 that global cases have reached 4,024,737 and 34% of those cases are in the U.S. alone! We knew about the problem back in January, yet we did not take precautions, and … here we are.

The U.S. instituted a 2 week curfew April 8. Those who follow us on this blog know we live aboard our boat Mai Thai on the Tennessee River. Our marina is located in a rural area with a population of a mere 650! Like dutiful citizens, we stayed homebound, venturing out for groceries every two weeks. The lockdown has not affected us as much as others. We're homebodies who love to cook and bake.
Banana bread with cranberries
We practice social distancing when hanging out with boater friends in the open spaces at the marina. We are grateful we could fish, boat and kayak even when quarantined. 
Another lovely day for paddling
So far 2020 has not been kind. Tennessee experienced flooding and tornado outbreaks (Nashville in March, Chattanooga in April) amid the pandemic. Spring has been beautiful with pockets of wintry temperatures of high 30s and low 40s at night. The mallard duck came back to our flower pot to lay eggs, incubate and hatch 5 ducklings, much to our delight. Unfortunately, after a couple of days, the  ducklings were  nowhere to be seen.
Apr 16: Five ducklings hatched on a chilly morning
Apr 7: Lovely bleeding hearts bloomed early
Mar 30: High water in Chattanooga waterfront
Mar 30: Chattanooga downtown was a ghost town
Mar 30: aisle with empty shelves (paper goods and cleaning supplies)
We're glad businesses are now opened, albeit operating at lower capacity, and people are back to work. We miss shopping, visiting with friends, hiking at the state parks, all the stuff we do in our normal everyday life.  For now, we'll be good and stay put, waiting patiently for the deadly coronavirus to go away.

We believe wearing a mask will help mitigate the spread of Covid-19. There are lots of excellent articles about the risks and how to avoid them. Be safe and stay healthy!

This post is shared on Through My Lens, and Image-in-ing.

Updated 6/20/24: I hate broken links, and some articles have been taken down. Covid might be over, but there's always something. We need to be aware to help prevent something like this from happening again. Sharing this post on  Skywatch Friday

Updated 11/19/20: Due to popular demand, I have included a link to my tried and true banana bread recipe.

Comments

  1. Looks like a nice area to shelter in place.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Karen,
      Thanks for visiting! We are fortunate to be in an area that is less density.

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  2. We're living through some strange times, aren't we? Getting out of the house definitely helps--fishing, boating, kayaking, and hiking.

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  3. We sure are! We haven't gone hiking yet as we were afraid it might be crowded since the state parks only recently opened. We might go this weekend.
    Thanks for stopping by!

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  4. It's wonderful you are active and can participate in a lot of physical activities out on the water. The shelves look very empty. We have had many sell outs of various things all throughout. I finally was able to buy a package of toilet paper today at a sale price. I was only ever able to buy 1 package about 1 month ago at about the same price but less paper. The shelves are still quite bare of paper products.

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    Replies
    1. We're lucky to be able to do what we do. Hope things get back to normal soon!

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  5. Hello, we have been staying at home except for food shopping since March 15th. Our parks and trail finally opened jest a few days ago. we still will take precautions, wearing mask and keeping our distance. Until we feel safe. Take care and stay well. I enjoyed your photos. Enjoy your day, wishing you a happy new week!

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    1. Can't wait to be out in the woods too! Take care and be safe!

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  6. Nice of you to join us at https://image-in-ing.blogspot.com/2020/05/a-surprise-visitor.html
    HOpe you're staying safe and well!

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    1. A pleasure to participate. Thank for hosting!

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  7. Nice blog and nice photos. Thanks for sharing.
    Keep well, happy and healthy.
    Happy Birthday to Sophal.

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    1. Thank you Mark! Hope you are doing well too.

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  8. We've been housebound since March 18th. Love your photos!

    Stay safe!

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  9. These are indeed strange times.

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  10. As always Eileen, you have done an excellent job of explaining the situation on every travel adventure you and Sophal take on.
    Good photos and good copy. Hope to see you all later in the summer. Don Ward

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    1. Thank you Don for your kind words. Hope all is well at your end. Looking forward to a good summer, and hope to get together with you then!

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  11. Just saw this blog post! Thank you so much for including my poem. I enjoyed reading your blog post :)

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    1. Glad you liked my post. Your poem was great. Hope you are doing well.

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  12. Yes, lockdown was quite fascinating when you look at how people did it (there's a doco of 32 film makers from around they world and what they're lockdown experience was like - fascinating. THe NZ guy did it alone in a van - that looked horrific) #Skywatch

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    1. Hope we learned our lesson. Even if something's brewing in the horizon, we will be more prepared.

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