Summer

Things got better, or at least calmer, in the second half of June. While protests continue, it feels less like DC is directly under attack. Now we "just" have to translate that sense of urgency into productive changes in society to combat racism.

In the meantime, I've been scheduling some downtime. While our stay-at-home orders have started to loosen, most of my friends are not socializing except in socially-distant ways. That means picnics or sitting around a firebowl, and keeps two meters apart. So I have started to see friends, and I'm grateful for the social interaction. (Throughout all of this I have continued to have six or seven hours of video meetings every day, so I don't feel like I'm missing work interactions at all.)

I also figured out a way to take a vacation that didn't break social distancing recommendations - I went camping. I recalled a campground in the far west of Maryand, near to the West Virginia border, that didn't require me to interact with people. Since the campsites are spaced so far apart that you can't see other people, and there are no bath houses, toilet facilities, or water, it was easy to stay completely isolated. I had a relaxing four-day weekend in which I traded worries about COVID and police brutality for worries about bears and rattlesnakes. I hiked, read several books, and breathed in campfire smoke. It was so lovely that I may repeat it again this fall.

Word to the wise - hiking in a forest filled with streams is lovely but if you pitch your tent next to a burbling brook, as I did, you will need to pee approximately a million times a day.

The vegetable garden in my back yard is now taking off. In the picture below, you can see the prolific green beans on the far left, which are producing so much that they feature daily in my menus and I still have extra to freeze for next winter. On the far, back right you can see the garlic turning brown that means it's nearly ready to harvest. I traditionally dig it all upon Fourth of July weekend, so we're right on schedule. I have also harvested lots of raspberries, but am still eagerly waiting for the first figs and tomatoes.

Somber times

Things are... not very good here. I live near a city where there have been serious, violent action against protesters and large numbers of unidentified law enforcement officials have suddenly appeared. I live in a county that is majority African American, and many of my coworkers are Black. People are scared and fed up. As a white person, I have the privileged that I don't feel the same fear that they do. Instead I am sad about the state of my country, angry that my friends and coworkers live in a country where they don't feel safe, and overwhelmed that so many bad things can be happening at once.  

At the same time, much of the world continues as normal. When I talk to some friends or family members, especially those not here in DC, the events seem much more distant. It's a jarring world to live in, spending my work day thinking about and acting on these issues, and then stepping outside the door to my front garden where the bees buzz as if all is right with the world.