My province is in an official state of emergency, with no public gatherings, no non-essential businesses being open, schools closed, and all the other usual things that everyone is dealing with now in 'lockdown' situations. We also have closed provincial borders. I can't visit my parents in Nova Scotia, nor can they visit me. The provinces are like states in the United States. I'm not sure how many states have their borders with other states closed. Not enough, I'm sure!
All our provincial efforts are paying off. We've had a total of 117 cases of COVID-19. That's across the whole province! 77 of those cases are recovered. So, we only have 40 active cases now. A total of 12 people have been hospitalized, but we now only have 5 people in hospital, 3 in ICU. We have had zero deaths in my province. Not a single one. We had an early, rapid shutdown response with fairly consistent abiding by the rules by most people. We are very lucky, but if everywhere had taken such strict, early measures, things would probably be a lot better all around the globe.
I really haven't been particularly worried or stressed, and I'm still not, especially given how well our province is doing. We're not out of the woods yet, but they say that the economy may soon start to open up again if we continue to have such low numbers. For the past couple of weeks, our daily new case number has been 0, 1 or 2. It goes to show that obeying the rules and acting responsibly really does flatten the curve. We also have a relatively low density in our urban areas, and a lot of people live fairly rurally, which helps keep distancing easy.
I have been going for walks in the local park (where the trails have been made one-way only to support distancing). I saw a muskrat on the weekend!
I'm also keeping busy with my usual things around the house, including some crocheting on my Sophie's Universe blanket.
The snow is still in the yard but it's melting and a couple of the raised beds now have no more snow on them. I have some crocuses that are blooming in the flower bed that gets the most sun. Some of the other flower beds are still completely snow covered.
I turned 51 last weekend. It was a bit sad not to be able to visit my parents for my birthday, but it's for the best until things are safer for them and for me. Marc baked me a cake, which was really sweet of him, and it was extremely yummy.
In other news, I set up the incubator to replenish some flock members, and the first chicks hatched today. They are darling, as one might expect. Let's hope for lots of hens!
Also this week, the moths have finally started coming back. I'm using moth bait this year, which is a mix of brown sugar, molasses, yeast, red wine, and fermented apple pieces. It's working really well. So far, I've had a lovely mix of spring species. I'm really happy to be mothing again.
Wanton pinion moth (Lithophane petulca)
Straight-toothed sallow (Eupsilia vinulenta): one specimen with orange spots and another with white spots. I find this kind of diversity within species to be quite fascinating.
Hoary pinion (Lithophane fagina)
Dot-and-dash Swordgrass (Xylena curvimacula)...doesn't it look like it's wearing an evening gown?!
Plush-naped pinion (Lithophane pexata)
So all in all, things are just about normal around here, and I'm really glad I am a bit of a quirky introvert with hobbies that allow me to stay home and amuse myself, and I'm really glad to have a home-based career. Hope everyone in my blogosphere is staying healthy and calm. Carry on!
