Grocery stores are rationing milk; farmers are dumping milk into their manure pits.
Welcome, April 2020.
Since I last wrote a blog post, Lancaster County and the whole state of Pennsylvania was put under a stay-at-home order. Since I haven’t been going anywhere besides work, this hasn’t changed much for me, except it feels more serious now. Especially since the stay-home order is in place until the end of April.
On Sunday afternoon, I went on a long walk and took pictures of local places closed down because of COVID-19. Or, in the case of the photo on the left, a picture of a sign in someone’s yard, showing appreciation for first responders, truckers, and grocery workers.
Traffic seemed normal on Sunday and I wondered how many people are obeying the stay-at-home order. It certainly wasn’t the mournful, empty streets seen on the news. But weekday evenings, like right now, as I type, seem pretty quiet. Probably the shutdown orders are felt more in big cities.
Dad is back to work. Woodshops were allowed to re-open since they provide wood shavings for farmers to use as animal bedding, so they are considered part of the essential food chain.
My grandma, age eighty-six, is hunkered down in her small house. She has a sign on her door reading, “No Visitors.” She even told Mom, “I’m ironing my mail and newspapers to kill any coronavirus that might be on it”. (This precaution isn’t as novel as it may sound, apparently people did the same thing during the 1918 flu.)
My friends’ group chat is busy these days. Someone suggested we get together and have a tailgate prayer meeting in an apple orchard and just “keep a safe distance from each other.” “But I guess that’s illegal right now” came the next message.
Although an illegal meeting in the woods sounded exciting, I was glad when plans changed to have a 24-hour prayer chain, with a different person praying each hour, at their home.
Restrictions are changing so fast people aren’t sure what’s legal and what’s not.
Most of the people I know are taking the virus seriously, even if they weren’t at first. Churches are closed, schools shut, funerals and weddings tiny and private, events canceled or postponed until who knows when. Of course, there’s the occasional person carrying on with travel plans or hosting a big wedding, but most people are following the guidelines. And when I hear the grim news coming from New York City, I’m glad most of my community is taking this seriously.
I’m sewing some new dresses for three of my nieces. I spoke to my sister-in-law on the phone and said, “I should be finished soon. But I’m not sure how to get them to your house legally!”
“Well, there’s no hurry,” Erin said. “We aren’t going anywhere where they’d wear the new dresses, anyway.”
Mom left the house today to pick up milk from a dairy farm. The milk company had told the farmer to dump his milk. (They lost a big contract when the schools closed and many farmers have had to dump their milk). This dairy farmer had put the word out that he would give the milk to anyone who stopped by his farm.
So we had milk-based potato soup for supper. Tomorrow, we’ll have custard.
Blessings and stay safe. ~Susan
It certainly is a memorable spring this year ! Personally I think that God is trying to get people’s attention.
I am thankful to be at home more , less laundry , etc..🙂
The custard looks good !
Amazing how the whole world’s focus is changing, right?
Less laundry and less fuss about social events has been a relief in some ways.
That’s a clever idea, ironing the mail.
Jolene said the price of eggs has increased 150% in the past two weeks, not that’s a bad thing. It was unsustainably low before.
150%! Suddenly raising your own chickens looks like a good idea.
Cows are a different story. According to farmer friends in NY, cows are hardly selling at auctions.
Did you iron the milk first, to kill the germs?
We boiled the milk, which is how you iron liquids.