these are stressful times, since no matter what we say to our teens about risk, they don't really get it. and if we really restrict their movement, they make everyone miserable. so we're boxed in, and life becomes a compromise that involves some risk.

in our case the good news is that the virus has barely showed up in our small remote 9,000-foot village. the bad news is that if it does show up, it will very likely be our teens who bring it.

but let's not dwell on death and doom. today is a clear, sunny, beautiful day, and i've been taking some time to myself after spinning my wheels for a while. i figure, if it's so hard to type or do work around the house (my main occupations), because of a badly cut finger, maybe something is telling me to back off and enjoy the beautiful weather. the peak of the day here is absolutely gorgeous - blue sky, hot clear sun, dry as a bone. but winter is coming. the colors or what they are, are at their peak. they glow in the afternoon sun.

my typing is a little stilted. i take my time and i miss a lot of letters, have to go back, try again. i don't care, at least not on this blog. i figure, if it's worth it to me to express my mind, it's worth it to take my time, redo it, get it right.

i took a walk with my wife around our five acres. it was a little tour of some of the back corners where we often don't go or at least not every day. they seem to be doing fine. things are growing, and green, and the sun beats down. she says, nice place for a tiny house. i'm thinking, nice place to just keep it just as it is. or maybe get the dead stuff out of the way, at least, so the new trees have a better chance.

some trouble with the kids - in short, they are not getting life satisfaction out of being way out in the country. lockdown is not easy on them, or us. they feel like busting out.

but i am. a little yellow bird, a little off-color, hops around in front of me just now. finally he hears my stilted typing and flies off. he has brought his yellowish beauty to me, from wherever he lives, and is hopping around hoping for some of the sprite i spilled earlier. i was cleaning out a son's room. a thankless job, and, bad as sprite is, i end up pouring some out. some of the critters are no doubt as into it as the kids are.

my stomach is churning, and it's partly because of five or six cups of coffee, most black these days, and partly because of risk. i know that whatever is going on out there, it's not good. the news cycle grinds on. people die. winter gets closer. i need a little good news, another bird maybe, something to get us over the hot part of the afternoon.