A friend from New York City wrote to say she assumed that we felt quite remote from the tragedy unfolding in that city because we were up in the country.

New York City is sure different than my upstate New York County, but the coronavirus is also very close to us. People are beginning to get sick in many areas – some even here – and just about every business and school in our town is shut down, almost every person is staying inside, as asked.

Rural hospitals are just beginning to feel the Pandemic and it will be a long time before things return to normal here. This is a marathon, not a sprint, and we feel it acutely.

Some things are easier. The hills and fields are beautiful to look at, and we have identified some wonderful restaurants that offer take-out and give us the chance to grab our masks and head out for a drive.

Tonight, we drive to Saratoga and ordered take-out from a wonderful Jamaican pop-up restaurant selling their food out of Saratoga Apple. We’re getting used to the drill. Call ahead: order from an online menu, pay online, show up with masks, social distance inside.

Our food is waiting on a table, we just pick it up and leave. We put it in the oven when we got home, and ate it by candlelight in the dining room, a new corona custom for us. Maria bought me some new hard cider which I love. Later tonight, a movie, maybe two.

On the way home, we drank in the beautiful sky and the wonderful hills all around us. And I took some photos along the way – just a few – and wanted to share them. I’ll put up several. Thanks for coming along.

The above photo is of one of the most beautiful farmhouses in the country, it is on Route 61.