The wind began howling last night, and it did not let up. I looked out the window this morning and saw that the birch trees were doing the wave. I sat up and realized that in addition to it being windy, that it was also quite cold.

A few days ago we were lulled into complacency – we thought spring was here. Temps were in the 40s, it was windless, the sun was shining brightly, and the ice was melting. There were even small puddles on the mats in the horse pen. I figured that because it was late March, this had to be it. I figured wrong.

This morning, when I went out to tend to the horses, I was nearly blown off my feet by the very strong winds. In the past, we’ve gotten wind and cold, but seldom the two together. It about took my breath away. Fortunately, the horse enclosure is downhill and sheltered, so the wind wasn’t as strong as up at the house. I did, of course, bitch and moan about the inclement conditions.

Yes, we have sunlight. And yes, the days are now longer. But it’s really still not spring. I’ve been thinking that it’s actually like Siberia here now – cold, windy, and feeling somewhat remote.

I seldom hear planes now. Traffic has died down. The snowmobilers are out; I suspect that they also have them in the hinterlands. Sad to say, we’ve had little to no communication with our neighbors in the past few years. Now, even less. We do see Kirby who lives down the road. He stands off in the trees (he’s felling them for some wood related project and firewood) but he keeps his distance. It is as though those who ordinarily are keeping their distance are keeping an even further distance.

We are now being required to further maintain social distance, in hopes of keeping the virus from spreading. Some of us can easily do this. Others, such as health care workers, are not as lucky. I feel for those who work in the Mat-Su Regional Care emergency room. If it were me, I’d bow out.

I’m glad I’ve had EMT training. But this is not a profession that I would now want to be in. Altruism only goes so far. Those people who do decide to do this kind of work should be admired because they are putting their lives on the line.

I am not complaining. Rather, I’m just making some observations

The biggest change here is that Pete’s now at home more than before. The past few meetings that he’s attended have been online. And he’s doing his coursework online. The best part is that commuting time is now spent at home. Today, we first took Tyra and Hrimmi for a walk around the loop, in order to test the wind waters. Then we took Tyra and Raudi down road and out on the snowmachine trail loop. They were both glad to get out. If it stays cold, we’ll be able to ride them on the trails this week.

I am making progress on Forks. I am going to have to call those I interviewed, for an afterword, and get an update since the time frame is two weeks in 2017. But I can do this. It’s just not something that I enjoy doing.

Next: 89. 3/30/20: Revisiting the White Highway