Signs of Spring

Friday
It was a miserable winter in southern Ohio. Although temperatures were milder than usual, and we had very little snow, skies were interminably grey, and we hardly saw the sun, which really got me down. Last week, we escaped for a week to Florida in search of the sun, and now we are back, signs of Spring are all around us - the grass is looking greener, snow drops and daffodils are coming out, fresh green leaves are appearing on some bushes. Some of these signs were evident at Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum, where we were walking early afternoon. 
After our walk, we went to the supermarket  - it was crazy - not in the sense of being crowded, but so many shelves were empty - of course no toilet paper, kitchen roll, hand sanitizer, tissues, kitchen cleaning products, but also negligible detergent, no milk, no eggs, no bread, no pasta, negligible chicken...!  Come on people, I know we’re in unknown territory with this Coronavirus, but stop stockpiling, and give some thought to others!
Things have changed drastically the last few days since the administration seems to have finally woken up to the crisis. Major sporting events have been cancelled, retirement homes are in lock down, schools and universities in Ohio are closed for three weeks, or teaching online, workers are being encouraged to work at home where possible, public gatherings over 100 are prohibited, so no plays, concerts etc. In the case of churches, it was left up to individual churches our denominations. Ours has chosen to cancel church the next two Sundays, then reviewing the situation, probably a sensible decision for our church, since many are in the critical age group.Testing has  been a fiasco so far, with not enough testing kits available, so there are probably many more cases than are being reported.
Challenging times - 2020 will certainly be a year to remember... or forget!
Hoping my readers and followers are staying healthy!