Nor, to a great extent, is the outdoors. As the menu of possible activities narrows exponentially—for New York this means no bars, restaurants, gatherings, and nearly all arts/cultural activities—the outdoors is still open for business. It’s one of the few places where social distancing is not only possible, it’s kind of built-in.
Outside of big summer festivals and always-crowded tourist hot spots like Niagara Falls, parks, preserves, and other public green spaces are usually sparsely populated. There are nature preserves in Western New York where I know I will not see one other person, except maybe a caretaker, on any given day, especially now, in the offseason. In fact, there are no staff on duty at most places, though trails remain open. New York State parks also remain open; there’s just no programming and visitors’ center are shuttered.
In our local Facebook gardeners’ group, members, not satisfied with seed-starting, are champing at the bit to get outside and plant. Um, no, it’s really not time yet, with overnight hard freezes still common, but it will be in a couple weeks. At that time, we gardeners can channel our needs to get out and do something. In the meantime, what a great time to make plans, nurture seeds, and take a few quiet walks. Along the wooded trails of a local preserve, I can watch and listen to the birds—migrators are beginning to return—enjoy the different tree forms, and imagine a world before us.
In a world that is beginning to resemble an apocalyptic science fiction film, this brings solace.
The garden is never closed originally appeared on GardenRant on March 17, 2020.
The post The garden is never closed appeared first on GardenRant.
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