One of my favorite songs by my favorite band (life time division) struck me as apt and timely this week. Not all of its lyrics are in full compliance with social distancing requirements (sorry Jeffrey, you can’t come over for tea, after all), but the idea of re-learning how to appreciate the inside with one’s beloved while the outside is so far away certainly resonates. Give it a listen, then read on below?

All the places I’ve been make it hard to begin
To enjoy life again on the inside, but I mean to.
Take a walk around the block
And be glad that I’ve got me some time
To be in from the outside,
And inside with you.

I’m sitting on the corner feeling glad.
Got no money coming in but I can’t be sad.
That was the best cup of coffee I ever had.
And I won’t worry about a thing
Because we’ve got it made,
Here on the inside, outside so far away.

And we’ll laugh and we’ll sing, get someone to bring
Our friends here for tea in the evening,
And Jeffrey makes three.
Take a walk in the park, does the wind in the dark
Sound like music to you?
Well I’m thinking it does to me.

Can you cook, can you sew? Well, I don’t want to know.
That is not what you need on the inside, to make the time go.
Counting lambs, counting sheep
We will fall into sleep
And awake to a new day of living
And loving you so.

(Lyrics by Ian Anderson, copyright 1970)

While we’re relearning how to appreciate the inside, Marcia and I do make an effort to walk outside at least five miles every day for the health benefits (mental and physical) that effort provides. We’ve taken to driving to the countryside beyond downtown Des Moines because, frankly, many of our neighbors’ blatant disregard for social distancing and respect for other peoples’ personal space borders on the appalling. No wonder Iowa’s confirmed case curve is still climbing steeply, and no wonder we’re forecast to be one of the last States to be able to come out of confinement safely. Those conditions here and in other States closely correlate with certain policy approaches taken by a certain political party, but I certainly don’t need to go down that soul-sucking rabbit hole here, do I?

As regular readers know, I do so love to take me some pictures, and as I spend more time in our apartment, I find myself looking at my shortened landscape and still seeing scenes to snap and share. Here’s some shots taken from the inside (we have views from our apartment), as well as a few outside shots, taken on our walks, the quiet urban and exurban landscapes speaking for themselves, with no other humans around to do so.