Pandemic Diary — May 31 to June 6, 2021

Monday, May 31   Deaths  2,671 (+3)   New cases 220

COVID continued taking its toll in May, with daily average deaths returning to about the level of March.

Tuesday, June 1   Deaths  2,674 (+3)   New cases 177

On Memorial Day, M and E went for a drive in the mountains and forests west of Corvallis. The holiday meant that no log trucks would be about. We went to the same area where M had gotten lost more than once on his previous journeys. While he did succeed in finding his way out of the forest on those occasions, he never managed to come out of the forest where he had planned to come out. Ah, but this time would be different, because we now have a detailed map. Here’s a  portion of it, showing some of the area M had been trying to cross. As you see, there are lots of roads, most of which are dead ends and none of which are straight. Plus there is very little useful signage down there. The squares are one-mile sections.

This is part of a downloadable map that cost us $5.99 and opens in an app on the iPhone. We didn’t get turn-by-turn directions, but the phone was able to tell us exactly where we were in the maze.

So, did we go in where we planned and come out where we planned? Of course we did. With E helping with navigation, we made nary a wrong turn. It was lovely and cool up there among the trees. And once in a while, big clearcuts would open up the scene to the big picture.

Wednesday, June 2   Deaths  2,676 (+2)   New cases 356

The New York Times–according to our sources–has revealed that some New Yorkers are now able to “show they were vaccinated using a phone app.” Exciting news. It is not yet clear when this might be available in the rest of the country. 

We’ve made reservations to spend a couple of nights in Newport, on the Oregon coast, starting on Sunday. Although there is fine paved highway that leads directly from Corvallis to Newport, M has suggested a different route for the trip over. Of course he has. 

That fine paved highway, by the way, is U.S. Highway 20, currently the longest active Federal highway. From Corvallis to the west it goes 49 miles to Newport where it ends at the junction with U.S. Highway 101, half a mile from the Pacific Ocean. To the east it goes 3,310 miles, ending at Kenmore Square in ___________? 

Thursday, June 3   Deaths  2,683 (+7)   New cases 267

A full day today, whew. M got up at 4:30 to set his drip irrigation timers. Later, but not much later, E got up and went out to do watering. Then it was time for Tertulia at 8:00 at Coffee Culture. J and R arrived on their electric bikes, but M and E, prosaically, came by car. It was nice, warm enough to sit outside. And with no mask requirement it seemed like old times. J and R’s house addition has progressed through foundation work and now has floor joists. 

We had to rush off so as to get E home for her Zoom exercise class and for M to get busy on his edging project. After class E prepared for her last infusion session, which involved packing up bakery treats to give to the staff at center. After the last infusion, the PICC tube was removed and the staff made a kind of completion ceremony, which included telling her that they never wanted to see her there again. After all, 5 weeks of daily infusions is enough!

After lunch, M took a long nap while E used her time to have a phone call with her brother John. At 4:00 she had her weekly laughter yoga session. M woke up in time to cook some spinach and open some sardines and kippers that we could have for dinner along with E’s potato salad. 

After our post dinner walk we watched a Tom Hanks movie called News of the World. It’s about a young girl who was taken captive by Kiowa Indians when she was very young and then ‘rescued’ by the U.S. Army about 10 years later. The story comes from a novel by Paulette Jiles and contains some basis in fact. 

Friday, June 4   Deaths  2,686 (+3)   New cases 436

A routine day today. E celebrated her first day of freedom from infusion by working in the garden waging war on spider mites. Her weapon is a garden hose. M worked on spreading compost and bark mulch on good old Hummock #3. That project has to be done soon, doesn’t it? Later on we looked at bank statements and paid some bills. Why, asks E, am I paying another $4.75 to Joe Coffee when they are doing nothing for me?  

Saturday, June 5   Deaths  2,691 (+5)   New cases 330

We planned to get some croissants this morning at Le Patissier. Arriving at 8:10 in the morning, we saw perhaps thirty other folks standing in line outside with the same idea. Oh, that’s a long line, and, as we know, it is not a line that moves fast. Fond as we are of those pastries…just a few hundred yards away, the  Mother of Markets also had croissants and they’re weren’t bad.

Then came another morning of weeding and fighting the mite wars. It was great weather to be outside and we got a lot done. Then it was time for grocery shopping and rhubarb harvesting. Sadly, there was not enough time to turn around and make a pie. Hopefully sometime soon. 

Later in the afternoon, E had a phone conference to discuss Cousin’s Week accommodation issues. We made progress there too. 

Sunday, June 6   Deaths  2,694 (+3)   New cases 258

Time to head for the ocean, which is just the other side of the Coast Range. We took the scenic route, leaving the pavement at Falls City and traveling from there to the site of the old company town of Valsetz. The road was washboarded in places, but also wide and pretty easy to follow. We had the same basic GPS as our last trip but hardly needed it. We stopped to eat our tuna sandwiches at the site of the old Valsetz mill. Valsetz was founded in 1924 and continued in existence until 1979. It was a company town in the true sense. Everything was company owned. When the company shut down operations, they also removed all structures and replanted. Just forty years later there are no obvious signs that the town even existed. That’s probably enough of that, but M is planning a separate post about Valsetz, in case anyone would like to know more. It will be in the Road Trips category

After lunch our problem was how to get down off the highlands and make our way to the ocean. In theory, the route was simple, just follow the North Fork of the Siletz River from its headwaters near Valsetz down to where it passes a hamlet called Upper Farm, from which a paved road would take us to the Newport highway. This part of the trip was more of an adventure–no GPS and a narrow, pot-holed road–but eventually it took us through a lovely area called the Siletz River Gorge.