Not in the obvious ways – I feel reasonably fine. Still just feels like a cold with a lingering cough. The fever came back, but it’s gone now again and so is the headache. I’m able to walk Scout myself – each morning walk is anywhere from 20 to 60 minutes, depending on the weather. So that’s all alright.
But this week has been a missed opportunity, thanks to having to quarantine. For the past 15 months, I have not once seen the Merry Dancers (aka Northern Lights). For the first six months, it was due to my nervousness at driving after dark. Then it was the summer months, and the sun wasn’t setting until 11p.m., which is just a tad too late to be out driving, even if I was more confident. And then, this past autumn, I did try going out a couple of times, but the clear evenings were few and far between, and like anything with nature, there are no guarantees.
But this week, the lights have been phenomenal. How do I know? From all the photos people are posting from all over Orkney. Every evening this week the northern sky has been very busy. One person even saw them from here in town; unusual, as you normally have to get away from the lights of the town – my house faces south, so I can’t even view them from my front yard. I could still isolate and get in my car and drive up Wideford Hill, or over to Inganess Beach, but that doesn’t seem like a good idea. It’s one thing to take the dog for a walk in a deserted field less than 200 yards from your house during the day, and another things entirely to get behind the wheel of a car, in the dark, on icy streets, when other drivers are out too. What if I was in an accident? Even a fender-bender would have me interacting with people.
So, I’ll just sit here in my house, waiting for the test strip to show only one line, and admiring other people’s photographs.
And – I just found out that they’ve been visible in Southern Ontario too. Killing me, just killing me.
