As much as I love staying home at the Jolly Bungalow, I cherish my daily walk along the road. This summer, the combination of people working from home plus a major roadworks project in the center of town and a minor roadworks project at the other end of the road have conspired to keep traffic really low. Not that it was ever much in this gentle and sleep town. A traffic jam here is seeing six cars go by in the space of a half hour.
I know that the wildlife really revels in the newfound solitude, because I’ve seen more chipmunks, a larger flock of geese on the pond, and even the occasional deer alongside the road. The butterflies keep me company while our paths coincide and I tell them all love stories. They are incredibly camera shy, and I respect that.
When I walk, I carry a face mask with me, but it’s fairly rare that I have to put it on. There are a couple of walkers and a couple of runners that frequent the road, but we usually managed to miss each other or to wave at each other across the road, a safe four meters apart.
At first I hoped for one of these interactions, calling it the social high point of my day. Now that I have become deeply comfortable with solitude, I actually hope that I don’t meet anyone on the road. There are plenty of natural things to engage my interest. The quiet landscape thrills me. I come home with roadside bouquets of clover and daisies. My pockets are often stuffed with pine cones and I cherish each feather that I find. And best of all, the beckoning comfort of the Jolly Bungalow waiting at the end of the walk.
Tales from the jolly bungalow 