As we enter our third week of physical distancing to protect ourselves and others from the virus, we find more folks returning to the island perhaps a bit sooner than usual. We do hope that all of us remember, especially when we are eager to greet and talk with friends we may not have seen all winter, to keep at least six feet between ourselves and anyone else.

Especially in the Island Store where space is at a premium, do remember that the staff will see many of you over the course of a day and thus risk more exposure than most of us. We are so lucky that the store remains open and is willing to deliver, so let us not risk the staffs’ health by forgetting the physical distancing that is so important in our crazy world today.

On the plus side many more of us are walking daily and even though Maine air is fairly clean, without much traffic, both in the air and on roads, pollution is a bit less. And one of the joys of being in one place with not too much to do is the ability to watch spring arrive. A pair of robins peck up their food in our front yard. Daffodils poke their pointed stems above ground, and a few are showing yellow in the buds. Day lilies fight the deer for their growth above ground, and the red maple buds are showing on branches high in the air. Two gray squirrels were swaying on the branches of our Bradford pear trees, enjoying the tasty buds.

All this activity reminds me of a botany assignment I once had during the spring semester in college, which was to lay out a square meter plot in the college arboretum and measure the growth each day for a week, forcing close observation of the arrival of spring. I don’t plan to actually measure the arrival of this spring, but rather just enjoy watching the earth come alive.

Eric Larsen was rewarded for such observation by seeing a mother fox with six kits. You can go on Facebook to see pictures of all the kits nursing, of two of the kits peeking out from under the structure where they live, and a couple of the kits romping in the yard.

A couple of our longtime Southport friends have been traveling and have arrived home safely. Gerry Hawes writes, “ We just got back from a “vacation to Paradise” —- NOT! in Hawaii. But now we are finally home to shelter in place —- wish that we were “on island”, though. When we were on Oahu, the virus took off and we couldn’t get hand sanitizer, gloves, or face masks.”

Perhaps you saw the interview with Chris Jacobs on WGME news March 24 about his parents, Tom and Hillary Jacobs, returning from a visit to see their daughter in New Zealand. They had planned to have a leisurely cruise home on the Maasdam, stopping at various South Pacific Islands, but the fear of the COVID-19 virus caught up with them when, even though no one on the ship showed COVID-19 symptoms, passengers were not allowed to disembark in Hawaii. The ship was finally able to dock in San Diego and discharge passengers. Tom and Hillary flew to Boston where son, Chris, met them early Saturday morning. They are safely home in Brunswick self-quarantining for 14 days.

Driving around the island today, Monday, March 30, I saw the crew still working on the Thompson Bridge and on what many are calling the “blue house” because the entire house is now wrapped in the insulating material of that color. We called the former house on this site the “house of seven gables,” just south of the Ship Ahoy Motel, which, by the way, is still for sale.

Work appears to have stopped, for the time being, on the Southport Yacht Club’s Junior Building. The building has been moved back to drier ground and the foundation is finished, but the walkway to the west side of the building and to the dock as well as the other entrances to the building have yet to be completed.

I have tried the Southport Memorial Library’s system of getting books, that is calling (633-2741) to ask for a book, and then finding it on the bench outside the door with your name on it. Works very well, although I miss browsing the shelves and the conversation with the Tuesday and Thursday group.

We have a 1,000-piece puzzle spread out on the dining room table, which is causing some angst as we search for the right pieces to fit into place. The picture is a map of the New England states, but all the pieces look alike. Remember downtown behind the Thrift Shop in Boothbay Harbor, two bins offer puzzles and games to keep you and the family busy. They have all been thoroughly cleaned and disinfected and are free.

Stay well, dear readers, keep active and in touch with friends.