Ebbie, I'm so sorry about your animals. This is a terrible time to be suddenly bereft.

In Stratford, Ontario, CET and I are rubbing along, our routine in retirement changed most by the closure of Ontario's provincial court system (CET was doing Legal Aid lawyering). We both work at home anyway, each tapping away at our respective computer. He has a very messy office, I work in the study, which I keep neat because otherwise I could not stand it.

Our garden is waking up and the trees are full of robins, cardinals, blue jays and mourning doves. CET goes out for long hikes on the Avon Trail. My range is shorter, thanks to arthritis in my feet, but I can still do up to eight km (five miles) around town. I like to check out the geese doing flotilla manoeuvres on the river, and the municipal swans preening on the banks. The great blue herons and the cormorants should be back soon from their winter quarters down south.

Some other Canadian provinces are beginning to re-open their economies, but not Ontario yet. I'm not at all sure that I'm prepared to take the risk of letting anyone who is not CET breathe on me, even to get my hair cut. As for restaurants ... Um, no. We can cook, and are not that desperate for the company of others.