Wednesday, April 22, 2020

Isolation

Taking a walk in my neighborhood, I noticed a hammock hanging high in a tree.
We're all in isolation these days, but if someone is sleeping up there, they have taken isolation to an extreme!
I've seen people using similar hammocks in parks and various remote places, but this seems to be a novel location.
I wonder how they get up to the hammock. Here's the other side of the tree.
No ladder here now. Maybe it's in the house.
Isolation has lots of meanings in this time of fear and avoidance. For me, it means a lot of reading and cooking and writing. My reading this week has been Tana French's book Broken Harbor, the fourth in the Dublin Murder Squad series, published in 2012. I found it a bit extreme, especially the way French explored (by coincidence) the theme of isolation. In Broken Harbor, isolation was the fate of a family victimized by the economic crash in Ireland a decade ago. Nevertheless, it speaks to our circumstances, perhaps too intensely.

Collectively, the motive to maintain our isolation is powerful. We talk to other people only at a distance. Many of us are wearing masks or bandanas over our faces. We are avoiding all public spaces, and most of them are closed down in any case. Here in a tree, I thought, is another way to be isolated.

Isolation -- my word of the day for Wordy Wednesday!

Blog post and photos © 2020 mae sander for mae food dot blog spot dot com.

12 comments:

  1. No fear of heights, obviously!

    ReplyDelete
  2. They are obviously very brave! You would not want to fall asleep up there.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I would have a problem to even climb up to the tree :-))

    ReplyDelete
  4. That hammock placement is really unusual. Really. I ike Tana French a lot, but that's my least favorite of her books. I'm OK with unrealistic plots, but found this one a bit much. Still, she handles characters so well I'll read anything she writes.

    ReplyDelete
  5. There are a few hammocks in the park in our neighborhood right now but they're low and people are using them to relax and/or read during the day. I'm not sure I could sleep in one all night.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Tana French’s book Witch Elm was our book this week. Doug and I made our own Bookclub as I had two copies. I’ll read anything she writes. We liked Broken Harbor and I know many people say that’s their least favorite. The writing was good. My favorite is probably The Likeness. I will preorder any of Tana’s books or Jane Harpers.

    Love your street view, how I miss sidewalks.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Mae,

    A lot of the healthcare workers here in the UK, are living apart from their families, so that they don't run the risk of taking the virus home, or catching the virus themselves, from another family member. I have to admit that most of them are living in caravans or mobile homes in the family garden, but I wonder if your healthcare professionals are a bit more daring and enterprising and use hammocks instead? :)

    I used to read quite a lot of Tana French books, however I can't remember the last time I picked one up. This series does sound quite good and has piqued my interest in her writing again and I might well be adding the books to my list, so thanks for sharing!

    Your chosen word was also very appropriate and I hope that you are staying safe :)

    Yvonne
    xx

    ReplyDelete
  8. Your days sound like mine, but I have to add in work. That is quite the hammock height. But isn't it good to get outside and walk? I haven't read that series but I like mysteries set in far off places. Thanks for your kind words. Hugs-Erika

    ReplyDelete
  9. That's definitely away from others!

    Thanks for stopping by my blog! The murals are found all over the Taranaki area and you need to travel around to see them.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh I’d love to be in that hammock. 😊

    ReplyDelete
  11. That hammock certainly looks like it was placed there. I am finding the social distancing with friends quite strange. But with strangers, quite a relief. Stay safe!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I'd hesitate to walk under that if someone were sleeping there.

    Yes, the vast majority of people are careful and respectful. The ones who aren't, though, are a real hazard.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for commenting. Please include a link to your current blog so that I can read your blog and share more of what you are thinking. Your google-blog-ID may not link to a blog hosted at another site, so please let me know who you REALLY are!