Of Bones and Blue Jays: a Bright Side to Coronavirus

Sinking his teeth into a meaty barbecue rib, Sammy stops mid-bite. Self conscious of his barely noticeable double chin, he’s trying to reduce his consumption of fatty foods. He holds it out towards my plate with a hopeful, messy smile but I’m quick to respond with an emphatic “No.” I’ve finished many of my kid’s suppers, but not this one. Lily would have taken that succulent bone like a prize, returning later with a satisfied grin and dirt on her snout and front paws. But we still ache too much from losing her in the fall to open our hearts to another dog. For now, we are a canine deprived household which is a dilemma for carnivores: what to do with the bones? Small ones go in the compost, worms eventually making magic soil of them. I’m determined to not let food waste end up in a landfill on my watch, so I snap at Sammy “Bring it out for the coyotes if you’re not going to finish it.”

Too lazy to put on boots to clop through the spring snow out to the woods and me not quick enough to intervene, Sammy throws it off the front porch as hard as he can but it ricochets off a tree and lands just a few feet from the house.

“Hmph. I guess the coyotes will have to come close to get it.” He mutters.

“They won’t.” I assure him. We debate if it will be insects or rodents who will find it first. We were both wrong.

‘Quarantining’ and ‘distancing’ are new verbs for modern America, made real by Covid 19. Both words embody restriction of activity, a sloughing…