You may have heard (honestly, I have no idea what the press outside the region is reporting about this) that people are stupid and still flocked to the cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin here in D.C.

Earlier in the week, I had given some thought to riding my bike down to the area and doing a loop of Hains Point (it’s an island adjacent to the Tidal Basin) just to see the blossoms. But the fact that there were enough people down there to be newsworthy made that seem like a stupid idea, because people park at Hains Point and walk over to the Tidal Basin. Or they just drive their car around Hains Point to admire the view from their windshield. But either way, that didn’t seem like it would make social distancing possible unless I fancied going in the dark, which seemed like it would defeat the whole idea of going. So I didn’t.

However, while the Tidal Basin is home to the most famous of D.C.’s cherry trees groupings, we actually have quite a few elsewhere in the city, including at Rose Park, which is just a few blocks away.

So, I biked over there, and while there were people about, they were obviously locals who were mostly sensibly keeping their distance from one another.

So here’s this spring’s batch of cherry blossom shots (they were slightly past prime today and now it’s raining, so this will be the best I can offer).

D.C. — along with nearly every other city — has responded quickly to the threat of the corona virus, announcing on Friday that schools and libraries would close for at least the next two weeks beginning on Monday. Gatherings of more than 250 people have been ceased, which means most cultural activities have shuttered, although bars remain open.

The universities told their students not to return from spring break and most tourists have wisely also remained home, which makes the region, which should be full of school groups pouring over our sidewalks and amiable suburbanites stopping two steps off the top of the metro escalators to consult their maps, oddly empty.

We were told on Thursday to prepare to work at home for the next two days, although most of us expect that that edict will also expand into April.

If Europe is any indication, this is not the end of the restrictions, but the beginning. Cities are particularly vulnerable for any transmissible illness, because we literally live on top of each other, so it won’t surprise me if we eventually build up to a “don’t leave home unless you’re going to the grocery store or for medical assistance” model.

I know these are reasonable precautions given this illness’ rapid spread, but it is not easy. The whole reason to live in a city is because of its amenities. No one actually enjoys living in the tiny amount of real estate allotted to each of us — and my subterranean dwelling is going to get to me fast once they tell us never to set foot outdoors again.

The one good thing that may come of this is that Rudi and I are going to have to do a serious tidy of the apartment. There’s no way we’re going to be able to function here 24 hours a day 7 days a week in its current state.

But at least we have the internet, right?

This weekend included:

• Sleeping in.
• A lot of reading.
• A little shopping — mostly groceries.
• Going out to see Last Christmas at our local second-run theater.
• A nice long walk in the ridiculously warm weather.
• Knitting — my sock is about twice as long now as it was in that picture from yesterday afternoon.
• Drinking tea.
• Painting my nails.
• Hanging up my Christmas cards.
• Snuggling with Corey.

I have three more days before life returns to its workaday normal. Some of that will be spent with chores, some with friends watching films, and some relaxing. But I’d like to go back to work feeling like I’d made the most of my time off, so I plan to spend the time deliberately, no matter what I’m doing.

How was your final weekend of the year?

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Because I was sick and working too much just before the holidays, I didn’t get as much of a chance to check out the neighborhood’s Christmas displays as I would have liked. Today I went on a bit of a walkabout and got to see one of the local restaurant’s tree theme for the year:

Last year, Floriana had a Nancy Pelosi-themed tree, but this year they opted to celebrate Sesame Street‘s 50th birthday.