Cynthia Burrell, a massage therapist whose home-based Seattle business has been shuttered, said despite the loss of work she has enjoyed the quieter time with her husband. The couple, avid birders, miss their outings with the local Audubon group, but have been amazed to watch a Bewick’s wren gather up their cat’s fur to line its nest. They have seen black-capped chickadees at one neighbor’s house, she said, and chestnut-backed chickadees at another.
Gardening, sketching and watching birds in her yard has eased the near-crippling anxiety she had felt about coronavirus in the weeks leading up to her state’s shelter-at-home order.
“It is almost like an introvert’s dream,” said Burrell, 52. “You can’t have a social life. You have to stay home on a Friday or Saturday night. … It’s honestly a huge relief to have less to do.”
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