An overcast Monday, March 30, 2020 had more balance, today. We’ve been notified by federal and state officials that physical distancing will continue through April 3oth, and hearing that, provided a plan – at least for me. Okay. I’ve done this before. Whether on a kayak or in the backcountry, days alone, days with limits, I could register some familiarity. I spent my usual Monday at the Symons Wine Cellar and actually sold a lot of wine. I had fun and felt like I contributed. Once home, my instincts took me to the basement in search of caulk and caulking guns to work on some home projects. Nope. Out of caulk and the plaster patch was old and molded. Well now. I capitulated to the balance quotient. I grabbed my fly tying essentials and my fly fishing vest and traipsed upstairs. (My basement studio has been converted to my art studio, so no room.) A day of work and now an evening of relaxation. The first ties were Ephemerella nymphs – Hendrickson’s – a new pattern for me. Next, some Hexagenia limbata nymphs were hanging from the vice. I was very balanced. I was relaxed, and I was satisfied. Moving forward, Christine arrived and we cocktailed and puzzled our way to dinner and a couple of cribbage games, where she uttered the magic word, “Balance.” We reminisced through unbalanced times in our lives, and discussed how each of us found balance today, through the disharmony – she at her work with her staff, and me at the wine cellar and tying flies. Below a heavy cloud deck, the sun is setting bright orange on a sliver of a visible horizon. There is peace, tonight, in our little community of Petoskey. Minimally, an emotional balance with the world’s tumult.