Item

Fresh Air, But For Only So Long

Title (Dublin Core)

Fresh Air, But For Only So Long

Description (Dublin Core)

During the pandemic, specifically between March and June, there wasn't much for me to do with work. I would help my Dad with his now unfamiliar school work. I did play games and watched the entirety of Parks and Recreation, but couldn't stave off the boredom. I needed to do something.

So, I would go on walks. Sometimes I would go by myself and sometimes I would take my dog Carolina. She loves taking walks and it was something new for her with every walk.

I lived in a rural part of town and the air was fresh. The smell of flowers drifting in the air, while also smelling cow manure as well. All I could hear was the sound of the birds, neighbor dogs and the farm animals. Carolina would stare at those dogs or animals, but never approach them. It was wonderful to breathe in the warm air.

Cars were a rare sight and sound when I would walk along the asphalt with no issues. It was so quiet. It was nice to have the road to ourselves. Prior to COVID, people would be driving along our road frequently and we could hear them even from the end of our driveway. There seemed to be less garbage in the ditches too. Sometimes, I would see whole families walking along the road, probably wanting to inhale that fresh air that I was enjoying.

Mid to late summer though, the air became thick with smoke. The fires around Washington, especially from nearby Selah, were suffocating and my walks stopped. There was even a fire on the ridge behind our house and I was worried that we would have to evacuate. The sky was muggy and the area was too warm, thankfully, since we all started wearing masks, we could cope with the fires. Mostly, I was disappointed that the fresh air I breathed towards the beginning of summer was gone. The picture I chose to share was a picture I took of the fire that started on the ridge behind our house. It's not the best quality, but that smoke was what closed out the summer. There was a lot to deal with this summer; COVID and fires mostly, but somehow, we made it.

*Photograph, this is something that I took myself.

Date (Dublin Core)

March 20, 2020

Creator (Dublin Core)

Emily Borup

Contributor (Dublin Core)

Emily Borup

Event Identifier (Dublin Core)

HST643

Partner (Dublin Core)

Arizona State University

Type (Dublin Core)

photograph

Controlled Vocabulary (Dublin Core)

English Animals
English Community & Community Organizations
English Emotion
English Health & Wellness
English Home & Family Life
English Recreation & Leisure
English Rural

Curator's Tags (Omeka Classic)

Washington
Selah
smoke
fire
walk
dog
animal
fresh air
boredom
peaceful

Contributor's Tags (a true folksonomy) (Friend of a Friend)

Arizona State University
HST 643
Sensory History
2020
COVID-19
Washington
fires
rural area
air

Collection (Dublin Core)

Rural Voices
Environment
Pandemic Pets

Linked Data (Dublin Core)

Sensory history contribution to COVID-19 Archive
Emily Borup Biography Sheet

Date Submitted (Dublin Core)

10/13/2020

Date Modified (Dublin Core)

10/13/2020
07/05/2021
06/07/2022

Item sets

Covid 19
Arizona State University

This item was submitted on October 13, 2020 by Emily Anne Borup using the form “Share Your Story” on the site “A Journal of the Plague Year”: https://covid-19archive.org/s/archive

Click here to view the collected data.

New Tags

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