2. Pandemic Strengthens - March 23-31

The Pandemic season strengthens. By the third week in March, testing locations had been set up a various places around Pittsburgh - including the Pittsburgh Zoo parking lot. Cars lined up for hours, for a drive-thru test. As we moved into the last week of the month, walking took on a whole new meaning - new observations and new things to see. However, from the dreariness of Pittsburgh’s dull winter, lines and color continued to emerge. Blooming flowers dotted the landscape. And trees took on a whole different presence - for they were at once naked, soft, often balanced, sometimes mangled and reaching to the sky for something new, perhaps an early sign of hope. The final days of March explored old and new hiking grounds - especially the dirt paths surrounded by gentle ground cover along the Mon River from Duck Hollow toward the Carrie Furnace. March had arrived like a lion - and in this time of the Pandemic - wasn’t exactly leaving like a lamb.