After snow and snow showers for much of April and May, with occasional warmer days in between, the coldest May on record locally is finally breaking into a more seasonal pattern. Snow on the 9th has become 60*F with trillium blooming in the woods. That oil rig sits idle in the middle of nowhere on a mountain top, probably halted because of the drop in oil prices. I'm not sure what will become of fossil fuels, but I suspect that a lot of people are hungry to resume their wasteful ways, so I wouldn't write oil off just yet. At the very least countries like Saudi Arabia are going through some difficult times, and the entire Middle East needs to diversify its economy to avoid even more instability.The virus is beginning to test everyone's patience, so the economy is slowly reopening regardless of the pandemic. With a lag time of 2-3 weeks we shall see if the disease re-spikes by mid June. One of Mr. Trumps few wise utterances a month ago is that we have to be careful that the "cure" (shutting down) is not worse than the disease. It seems as though some people are reaching the point that they Need to work and Have to take their chances of getting sick. Regardless, the federal, state, and local governments cannot keep spending money without some genuine productivity.
