We’ve always been trying to keep Austin weird, as they say, but the last two months of the pandemic—mandated stay-at-home orders, gym and fitness studio closures, and social distancing guidelines have taken the weirdness of “Fit City” to another level.

Social distancing on Lady Bird Lake, March 31.

Austinites have risen to the challenge of staying in shape and staying sane, while sticking to the new norms.

When we first went into our “lockdown” (which, let’s face it, was never really a “lockdown”) back in late March, I looked out the window of our house one day to see that my wife, Jessica, had hung up a couple of old shower curtains and window sheers to hide my equipment cases and power tools, added a string of Christmas lights where my truck is supposed to go and, with the help of an old end table she could rest her laptop on, converted our garage into a virtual yoga studio.

Alta Vista Ave, Travis Heights, March 22

The next day we were walking our dogs, Shea and Polo (long-suffering Mets fans will get it), through our neighborhood when Ryan McGrath’s dog rushed into the street to “greet” them. Ryan halted the makeshift workout he was doing in his driveway to help defuse the situation. I didn’t have a camera with me, but that was the last time I’d make that mistake. I returned to his house a couple of days later and left him a note asking if he’d let me know the next time he planned to work out, and if it would be okay if I came around and took a couple of pictures.

Gillespie St., Travis Heights, April 24.

When I walked to Ryan’s house that day to leave the note, though, I made sure I had a camera with me. And on the way back home, I stumbled upon Brannen Temple jumping rope in his driveway. Brannen is a jazz drummer, and like me, all of a sudden he was discovering that he had a lot of time on his hands.

As the days of our stay-at-home orders dragged on (remember when we thought we were in for only two weeks’ worth of them?), I found myself in need of something to do. I mean, I had been finding plenty of things to work on with my portfolio, my website, on marketing efforts and whatnot, but to what end? I was going stir-crazy sitting at a desk; it’s not something I usually do for eight hours a day. I’m a photographer. I shoot pictures. I document things. And I like to try and stay in reasonable shape. As I was learning on our extended dog walks and runs through my Travis Heights neighborhood, people were doing things, staying fit, and trying to stay sane. So over the past few weeks I’ve taken to going on long walks, documenting how they’ve been doing that while staying at home or socially distant. I’m being careful about things as well, always wearing a mask and maintaining at least a 10-foot distance from my subjects.

Chatsworth. Circle, Travis Heights, April 26.

Big Stacy Neighboorhood Park, Travis Heights, April 24.

On weekend mornings, Jess and I will take the dogs on miles-long walks through the neighborhood. That’s given me the opportunity to meet some really interesting people, who are giving “working from home” some new meaning in the midst of this pandemic. One Sunday morning I came across Caitlin Fennessy teaching a Pilates class, complete with reformers set up in her front yard,

Nickerson St., Travis Heights, April 26.

On another occasion, toward the end of another one of our long walks, I noticed a woman with a yoga mat spread out on her porch. Figuring I had plenty of yoga pictures already, I continued on. But Jessica encouraged me to go talk to her anyway. It turned out that Kelly Yankle is a ballet dancer and instructor, and she was getting ready to teach a remote class to her students at the Texas Dance Academy. And no, of course she wouldn’t mind if I came back and shot some pictures while she did.

In fact, she said, she thought it was a really cool idea. And that’s the reaction I get from a lot of people when I tell them what I’m doing as I meet them. I think sometimes we take for granted what kind of favor we’re doing ourselves when we go out of our way to stay in shape, or stay sane, or both in the face of difficult conditions. I think it’s worth shining a little light on that kind of dedication, whether it involves a solitary run or workout session in the park, or an improvised neighborhood pickleball match among friends in the street. So congrats to my neighbors for being smart and staying safe. Now that we’re re-opening down here, let’s hope we can continue to act that. way, and don’t have to go through all of this again.