West Virginia is home to just under 1.8 million residents, ranking 39th in the nation. Charleston, the capital and most populous city, has a population of about 46,500. The state is situated entirely within the Appalachian Mountain range, and its terrain is dominated by rolling hills, mountains, and valleys. Here are a few glimpses of the landscape of West Virginia, and some of the wildlife and people calling it home.

The butterfly dips
its wings in aroma of
violet wild orchid.
Red plums of summer,
first green figs, so many ears
of corn eaten raw.
Leaves that left the trees
are litter now on the ground
in orange and yellow.
No one on this road
but me: It must be autumn
in the dark country.
Comes the freeze, and rain
falls all through the night and soaks
the morning paper.
Winter blows its white
storms across the hills: Even
monkeys need raincoats.

When Jessica started to experience intense chest pain in March, she was terrified that she might have the coronavirus. Then her foster son started to experience symptoms too.The high school in western New York State where she taught had just closed. She couldn’t get a test to confirm that her respiratory illness was indeed COVID-19, and she was confused about whether she should go to the emergency room or just stay home. She is single, and was her foster son’s only guardian.

Illustration by Mark Harris; images from AF Archive; Alamy; Allstar Picture Library; BBC; Des Willie / PBS / Masterpiece Theater / Everett CollectionThe British detective story is enjoying a golden age unparalleled since the days of Agatha Christie or perhaps even Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The heroes of the current era are not the preternaturally gifted, idiosyncratic dabblers of old—not, as Sherlock Holmes preferred to describe himself, “consulting detectives.