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By Lisa Smith[caption id="attachment_17297" align="aligncenter" width="220"] Beginning a mud pie.[/caption]By the end of February, I had set up nearly all of this month's posts to publish. But not this one. It's been less than a month, but it feels like a lifetime ago. Back then, I was preoccupied with the community that came from the UK strike. Since then, though, a pandemic has been declared -- and it's increasingly clear that virtual community is&#160; more important than ever.Today's post had not yet been set, as I was planning to cross-publish something.&#160; But things had gotten on top of me before I could do it... like (virtually) coming back from strike to move all of my teaching for the last week online because our university had more-or-less closed.&#160;&#160;I've been working from home all week, with a tiny co-worker keeping me company. Being at home with her has meant enforced time out in my day to play and to breathe fresh air. On today's menu: making mud pies.[caption id="attachment_17298" align="aligncenter" width="225"] My mud pie.[/caption]Throughout our playtime, the child narrated how to make a mud pie.Take some dirt from this pile, then add leaves, twigs, and plant scraps. Tap it into your pail. Turn it upside down for serving.Another variation included the fancy pies (see below) that could be served in their dishes.What the child didn't say, though, is that making mud pies is a fundamentally sociable activity. What is the point of making them if you don't have someone to share them with?The Recipes Project  had already been taking stock of our future direction by looking at our blog stats and audience. We had been wondering what they could tell us about our wider community and what you might like to see from us. Over the past week, we've also been thinking a lot about the sudden changes in our (and our contributors') work and personal lives. And virtual communities have become even more important than ever! As ever, we're delighted to hear from you and would love it if you let us know in the comments what you would like to see from us in the future, whether content, community building, or events...&#160; Please join us in making mud pies -- or, thinking about what we want to see from our wonderful community of readers and contributors.[caption id="attachment_17296" align="aligncenter" width="220"] A fancy mud pie offering.[/caption]