A mixed blessing.

Where would we be without the internet at a time like this? Lots of things to look at, research, order on line or in this case keep me amused while it rains. Being stuck at home without Skype would be awful as at least we can keep in touch with family and friends throughout the world.

The garden is unbelievable. A bit of rain and everything goes wild, I'm having to mow the grass twice a week now! It does look beautiful though when compared with a couple of months ago, lush and green instead of dust bowl.

This may seem to be a strange photo to add but it tells a story. Blocking off our view of these units next door were a couple of big pine trees. The units are laid out in such a way that they formed a funnel for winds during one of our hottest days on record. Pine trees, very strong wind and a 50C day don't go together, hence two dead trees, a gap on the fence line and some firewood. The next tree along has suffered a partial loss.

A rare visit from a group of Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoos at the water bowl.

Nice to see as always, Sulphur Crested Cockatoos.

Look how green and lush it is.

A bed of Canna Lilies.

 

Nectar loving Rainbow Lorikeets in among the Grevilleas.

We will have a bumper crop of Navel oranges this year. The branches are so full they have to be propped up,

Its the same with the Lime tree. I can see a batch of marmalade being produced later in the year.

Crepe Myrtle.

Guess who forgot someone's birthday!!

As I tried to explained, I couldn't get to the shops as we are in partial shutdown.
I'm not sure she believed me.

Trying times.

If sometime in the future, people were to look back at 2019/2020, they would find it very difficult to believe what has happened in NSW during this period. It would read as total fiction.

We started with the worst catastrophic bush fires ever recorded. These fires were during a drought that had been going for years. Suddenly the weather changed, the farming communities rejoiced in the rain but this also bought devastating flooding of vast areas. Now we are part of a world wide plague, Corona Virus 19.

We seem to be better off than a lot of countries throughout the world. We have lots of confirmed cases but so far only 11 deaths. The government have come down hard but I think a little late, these restrictions should have happened weeks ago but we have a leader who is renowned for miss management. In the fires he went on holiday now he has closed parliament so who is really running the country.  A cruise ship docked in Sydney last weekend and border security, or whatever they call themselves lately, allowed 2800 people to disembark of which 270 have been confirmed as having Covid 19 which is bound to spread very quickly through the community.

 Personally we aren’t too bad so far which could be attributed to living in a semi-rural area, as the majority of cases appear to be in city or heavily populated areas.

We have personal distancing restrictions now and lots of hand washing. Its a good job that this didn't happen during the drought water restrictions or we would have dried up completely. Initially there was a run (pardon the pun) on toilet rolls but the supply has just about caught up with demand now. Pasta, flour, sugar, hand sanitizer, Passata,  etc. are in short supply but we have enough. One good thing we have is pensioners happy hour. Major supermarkets are opening early so that us oldies can shop for an hour in comfort before the general herd stampede in. All pubs, café, restaurants, clubs and non-essential businesses are closed with the resultant unemployment. We still have supermarkets, petrol stations, chemists, so the basics can still be found. Schools in most states are closed or part closed. Hospitals and medical services are working flat out with some military assistance.

Our families and friends in the Northern hemisphere are in very similar circumstances. There has been a world wide movement towards working from home for those who can. My sister and family in Seattle are in total isolation as their cleaning lady tested positive. 

Due to the school closures, Ben and Alex are working from home and seem to be getting a lot of work out of the way. Alex's work ethic is that if he gets all his projects completed quickly he will have a longer holiday. No one has any idea when this pandemic will be over and the kids can go back to school. Ben is anxious and keen to get back as he is due to go up to high school this year.

We are all in a state of limbo. I feel that this is all going to get a lot worse before it gets better.

Stay safe and look after yourselves.