A month of lockdown

4.22.2020

We have now done a month of lockdown and it is all beginning to feel fairly normal.  Bo picks us up some onions, oranges, potatoes and wine on Fridays and we are eating through our stores and whatever we produce.  I am being very careful to preserve all the vegetables and fruit so that nothing is wasted.  Our strawberries have stopped production, but we have figs and pomegranates in abundance and the lemons are turning yellow. 

We have been busy this morning planting winter veg seedlings. The tomatoes are still fruiting but we have some horrible black worms that usually get to them before I do.  We still have more than we can eat so I must not complain.  Edd loves his meat and are supplies are low, so we have ordered beef and pork from a local free-range, organic farm.

 I have found that I can buy the tea we like online too.  It is quick and convenient to shop in super-markets, but the range of products they sell has been decreasing so that it is not always possible to buy the brands we use. I only shop once a month, and this is a real nuisance. It takes extra time to check which stores are stocking what we want.  It is probably about time that I changed my habits, and this lock down has been an ideal time to start.

I miss seeing my kids and grandkids. Al’s new son is over two weeks old now. I have seen him with facetime which is proving to be a wonderful way to keep in contact with family and friends.  I can even hear what people are saying much better than I can on the phone. I would probably never have worked out how to do facetime if things had gone on as normal, so that is another good new habit we are forming.   Pip looks cheerful but she has very low blood pressure and is finding it hard to get on her feet. Al has the two babies to care for, a sick wife and a business to look after, which is an almost impossible load. Bo went down and gave them a hand at the weekend and now they are paying for help, so things are a bit better.

We had some drama last week when a neighbour arrived after dark needing help with his other neighbour’s cow that had gone down. There was no way it could be got back onto its feet and nursed, and it was in great distress.  We first tried to phone the cow’s owner but none of the numbers we had worked. (One led us to some one in SA with the same name).  Some walkers had heard the animals distress calls and rang the RSPCA but there was no way they would be out before morning so Edd had to put the cow down himself. It was too starved to recover so this was the only option.  I am not sure how the owner has fared with the RSPCA, but it is not a good look.

I am always careful when an animal gets sick not to have them where walkers can see them. One poor lady down the. Road had a really old horse and got reported over and over again because there was no one to explain to passers-by that it was well looked after but just old. We. Tend to sell the goats before they get really old which avoids this problem. At present I have two fifteen-year old who are starting to look their age. I keep thinking that they will not survive another winter but so far, they have just kept going.