The virus hits home

14.1.22

 

Things are not going well. Bo is in isolation having caught covid from Ollie. Morg and Silky tested negative but had symptoms.    It took so long to get tested, let alone get results that who knows.    Al was also sick. He queued 3 hours the first day before being turned way but made it to the test the second day and that came back negative. Even if the results are negative, you and your family still miss several days of work before you get the all clear. This has resulted in a real hit for the work force in general and follows through to empty super market shelves and not enough hospital staff.

 

The ambulances are also not coping with the demand. There was a red alert this week and some people waited 8 hours for help. The virus has now spread into Aboriginal communities and is making life hell again in nursing homes.  Many people are avoiding restaurants and other venues as not worth the risk so with low staff and customer    numbers they are about in the same mess as when we had lock downs but are now without government support.

 

On the farm it has been very hot, above 30 most days and very dry. Plants and animals need extra care to make sure they get enough water. This means extra work for us.  Edd is struggling to walk at all with his damaged hip but elective surgery is on hold and all the hospitals are coping with the pandemic and emergencies, so the chance of a hip replacement has gone down for now. We are very lucky that Sev is able to give us a few hours work each week. He rang me looking for part time work this year, which was amazingly good timing.

 

The zucchini glut has started. They were an amazing dietary addition for the first two weeks but we are over loaded with them now. The tomatoes have green fruit so we can expect them soon and we have eaten the first cucumber. The warrigal greens are pretty drought resistant but the sweet corn have not grown very tall. We ate the first runner beans this week and the round beans will be next on the menu. It is a pity all the lettuces bolted. Luckily the wild rocket is still going strong.

The chooks josh raised have started to lay. Only 8 of the 24 were female but we have already cooked quite a lot of the males and I have a year’s worth of beautiful chicken stock and pots of dog food.  Josh brings then to the house all ready for the pot which is a blessing. Two lucky roosters will live on and each get their own hareem of chooks.  Josh can choose the survivors. He gave Bo 4 chooks and we have 4 here but I will buy point of lay hens to make up the numbers in Autumn.