March — Australia creeps toward lockdown.  The weather is good but.
Warning:  this story contains many bird and nature photos.

It seems an age ago that the smoke of bushfires polluted my lungs and we hunkered down for the summer in our small abode.  Then the drought broke and the new corona virus reached our shores, causing chaos and disruption, and threatening to kill a generation.  I confess that my summer experience made me hyper-vigilant for danger. Like the virus, my preparations and anxieties gathered momentum as March marched in. 

On alert.

nankeen kestral

Ready to take flight.

dusky wood swallow

Ready to hide.

rock

We have been through a lot and need a break.
The sun shines, the water gleams.
So from their hidey holes they swarm.
As sun-worshippers are to Bondi Beach,
so are flies to newly filled dams.

flies
Uncaring?  Unaware?  No place to call home?
Social distancing not in the lexicon.

flies2

So a silent killer stalks and survives.

stalker

Pardon me if I get in a flap when you fail to keep your distance.

galahs

Life is hard being together.  Harder being alone.

dark

Everyone needs a Nurse Fluffy.

nurse fluffy

Everyone needs a home.

door

And everyone needs a cockatoo or two to
come knocking at your door to see what they can see.
Yes, cockatoos are compulsory.  They keep you sane.

self service
I hope you hoarded seed for me otherwise I’m going to eat your plant.
dinner time
Just joking.

And chocolate.  Also vegemite.  Singing.  Friends too.  All necessary.

So how I am feeling?  Not great.  I’ve got a dry cough, a sore throat, a runny nose and shortness of breath.  In an ideal world, anyone with a sniffle would be tested but I don’t meet the criteria.  I imagine it is just hayfever.  The grasses have gone bonkers with recent rains.  I did take many more lovely photos of our wildlife during March, and had many interesting visitors to the garden.  I also completed a small mosaic.  I will share these with you in due course since I’ve resigned myself to not going out for exercise (aka  photography).  People seem to be spatially challenged.

This is my response to The Changing Seasons — March 2020 photo challenge, hosted by the lovely Su at Zimmerbitch.  I am also combining this challenge with my Friday Song Day, and the Ragtag Daily Prompt – Lonely.

Take care, ladies and gentlemen.  I will leave you with this song of hope for the future.

Kind Regards.
Tracy

Four of the photos in this series were taken by my True Love, so a joint effort.  My True Love is not coping at all well with the confinement and his new work arrangements.

 

 

 

 

 

76 thoughts on “The Changing Seasons – March 2020”

  3. Keep finding joy in all those beautiful creatures and people that surround you, Tracy, and if you are at all concerned about those symptoms rather play it safe and get hold of a GP’s insights. Please, please, please take care!

    Liked by 2 people

      1. We’re still going strong, thanks Tracy – Joubert included; my little “mini-me” is filling his days with lots of playing and drawing and running and he’s taking it in his stride.

        Liked by 1 person

  6. Aah, those birds! Lovely pics. Confinement is having a bad effect on men. Mine moped around for two days and then I found him so much repair work at home that he hasn’t had the time to mope! 😂😂
    And you take care of the hay fever.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Thanks Punam. My husband is working very hard despite a government IT system that is almost dysfunctional. It is causing a lot of grief as is the turmoil in the public sector. His usual escape from the f… ups is the solitude of the nature reserves but there has been a virtual shut down for months. It has taken its toll on his mental health.
      I will be fine. Feeling cooped up too. Aren’t we all?

      Liked by 2 people

      1. Yes, we are. I have been on ships with my husband for months, at times sailing on tankers for 45 days at a stretch, meeting just a couple of officers during meal times. But this is different. And I can understand what your TL is feeling because I see that in my husband too.
        I hope it doesn’t take a too high a toll on our mental health. Ought to stay busy and watch less of news.

        Liked by 2 people

  10. Great photos as always Tracy. I really do hope your symptoms are just hay fever.
    I so envy you those cockatoos! These birds crack me up and I would love to have them living wild nearby!
    Stay safe!

    Liked by 2 people

      1. Ah yes. I had heard they can be destructive in an endearing sort of way!
        We are safely home. Have not seen a soul for nearly two weeks except on a brief trip to the pharmacy.
        My wife’s sister was very sick last week with suspected covid-19 but is now ok. No testing being offered so we will not know for sure.
        Yes, the numbers here are grim but the silver lining is that this useless government can’t bluster their way through this one and get away with it.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. That must have been scary for your wife, Darren. So glad to hear your sister-in-law has improved. She really needs a test. Goodness knows how many people have been ill with other illnesses, and now have a false sense of security about future immunity. Maybe the UIK government’s approval rating will go up, like that other government.

        Liked by 1 person

  11. When I went to the shelter to get Bear for a “test drive,” to spend the day with Dusty, Mindy and me to see how it worked out, I turned on the car and Mohammed’s radio played this song. That told me what to do. Best advice I ever got from Sir Paul. I love the photos. I love the gray parrots. ❤

    Liked by 2 people

    1. A nice memory then to make you happy, Martha. 🙂
      They were back on my railing today, looking so cuddly and innocent. I am sure they would like a pat. A few years ago, my son coaxed one to take some seed from his hand. That was the first and last time for him, lol.

      Liked by 1 person

  13. Sounds weird to say this (as a fellow hay fever sufferer) but I really do hope those pollens are what’s giving you grief.
    Nurse Fluffy is so lovely, and your (the collective your) bird photos are wonderful as always.
    Hope that you feel better soon — or at least manage to get a test.
    Sending aroha.

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Pingback: The Changing Seasons, March 2020 | Zimmerbitch

  15. Beautiful pictures Tracy! Here is a Youtube video called “Common Raven” by Dominique Lalonde Films Nature. It is set in a second growth Spruce Forest (I think) in Western Canada. I have a friend who has a freezer on his outdoor deck. While he was in town a gang of ravens managed to unlatch door of the upright freezer and pulled out some of its contents…and made out like bandits. The ravens were amused.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. I think that mob of ravens are always studying and observing. A friend has a wild raven that sits outside a window scoping out his breakfast table. What thoughts that raven must be having!

        Liked by 1 person

  16. Oh dear Tracy those symptoms are concerning. Why can’t you get a test? Lovely photos, I especially like the cockatoos, cheeky things they are. Little Fluffy melts my heart. It has certainly been a weird month. Stay safe.

    Liked by 1 person

  17. I love the storytelling you create with your writing and photos. Your pictures make me marvel again at nature. I wonder if these creatures know what’s going on. I hope you feel better soon! ❤

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you. I had so many photos from which to choose, so I thought I would pick those that would help me tell my story. It seemed to work. 🙂 I hope you are okay too. I’m going to pop over to Su’s Changing Seasons post, so that I can catch up with what is happening around the world.

      Liked by 1 person

  18. Aw Tracy, I’m saddened that you are not feeling well. Wishing you a speedy recovery. Despite the fact you aren’t feeling well, you have made another wonderful post.

    Liked by 1 person

  19. The bird photos are just wonderful. I do wish I could take some like these. I see the birds but either I don’t have the camera or they hide in the trees mocking me. Of course, when I’m walking Cindy they fly right past me.
    I hope you are feeling better soon and that your symptoms are just allergies. Stay safe.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thank you, Vanda. I’m glad you like them.
      Your birds are probably thinking that will just hide themselves from the paparazzi. Make sure you take your camera out in spring. They seem to have less inhibitions then.
      You take care too. I hope your new place is sheltered and warm. We’ve certainly had quite a nip in the air already.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Had a bobby dazzler of a thunderstorm last night, power went out for 12 hours here. I can put up with a lot of things but not getting a hot drink at breakfast time is not one of them.

        Liked by 1 person

  22. It is such a difficult time, and worse for Australia because of what you’ve already been through. I hope you are okay…just take care of yourself as best you can. Thanks for sharing those photos, they are cheerful and we all need that right now!

    Liked by 1 person

  24. Totally agree: chocolate and cockatoos are compulsory – too bad I don’t have the latter so I’ll simply double my chocolate. 😉 Beautiful photos as always! So sorry to hear about your dry cough and respiratory problems – that doesn’t sound good. 😦 Looking forward to see your latest mosaic!! Take care and stay creative and safe!

    Liked by 2 people

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