Canberra (Australia), May 2020 – Keeping mostly calm and Covid-wise in the national capital.

I’m joining the lovely Su from Zimmerbitch in The Changing Seasons challenge. As the weather turned cool for this last month of autumn, I have been slowing down like the season; not quite in hibernation mode yet, but needing a kick up the behind to keep moving.

I dedicate this post to the young lads who gallantly agreed to my request to take their photo. When they asked me why I wanted to do that, I told them that I was bored so I was learning how to take action shots with my camera. That was all the encouragement they needed. No social distancing between the boys but I was not there to lecture them.

Our local government has implemented Covid-wise strategies to keep us safe while walking around our lakes. Lake walks are very popular. As the birds and animals don’t stick to the path, nor do we.
Note his and her bird photos below.

  • Australasian Darter
  • Intermediate Egret?

Although the days have been windy and often cold, for a few short hours in the afternoon the wind drops, and all is calm.

  • Hallelujah
  • Red-leg grass gets leggy.

Butterflies and hover flies also enjoy the last of the autumn sun.
Note his and her butterfly photos.

We had some rain. Fungi that!

  • Enormous Fungus
  • Puff Ball
  • Bracket Fungus

Time to go home.

  • African Love Grass takes over.

It has been a rough month health-wise for a number of us in the family. I won’t go into the details, except to say that the staff in A&E don’t wear PPE. I found that rather astounding and slightly surreal given the health crises in other countries. During the month, I was also able to fill my prescription for insulin which was a great relief.

On the plus side, our oldest son has finally finished his environmental science degree. He has got a casual job with an environmental consultancy firm. His dad and I are so proud of him for sticking with it, particularly getting through that first year chemistry course that he abhorred. He is currently expanding his knowledge of the grasses while he waits for some work to come through. Guess we might see more photos and stories of grass in the future.

I hope you are all well and stayed safe in May.

All the very best.
Tracy.

44 thoughts on “The Changing Seasons – May 2020”

  3. Pingback: The Changing Seasons, May 2020 | Zimmerbitch

  4. Congratulations to your son! I hope he gets more work soon.
    I’m so sorry to hear about your family’s health issues — no PPE is really scary. I had a mammogram recently, and the technician was totally kitted up. It must make doing her job difficult, but she was amazing. I hope that you are all feeling better now.
    Lovely images as always; that lilac sunset is gorgeous.

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  6. Congratulations to your son on his achievement, and kudos to you on the photos! I loved them all, but the header is my favorite with black crow, yellow eye, leaves, berries, red background. Very striking. The last photo was a close second for favorite.

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      1. We’re just heading into summer now, after the prettiest May that I can remember. The health situation in New Hampshire is relatively stable at the moment, but I expect we’ll see a rise in cases as a result of the Memorial Day holiday and the protests.

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      2. I hope the number of new infections aren’t as bad as you fear, Liz.
        There have been large, peaceful Black-Lives-Matter demonstrations here. Incarceration rates for indigenous Australians are massive here and this is reflects also in the number of deaths in custody. An important demonstration, but let’s hope it doesn’t result in too many infections as demonstrators will be blamed for acting against health advice, which would be a terrible outcome.

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      3. I hope so, too, but some guy (read “idiot”) was interviewed at Hampton Beach yesterday saying that the emergency is over, and New Hampshire will go back to the old normal; we don’t accept the new normal. He was with a group of protesters demanding the immediate reopening of the entire state because the pandemic is over. The person next to him held a sign that stated that the virus is junk science.

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  7. Congrats to your son, Tracy, and I hope you are all fully recovered and healthy. I loved the his & hers photos. Autumn is my favourite season, so I have vicariously enjoyed a little of it through your post!

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    1. We are getting there, Irene. I think it is difficult for those working from home to separate from the work and switch off. My TL is on the mend so that is good.
      Apart from the obvious, I enjoyed our lovely autumn weather and colour. It is my favourite season too. I hope you are staying well in the sun in your part of the world, Irene.

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  8. Congrats on that degree! My friend majored in biology and after some time he found his home with an environmental agency that does surveys before development kicks in. So, there is plenty of good work in that field.

    That black crow for your featured imagine. Wow. And so many nice peaceful everyday photos to enjoy. I liked the mushrooms too. Hope you and your family have a healthier June all around. Cheers.

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    1. I understand consultancy work is pretty busy in spring and summer. My son’s friend used to work at the same place. Apparently, he got another job because he needed money for rent in winter! I don’t think my son plans to move out of home for a while. 🙂 Anyway, it is all experience.

      Thank you for liking the bird. I thought it worth trying to get a scratchy photo of its yellow eye among those yellow berries. Glad to meet another fungi fan as well.

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  9. You are so brave to approach your subjects to ask to photograph them. I don’t take pictures of people because I am always so hesitant to speak to them. That is a wonderful action shot!

    Congratulations to your son! This is an achievement & a challenging time for those graduating. Never mind the missed parties & ceremonies, but it is a difficult job environment they find themselves in.

    Hoping for a better health month for you & your family in June, Tracy!

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    1. I mostly take the cowardly way out and take people’s photo from behind. I think that works. It helps to be a woman when taken candid shots. Less threatening I guess.

      Unsurprisingly, my son is not a party goer. He has introvert genes. 🙂 The job market is a worry. We will see what happens.

      Hopefully June will be kinder to us, Ju-Lyn, and to you too.

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  10. Love the his and her photos, love your view of Australia. And many congratulations to your son on his momentous achievement and his new job. The pic of the black corvid nestled in the dark brambles against the red background – absolutely brilliant, worthy of high praise.

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    1. Thank you, Sharon. We are much relieved that this semester is over. I hear on the grapevine that is has been particularly difficult for the young ones to concentrate with all that has been going on.

      So pleased you liked the photo of the currawong in the crab apple. That was my shot. It is a favourite of mine too.

      How is summer shaping up for you? American events dominate the news here.

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  11. Beautiful photos of your May, Tracy! Though I’m so sorry to hear that it hasn’t been as good healthwise. 😦
    And many congratulations to your son! I will keep my fingers crossed that there’s going to be work coming through soon! Those fungi look so interesting – do you happen to know if some of them are edible? Not that I would dare picking them, yummy as they are I’d never trust myself to distinguish the right from the wrong ones. 😂 Love the shot with ‘golden’ branches/tree – what beautiful light! Stay safe! ❤

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    1. Hello Sarah. Thank you. We are happy for the study to be over for the eldest at least.
      Did you see that huge mushroom that was way bigger than my phone? It was amazing. I don’t know if any were edible. Quite a few people have poisoned themselves recently. So I’m happy just to admire. 😁

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  12. Loved the photos!! And congratulations to your son…that is a huge accomplishment. Do you know why the medical staff wasn’t wearing PPE? Maybe they don’t have enough? But still, that seems to be a very risky thing to do at time when most civilians are wearing masks as they interact with others.

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    1. Thank you for the kind words, Ann. We are so happy for our young man, but more than ever, worried for his future. I think we are all feeling that way at the moment.

      Also, few masks worn by the general public here. We have not been advised to. The focus has instead been on social distancing perhaps as a way of preserving masks for health care workers. Our government says the science doesn’t support it and that they offer false assurance. That is probably both true and untrue. However,at the very least I think all health care workers should be wearing them. Our infection case numbers are very low and no new cases in our jurisdiction for some time. Perhaps we will see more masks worn in general public as people start returning to work.

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  13. These photos are lovely Tracy! Sorry to hear about the family health woes though.
    Congrats to your son too. As an environmental chemist I unfortunately share his feelings on chemistry…
    But grasses? That is the rocket science of botany to me!

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    1. Thanks, Darren. We are fine. Just need to stop eating and get off the couch. Not motivated to do either at the moment. Oh well.

      I shall mention your chemistry experience to my son, Darren. Such a bummer given that you’re a chemist. It does seem very odd to me that important life choices about university courses are made before we’ve even grown up.

      My son would have liked to study botany, but the available uni course was very much focussed on gene technology so he did environmental science instead.

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      1. To be fair Tracy – I am really a biologist by training who is working as a chemist due to opportunities. Hence my lack of enthusiasm. I actually only have high school level chemistry but nobody has found out yet😉.
        And I have always said that choosing your career at 18 is far too young. I would rather see kids work for a couple of years before choosing uni courses.
        Botany is rarely taught anywhere now. The last undergraduate in traditional botany in the uk graduated more than a decade ago. If I had to choose now I would pursue Environmental science but with Soil Science as a specialism because it is genuinely interesting, very multidisciplinary, and with better future job prospects.

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  14. Congratulations on your son’s graduation, Tracy! You all must be so proud of him.
    Such wonderful shots! I have looked at all for a number of times but am unable to pick a favourite. 😀
    Take care, all of you and stay healthy.

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  15. I am a bit late in commenting. It certainly is a difficult time for dealing with health issues amongst the virus concerns. We can relate to that!! Congratulations to your son, a big sign of relief when they finish. Now the hard bit starts trying to forge out their career. I don’t envy them. As always, I enjoyed your photography. See you next month 🙂

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    1. Thank you, Suzanne. Yes, managing ongoing health issues is difficult for us all these days.
      We are somewhat nervous of what the future might hold for our young man given the government now seems hell bent on dismantling most environmental protections. Not that they abide by the current protections as it is. We shall see. We can’t change it, so we just keep on going.
      And thanks for the compliment regarding the his/her photos. I have such positive role models like yourself and Su to give me inspiration.

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