More Notes from the Bunker

Another sunny day here in the Bunker.  I am so grateful to have the blue skies and sunshine at this difficult time as eveything in Nature is looking hopeful and hope is something that we all need right now!

Yesterday feeling a bit stressed with it all I decided that what was needed was a dose of shrinrin yoku or Forest Bathing not that the little wood that we adjoin is a forest and not that I intended to take off my clothes but just to be in Nature.  Hope springs eternal I thought as I noticed this clump of daffodils on my way.

It has been too wet and muddy recently for much mindul walking in the wood but now the paths are dry again it is a peaceful way to spend half an hour or so listening to the birdsong and noticing the greenery bursting forth everywhere.  Forgetting for a while all the worries and stresses about coronavirus.

It won't be long before the leaves cover the trees and this path will be in the shade.

A little clump of celandines at the root of a tree along with some bluebell leaves what could be more hopeful?

Last night we learned that we are to be in "lockdown", a word which along with social distancing and self isolation we had never used before nor knew what they meant, to try and slow the horrid virus - my initial thought was to be glad that we now knew exactly what we should or should not be doing as I had found the all earlier advice somewhat confusing but it will mean a major change to our way of living for some weeks if not longer.

We are OK and this morning the cheery Riverford delivery man brought us our regular weekly box of veggies to which we had been able to add a fruit box, 6 bottles of milk and 2 large loaves of bread to slice and put in the freezer (I hadn't been able to buy suitable flour to make my own before all the shops sold out). I was able to have a brief chat with him from the back door at a safe distance.  We will need to go shopping later in the week for some  other items like coffee and butter and so on but we shall not starve nor go without our 5 a day!

I have since come across this video which I plan to try for easy bake bread using any kind of flour which looks simple and delicious  I'll let you know how it turns out if/when I do.

I am more concerned for the Wanderer as she is alone in a 7th floor studio flat in Lewisham working from home but she will be allowed to go out for food shopping and for her usual run or maybe take her bike for a ride (I have just been told by Mr M that she will be able to get it serviced if needbe as home and hardware and bicycle repair shops can remain open).  It's interesting to see how little we actually need and what those needs might be; certainly not new clothes or sportswear, cafes and bookshops.  What would be on your list of must-haves I wonder and how will that list change over the coming weeks and months?

If you haven't seen this you might ind it amusing.  All for now keep safe and keep positive.

Notes from the bunker!!

 

Norway picture from Google Images

  For some reason this post prints in capitals even though I have used lower case as usual.

Be careful what you wish for - recently I had a "week in Norway" which is my metaphor for having nothing in the diary and being able to do as I pleased for a week. I did enjoy it and it was indeed like being on holiday and I wished for more time in Norway..... well now I have 12 weeks in Norway that I wasn't expecting.  Nothing in the diary no going to shops, or meeting friends in town for a coffee, trips to other towns or even to the garden centre.  Nobody will visit us and no seeing the Wanderer in London nor her coming here.  I imagine this will be a very different time and something I wouldn't have wished for but that it might be interesting when looking back to see what it was like and so I plan to blog about it here so that friends can see what we are up to and how we are coping.  

After a week of conflicting and confusing advice and instructions, lots of fake news and far too much real news on the coronavirus topic we finally gathered that being over 70 and considered elderly we should be self isolating ie staying at home out of harm's way but of course that wouldn't be totally workable we would need to get out for fresh air and exercise and if we had nobody to help us we might need to go to the shops if we weren't to starve!  Now I think Mr M and I are ready for this and have not been out to the shops since Wednesday when we had our last quick foray.  We haven't actually stockpiled anything but shouldn't need any of our usual weekly items for another week or two, we already have an organic vegetable box delivered weekly and have taken out a subscription to Radio Times so we shall have both something to read and be able to find out what might be on television in the evenings.  I also have plenty of library books which was lucky as the library is now closed for the forseeable future.  We went to the garden centre last Monday and ordered bags of compost to be delivered and bought several packets of seeds so we should be able to have runner beans etc this year as usual.  

It was surprising to me the sorts of things I wondered about in the night when unable to sleep - "what if" questions like: if we died would a funeral be possible?  What about bird seed for the wild birds if we run out?  What if the Wanderer was ill could I go to London to help her?  What i we were ill with something othe than the coronavirus would we get to see a doctor?  And many more such things.  It's been like being on a roller coaster one minute being scared and worried and the next thinking of the positives like having time for gardening and spring cleaning etc (That hasn't happened though as this week has been taken up with e-mails and phone calls but I think we are settling down to the reality of our imprisonment now.)

 

Today I went for a walk in the adjoining wood - I hadn't been for several days and it was exactly what I needed a real balm to the soul listening to the birdsong, noticing the carpets of celandines and the bluebell leaves shooting up ready for the bluebells themselves in a few weeks time.  Everywhere much greener than last time I went and the mud all but dried up and I even noticed some pussy willow with its grey furry catkins reminding me of Easter.  I came back with a little Nature Table posy of twigs and flowers and felt much calmer as we sat with our cups of tea in the conservatory looking out into the garden with the daffodils and primroses in bloom and the washing blowing on the line in the wind!  All was well in my world at least for the moment.

Wishing you all well at this dificult time.