Balancing on Day forty-six

Woke before sunrise and headed out on a run to Western Springs Lake. There were quite a few others out, walking and running as well as some cyclists. Almost all the walkers and runners at least smiled, more often than not they also gave a greeting. Only one or two did not assist in keeping a two metre gap as we passed. At that time of the morning, a diversion onto the roadway was safe and effective.

The birds were becoming quite active (mostly), and because there is some international bird thing today, many of the local members of Birds Auckland were at the lake. A woman I had spoken to  before Covid-19 was there with a DSLR and a small lens. Many of the others had gigantic lenses, and appeared very earnest. I did have my 55-300 lens on the Pentax, which allowed me to get this photo of a Pukeko balancing on top of reeds and ferns beside the lake.

The day before the Prime Minister announces what happens nex we have had another two newly diagnosed cases of Covid-19. One is a person who travelled back from overseas, emphasising the value of the two week quarantine period for anyone travelling back. The other was another person linked to the West Auckland aged care facility. No more deaths.

We've got this far, so I do hope that we play the next bit sensibly. That view is also what Infectious Diseases expert Dr Siouxsie Wiles has stated today. Most of what we have seen in the last few days relates to the Level 4 lockdown, rather than the more recent Level 3. Additionally, there have been many more breaches of the rules in the last week especially.

In a book I'm reading at the moment by John Kaag based on the writings and philosophy of William James, I found a sentence (by Kaag) with which I agree:

"Acting as if the world is a welcoming and tender place occasionally has the effect of making it more so."

I went to Farro today for bread, wine and a treat for S on mother's day as the children and grandchildren cannot be with her. There was a short queue to get in. Everyone was good humoured, talked relaxedly with strangers and spoke of being in this together and mostly for others. Few of us expect that we will become infected, and few will.Bur obeying the rules/recommendations has helped us have very few deaths, and avoided the overload on hospitals and intensive care units and ventilators in particular