Category: David

Still waiting for the sun to bring the butterflies and bees again. For now, a tiny insect feeding on a dandelion flower.

Another front garden I passed on my daily walk. The heather in the first picture had almost finished flowering – remaining flowers are white, the yellow / orange growth is the opening of new leaves, the favourite food of the grouse. There’s also one of a plant in another garden of a white heather with more flowers still, and one of a sort of reddish heather.

The dry weather for the last few days means there have not been any of the real thing around, but pictures like these are appearing in windows.

Here are the ones I passed on my short walk around quiet streets yesterday.

In solidarity with all the health workers who are working all the hours there are – despite shortages of equipment including proper protective gear.

In solidarity with all the other essential workers – in food supply, binnies and those providing the other infrastructural services we all take for granted, workers for Amazon and other on-line order providers, and lots of others that haven’t risen to the top of my attention as I write this in haste. They may need less elaborate protective equipment than front line health staff, but again most will need more than they currently have.

In solidarity with the millions who are going out of their way to help others, including strangers, who are worse situated than themselves in coping with cutting down social contact to bring infection levels down to manageable levels. The half million who have volunteered to do what is needed for the people who have had the first NHS letter. The (almost certainly larger) numbers who have put in their names to Volunteer Centres coordinating collective volunteering efforts in each locality, and the many, many people who are asking elderly and infirm neighbours if they are ok, if they need any help.

Finally, also in solidarity with the vast majority who are trying their best, even when they are in difficult circumstances, to keep all social contact outside those they share their home with to an absolute minimum.

Rainbows in windows and coming out to clap every Thursday evening are showing symbolic support for health and care workers. All the responses from them which are appearing on social media show that these symbols are appreciated – but all call for action as well as words.

For immediate action – that we should all follow the current guidelines, and interpret them as strictly as possible. That action is needed now to massively increase the supply of protective clothing, ventilators and other equipment and of testing using the tests for current infection, which are proven to be more or less accurate.

Most health worker posts on social media stop there, with what we need to do to bring the current crisis under control. Some go further, and spell out what they see as the most important action to prepare to cope with the next global pandemic. No=one can know how soon it will arrive, but it will. Nor can anyone know what the death rates may be, but they could be worse that for C-19.

The action they are asking is simple – never, ever vote Tory again.

West Park swan pair near the nest site they’ve chosen on boating lake island, looking like they are on guard. Taken early March.

Fat balls are definitely the top menu choice among our bird feeders. This is one of the pair of robins nesting in the garden.

Dog violets. Not actually growing in a garden. Spotted growing up through a crack in a pavement a short way from home, seen on my one permitted excursion for exercise – a short walk keeping well more than two yards from the few other people about.