Lockdown

This is Day One of a five-day lockdown.  Here in W.A. we have lived normal lives for 10 months, with no community transmission. Suddenly, a leak has occurred from a quarantine hotel which houses returned travellers from overseas. Perth has been accepting about 500 of these every week and now has a few with the UK and S.African strains. A security guard has tested positive and the govt has published a long list of all the places he visited before and after he felt unwell. One of these is a petrol station which I normally frequent, though I haven't been there recently.  He may also have worked as an Uber driver. The contact tracers will be busy, as will COVID testing sites.

So, I'm staying put for the rest of this week, with just an early morning walk each day. I don't like walking with a mask on at all and have to leave my glasses at home. Luckily I did a big grocery shop on Saturday morning, having just got back from our holiday in Mandurah. My wine cellar is not looking too good:

One bottle of NZ Sauvignon Blanc;

One 2-litre cask of Cabernet Merlot;

Half a bottle of Aperol;

5 Peroni Leggera;

4 mini Prosecco.

Maybe that's enough for the week!

Early on Sunday, before the lockdown, I decided to explore a local bird sanctuary, since we so enjoyed our Mandurah trip. I drove to the Eric Singleton Reserve, on the other side of the Swan River just opposite the Ascot Racecourse. I saw very few birds, possibly because it's right next to a dog exercise area known as Riverside Gardens.  I've never seen (or heard) so many dogs racing around - including lots of greyhounds, all off the lead. Is that allowed? They also race into the water of their own little dog beach. One pure black greyhound with a limp took himself into the shallow water and stood there for a good 5 minutes, not moving.

Dog beach

A white heron crossing an overflow weir