Lockdown 36/47 – Mushrooms!

Day 36 of my diary of a LOTR Fan Museum owner during our national lockdown (extended from 28 to 47 days: 33 at level 4, 14 at L3) – in NZ we’re uniting as a country to beat Covid-19 to break the chain and save lives, but …

The new job of STAY HOME, be kind, seems to be getting easier and harder at the same time. There’s a major change for some, but only a small relaxation for those staying home. Just the scent of more freedom is intoxicating and it’s a bit harder to accept the constraint. But I’m doing it.

I made a small change yesterday by going for a forest walk just a tad further from home - not much further. A friend was there already. Maintaining 2m distance - or more - at all times, she led me to her new project: a secret garden!

It’s actually a community garden hidden beside one of the city’s parks. I grew up in the suburb and I’d been to the park, but I never knew about the garden. It wasn’t at its best seasonally and was currently a little bit neglected, but it was so beautiful. So hopeful. Just a huge lift to the spirits.

Then a forest walk where I hadn’t walked since I was a child, finding tiny freshwater crayfish on a school nature walk. Autumn majesty all around. Lothlorien indeed! The golden leaves took me to that golden hall in my mind.

And it was a shortcut to mushrooms! Two women were there closely examining a patch of interesting mushrooms, textbook in hand (they were keeping 2m distance from each other). We all laughed, agreeing that tasting an unknown mushroom would be too unsafe for lockdown! We can’t do things that might cause an emergency.

It was only an hour but it was such a lovely outing. I am back in my bunker feeling utterly refreshed. I expect that’s how people are feeling in other places if they’re just starting to emerge safely from lockdown. And, if it’s too soon for you, don’t worry, you’ll get there! Best wishes, Kathy xx