A field of buttercups

Week 11, Day 1 (Day 71 overall).

A big day. For us, that is.

For the last 10 weeks as J is identified as highly vulnerable and so shielding we have not been outside our home (which includes our garden), save for a very few short car trips to keep the car batteries topped up. The furthest I have walked is less than 300m to our neighbour at the back, to collect a plant (which she described as “a whopper”) from her front drive.

We have been having a debate about when and where we might go for a walk. The first criteria has to be - as few other people as possible (preferably none). So weekends definitely out. And nowhere obviously popular. The second criteria has to be - a place where we can be assured of being more than 2m from other people. So no canal towpaths or other tight routes.

Which narrows options down considerably.

But, I had booked a day off work today, so we identified an area we knew and headed there. A bit of a drive from home, but worth it. A very few locals around (gave them a wide berth), big fields, and very pleasant countryside. I chose this shot because a buttercup field with swallows skimming over it is just so what this time of year should be about.

The roads were surprisingly busy. The lockdown is definitely “easing”, a little too quickly and extensively I think.

There is a big debate ongoing about when and how measures to ease the lockdown should be implemented. We have lost trust in all the government says, so are just applying our own common sense and understanding of the potential risks. Which means just slight adjustments to our shielding regime - such as today’s walk.

But we remain very careful, concerned too many people are ignoring advice and we’ll be back to square one within weeks or a few months.