We'll soon be back at Level 2. What a relief. I’ll happily wear a mask to the pub if I can drive to Masterton. Not to visit a pub; I need to buy new slippers to replace the ones the dog destroyed, as well as some running socks. Getting in the car and turning the key in the ignition will feel as novel as a beautiful Spring day in Wellington. I can’t wait.
As the end of lockdown approaches, a feeling of sentimentality has started to wash over me. It’s a similar feeling when you’re in the last week of a job you can’t wait to leave. Your mind is constantly replaying images of the good people you’ve worked with, the jokes you’ve shared with colleagues, the excellent morning teas. Why am I leaving again?
In the case of lockdown, we’re leaving because the government says we can. And that is a good thing. After three days in a row of, “There are 20 new cases today”, I’m ready to run screaming from the laptop and hide in Arki’s new purpose-built sleeping den (more on that soon). But that doesn’t mean I’m incapable of looking back on my 2021 lockdown experience with gratitude. Here are Marisa’s Top 5 Lockdown Highlights.
1. More screen time
Whenever I grew bored with running or baking or reading during lockdown, I started on the list of “must see” TV programmes I’d had on the backburner for weeks.
One of these was Fight for the Wild, a documentary recommended by an ex-workmate at Victoria University. This four-part series describes the massive amount of work underway across New Zealand in support of Predator Free 2050, a government-led campaign aiming to rid our country of invasive pests such as rats, stoats and possums by the year 2050.
It’s a hugely ambitious but critical project, when you consider how much of our native wildlife has been eliminated or driven to the brink of extinction by these voracious and cunning creatures.
A Kiwi researcher in Fiordland National Park looked close to tears as he spoke of the 24 new Kiwi chicks born in the park over the past two years. “Not one of them survived for more than a few weeks,” he said. “Very often I’d find a transmitter with nothing but a pair of legs attached.”
I was so inspired by the documentary that I wanted to find out what I could do to help. While searching for local projects on the Predator Free NZ web site, I came across the National Forest Restoration Trust (interestingly, this is the organisation you make a donation to if you choose to offset your Air New Zealand flight with carbon credits).
The Trust has 32 forest restoration projects underway, one of which is excitingly right on my doorstep. The Pigeon Bush Reserve lies between the Remutaka and Tararua Conservation Parks just west of Featherston. At 1157 hectares, it is by far the Trust’s largest reserve. New Zealand falcon, kingfisher, morepork, fantail and kereru are frequently seen in the park. Yay!
Although it isn’t open to the public, the reserve can be seen as you drive up to the Remutaka Summit from Upper Hutt. I shall have to keep an eye out for it the next time I’m driving home from Wellington. In the meantime, I have set up a monthly donation to the Trust and become a Forest Guardian. I’m looking forward to learning more about their work and hopefully becoming more involved in a practical way.
2. Watching the ballet
I don’t often go to the ballet but when I do, I love it. During lockdown, I saw the Royal New Zealand Ballet was offering an online performance of The Firebird (“live in your living room”). For $20 I was able to sit back for 45 minutes and enjoy a dramatic and mesmerising performance that combined live state footage with specially shot close-ups and visual effects. The lead dancer was exceptional; she really made me feel as if I was watching a beautiful bird flitting and swooping all over the stage; even her facial expressions and head movements were wonderfully bird-like. I loved it. They’ve extended the season to 16 September if you’re interested.
3. Doing yoga
I’ve been practising yin yoga semi-regularly for the past couple of years. Yin, which has been described as “advanced lying down”, is a restorative form of yoga which focuses on the fascia, or connective tissue, in your body. You gently stretch into supported positions on the ground, holding each position for three to five minutes. It’s incredibly relaxing and a nice complement to my running.
I haven’t yet found a yoga studio in the Wairarapa that offers a good yin class, but last week I discovered one of my old studios in Wellington was offering classes by Zoom during lockdown. So on Sunday afternoon, from the comfort of our Featherston study, I paid $10 for 90 minutes of yin delivered via my laptop. I didn’t expect it to be as relaxing as the real thing, but I found myself dropping off to sleep almost as frequently as I would in the studio! 10 out of 10.
4. Watching Arki’s new bedroom take shape
That bl**** dog has wheedled his way into our hearts without too much effort. And our love knows no bounds. Please don’t judge us, but we (well, Barnard) have built him his own little room. After searching for dog bed ideas online, Barnard shelled out $30 for a secondhand baby cot that he has converted into a den for Arki, complete with a roof and purpose-built entrance. It’s painted black, in line with Arki’s terrorist nature, and now we just need the military camouflage netting to arrive that will hopefully reduce the “prison” look a little. (Rest assured, he loves using it!). His old bed, which sits on the roof of his den, now acts as a toy box, holding half-chewed shoes, balls and ball throwers, leashes and the like. I know. We’re pathetic.
5. Being with Barnard
I love this new writing life but, like most authors, I also have the occasional down day when the demons start to gather in my brain. Mostly it’s caused by me overthinking things and being way too hard on myself. When this happens, I talk to Barnard, which always helps. Sometimes I just need to get out of my head.
Being in lockdown has made this easy; all I need to do is swivel my desk chair around and start chatting to him. We had one such conversation last Wednesday. When I got into bed that night, I felt something rustling under my back. It was a piece of paper. On it was a note.
Hi sweetie
You are awesome, you are doing awesome things and you do what makes you happy. If you get to a point where you want to do different things that will make you happy, that is fine too. I’ll always be standing next to you. You don’t have to prove anything to anyone.
I love you
Barnard
Love you too, darling. Bring on Level 2.
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