Behind the Fence

It's official- we've got Delta, the game changer. The variant wrecking havoc because it spreads so easily and no-one is spared. Youth beware, it will get you too. But we're relaxed in our corner of Aotearoa because there are no cases.  Covid free for over 300 days. I'm enjoying time and space. I wield the garden fork, spade and trowel and get digging. There are plants, trees and flowers to move which I saved pre-demolition, and my garden consists of others' cuttings I split year by year. Tui's and Marie's from the high country. And plants I've bought from Oderings and the Blue Mountain Nursery in Tapanui. I used to park Lionel there after lunch at the Top Nosh Cafe. Those days are gone already though I can still see Lionel perched in front of a pie with a cup of tea. And they make the best custard square in Te Wai Pounamu. Best in Enzed. 

So I dig and I transplant and spend days building up the garden along the south fence. I retrieve grasses plonked in odd places and create a border, there's a punga I separate from a mother plant outside the kitchen. Homage to the fertility and multiplicity of gardens. I'm not an ordered gardener; I go for the lush look. Weather's grey, misty and moist. I work and work listening to Te Irirangi o Aotearoa, New Zealand on Air. I learn a lot about the world beyond my fence. Covid cases increase around Tamaki Makaurau, Auckland, but here we're safe and sleepy.

Online learning is predictable. Papanui kids were not that engaged at school, they barely lift a finger at home. I zoom into morning briefings, getting there early to chat with the other regular early birds. We're creatures of habit. I get better at Google, the hard way and it takes all Monday and part of Tuesday to sort my junior classes. Learning for next time. I tune into 1pm briefings with Jacinda Adhern and Ashley Bloomfield. We watch TV on Demand and I drink wine. And make a Pina Colada with Kahu's Bacardi. He tells me not to drink any more. He's wanting to break the lockdown and hang out with friends. I say no and he listens.

The penny drops that there's barely any traffic so I pluck up courage and take Kahu for driving lessons. The first one is tense and we argue. His cornering has me gripping the seat and yelling at him to slow down. By the end of the week we're more relaxed but it feels too fast in the passenger seat. Sharyn comes back and we check out the paint job at her house. A timely visit for colour choice.

I try to sell odds and ends on Marketplace but buy more than I sell. Mainly for the garden but I'm fixated on picture frames. Greg says supply is getting dire due to Covid. I sell Lionel's vinyl. They're 50's and mainly orchestral. On collection day I realise I'm attached to them, personal, and keep more than I wanted to. They're going to decorate a small restaurant and I think Lionel would be pleased. They get another life and so do we in lockdown. We're buying time.