Category / Diary

by Natalia

A few little moments in a blend of days

I know I skipped a few weeks of isolation updates. Just didn’t feel like talking. The days, although mainly good days (because who am I to complain!), blended into a phase, a stretch of blurry captures that become barely recognisable and hardly meaningful after a while. It’s like a photography hiccup – even though the beautiful object is out there before you, it takes a skill to focus on it properly.

We are still here. Isolating. And I am thinking of starting walks as the situation seems to be improving somewhat. By that I mean that we have fewer people dying and fewer – getting sick, and we are at slightly lower risk of catching the virus.

Of course, it’s not brilliant. And it will take a long time to feel different. But I am so tired of being afraid all the time. So we are going to try and get out.

This morning I needed to pop out to post a few cards. It was early in the morning. Just me and the birds. I walked through the village that felt unfamiliar, same but different, very odd.

The birds are reigning. They have never been particularly timid over here, but now they give you a piercing, quizzically judgmental look as if you came to their party uninvited. And forgot to bring the gifts.

But that was the good thing – to see them living the life as they’ve always done. Because the sun still comes out every morning, the sky is blue (most of the time), the rain is wet and the air is filled with the intoxicating fragrances of hackberry and lilac.

I came home, hugged my boys and finally, first time in many weeks, took out my camera. We shot a few photos, had a play before the rain hit the ground, and lived without agenda getting one more day closer to the moment when we can simply be again…

Fred, chocolate and tan English cocker spaniel puppy / Covid coronavirus self-isolating with two spaniels / Perfect cocker spaniel dog and pet blog (C) Natalia Ashton
by Natalia

Self-isolating with two dogs | Week 2

Unlike my sourdough starter, we are doing relatively well. Two weeks of the house and garden. No walks. Perhaps a bit extreme for many but I can’t take risks…. Not because I am particularly concerned about dying. Frankly, I don’t give a damn. But I can’t go knowing that, should the worst happen, my boys will be left without their mum. As simple as that. I am responsible for their lives and so it is my job to ensure that we all get through without extremes.

Our days changed a little compared to the previous week. The late nights swallowed most of the early mornings, though nobody seems to be complaining. Pups still wake up at 6 for their breakfast and garden, but then return to bed for a snooze… And the extra two hours in the morning allow me to nourish the aftermath of my anxiety-induced insomnia.

At night I lie in bed inhaling the scent of Fred’s forehead and stroking Coop’s back. I watch movies until Fred starts to fidget and tells me off for the flashes of light and sound.  I hug him, and eventually fall into abyss of most vivid dreams. Somehow (and I have no idea why) I always feel that I will wake up to the new day where the world is free from the virus and the nightmare. I feel that not sleeping all night will bring this day closer at a much faster speed.

Then we wake up slightly blinded by the bright sunshine and the reality of “sameness”, get dressed (well, relatively) and walk into the garden for our morning training and play time. It takes us about an hour to work on the issues that need attention, learn something new, play, sniff, practise the old tricks and simply sit outside on a porch listening to birds whilst Fred feasts on dandelion leaves.

Afterwards, I still groom them as usual, as if we were out and got muddy paws.

I know the pups miss their walks, but they seem very, very content with our current activities. They are relaxed, happy, playful, so much so that they happily go for a nap mid-morning and allow me to continue with my studies and reading until late lunch.

After lunch we do everything all over again, cook dinner, play, and relax. Well, they relax whilst I often go back to my computer and dive back into my course work.

I have been inventing new puzzle toys and games for them, too. Will need to do a proper post about this as the list is getting longer. I won’t lie, it can get labour-intensive at times. Once every few days I get to the point when I just want to sit and watch TV for hours doing absolutely nothing. If I didn’t have the boys – I would… But they come to over for a hug or a kiss, bearing a toy or asking for a little bit of training outside. So I get off my bottom and do what every mum is supposed to do: make a cup of coffee to perk up – and leave it to go cold because I am outside entertaining the troops.

But that’s ok. It’s all ok. I only hope that we will soon get a glimmer of hope for better things to come.

 

Image source: Fred photographed by me

Covid coronavirus pandemic lockdown / self-isolating tips with dogs / english cocker spaniel advice, grooming, training, mental stimulation tips / Perfect cocker spaniel book and pet blog / Cooper, Fred, Natalia Ashton (C)
by Natalia

Self-isolating with two dogs | Week 1

“We are always getting ready to live but never living…” Ralph Waldo Emerson

How much can things change in a blink?… Alright, this blink was a slow-motion kind of blink, but nevertheless, it felt like all the time suddenly squeezed into a short, brief moment of fear, helplessness and anxiety. Then exploded and sharply divided the entire course of life into the past and the future that will never be the same, as planned or whatever it’s going to turn out to be like… The “never make plans” joke suddenly became the new motto. At least, that’s how I felt.

And then… then I had my boys. The reason to carry on and smile. I honestly have no idea how I’d be without them.

So… we are self-isolating. The four of us. Two humans and two dogs. 24/7. It feels like we could enjoy the time together, yet the stress and the news make it ash’y and grim at times. A bit like Christmas post apocalypse.

The boys have been amazing, to be honest. I was, of course, concerned about them and the absence of walks. I took them out a couple of times, but then some cyclists stopped by too close to us and I ended up so anxious, I couldn’t breathe. At the end, I simply knew that I could manage the pups at home, and it would most likely be quite good for Fred to reduce the stimuli for a bit.

Our first week went better than I imagined. I made sure to stick to the boy’s usual schedule sans walk, which got replaced with play time and training sessions. A bit like living through days when the weather was too bad for proper walks.

We get up. Coop and Fred have their breakfast, use the garden and relax for an hour.

The walk would be next, but since we are at home, we either pop out to the garden (so grateful to have this little green space!) or stay in the living room with a garden door open for some fresh air. The hour is then dedicated to training or games. I have a few different plans for the boys, so one day we learn new tricks, next morning could be dedicated to puzzle toys or food searching games, then – calming exercises and training, and so on.

Fred usually likes to finish these sessions with a quick ball game while Coop prefers to relax on sunny spot and watch how the chocolate fury and I make complete fools of ourselves.

Then they help me with the chores, fall sleep, and I write or study until lunch.

At lunch the boys get some licki mats and garden play time.

Then we have one more training session in the afternoon. This one is usually dedicated to “faux agility” as I named it. Or we trick train.

A bit more studying, house work and writing for me – and nap time for them until dinner.

In the evening we eat, relax, watch tv. The boys have another nap. Then we do a bit of grooming and spend some time in the garden.

Come late evening, the two are usually napping next to my desk, to I can continue with my course work or spend a little time on social media and reading the news. And I watch The Durrels and some old movies… My reverie.

And then we all go to bed…

I know it’s not very eventful, but for now it’ll do… It’s safe and it keeps others safe, too.

How have you been? 

 

Image credit: Cooper & Fred photographed by me