With the first day of the first full week of lockdown dawning on March 30, a feeling of a loss of time reached me.
With no set appointments or work schedule, the day seemed to be just another moment on the 21-day schedule.
Getting up from bed was a lot harder without something set in stone to do.
A change had to be made.
A ray of light came in the form of my mother who had a new project for us to work on.
While browsing Facebook, she noticed an appeal from a fellow birder (our family are avid birders) to assist with her PHD study.
The premise was simple, she wanted assistance with her study of bird communities in cities.
What she asked is to take 10 minutes and spend the time in your garden looking for and listening to birds.
This has to be done within four hours of daybreak. After documenting what you see and hear, you then send the results to her as data.
Needless to say, this motivated me to get up and ready. So with binoculars in hand, we posted in the middle of the garden.
Suddenly there was something real and immediate that could be done.
The time spent in the fresh air was an added opportunity to clear our heads.
The decision was taken to do this every morning.
I think in our time of lockdown it is important to find something routine that you have to adhere to.
By forcing yourself to do this, every day you can be sure the days do not meld together. It is also an opportunity to get up and do something active.
Good luck to all my fellow Albertonians and citizens of South Africa during lockdown.
Roedolf Walker
