Virus and Heatwaves and Whistling Parrots

The places with the biggest increase in new virus cases are unsurprisingly Madrid and Cataluña. Interestingly, a huge number of the new cases are in young people (10 - 19) who are asymptomatic and have been found through contact tracing. This is quite a shift in demographic from earlier in the year - but of course asymptomatic cases were much less understood.

The mood is relatively relaxed, despite the increase in cases. This is no doubt fuelled that there is currently no pressure on ICUs in hospitals with so many of the new cases not being ill or requiring care. 

It seems that in the village, most people are adhering to the face mask rules. I've seen builders not wearing masks, but I don't think people doing physical jobs are required to wear them. 

Normally, this time of year I focus on making clip art for my clip art store. I work on requests I receive during the year and this is usually very varied. This year, however, I the majority of requests has been for mask related clip art - which is a sign of the times. 

This is my favourite set so far - 'how not to wear a mask' - the biggest challenge was that I didn't want the characters to look happy or 'cool' as they shouldn't be aspirational. I've also been asked for a 'not touching' set - which will be an interesting challenge. This is for PE departments where students are not supposed to touch equipment without washing their hands.

We are also mid heatwave. It's been going on for quite a while, I think we've seen little yellow or orange warning signs on the weather app for what feels like weeks now. It's that time of year when we can shower comfortably with 'cold' water - which is just as well a our boiler is playing up!

Ian has embraced the heatwave and has taken to going for an early morning cycle ride. It's still pretty warm even around 7ish, however he doesn't seem to mind. I did have to rescue him earlier this week, however, from an over zealous sheep dog that appeared to be highly suspicious of his intentions!

We have been teaching Ludvig how to get Alexa to whistle to him - by teaching him to say 'Alexa, whistle'. He has had problems with 'Alexa Whistle' as he has been getting unusually confused saying Alexa with a Bristol accent (Alexal) - however he's becoming better at it. The reason we did this is to try and give him some focus and stop him from asking random things or getting it to play random tunes. He likes whistling, both listening to and whistling himself, so this is a good way to keep him entertained, without subjecting us to the weather forecast in Seattle, number of leaves eaten by slothes or the offer of Alexa or Google to tell us a fact - or other random things.  He has learned to say 'Google Stop' as he had also learned to ask Google to play a tune, and that resulted in either Ian or I shouting 'Google Stop' a couple of seconds after. Now at least he can play music AND switch it off!!

Lockdown Life - a resurgence of cases

I don't suppose anyone was greatly surprised to see an increase in covid cases in Spain. It appears to be very polarized with some areas experiencing relatively large outbreaks and then others continuing to keep things under control. Fortunately, the south of Extremadura is currently largely unaffected by a resurgence - but there are no guarantees that this will remain the case. This time the increase appears to be in younger people, so there are obvious concerns that younger people will then introduce the virus to older members of their households. 

There won't be another national lockdown (hopefully), instead the regions can decide what measures they need to take. 

The rules on wearing masks have been reduced slightly so we don't need to wear them if we are in the country with people of our own households. 

We've had a run of very hot weather the last few days, so I suppose also that puts pay to any idea that the heat will kill the virus. 

I finally got round to hanging a 'for sale' sign outside the house this week as I do believe that there could be people from Cataluña and other cities who may find the relative freedom of rural life attractive - particularly as they can see the virus really isn't going away just yet. With many people finding they can work from home and the thought of being in another period of lockdown might make the house attractive - we'll see! 

Lockdown Life - Masks!

As from last Saturday, it's now mandatory for us to wear masks at all times, even when we can socially distance. Even in the countryside (that was specifically mentioned in the notification). But not when exercising. 

It's quite busy early in the mornings now because it is hot at midday, so people start very early and finish early. So it's quite bustling when we are out for our walk, and I think everyone we saw was wearing masks. 

Actually, the legislation is 'face covering' so I've been wearing a bandana, but we will look for reusable or washable masks.

I guess there are pros and cons of mandatory mask wearing. On one hand, it saves having to remember to take one out if you are not wearing it and then having to hurriedly put it on if you are near someone.  It is also a very real reminder that the virus is still with us. On the other hand, will it be like the argument people give about cycle helmets, that it brings a false sense of security?

But whatever, given the situation, wearing a mask outside is the least we can do and part of our new normal!

Playing Ball With Daisy

I've just come in from playing ball with Daisy. She loves playing ball - not just a little bit love, a LOT love! She would actually opt to just look at her ball rather than eat her food, and playing with it is just the best thing ever!

She is the only dog we've ever had who has enjoyed fetch - although admittedly, it's more difficult for our blind and partially sighted dogs.  

She prefers Ian to throw the ball for her, probably because he can throw so much further than me. When I throw the ball she's generally passed it before it hits the ground. So I bought a flingy thing from Amazon. It's great! I didn't have high hopes as it was only 3 euros, including the ball, so I was expecting something that lasted for one throw - but it is excellent quality and I can throw the ball much further with it. There's a bit of a knack - but the ball undoubtedly goes much further.

It all goes wrong though when Charlie comes out to play. She can't see the ball (her eyesight is extremely poor - she unfortunately has the worst of all worlds - she can see a little bit, but hasn't developed the other self-preservation skills that our blind dogs have) - and all she is aware of is Daisy running around.

Poor Charlie then thinks that Daisy is having the greatest of games, and runs round after her and mayhem follows.

I take a ball out for Daisy in the morning too - and she will find it if it gets 'lost' in the undergrowth, she sniffs it out. Again, something we've never had a dog do before. They are used as truffle hounds in the north of Spain, so perhaps they do have a good sense of smell.

Lockdown Life - New Lockdowns

New lockdowns are now in place in Cataluña and Galicia. This is where new outbreaks have been identified. 

The lockdowns now are mandated by the local governments, so they happen really quickly. People were only given a matter of hours to leave/return to their homes if they were in the lockdown area. 

I wonder how many of these we are going to see now. Spain is no longer under a state of emergency, so each principality is setting its own criteria for how it defines a new outbreak and the measures they want to take - and it seems that this is pretty much based on ICU capacity. 

In the village it seems it's pretty much life as normal - although the swimming pool isn't open this year, so I imagine there are a lot of bored youngsters at the moment!

We've seen a couple of interesting initiatives. One is that the Llerena vet is coming to villages to do standard things like deparasiting and vaccinations, to cut down on people milling around at the surgery. We have to put our names down at the council, and when there are a certain number of people on the list, they arrange for the vet to visit and the vet will come to an outside place in the village to see the animals. I think this is a great idea and I wonder if it will continue after.

We probably have to go to the vet again this week, so it will be interesting to see if we notice any more changes.