@ the carnival 
Day 12 of COVID-19 quarantine: Editing fun 
(Jane Doe) in the foreground, Consuelo at the left, Dolores indistinguishable 
Photo of the girls – Dean’s request 
Three curious chicks – Silver Efex Pro 2 BW 
Chilled Dolores – Silver Efex Pro 2 BW 
Dolores’ back and wings on Saturday (Week 5) 
“I stepped on my own poop and I don’t care” – Dolores 
Valentina and Consuelo playing chicken (pun intended) 
Consuelo and Dolores quarreling 
Valetina bullying Consuelo 
Valetina chasing Consuelo 
Chermoula Eggplant and Bulgur 
Eggplant in Buttermilk Sauce 
Homemade pasta with fresh cherry tomatoes and lemon zest 
Bibimbap 
Hughey wanting to join the fun 
“Wait for me!”- Hughey 
Valentina running to me for a cuddle 
Pescado Rodrigo with Fried Sweet Potatoes and Spinach 
Consuelo’s first egg
Twenty Twenty (2020) was just an awful year. It was in 2020 that the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. As a consequence, the state of Victoria – Australia – (state I live in) decided that it had to do massive lockdowns throughout most of the year (6-8 months of lockdown). That and the fact that I had to self quarantine from my trip to the US, where I was going to spend my 40th birthday with my family (most of my nuclear family). This trip was cut short.
As a consequence, I was not able to execute my goals for 2020. In summary, the events that happened this year:
- I started a new job
- My father came to visit me (for…)
- I got married to my (now) husband
- Day/road trips around Victoria
- Trip to Sydney with Dad (before he went home)
- Trip to the US (cut almost 2 weeks short)
- Self quarantine (14 days)
- Settlement and moved into our home
- Early lockdown (targeted suburb)
- Got chicks (52 weeks of chicks)
- Got a puppy
- Trip to St Leonards
- Gave the chicks up (end of 52 weeks of chickens)
Some of these items warranted a post with photos, but due to the excessive events (lockdown can generate a lot more work than you can imagine). So a few of them didn’t really have a lot of show for.
One of the things I noticed during this year is that I get a lot more traffic to the blog when I posted photos of food or some cute animal (the chicks when babies or Hughey). As much as I appreciate the traffic/views/likes, this sort of traffic is not the focus of the blog (or maybe it is).
There is no moral or conclusion to the retrospective of 2020 other than: the more I go out, the more photo shoots I get.
Featured Posts of 2020
Pescado Rodrigo
Apparently Pescado Rodrigo is a standard mexican preparation of fish, especially in Mexico City (or so I’ve read). This is what I got from my research, but since I have never been to Mexico City, I cannot confirm. I, obviously, took this off a Mexican cookbook. The recipe suggested serving it with corn tortillas. Since…
Puppy Love
Every day that passes by, I fall more in love with little Hughey (who might turn out to be bigger than we expect). We took him to his first veterinarian visit this past week prior to his second shot because we felt there might be something wrong with him. Dean thought he had a hearing…
Album or Project?
So, this little love muffin came into my life 3 days ago! He is the cutest thing ever and I want to be Elmira and just hug him and squeeze him and love him. Unlike the chickens, he actually enjoys the love cuddles. I decided that I had to take TONS of photos of him.…
Chickens (7 of 52)
This week was action week: I proposed to take photos of the chickens in action! I am proud to say that most of them did stick to the theme, but there was one that was a resting action (explained below). In trying to capture movement in their daily play, they can be quite unpredictable, making…
52 Weeks of Chickens – Gen 2 (Week 1)
And so we start again. Dean brought 3 little chicks today. We have come up with two names, but haven’t been able to give the names to the chicks. We also wouldn’t know how to identify two of the 3. Here are Consuelo, Dolores and (Jane Doe).
A Superb Fairywren
I have posted this photo here in the blog, the featured image is of a Superb Fairywren. It is a cute little bird often found here in Victoria. This particular one was found at the (Safari like) Werribee Zoo. A copule of years ago, my husband (then boyfriend) and I went with a couple that…
COVID-19 Quarantine Day 2 – My Birthday
Today was the first full day under quarantine. We still have not had the time (or space) to unpack from our botched trip to Florida.
Australia 2020
Now that I have finally finished editing the photos of my father’s trip to Australia, I can finally post something here. I have a policy of not posting photos without release forms and I don’t generally get family to sign them… so, I will post only photos without family members. In the mix we can…
Forest View Lodge
As part of our endeavor to get through all that we wanted, I was invited to do work. Take photos of a country house that is going to be advertised in Airbnb: Forest View Lodge. It is in Deans Marsh, just 15 minutes from Lorne. In exchange for the photos, I would get accommodation in…
(My) Favorites of 2020
Puppy Love
Puppy Love
Every day that passes by, I fall more in love with little Hughey (who might turn out to be bigger than we expect). We took him to his first veterinarian visit this past week prior to his second shot because we felt there might be something wrong with him. Dean thought he had a hearing…
52 Weeks of Chickens – Action Week
Chickens (7 of 52)
This week was action week: I proposed to take photos of the chickens in action! I am proud to say that most of them did stick to the theme, but there was one that was a resting action (explained below). In trying to capture movement in their daily play, they can be quite unpredictable, making…
52 Weeks of Chickens – Black and White Week
Chickens (4 of 52)
Valentina might actually be Valentino! This week was a sad week for me in relation to the chicks. I love them so much, but we cannot have any roosters around. We had Albert for a brief period when we lived in Hobson’s Bay, and that turned out to be a nightmare (even though Hobson’s Bay…
Projects
COVID-19 Quarantine
52 Weeks of Chickens – Gen 2
In 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic, my husband and I adopted 3 baby chicks. I documented every step of the way until we had to let them go a different way. Two of the three baby chicks turned into roosters, even though they were sold as pullets. Keeping the roosters was impossible, especially living in a council that does not allow it. It was a happy 20 weeks (only 18 documented) that I will cherish. This project will forever remind me of them.