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There will be a lot of Victorians who believe in omens.
After almost two years of soul-destroying, in-and-out lockdowns, they'll believe in anything right now.
So when local man Jade Tango took the above picture this week, a koala in my home town, it could be a sign of our new freedom.
To my knowledge koalas are a rarity where I live in Bacchus Marsh, about an hour to the west of Melbourne.
Others have said there has been a lot of native animal activity in the past few weeks.
Perhaps they are enjoying the end of lockdowns as well.
No doubt it is mostly due to the largesse from a wet spring, as I've rarely seen the countryside looking better.
It has to be a good sign right, at least not a bad one, we've had a lifetime's worth of those.
It was exciting to see the city slickers enjoying some long weekend fun in the bush.
They have had months to think about what they would do when the restrictions lifted, I was keen to see that unfold.
Visiting a local waterway at Pykes Creek Reservoir on the weekend I was amused to see two jet-skis in action.
It was a cold weekend, and the wind whistling off the water surface made it numbing.
Sure these two brave souls had wetsuits on but it can't have been fun.
But tell them that.
Months of planning what to do when you can get out.
Lots of folk have planned trips and even bought stuff like four-wheel-drives, caravans, motorbikes and yes, jet-skis, in preparation.
Try and tell them the arctic weather was anything but fun.
They were deliriously happy to be outdoors.
They were also blue.
Melbourne and regional Victoria reconnected on Friday after months of dreary restrictions.
We got to see immediate family again on the weekend, the first time since pandemic rules allowed since July.
Family contact changes your demeanor.
That realisation only comes after long denial, perhaps only ex-cons know the full extent of that.
People have changed.
Long lock down will provide years of fodder for those educated in the ways of exploring our minds.
I have been trying to keep my eyes open in these early days, looking for signs like Jade's koala.
One of the local supermarkets was almost sold out of meat on the weekend.
City folk didn't have a moment to waste going shopping when they escaped the big smoke on the weekend.
They just left.
It was part of the fun to go shopping in the country, even if it was only an hour away.
They just spent, spent, and spent some more.
And they wore their shorts and thongs to spite the aforementioned cold, it was obvious little time was spent on the tan in the backyards.
Those small businesses which survived had a long overdue field day.
The local pick-your-own strawberry farm opened its gates to the throng, but at the end of October, it was pretty early for the harvest and soon were forced to shut.
People are unsure about the new rules, they have been wearing masks for so long it has become habit.
They feel under-dressed without them.
Perhaps someone will eventually open a mask exhibit at some art gallery or other but I wouldn't go.
This has been a period of history better left in the past.
We are all looking forward, not back.
Ask those guys on the jet skis, learning how to use their new machines on a quiet inland waterway before taking out them to the icy surf of the Bass Strait.
It's going to take a long time to blow out the cobwebs, to trust something else is not going to befall us and throw us back to a Netflix diet.
People have spent too long in contemplation, what's important to them, to their families.
You get the feeling it's not going to be the kids in care while both parents work to pay the mortgage, the sort of life many had before.
I for one am fascinated to watch it all unfold and hope for the smiles to come back, carried along by Jade's koala perhaps.
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