With the COVID-19 Pandemic entering its darkest days around the world, I thought posting this would make everything a bit more cheerful. What are you looking forward to after the COVID-19 Pandemic is over? For myself, it would be a peace of mind. I feel that I am constantly worried about getting COVID-19. Also, I feel terrible for the people who have to keep going outside to sustain their livelihood and possibly expose themselves to the virus. It does not help that the thousands of people are dying everyday from this virus; it is not just a statistic, but actual people with family and friends. 
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Don’t know what to say about social situation as here we can go wherever we want for now, but I’d be happy to be able to visit places within the country as my Baikal visit was cancelled as my husband thought goverment can close all borders again at any moment, that they didn’t do apparently.
What I really want is a nice normal pre-covid CNC as we were so agitated last year and it just didn’t happen, and cause I’m not living in the big city itself it didn’t hppen at all in any form, as well as other bioblitzes, and of course I’d like to have our cities and towns to do a great work not only by doing observations, but also getting new dedicated iNatters. I’m looking to participate in a “challange” about filling gaps in our less-presented regions, that’s what I want in the distant future - a map of my country without thousands of kilometres with 0 observations, that’s impossible without many new members and that is hard to achieve without big social things like bioblitzes, we need a lot of them of any forms.
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I know this has nothing to do with iNat, but I’d just like to be able to hug all my family members and friends.
Nature-related, I also want to travel to see new plants. Right now it would be irresponsible of me to travel at all.
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I look forward to…
spending time with my adult children
traveling outside my area (overnights+) for nature expeditions - that was my goal for 2020, the first year when my husband and I would have the time and resources to do so.
being able to travel in a car with my friend who is not able to drive herself to nature spots
hugging someone (besides my husband!) - I’m a hugger.
shop in thrift stores - we did a few times over the late summer. masks are required but people are not good about distancing so, right now, I’m avoiding all the shopping I can.
going to an optician to get higher powered reading glasses for my aging eyes! lol… I’m stacking two glasses together to get the magnification I need.
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- To travel - I am not young, so every missed year cuts out of my ability to travel far and difficult.
- To meet in body my near and dear, not only via technologies.
The rest is not as bad so far. I am afraid to catch the infection and take precautions, but every visit to a food store makes me slightly nervous, especially when I see careless people.
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Number one is spending time with my granddaughters (and their parents). Facetime is ok, but not the same as hugs and being able to read to them in person.
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Traveling to more places/countries and finding more herps! :) Actually, I’ve managed to travel to 6 countries and many regions within the country I live in even this year (not sure whether it was responsible of me or not, but no regrets at all), but for sure the pandemic made me realize that life is short and I shouldn’t postpone my dreams.
I’m also looking forward to the day when wearing masks won’t be necessary anymore, but I guess that’s not happening anytime soon.
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Oh yes, the masks too. I wear glasses, so it is a nightmare in cold weather. In truth, I can walk for a longer time only outside the city where there are no people and masks are not needed.
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Seeing our medical professionals – doctors and nurses – be able to return to some sort of normalcy in their jobs, both for their sake and the sake of those who need medical care.
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At a purely personal level:
I work overseas in the environmental conservation field (fortunately in a country where Covid has essentially been a non-issue). Each year I generally have a conference or two in another country as well as at least one work trip to Europe and at least one vacation trip somewhere else. The generally I try to overlap my vacation trips with the work related ones. This is in part because if I’m at all in the country I’m working in then I’m working, the only real breaks I get are when I physically leave the entire country.
As a result of Covid all conferences and all travel have stopped, and likely the same will be true for much of 2021. I’m looking forward to being able to go to conferences, travel, see friends and family, and see new areas again.
What I’m not looking forward to is the resurgence of tourism in the area I work in. This year it’s been somewhat peaceful on the island and it’s been much quieter than it usually is. Many large corporations and the provincial government has used this time to engage in a massive construction spree, so when the pandemic is over we will be back to having millions (literally, not figuratively) of tourists flooding to this small, delicate area, with all the businesses and tour boats competing in the noise-making area, as well as littering everywhere. Poaching of plants will start up again too.
Obviously there is the more global wish that people currently at risk and who have lost jobs and housing are able to get back on their feet after this passes and that the various governments around the world learn from this and do better next time.
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Besides traveling to see spoonbills and alligators or butterworts and lichen I’m looking forward to the simple joys of sitting in bookshop and having a coffee; going to a hammered dulcimer performance; spending time in a yarn shop choosing just the right shade of green. Yet talking with you all is a distinct pleasure. Take care!
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An end to the bizarre conspiracy theories would be nice (although that is probably a faint hope).
Being able to visit my 90 year-old mom and give her a big kiss will be wonderful.
On the iNaturalist end of it, just being able to go wander around in the out of doors where whims take me whether it be down the street or another continent.
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Mostly I just want to get through the next three months or so safely with my family. Anything after that will be a gift. I will look forward to returning to some of my favorite parks and walks. (I’ve been away from my home taking care of family.) I’ll be excited to see the old trails again since it will be like walking new paths. I will be happy not to worry about passing others on trails, and I am hoping traffic in the parks declines once people can return to their gyms. I am also looking forward to seeing some new places I was thinking about going to before the pandemic and applying some of the things I’ve learned about during the pandemic to my outings (for example–I know a little more about owls now). I just need a safer spring to arrive for us all really. Thanks for asking.
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PS I want to see the faces of my students again (whenever we can remove masks safely) and be able to interact with them (I’m remote).
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To stop wearing these damn masks. They are the reason I don’t fly anywhere – an airline flight is too long a time to stand having a thing on my face.
And also, to stop having to see other people wearing masks. I cannot rationally explain why it upsets me so much, but it does.
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In Australia, we have been immensely lucky, and immensely coordinated, and have been able to stamp out covid-19 locally. The only cases at this point in time are infected overseas arrivals in quarantine.
We are one of the few countries that have come out on the other side of it and just wait for a vaccine so that international travel and the last of the restrictions can ease. I want to see my friends and family overseas safe and well and an economic recovery that prioritizes environmental conservation and renewable energy, but can’t help being anxious.
Also, call it dark, call it vindictive, but I want to see the politicians, media hacks and conspiracy theorists that peddled in lies and failed to protect the public be punished to the fullest extent of the law. The blood of millions is on their hands.
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I wish there’d be new research on the COVID impact on flora and fauna. I’m noticing a different response by felines to masked humans. I wonder what primates are up to, and the state of their health, i.e., if they are carrying the virus or opportunistic species. If masked humans are not drawing insects which are normally attracted to human breath. What wildlife invading urban areas.
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I’m in New Zealand, and we are the same. It’s pretty much business as usual here within the country, with the only cases in quarantine after arriving from overseas. I went into our capital city yesterday and strolled among the crowds, no one wearing face masks, and thought how surreal it was that in other places there are lockdowns still happening. I took a photo of a native bird in an inner-city garden. We are incredibly lucky. Hopefully the rest of the world will join us soon. I feel anxious just imagining what it must be like in some places.
We were hoping to go on a family holiday to another country this coming year (myself, my husband and 3 kids under 5), but if we have to quarantine for 2 weeks with the kids in a hotel room on our return we’d need another holiday to recover haha.
Best wishes to you all out there- it’s a tough time with the holidays coming up and not being able to see friends and family.
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I am very much looking forward to being able to hug all of my good friends again. I miss that terribly.
And to be able to go out iNatting with another person without having to stay 6 feet apart all the time.
It will be great to be able to ride the subway – I currently don’t do that. And ride in buses and taxis without worrying about it. And because of that I look forward to being able to go almost anywhere in NYC, including to my favorite beaches.
And carry out an overseas trip or even a major US trip OK without people thinking I am nuts to go anywhere.
And in general to stop a low-level constant worrying about all kinds of everyday actions like grocery shopping etc.
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