Lowering The Entertainment Bar

For our 61st wedding anniversary, we treated ourselves to a robot Rumba Sweeper.

That evening, we removed the cardboard wrappings and three of us sat back to watch. My husband, myself and one cat were enthralled. The second cat hid trembling under the couch.

We are very pleased with the results. Thorough cleaning does require the bigger vacuum, but the robot does a great job on both carpets and floors. As we watched, I sent an email to my daughter telling her of our evening's enjoyment. "You've kind of lowered your entertainment bar," she wrote back with a smiley face attached.

As I thought about it, I realized 2020 has lowered our entertainment bar tremendously. For two octogenarians, we have been blessed with good health and are used to traveling here and there on a whim. Suddenly, this was not possible because there was no place to go.

When the Chinese crap began, we quickly moved to our patio with the sun setter roof. We watched each ornamental tree burst into bloom throughout the seasons. First it was the pussy willows, then the ornamental cherry, the crab apple and finally the hydrangea tree which is my favorite.

Our gardens became better attended than they have for a long time. Our main entertainment came from the birds and squirrels. Birds migrating from spot to spot soar through Bedford Valley so the varieties in the early spring are numerous.

Bird watchers

We had every kind of woodpecker including a pair of Pileated, all kinds of finches, wrens, and the regular nuthatches, robins, rose breasted grosbeaks, cat birds, orchard oriels, and cardinals. I gave our visiting Baltimore Orioles a fresh orange each day along with a big spoonful of grape jelly.

An eagle soared over and surveyed us every day for several weeks.

Each meal, we were serenaded by house wrens two of which built a nest next to our dining spot. One chose an empty cat food box in the tractor shed, the other hid behind the Impatients in a window box. We saw them build, hatch, feed, and fledge. We also learned they bring food to their little ones in their beaks. Once the tiny chirpers digest it, guess what? Mama and Papa bird remove the waste the same way. It was interesting and messy.

Getting out

In the early spring, I took walks looking for pictures and found them at every turn. Sometimes I drove into town and found beautiful scenes on each street as the magnolia, crab apple, and cherry burst into bloom.

Bicycling is an easy way to social distance, so if the weather cooperated, we headed for a bike trail. The HB&T trail near Everett is a great escape except for the day I nearly ran over a copperhead. Kayaking is a good social distancing activity. My husband always bragged about getting out of the kayak without getting his feet wet. But there was that one day when I looked back and saw him in the water, under the vessel. Good laughter.

As spring progressed into summer, all was well. There is absolutely nothing that can compare with a hot summer night, fireflies, and tree frogs. The Vietnam vets added icing to the cake by bringing the "Wall That Heals" to Bedford. It was a moving experience and certainly within the parameters of the CDC.

Driving and reading

Now that we are into the third season of the pandemic, the weather has been beautiful. It is leaf-peeping time and we took several drives into the mountains for an array of colors we had not seen for years. Route 30 to Latrobe is magnificent and Route 68 to Morgantown is equal.

We took our bikes, shopped, and took pictures, especially at a Trump House stop.

The drive-in theater at the fairgounds is a wonderful idea. We did not utilize it in the summer because, as senior citizens, we fall asleep by 10 and the show was just starting. When the Bedford County Players did "Godspell," we found our local talent to be successfully creative.

I go through spells of reading and found a series of books written by a British author Cathy Glass. Glass is a foster parent in England and her books are true stores of the children she has cared for. Easy reads, a book can be devoured in one day.

While we have lowered our entertainment bar, we have not sat in a corner fearing this crazy virus. As a dear senior friend with whom we often have breakfast says, you can't live isolated from people. If you try, all kinds of problems will arise.

One thing I recently noted following the so-called super-spreader at the White House. A lot of people tested positive but out of that group, no one died; only the president went to the hospital and the rest had mild or no symptoms.

So, while I do respect this nasty disease, I refuse to live in fear and will enjoy every day even if I have to watch my robot sweeper do the cleaning.