Back home in Lakeside

I stepped out this morning to a familiar hum--I think they are called "noseeums" tiny bugs you can't see but can hear.   The sound like buzzing in the power lines.  It was foggy, and with that hum I put my hood on my sweatshirt over my head.  By the time I got to the east end, the noise was gone.  They must be on their way west.

We got here about 3:15 yesterday, stopped to pick up our pre-ordered summer passes.  If Lakeside ever needed the owners to step up and help pay for lost revenue, it is now.  I don't know if we'll be here enough to cover it, but we hope to.  The traffic is light, and there will be few programs, but walking around I see that the plant sale is still on--that's a Memorial Day tradition. People have their flags out--recognizing that this is a day to honor the war dead. 

I brought along some frozen items for dinner last night, but we're hoping to eat at the Patio this morning for breakfast.  Usually we do that on Sunday, but with social distancing, there will be limited seating. We thought Saturday might be better. Best pancakes ever. There is an active catering service with very reasonable meals--$6-$7 a piece and they will deliver for those too elderly or timid to venture out. I saw the usual picnic tables used when the Methodists (a huge crowd) are usually here in June stacked in parking lot a few blocks from the "main drag." Still, there are many here we do know.  One of our neighbors just found out about Phil's death on Thursday and she has been alerting other neighbors, so they step out of their homes when we walk by and express condolences. And so we tell the story briefly, but even in the retelling (if it's not too often) there is some healing--or at least it makes the unbelievable a bit more real.

The grounds crew have been busy, and we usually see a lot of work right after the spring storms, but I know they are have limited numbers of staff and limited funds, so the parks and lakefront look very good considering. Many have either been here in the spring, or live close enough to help, and I know there have been many volunteers. For a holiday week-end that is usually humming, I'd say we're about 1/4 of the usual crowd.  The regulars are opening; the renters are not here.