COVID-19: The Journey. Chapter 3, Sad Passing

Carol Baker photo tribute

In May, almost all activities were affected by COVID-19.

I'm the current president of the Lake Huntington Neighborhood Association and our quarterly meeting was limited to the executive team. Four of us met in chairs, placed six feet apart in the driveway. We discussed neighborhood business and then sent out the meeting minutes to residents. 

The next week Steve's mother, Carol Baker, had a stroke at her nursing home in West Liberty, Iowa. Her children, Steve and Cindy, were allowed to see their mom in her last hours. The next week was full of activity related to the funeral. See the blog I wrote, here (https://bakersheartbeat.blogspot.com/2020/05/saying-good-bye-in-covid-19-era.html)

Daughter Kirstin returned home for several days; keeping baby Myla entertained was a full-time activity. We also got a visit from Tipton (Iowa) friends who arrived with a pie. We talked to them outdoors on our deck and felt safe doing that. More Tipton friends stopped by the next week; we stayed on our back patio with chairs about six feet apart.

Family members arrived to help Steve trim a tree; that was accomplished, outdoors of course!

I spent a few days in Ankeny, helping Kirstin, a teacher. Extra time was spent outdoors as the weather allowed.

We added a grape jelly bird feeder for Baltimore orioles and at least two sets of the bright orange birds arrived to eat the food. I bought a new bird feeder by visiting a favorite store (Wild Birds Unlimited) and calling the business. A clerk watched me pick out the feeder though the front plate glass window and I paid by debit card over the phone. She brought the feeder out to my car, wearing a face mask.

I moved a large tube feeder away from the house and replaced it with the new hummingbird feeder. The hummers arrived in May and that meant we had a bevy of colorful birds to view through our kitchen windows.

Also in May I started planting annual flowers, which is a huge project. First up were flowers for five pots on the deck. We added an umbrella to our summertime table on the deck and its four colorful chairs.

 May ended with my first attempt to see my Dad's decorated grave on Memorial Day. I had a pass on the Rock Island Arsenal, where he is buried at National Cemetery. I got in a long line of cars and was told by the guard at the gate that my pass had expired. Dang! The line of folks for a new pass was very long; each person in line was about six feet from the other person.

 It was in the mid-afternoon and from experience, I knew the wait would be interminable. I turned the car around and headed home to plant more flowers. My dad, a gardener himself and the son of an avid gardener from Norfolk, Virginia, would certainly understand this decision.