Noticing adaptations

I walked down my main street twice today, which gave me a decent half hour of walking. The first walk was to take masks to the post office for my cousin, uncle and aunt in BC.

On the way, I saw my first robin. It took me a while to find it in the tree, where it was singing its heart out. I also noticed ways that different shops are adapting. I was saddened to see that a restaurant I like has closed for the duration, but others are finding ways to adapt. In addition to take-out, several are doing deliveries with a local company, and one of them is even doing a pop-up delivery service to another part of town (one that happens to be the home of a couple of their most faithful patrons). The florist’s shop had a vase outside to leave notes (possibly for orders, possibly for payments). You can order books on-line, by email or by phoning the local independent bookshop. They will arrange a contactless delivery in the vestibule at the front of their shop. The gourmet shop will also do contactless pick-up orders (order on-line and arrange a time for pick-up, then phone when you arrive). Both are also doing free curbside deliveries in the immediate area. The meditation studio has gone completely on-line. I had fun stopping at each closed shop to read how they were adjusting to continue in business.

On my return, I met a neighbour who said that she did an early morning grocery shop with the seniors this week; she got a lot of pleasure noticing how many men were shopping alone, and putting bouquets of flowers in their carts. She also told me that a friend is struggling to get deliveries made; she runs a shop with lots of puzzles and kid’s activity books. Her on-line business skyrocketed after she had to lay off staff. The financial help for laid-off workers limits the interest in returning - my daughter now has her contact info and hopefully will see about picking up some hours.

The other thing I noticed was actually from last night - the air in the city has cleared to the point that many more starts than usual are visible.

This is obviously not the same robin, as my photo was taken in 2010, when she nested on my balcony. But maybe the robin I saw today is one of her descendants.


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