Shelter in Place, San Francisco, March 6, 2021
As I work in the garden cleaning, mulching, and planting for spring, I am surrounded by birds - hummingbirds in full color buzz my head; a bright yellow Townsend’s warbler tries in vain to hide himself in the branches of the nearby ceanothus, now a budding, brilliant blue; sparrows begin their mating racket in the neighbor's bamboo stand; and it sounds like the mourning dove is back in the neighborhood and looking for a mate.
My sons asked this morning what we’ll do differently now that both John and I are fully vaccinated. Honestly, I don’t know. What will be safe and what we want are not entirely clear. But tomorrow evening we will celebrate John’s birthday on the newly opened patio of a favorite restaurant - our first San Francisco meal out in over a year. It will probably be cold, it may be rainy. But it marks a milestone, nonetheless. A baby step until we feel safe enough to fly out of our pandemic shelter, truly up and away.