A Publication for the Independent Living Residents of Homewood at Frederick VOL. 22 NO. 8 AUGUST 2021 Mallard Duck at The Lodge pond Photo by Nancy Hamstead INSIDE THIS ISSUE … Pictures of Our Furry Visitor … Cornhole Tournament Results … Meet Your New Neighbors … Noteables Chorus Activities Resume … Neighbors Unite for Environmental Project … Frederick Elections … Daryl Davis in Concert … And More … 1 THE MAIN STREAM … Notes from Executive Director Karen Main The summer heat has settled into the area as we are coming into the end of summer this month! Many have had the opportunity to do a little traveling or have some guests on campus. There are still many summer traditions that have not found their way back on our calendars for one reason or another … I hope you have been able to enjoy a few of your favorite ones! Our area and campus continue with low positivity rates but we are seeing a slight increase with recent data collected on the Delta Variant. Please continue to take care of yourself which helps us keep everyone healthy! We have done a wonderful job caring for each other and those coming onto our campus … keep up the good work! August 1 … we are continuing with: ✓ Fully-Vaccinated Independent Living residents, visitors and co-workers working in an Independent Living area will no longer be required to wear a mask or face covering indoors. ✓ UN-vaccinated residents, visitors and co-workers in Independent Living are required to wear a mask or face covering indoors. ✓ All residents, visitors and co-workers entering, living or working in assisted living and healthcare are required to wear a mask or face covering indoors, regardless of vaccination status. ✓ No masking required for outdoor areas, Unvaccinated still recommend distancing. ✓ Any individual wishing to continue to wear a mask or face covering may do so. ✓ Screening of residents, visitors and co-workers remains in all areas. ✓ Guests allowed in Independent Living dining rooms, fitness centers, pool, church, community areas. ✓ ALL protocols remain in place. The presentation on the Natelli Communities Development, Bloomfields, scheduled for July was postponed. Please watch for a new date and time. Be aware of the wildlife visitor we had on campus last month … a bear was taking a walk around our entrance to Crumland Farms. Here are some tips of what to do or not to do if you encounter this visitor: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/bears/safety.htm. Enjoy the rest of Summer! Karen 2 A NOTE FROM THE WRRA PRESIDENT A lot more has opened up for us since last month. Indoor and outdoor activities have been a great morale booster. Swimming is fully open now, and we have movie night (with a themed meal), baseball with the Keys, bus trips with a destination … and the list goes on and on. The dining rooms are open to enjoy sitting with friends, and now we can enjoy bringing in family and outside guests to enjoy a meal with us. Life for us is GOOD! COVID brought with it an increase in spending for our health, safety and well-being. Redirecting of budgeted funds from other areas was required to help fulfill those needs. The residents are quite concerned that, visually, the lawn and tree maintenance appear to have taken the hardest hit. Admittedly, trees and grass can be restored, human lives cannot. So, thank you Homewood for putting our residents and staff above flowers and trees and grass. Now that COVID is “safely” behind us we can and should begin the process of returning our campus to its former beauty. We know it will take a while and there are other issues just as or more important, but we only have one chance to make a first impression on guests and potential new residents. Will that impression be good or bad? To all IL residents: When you go out for a walk, PLEASE consider the following: 1) Walk with at least one other person. 2) Always wear your LifeLine Pendant. 3) Always carry a charged cell phone in your pocket for easy access (not on a walker or rollator). Until next time, stay safe and stay well, --Claude Revis, WRRA President The “Westenders” (residents of the West Cottages) held their first picnic since COVID on June 25 in the driveways between Cottages 9 and 10. The potluck menu included baked chicken and barbecue pork on rolls. We had 100% participation and everyone enjoyed the opportunity to get together once again and socialize. --Lauren Burton (Photo courtesy of Lauren Burton) 3 WHEN WE SAID OUR COMMON AREAS WERE NOW OPEN TO VISITORS, WE DIDN’T MEAN THIS KIND! On July 14 about 1 p.m. residents at Crumland Farms were startled (to say the least!) when a young black bear ambled through the courtyard outside the chapel and started exploring. He proceeded to visit a few of the patios on the ground level apartments, staring into windows, then wandered out to greet visitors at the community center entrance. Most of us who saw him were too astonished to do anything besides gape (why do you never have your cell phone camera handy when you need it?), but thanks to the quick thinking of receptionist Jennifer Delgado, we have photos of our visitor doing his thing. No, he didn’t stop by the front desk for a temperature check and that light brown muzzle on his face definitely wasn’t a mask! The Maryland Department of Natural Resources offers the following guidelines on their Web site for living in an area with bear sightings: • If a bear comes into your yard, DON’T PANIC! DON’T APPROACH IT! • Back away slowly. • Go inside and wait for the bear to leave. • Most bears fear people and will leave when they see you. • If a bear woofs, snaps its jaws, slaps the ground or brush, or bluff charges: YOU ARE TOO CLOSE! • If a bear refuses to leave: • Be sure you have allowed the bear an escape route. • Make loud noises to scare it away. • If a bear is treed: • LEAVE IT ALONE! The bear will usually go away when it feels safe. • Have people leave the area. • Remove your dog from the area. 4 CHAPLAIN’S CORNER A couple of years ago, as the end of the school year was approaching, a Facebook friend shared a quote from Mr. Rogers. In his infinite wisdom, Fred Rogers noted, “Often when you think you’re at the end of something, you’re at the beginning of something else.” Whenever we find ourselves in transition, we can feel like a ship without a rudder. What will tomorrow bring? How will we cope? Are we headed in the right direction? These and other questions may flood our minds. Whether we’re graduating, retiring, entering a new relationship, bidding farewell to familiar surroundings and relocating, learning to manage a difficult diagnosis or beginning to navigate life without the support of a trusted partner, change can feel overwhelming. We may focus more on what is coming to an end than on what may be beginning. It can take time before the answers to that question, “what’s next?” become clear. If we can be patient with ourselves and those who care about us, we may be surprised at the blessings that await us. When we remain open to possibilities and new experiences, even those we might not choose, we place ourselves in a good position to receive grace and experience transformation. The experience of dealing with the Covid pandemic has caused many people to reconsider their goals and priorities, as well as their daily routines and practices. It’s probably safe to say no one has remained unchanged by the events of 2020. For instance, a record-breaking number of Americans are leaving their jobs. Some are starting new careers. Some are taking time to evaluate whether they want to begin a new career or focus on a passion or interest they’ve always dreamed of pursuing but placed on the back burner. Others are wondering if they want to or need to return to the workforce at least in the short term. How has your experience over the past year and a half changed you and your approach to life? Has it expanded your sense of gratitude? Has it served to deepen your spiritual life and your connection with the sacred and other members of creation? Has it helped you to prioritize how you will spend your time and with whom? The quote from Fred Rogers I mentioned at the beginning reminds me of a small plaque Chaplain Esther left behind in the chaplain’s office when she retired. It reads “just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly…” What is about to emerge if we will wait with patience and trust? --Chaplain Suzanne Morris 5 MEET YOUR NEW NEIGHBORS Donna and Bob Coulson came to Homewood from Wilmington, Delaware in June 2021 before their new patio home on Clem Way was completed and stayed temporarily in a vacant patio home. Donna was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and graduated from West Chester University. She had a career as a Certified Financial Planner and served as Vice President and Portfolio Manager for Haverford Trust Company in Radnor, Pennsylvania. Donna enjoys growing orchids and loves art, music and history as well as traveling. Bob is also a Pennsylvania native having been born in Monessen and studied chemistry at Carnegie Institute of Technology. He earned a Ph.D from Columbia University and continued as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Chicago while pursuing a career as a research chemist for the DuPont Company.