I’ve always loved going to the cinema ever since I was a kid. As an adult, I’d turned it into sort of a ritual in that we’d go every weekend to see the newest blockbuster on the super large screen (called the “Ultra Screen”). It was something I looked forward to every week: pizza at my favorite Italian restaurant and then a movie. Plus, I felt there was nothing like watching an epic superhero movie on the big screen.

But like so many others, my movie-going came to an abrupt halt when the pandemic hit, and for the past year and a half, my film viewing has been limited to streaming from Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney. Now that I’m fully vaccinated, we’ve begun talking about perhaps going back to the cinema. But the strange thing is that I’m not sure that I want to.

First off, I swear that most colds I used to get were picked up at the movies. I never failed that there was someone sitting next to me, hacking and sneezing their way through the entire film. So it’s been lovely not being sick once for going on nearly two years.

I also enjoy no longer missing large sections of a movie because I had to take a bathroom break during the showing (and I always have to take a bathroom break). When viewing at home, I simply hit the pause button whenever I need a break and never miss a thing. It’s also nice to be able to snack or eat a pizza during the film at home.

Lastly, there’s the cost involved. For the two of us, dinner and a movie came to a little over $60. That’s quite a weekly expense, money I could definitely put to better use.

I imagine I’ll go back at some point — but again, maybe not. These past two years have shown me that I thought I’d enjoyed the cinema more than I actually did and when all is said and done, I really don’t miss it all that much.

So instead of sitting next to strangers in a chilly movie theater, I may simply start entertaining friends and family at home and stream movies in a much more enjoyable (and cold-free) environment. We’ll see.

This morning, I once again had coffee on my deck, and the number and variety of different animals amazed me. I always knew there were many of them, but this morning, I took special notice and simply watched. Here’s who came for a visit:

• Male and female cardinal
• Downy woodpeckers
• Hairy woodpeckers
• Yellow finches
• Purple finches
• Hummingbirds
• Red-bellied woodpeckers
• Flicker
• Wren
• Robins
• Crows
• Bluejays
• Brown Thrasher
• House Sparrows
• Chipping Sparrows
• White-breasted nuthatch
• Red-breasted nuthatch
• A Hare
• A gray squirrel
• A red squirrel
• Chipmunks
• All manner of butterflies

All this was only during the space of a couple of hours. I’ve always said that the animals in my yard can provide hours of entertainment, and I still maintain that. However, I often find it challenging to get any productive work done while sitting outside because I’m constantly distracted by all the critters.

The reason for this diversity is that it’s always been important to me to have a yard that supports life. To achieve this, I use no weed-killers or any other poison on my lawn (this ensures a lovely melody of cricket noises and an entertaining firefly light show at night). I also have a couple of different feeders: nyjer (for the finches), a bird feeder for millet (for the smaller birds), a feeder filled with sunflowers, two hummingbird feeders, and two suet feeders (the woodpeckers, nuthatches, and all manner of different birds).

Additionally, I maintain several sources of water:

• A couple of large birdbaths
• A small heated birdbath for the winter
• A couple of small cans of water in the flower patches for the butterflies

I also dug up a good portion of my lawn and put in a large flower garden with a variety of flowers to attract butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.

It sounds like a lot of maintenance, but really, it’s not. Once the garden fills it, I pretty much let it go on its own. Setting up a “life-supporting” yard is not only fun but brings in a wide variety of creatures, resulting in hours of amusement.