Winter’s only a few months away (Climate Change notwithstanding) and here we are in the ripe, bug-free salad days of summer. But if we’re at an age when we can no longer romp in the water, play beach ball, or walk trails – what then? How can the season still be enjoyed while it lasts?

Plenty of ways!

If you ride the web pages, you can find hundreds of things to do. (Note: all of these suggestions can be enjoyed by anyone, and not just the indigent.)

No chance for an extended VACATION? How about a STAYCATION right at home?

Sure, bring your vacation right home!

Technology enables us all to travel the world right from our own comfortable living rooms. A visual tour of world museums, national parks, and zoos can be great fun. Ignore the darker news of war, famine, the horrible pandemic; get immersed in a fresh new culture and re-create an escapist experience right at home through food, music, decorations, and more. The list is endless.

If you can venture out into your community, how about exploring local attractions. unexpected surprises just around the corner – a chance to discover unhidden gems that neighborhood people simply take for granted.

Take advantage of the warmer weather while it lasts. Getting outside has so many mental and physical health advantages, even just sitting outdoors and soaking up that good ole vitamin D can be beneficial. Dress lightly for it.

But if you’re up to it, be a tourist in your own town; plan a day window shopping or visiting at any of the parks in the area or just take a stroll around your own neighborhood to see it from a new perspective. Stop and visit with people along the way, exchange pleasantries. You’ll finds friends right in your own back yard, Neighborhoods can be wonderfully friendly – yes, friendly and interesting – worlds for exploration. Just give them a chance to prove it.

When the weather doesn’t cooperate, take a porch staycation – or indoors, in the living room where you are surrounded by memories to be refreshed.

For example, pull out the old photo albums and take memory trips with you and family – much younger once, recalling when you were more eager to explore with those wonderful Kodaks.

Even when alone, and with the popularity of adult coloring books, enjoy a pleasant pastime (can last for hours) trying your hand at art; with watercolors, for example, paint family portraits, the world is in your imagination and simple painting tools. Share with the family.

And when the weather’s nice, have an Uncle Wiggly adventure with a group-assembled meal on the patio or deck – or even on card tables in the yard. Put out a checkered table cloth and you’re all set.

For those who love gardening but now find it too exhausting, how about planting in pots – flowers, herbs and even vegetables in miniature quantities; the rewards will still be the same.

And for those of you who still enjoy reading – and there are many who do – what about a return to the library, or to an old-fashioned Book Reading and Discussion club with friends? Gather for tea and other drinks, and share stories about the books you’ve read. Whole stimulating afternoons and evenings can be spent that way.

If you’ve a special hobby you’ve practiced all you life – sculpting with clay or wood, knitting, even working puzzles of all sizes – share them; get the children to put away their current tech devices and show them the pleasures of working with their hands in other ways.

But if none of these ideas for summer pleasures appeal to you, or any others of your own making – well, then, go back to sitting around the house and return to complaining about your ongoing ills to fill the time.

The choice is up to you.