Bemus Point Mayor Bryan Dahlberg told me their community gardener walked up to him last week and voiced something a lot of us are thinking:

“What are we going to do?”

He looked at her, shrugged and said, “Plant flowers.”

His story underscores the ever-present optimism the mayor has always had for his village, but it also serves as a metaphor for the rest of us. We don’t know what’s going to happen, but what we can do is plant flowers and make the best of things.

“Visitors and residents love and appreciate the flowers here,” he said, and since they’ve already budgeted for them, the flowers will be planted.

What about the rest of Bemus Point beyond the garden beds?How does he envision the summer?

The only thing he is certain about is recent cancellations: the Bemus Point Fire Department has canceled its 100-year anniversary celebration, and Memorial Day festivities are also canceled. The good news is that some planned village events-like the craft fair and the Fourth of July fireworks have not yet cancelled. Organizers seem to be taking a wait and see approach.

Particularly disappointing was the fire department’s cancellation of their anniversary celebration. The mayor said they’d been working very hard for a year to plan the event-which included an open house at the fire hall, a parade on Main Street, music and vendors in the Village Park, and a fireworks display to end the evening.

Dahlberg said on the few nice days we’ve had this spring, he saw a few people walking along the waterfront, getting ice cream cones and having a picnic at the park, and everyone seemed to be observing social distancing rules. He’s hopeful the county will open back up at some point in the not too distant future and that we’ll see local restaurants and shops spring back to life under new guidelines, but it’s too early to tell.

The Chautauqua Harbor Hotel is open, although the restaurant remains closed. A limited menu for room service and takeout are still being offered. The bar is still closed as per state mandate. If the lockdown is rescinded at some point this summer, it’s not too hard to imagine food service restarting at some point as the hotel’s patio is large enough for the adequate spacing of guests.

Mayor Dahlberg said the maintenance man has been busy at the Hotel Lenhart in Bemus Point with spring cleaning and the typical chores before reopening. While I couldn’t reach the owners by press time, the mayor said the hotel is also taking a wait and see approach and he hasn’t heard about their plans either way.

If there’s one thing that’s hard to imagine is a porch full of empty rocking chairs.

Camp Onyahsa directors say they are developing contingency plans for summer youth camp if they are “permitted and it is safe to conduct” camp this summer season. Some of those plans include operations at 75% capacity, 50% capacity, and 25% capacity. All of these contingency plans, according to their website, will necessitate social distancing among participants, rigorous health screenings (including recent travel and contact history and temperature checks), and significantly increased sanitization practices.

The closing of Chautauqua Institution, while not a surprise, sent out a bit of a shockwave. While programming is cancelled, it is possible some shops and restaurants on the grounds may open at some point this summer.

So, I give to you today “The Big Maybe.” I know none of this news is something you can really sink your teeth into, but it does give you an idea of what this summer is likely to hold: a spotty and cautious reopening of businesses, cancelled main events early in the season and perhaps longer, and a slow return to a “new normal.”

In the meantime, get some fresh air in your backyard when the sun shines, fire up the grill, and make these next few weeks as spring-like as possible.

I was amazed by the shortage of cake frosting on a recent trip to the grocery store.

When the going gets tough, baking a cake seems to be popular.