A mostly cool April, wrapping up with a little heat wave, reminds us that summer awaits on the other end of May. While I have not forgotten that summer’s heat and humidity is barreling towards us, I do seem to have forgotten just how brilliant the dogwood blossoms are every year. Were they this pretty last year? I think they were, but photos and memories just can’t replace the real thing. Get out for a walk and enjoy them while they last. Read more

The seed catalogs start coming in January, and I am always jealous of the photos: huge, glossy, unmarred vegetables unlike my own smaller, insect-gnawed produce. I’ll buy my usual beans ‘n’ taters ‘n’ maters from the local dealers, but I always thumb through new catalogs and pick a couple of unusual items I cannot find locally.  Read more

A teen in Nottingham, England went into a coma last March after being struck by a car and just awakened this week to an odd world of COVID and masks and quarantines. We may envy him that he missed the last 11 months. Read more

It’s a wind-down month … winding down from six weeks of holidays and feasts, and an excess of sports and salty, fattening snacks. There’s not a great deal to look forward to in January except returning useless gifts or a White Sale at Macy’s or sudden and total isolation from the extended family, and that can be a good thing. There are useful things that need doing: last-minute yardwork, perhaps, or work on taxes, thank-you’s to be written. Read more