Hello Fellow Readers, What a weather pattern we’ve just endured, from snow turned to sleet, followed by zero degrees that turned trees into glass. Then, temps rose to the mid-fifties as deluges of rain rolled in. The Jacksonburg Creek, where we live, became a roaring river overf

Hello Fellow Readers, “Seems timely,” wrote Anita from Blairstown NJ in an email this morning with a Rose is Rose cartoon (a syndicated comic strip by Pat Brady.) It starts out with a woman decked in garden cloths and wide-brimmed hat adorned with a pink bow. She’s on her knees up to

Hello Fellow Readers, I had a good laugh when I heard from my youngest brother, who lives in Tennessee. Rick texted a photo of his cup of joe with a frothy smiley face smack dab in the middle. “Look at my message this morning in my coffee.” His suspicious sister writes back, “Come on.

Trendy today, bottle trees are an artful way to make use of recyclables, though they originate long ago as a way of destroying evil spirits. Perhaps a cure for the evil spirit of a hangover.

Hello Fellow Readers, One of the greatest gifts of Christmas is spending time with loved ones. I’ve just returned from visiting lifelong friends that live outside of Austin. The first stop was Round Top Texas, where Dorothy from my college days lives. She’s an artist with a gall

Hello Fellow Readers, There’s Christmas cactus that came my way by adoption from a then-husband, a story shared in a column long ago (link below).  Neglected and riddled with old deadwood, I revived it, and it bloomed beautifully for many years. Then it mysteriously returned to

Hello fellow readers, Over the weekend I participated in a Family Holiday Program for Comfort Zone Camp (CZC), a bereavement camp for kids and young adults. It’s their twentieth anniversary of serving families who have lost loved ones too early in life. The holidays are especially dif

Hello fellow readers, Tom from Tranquility NJ wonders if his Flowering Pears (Pyrus calleryana) are in trouble. “The leaves immediately turned brown right after the dump of snow and are still clinging to the trees. Does that mean the new buds haven’t yet formed?” No worries Tom, ornam

Hello fellow readers, Last week, I crumbled under the stress of racing to meet deadlines. It felt paralyzing with classic symptoms of anxiety, a tight chest, and labored breathing. It’s a good thing I’m in good shape, I thought to myself, so my heart can ride the race. I also thought

Hello fellow readers, I recently learned that Boxwood Blight might be coming to town from Patrick LePore, an associate from Bartlett Tree Experts, who alerted me that it’s arrived in Central New Jersey. He was on his way to our client’s Bob and Kathy of Piscataway to asses