Hello Fellow Readers, Over the weekend I attended a celebration of the life of Lori from Phillipsburg NJ whom I never personally met. Her partner, Drew, is a writing workshop buddy and kind encourager of my book underway titled The Lesson of the Leaf. Through Drew, I feel as though ha

Hello Fellow Readers, This is the time of year I attend manufacturer showcases premiering new products, mostly paver or block retaining wall systems, which are made of concrete. This is also the time of year that road salt and brine are being used to de-ice our roads. Road salt and br

Hello Fellow Readers,  As the folklore goes, if the groundhog sees his shadow, they’ll be six more weeks of winter. If he doesn’t, it will be an early spring.  I’ve always wondered about the accuracy of Groundhog Day predictions. And how do they know what the groundhog sees anyway? Lo

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 though

Some of the most beautiful bulbs you plant in the spring are like flowering pets such as freesia, dahlias, and most gladiolas. Then there are care-free hummingbird magnets such as crocosmia.