DELIGHTS

A family visit to Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden brings a long-awaited encounter with a magnificent baobab, known as the Tree of Life. Along with rainbow eucalyptus, tropical butterflies, and memories of Mom, Mary discovers how the seeds we nurture can shape our Garden of Life.

A walk along the Paulinskill Valley Trail leads down a memory trail of beloved dogs, changing paths, and Mother Nature’s autumn palette—with a reminder that there is more than one way to go.

A walk along the Paulinskill Valley Trail brings railroad history, memories of the Paulina Dam, and lessons about restoration, resilience, and finding our way again.

Life has a way of testing the very lessons we've grown to believe. A leaf in the wind brings another lesson about acceptance, letting go, love, and trusting that help is on its way.

What if doing nothing is actually one of the most important things we can do? A modest vegetable harvest, one perfect cherry tomato, birdwatching, and peaceful moments in the garden remind Mary Stone that slowing down often reveals life's greatest gifts.

A simple Fourth of July project turned into an unexpected lesson about perfection, progress, and moving forward anyway. What began as raising a flag became a story of mystery knots, laughter, poison ivy, and the wisdom Mother Nature offers in the Garden of Life.

At Marty Carson's celebration of life, a Dove Tree that didn't bloom, a gardener's family, and an unexpected silver spoon offered a touching reminder that gardens teach us to notice beauty, kindness, and one another.

A visit to Well-Sweep Herb Farm leads to unexpected discoveries, from towering lovage and herbal treasures to a poignant reminder of friendship, healing, and the lessons nature offers when we slow down long enough to listen.

While revising her book proposal inspired by The Lesson of the Leaf, Mary Stone discovers an unexpected truth woven through years of writing, gardening, and observing nature. The deepest lesson may not be about healing loneliness and loss—but about remembering that we belong.