She teaches us patience. Or rather, reminds us that it’s a virtue we’re supposed to possess and exercise. She teaches us how incredibly fascinating a rope can be when tethered to a tennis ball. She teaches us how difficult it is to be missing one sock out of every pair. She reminds us what unabated affection means and as much as we think she’ll run off to some primeval wild at the first opportunity, she reminds us of loyalty as she returns- in exhausted excitement – at the sound of our voices. She would like very much to join us at the kitchen table. It takes a great deal of our mealtime energy to dissuade her from this inclination.

The lessons we learn in life aren’t often clear and more often than not learned in retrospect like an ill-advised pass in the fourth quarter of a football game that’s now so clearly a terrible mistake. (more…)

There’s really no better month for gardening in New England. The early days of the month in all but the most northern areas are still warm and the nights are safely cool. The hardiest fall plants are in full bloom while many of the annuals and summer flowers hold onto latent color and seem to pop out from the background of foliage slowly giving in to the dormancy of approaching winter. (more…)

There’s something wrong with the life span of a dog. It reminds me of the line from the old movie in which George Burns, brilliantly cast, plays God. He says in the movie that one of his only mistakes in the process of Creation was the avocado. “I made the pit too big”. Well here’s another big mistake. The life of a dog is much too short. For such an incredibly complex creature, wrought with what seem like real emotions such as kindness, devotion and loyalty – the average life of thirteen to fourteen years seems like an anachronism. If you’re a dog owner and you’ve been one all your life you’ll bond in one way or another to maybe five dogs. But that includes that one (assuming you were acquainted with only one at time) that your family had when you were a kid and your responsibilities to any pet were limited. (That’s probably the one that your parents told you went to “live on a farm” when it got too old.(In truth it might have “bought the farm”). (more…)

The October moons have been startling and the clear skies equally so, but the lack of rain is becoming an issue. Evergreens need to store water through the winter and if they don’t have ample supply they can lose moisture in their leaves or needles through a long winter. Desiccation, the loss of moisture from the winter wind and cold air, can occur causing browning from the tips inward. Plants generally recover from this but it can affect the spring aesthetic and often a spring bloom is lost.

It’s time to invest in your future. In southern New England, mid-October is a safe date for planting bulbs. A little effort now will provide you an ample return in the spring. (more…)