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War on weeds
One of the fun experiences I had this summer was a lovely Saturday morning spent visiting six beautiful private gardens, all part of our town’s garden club “tour”. From my vantage point, every garden on this tour was amazing. These gardens looked their best – the flowers well-placed, buoyant and colorful, the mulch perfectly applied,…
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The Unfinished
In the U.S., the annual Christmas season has an undetermined beginning (is it July? October? November?) and it also has a hard stop. The end date could be December 25, or another day, but that day is the end. I’m sure I’m not alone with a list of extra things to finish – shopping, wrapping,…
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Alignment
When I became a teacher, I needed to dive deeper into my own native tongue so I could teach it to students unfamiliar with English. I began a habit of using a dictionary to gain word knowledge and encouraged my students to do the same as they were learning new words. The definition of alignment…
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Sent Sparrows
Setting: an ordinary day at work, in a basement office at The Salvation Army, in a somewhat drab brick building on a busy corner in Hartford CT. In this office, there are two windows that are level with the ground, since I work in the “garden level” (AKA basement) of the building. I hear noise…
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Lenses
Finally, my new glasses, tailored to exactly correct my vision, had arrived. I was so excited to pick them up at my optometrists’ office. It wasn’t that I was unable to see anything. I am grateful that while I cannot see perfectly without glasses, I do have. To not see a sunset, words, a baby’s…
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Just Believe
In popular culture, an inspirational Disney movie has always had the ability to portray impossible things as possible. An ugly beast can turn into a handsome prince, heroes can both fly and disappear when their enemies attack, the good guy really does win and gets the princess, and all of your dreams can come true –…
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The fear of finishing
I consider myself an average runner. Not a star runner by any means, but a middle of the road, ten minute miler who can comfortably finish a 5K in about 30 minutes, give or take a few seconds on either side. I started running later in life, in college. So, the first time I entered…
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Hidden
There used to be “something special” about taking a picture, back in the dark ages before the digital revolution. With only 24 pictures available on a roll of film, that was purchased, which had to “get developed,” complete with chemicals, a darkroom, and something called negatives, the act of taking a picture required a bit of planning…
Consider the Lilies 