It was suggested to me, perhaps by mistake, that an associate’s time was worth more than mine. She said that the hours she spent doing a particular project were more valuable than hours I spent doing what I do. Value, of course, depends on the measuring stick. If wealth accumulation is the measuring stick, she wins, hands down. If helping people experience daily happiness for years to come is the measure, I win. I’ve spent untold hours roaming the ancient cemeteries of Den

Everything leaves tracks. If you examine a foot or more of open sand, you’ll likely see signs of active life etched in its surface granules. Perhaps a mouse passed by, a bird hopped through, the wind traced arcs with a blade of grass and little bits of plant matter skirted across the surface. A friend taught me tracking some years back. We found coyote, fox, mouse, skunk, turtle, bird, deer, wind, water and human tracks in the dunes of Truro where we walked. I remember feeli

I’ll be taking a trip soon. It’ll be a short one, by most standards, but I’m having some anxiety around it. I expect that most of us get anxious before a trip, but for me, other than the usual “hurry up and get it all done before you leave” anxiety, something else comes into play. “I’m going to miss my cat,” is my first thought. Light-hearted, yes. And kitty will be just fine. But in truth, I miss my land, my weather, my house and the everyday details and changes that go

While regular walks in our oak-pine woodlands woods satisfy my winter cravings for soul-calming communion with plant life, there’s another place that I visit, year-round, in Boston. A bona-fide roof garden, it’s as majestic in winter as in the three warmer seasons. Quiet respect is the only requirement for entry. You can find it on the 8th floor of Mass General Hospital’s Yawkey Center, past a wall of photos and stories of people who have overcome cancer, through a glass door

My mother told me that the blackflies hatch out on Memorial Day weekend at our cabin in Northern Maine. That’s Mattaseunk Lake in Molunkus, Maine, to be exact, about 7 hours north of here (Cape Cod). Other than bad memories of fast-moving black clouds of dread that sent me hand-swishing and running full tilt in the other direction - and having to wear a head net for the better part of June as a kid - I’d forgotten about the tiny, biting, blood-extracting monsters. Mom said th

I was gardening in Chatham for a client with a grand seaside summer property. It was a Saturday, mid-morning, and I was engrossed in my work. Reaching a set of steps, I looked up into the eyes of their newest rescue dog who had been silently peering at me through the screen door. I was beguiled. And I felt an otherworldly nudge that I dared not ignore. Without hesitation, I collected the weeds, gathered my tools and raced across Cape in my pickup to the Brewster animal res