Barbara Crooker

I’m getting ready to move from this place where I’ve lived and gardened for 43 years, and it’s going to be tough to say good-bye to the perennial beds, herb garden, vegetable patch, row of lilacs, etc. Someone visiting me commented on what good soil I have; it’s actually full of shale, but has been enriched by 40 years of composting, including shredded rejection slips (which I added for carbon). This summer, with all the rain we’ve had in the northeast, the sunflowers are magnificent. And even in winter, seeing something green, like the thumb of the amaryllis poking up, is, to me, incredibly hopeful. It’s all ephemeral, us included, but I think it’s important to remember to look for beauty wherever we can.