Jim's 98th Birthday

We had lunch today with our friend Jim Alexander and his daughter Jeannie. Jim turned 98 yesterday. For this and many other reasons, Jim is a hero of ours!

Butterfly Garden at Powdermill III

Yesterday we celebrated the opening of the butterfly garden at Powdermill. Dr. John Wenzel thanked Nikki and me for our gift of the garden and introduced Martha Oliver, the garden designer. Martha began her remarks with a poem by Emily Dickinson: 

TO make a prairie it takes a clover and one bee,—
One clover, and a bee,
And revery.
The revery alone will do
If bees are few. Martha's point was how the garden would benefit the propagation of bees, but I think there is a lot in this poem about dreaming dreams and making them come true, one small bee (step) at a time.

Martha then led us on a tour of the garden, pointing out the plants and the insects that are attracted to each.

The garden is beautiful and will be a magnet for butterflies and children alike. We are grateful to John Wenzel, Cokie Lindsay, and Martha Oliver for making our idea, our gift to children in memory of Tina, truly come alive.

What's a celebration without a little reception? The wine, cheese, smoked salmon, and conversations were wonderful!

Powdermill -- even more alive!