my 'garden music,' plus remembering my man jack (and a song for him) 

Thanks to many hundreds of you who have already written to express your condolences about my dear Jack. We had a good run together, and your kind messages help me to remember that! More about him below, but first:   

Today I want to share a secret about how to make a garden, and also a secret about myself. The secret is music -- and especially my oddball collection of what I call garden music.

More than 25 years ago, when I first bought my then-weekend place, there was no garden. Every Friday, I'd arrive full of youthful energy to do battle with multiflora rose, wild raspberries, barberry and spiny thistles.

Besides my loppers and saw, I'd grab one of my best garden-making tools from the glove-box of the car: Al Green.

Yup, the Reverend Al Green. Motivational tunes (and a boom box) were essentials. Green and Brown helped me make my garden. As in: Al and James.

In the years since, music has intertwined with my garden passion in a different way. Noticing how many songs speak to the seasons, or various kinds of storms, or sunshine, or roses, or certain trees and wildflowers and birds, I've amassed a kind of giant "garden mix tape."

In this week's podcast, hear five favorites -- including one dedicated to my dear departed cat, Jack. Details, and the links to listen in. (Those are my two favorite Men in Black, below.)  

remembering my man jack

Some men I have lived with would tell you I am inflexible, and fussy -- that hair in the shower, for instance, or any noise or disruptions to the sanctity of sleep are just two of the legion of things I am impatient with. Jack the Demon Cat would have told another story of me, about a person who resisted but then surrendered, who got past the hair and the all-night prowling, at least this once. The other day, I lost my Jack, the one who finally got through to me. A remembrance of my longtime friend.

miss it last time?

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