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Stuff is a funny thing. On the one hand it makes us who we are, right?  I mean, we are living people and accumulating a certain amount of things is just built in our existence.  We have a set of basic human needs like shelter and comfort, and we need tools to help us accomplish those things like appliances and computers.  But we’re also sentimental and perhaps a little bit vain -- we like to collect our treasures.  All totally normal.  But there comes a point where you don’t own the stuff anymore because that stuff owns you.

This past weekend volunteers were busy in the Generous Gardeners’ flower beds along Stacy Boulevard in Gloucester, digging trenches and setting meticulously-spaced tulip bulbs for next year. 

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So, lucky you–you are renovating your bathroom!  And, congratulations as well–you’ve nailed down a contractor (no easy feat these days) that who will be starting in a few months.

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Alas, summer is over, but now we have the fun of autumn to look forward to. With that in mind, I thought we'd try something different this week to help usher in the glory of the new season.  So, grab your coats and wicker baskets and let's head on out to the fields to gather up some info on a family-friendly Fall tradition.  

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This week we're going to take a look at a splendid specimen that has a genuine knack for impersonation.  They're not quite as good as Rich Little but odds are they can fool most of us with their curious songs.  So put down that Harper Lee novel and let's see what we can learn about this backyard buddy.

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The North Shore Horticultural Society welcomes the 2022-2023 program season with the opening meeting on September 22 at 7:30 p.m. at the Sacred Heart Parish Hall at 62 School Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea.  Members and guests will gather to hear an hour-long talk on Shade Gardening given by Kathi Gariepy, a Lifetime Master Gardener with the Massachusetts Master Gardener Association (MMGA). 

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The heat, this summer, has been tough on all of us—but it can be particularly tough on your house’s paint job.  Interior designer Jen Coles knows in the spring you may optimistically think you can hold off just one more year, but by now your house may have you singing a different tune.  But do not despair, she writes, houses get painted all the way into deep fall if the conditions are right.  And after this summer you would think they’d have to be.

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There is a radiance to Jess Yurwitz.  A comfort and a positivity that, when you have been warmed by it, stays with you.  She is an artist and a teacher with over 30 years of experience in alternative schools.  But when we met five years ago, and began walking our dogs together, she had just left her position as a high school principal and was looking for something new.  

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It’s not a very glamorous world out there in fungi-land these days due to our prolonged drought.  The fungi that are symbiotic with plants and trees, called “mycorrhizal fungi”, are still busy as bees in the soil, but they are smart enough not to try to produce any fruiting bodies, what we call mushrooms, lest they become instantly dry as toast and fail to mature and produce spores.

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Things move more slowly in August.  I watch as the vacation weeks roll through the workforce in my industry, and even the plants seem to be taking a break in this drought.  

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As you may have noticed, something new has arrived in Essex.  It’s Pon.  A lovely place full of unexpected juxtapositions. Japan meets Sweden. Whimsy meets sophistication. Useful meets wonderful.  All of these marvelous, odd couples are happening in a delightful new space at the corner of Southern and Main. In a store called Pon.

How nice it was to have the Fourth of July back in full swing.

It’s the holiday of choice for these parts, and in my town the parade starts at 10 a.m.  Personally, this seems like an ill-advised hour for me to arrive in last year’s red, white and blues and have a mimosa thrust into my hand.

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Getting going on a home remodeling project can feel deceivingly simple in the beginning.  Clients usually know they want certain things, like to renovate a kitchen and to add a family room for instance.  That’s easy enough to envision, right?

The Fairy Ring mushroom is delightfully named, evoking childhood legends of elves and fairies dancing around a ring of mushrooms.  They often grow in a circular pattern called fairy rings which were believed to be the place where dragons rested (Austria) or where the devil churned his milk (Holland) or where bisons danced (Native Americans). 

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So what do I do to embrace this shoulder season?  Well, for one, I celebrate an old friend: the humble, ever-cheerful, frost-resistant pansy.  For me they pack a punch for a small price tag.   Yes, they get straggly by the end of June, but honestly, who cares?  You’ve still gotten maybe six good weeks of good cheer out of them (with a little deadheading) and that’s a pretty good return on investment.  And when they are past their prime, I just shift them to a back corner and give some other showy annual the center stage for those summer months.  They don’t seem to mind.  They all get a turn.

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Jim Trudeau understands enoughness. I dare say he came into the world wired this way. He is a breath of fresh air.  And his work has made its way into many of our homes - and the homes of many - because of this exact and extraordinary quality.  Jim is an artist, a potter, living and working in Essex.  He and his wife, Ann, own Wheelworks Pottery on Main Street where Jim makes pottery in a small studio, fires it as well, and then sells it in a small shop behind his home.

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PROFESSIONALLY, IT'S BEEN a streaky year for me.  Last spring, I hit a point where I was working on 12 bathrooms at one time.  This fall, it seems to be all about kitchens.  Both rooms are sort of cornerstones of my business in their own way, but the design process for each couldn’t be more …