PS Simple Life

The sacred month A time to go inside by Jim Dodson Long ago, I decided that November is the most sacred month. To my way of thinking, on so many levels, no other holds as much mystery, beauty and [...]

The ever-changing garden May the work never be done by Jim Dodson The spring gardening season officially got underway this year with the necessary removal of a 70-year-old red oak tree that [...]

Let It Snow Remembrance of a small Christmas miracle By Jim Dodson It’s December and, without fail, I’m thinking about snow. Thanks to Bing Crosby and Irving Berlin’s Oscar-winning song from the [...]

Squirrelly Business A seedy family of rodents drives an old dude nuts By Jim Dodson Another summer is ending. And once again, the squirrels have won. Last year about this time, you see, I made a [...]

Cadillac Joe While his azaleas are long gone, the legend lives on. by Jim Dodson As spring broke this year, I had a startling realization: I may be turning into Cadillac Joe. His real name was [...]

Miss Jan for Christmas Taking pleasure in the small things by Jim Dodson As she eats her Sunday morning breakfast, Miss Jan looks across the table at me and cheerfully remarks, “You look very [...]

Summer twilight The brief, magical time between day and night by Jim Dodson  Illustration by Gerry ONeill Not long ago as a beautiful summer evening settled around us, my wife and I were sitting [...]

The incomplete gardener We dream and scheme — and forever learn. by Jim Dodson Over the past five years, I’ve been building a garden in the old neighborhood where I grew up, a garden of shade and [...]

Death of a Green Dragon A gardener’s bittersweet reminder of life’s impermanence  By Jim Dodson Last month, I returned from my first trip since the start of the pandemic to discover a baffling [...]

Simple Gifts The secret to a good life? Less is more By Jim Dodson A friend recently wondered why I named this column “Simple Life.” I joked that it was better than the original name I came up [...]