I think I never love Maria more than when she is working on her gardens at the beginning of Spring. She loves living things, talks to them, recognizes, knows them. She senses when they are thirsty, worries when they are disturbed, props them up after storms. She is never more delighted than when I stop at a nursery to bring her some flowers for her garden, and I do this as often as I can.

In two days, she has transformed our back porch once more – Flo sleeps through all of this on warm days – with hanging flowers, flowers in parts.

I wish that people thought of the Earth as lovingly and carefully as Maria thinks of her gardens, over the weekend this garden has taken on life and depth, a joy for a photographer.

And it is a secret garden, visible only to us, not from the street or road. The fence keeps the chickens at bay until the seeds root,  and as a warrior for color and light, this brings me the greatest pleasure.

She will get something into our head soon, we already went to a garden stand to fill up the one or two pots that are still empty.

We treasure these days together, every one of them, we know how precious and fleeting they are. I admit I think of our friends the Gulleys heading towards the Badlands, Ed struggling already  with his brain cancer, bravely and determinedly choose life, every day that he can,  Carol joining him in this journey.

It’s not my illness, for sure, but it does get into your head. It reminds me to be grateful. How can I not think of it?

A spiritual counselor told me once that if I wanted to be happy, live in the moment, live in the breath. Let go of the ghosts of yesterday. Sophocles wrote that tomorrow is tomorrow, future cares have future cures, and we must mind today.

I think people do not naturally live in the present, like dogs do.

We lament the past or blind to the riches that surround us, stand on our toes to peek into the future. The gardens are a reminder to live in the moment, I have learned that like Maria, I cannot be happy or strong unless I  live with nature in the present, far above time.

Maria is the moment for me, the present, she is my garden, the color and the light.