I’m in no shape to celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary tomorrow; neither of us is big on anniversaries; we both forget the day until yesterday.

But I never stop appreciating Maria, the light and love of my life. My life changed for good when I married Maria in the big barn at the first Bedlam Farm.

It’s as if the lights came on, and all the color in the world lay before me. She brought an avalanche of good and love into my life.

This morning, she got up and announced a lot of wild parsnips, poisonous to animals and people; we’re growing in the front yard in the middle of what we hope will become a natural wildflower garden.

She put on her combat gloves and boots, grabbed the wheelbarrow and a shovel, and went out for battle.

There seems to be very little she won’t take on or can’t figure out. This one was tough. The plant proliferates, and the roots are deep.

She came back two hours later sweating, wild-eyed, and beet red. She was exhausted. It was hard work.

But the wheelbarrow was chock full of will parsnip with a separate bag for seeds. I’m planning to rest before we head to Albany.

Maria is the best. I love her dearly and give thanks for her every day.