For Maria, who loves many plants, herbs, and flowers, this was a labor of love – her ailing cactuses. The round one on the left has particular meaning to both of us. I was in my Hebron farmhouse when she and I first met; she has been caring for it ever since.

This year, the cacti were sick, there was a fungus attack, and they were also growing wildly into each other; she did some homework and spent a few hours breaking off the errant limps and nursing them, cleaning the fungus off, nurturing them back to health inside the farmhouse this winter.

Saturday, she brought them outside and did some more work on them. They look great. Besides mine, the big one has been with her for 20 years. She was happy and proud.  I couldn’t believe my little cactus, a couple of inches high, had grown into a round and healthy thing.