SimplyLife

Bonsai is the fascinating Japanese art of shaping trees into miniature works of art. Tiny trees are potted, then trimmed, wired, and slowly formed into stunning displays. The process is not weeks or months, but years. Long years, patient years. It requires an artistic touch, understanding form, balance, and negative space. The gardener must understand the tree--diseases, light requirements, fertilizer. The gardener must also know how to bend the branches and know how much the tree can take. The gardener already sees in his or her mind what this tree can truly look like at its maturation. It's not for the faint of heart, nor the hurried. As a gardener, I admire the skill of master gardeners who painstakingly create such beauty. The photos bear out the long process from the 10 year-old azalea on the left to the mature trees below that are 50 years or more. Azalea - 10 yrs old Photo: E. Morse I can't help but compare these intricate works of gardening art to the patient te

Ben Franklin is credited with the quote, "In this world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes." Cheery thoughts from one of our more colorful founding fathers. In this season of tax preparation--the gathering of documents and frustration of deciphering forms and convoluted formulas, preparing our taxes forces us to take a look at our finances for the past year. In that same vein, it's also a good to time to take stock of our preparations for when we are no longer around to work on those tax forms. I worked as a paralegal for many years, handling the probate of estates both great and small. Preparation is the key for your family to navigate those choppy waters. Emotions run high and even the most mild-mannered can become unreasonable, argumentative, and yes, surprisingly greedy.  Take some of the drama out of this inevitable situation by gifting your family with a well thought out plan. Here's how to accomplish that dreaded task. 1.  Have a Las