On the search for interesting things to talk about, I pop over to Tess Gerritsen's blog. I haven't made the blog rounds in a long time, having been occupied with my move, so I'm beginning to branch back into my favorite reads again. Always trust Tess to deliver. Though we're members of the same RWA chapter, I'm sorry I never got to meet her in person. She's a pretty smart lady.

Finally, I leave you to ponder Creepy Fact #5: the animal with the shortest lifespan is the aquatic gastrotrich. It lives only three days. Only three days to accomplish everything it needs to do in a lifetime.

You, on the other hand, have fifty years ahead of you. That may seem like a long time right now, but it isn’t. I’m a gardener, and we gardeners know that we’re allotted only a limited number of spring plantings in our lives, only a certain number of seasons to try out new plants.

So here’s the final lesson from my creepy facts file, a lesson brought to you courtesy of the pitifully short-lived gastrotrich: Don’t waste a single planting season. Plant the seeds of your future now by nurturing every interest, every hobby. And always have something new growing, something you’ve never tried to grow before. Because you never know. It could end up being the most beautiful plant in your garden.

Head on over to Tess's blog and read the text of the speech she gave for the University of Maine's graduation. Much to think about, whether you're 22 or 42 or 82.

How did you spend the weekend? Saturday, we went boating on the Tennessee River. We watched balloons taking off from the balloon festival in Point Mallard Park, then we docked and went to eat BBQ at Big Bob Gibson's. Sunday, we went to a fish fry and shrimp boil in Decatur, in a very lovely garden, and Monday we moved some more stuff from my parents' house. Whew, life is busy here in Alabama, but I'm loving it. 🙂