Following a major house fire a few years ago, a lovely sassafras tree just outside our back door met its end during the rebuilding that followed.  A chance meeting with a chain saw artist led to the discovery that the dead stump left behind contained a tree spirit within.  This is Eliot — short for T. S. Eliot — who now presides over our garden and serves as a constant reminder of the good that can come from evil.   Here he sports a knitted gold cabled ring with a pink heart-shaped diamond.  Thank you, Eliot, for reminding me to keep a positive outlook.

—Judy