A very wise man of my acquaintance (who is also an active gardener) was discussing with me last week the ideas of change and acceptance, and the importance of sometimes accepting that things can’t be forced to change or go away.
In this spirit, I present to you the garlic mustard plant, a scourge of all gardeners and property owners. This plant is hideously invasive and obnoxious, and it spreads so vigorously, and does so much damage to native plants that state governments in the Midwest, East and South are issuing warnings about the need to eradicate it.

My daughter shared this quote with me the other day, which she found on the Internet: Put a pancake on a sleeping girl’s head to make her feel safe and warm.
Needless to say, I put a pancake on her head. The photo of it is wonderfully cute but she won’t let me put it in the newspaper. Teenagers are so uptight.
While this column doesn’t claim to be overly scientific, we do generally try to avoid the realm of the ultra-silly and to try and incorporate reliable science when possible. This week is apparently going to be an exception.

The Lakeville Journal Co. and Noble Horizons in Salisbury had plans to host a talk on May 11 by author Manning Rubin about his book, “Keep Your Brain Alive,” published in 1999.
Sadly, that talk had to be canceled.
However, we will continue to run some samples of the brain fitness exercises offered in Rubin’s book.
Rubin’s coauthor, the late Lawrence Katz, was a professor of neurobiology at Duke University Medical Center. Together they developed the regimen of exercises called neurobics, designed to keep aging brains fit, healthy and agile.

SALISBURY — One of the area’s oldest community care organizations is undergoing substantial changes this year.
Pat Tremblay is stepping down this month as head of the Salisbury Visiting Nurse Association (SVNA); she will be replaced by the organization’s finance director, Michele Gorat.
Tremblay will be moving to a new job with the Berkshire Visiting Nurse Association that will allow her to live closer to, and care for, a parent who has Alzheimer’s disease.