Have you ever gotten home from the grocery store and realized the carrot you just bought is shaped like a heart? Or does the beet in your fridge resemble a smiley face?

Hello, dear friends. There are times in our lives when you meet someone who is more than special. I am of course, talking about dogs, and, OK, some cats. Why not, they are family, too. This month I would like to focus on someone extra, extra special; Boo Rodrigues, of New Harbor. I did not get to meet her, but my mom did and has been very much impacted by this amazing dog.

Last week we were promised a rousing departure of summer as we tracked Hurricane Lee along the Eastern Seaboard with a promise of high winds and lots of rain. By Friday, anyone with a boat had it safely stashed away for storage or in a safe harbor. Homeowners secured anything liable to topple or be blown away. My 5-foot potted dahlia in full second bloom was moved to our porch for protection.

Maine Master Naturalist Susan Cottle will lead a Wednesday Wander at Griggs Preserve from 10 a.m. to noon on Sept. 20. Griggs Preserve is a 56-acre tract of wooded upland forest, with trails that pass by the Sheepscot River, an upland bog, an old porcupine den, and majestic eastern white pine trees. As you hop over the babbling spring and walk alongside the railroad tracks, keep an eye out for deer, turkeys, raptors, and pileated woodpeckers.

Even though Bruce Soule worked most of his life in Damariscotta, he’s as Waldoboro as you can get. His family goes back at least four generations on the Bremen side of the river. For young Bruce, you made your own fun here, whether it was walking to the movie theater in Damariscotta or riding your bike everywhere or going off to hunt.

With the Nash Shipyard in his ancestry, building and fixing things is in Maynard Nash’s blood. Waldoboro, too. His grandmother was a Gross, from Gross Neck.

Pulitzer Prize-winner Ernie Pyle was one of many American war correspondents during World War II, but he was easily the most famous because of what he wrote and how he wrote it. His columns were syndicated across the country and brought home the tragedy of war and those who fought and died in it in a way that no other reporter did.

Our current spate of sunny warm days is easy to appreciate after a soggy August. My rosebushes are coming into their second bloom and the red stands out against the 6-foot hydrangeas with their scattered bright blue flower heads. Even the eggplant finally proudly displays a veritable crop of white and purple striped fruit.

Kids go to school to educate their minds. At Kieve and Wavus, we also nurture their hearts.