Today we said good-bye to an old friend. "Wendell" has been with us since our Beaver Dam days. For the past 25 years he has greeted guests and kept vigilance over our gardens. He always made me smile. The happy sound of his shower splashing was as welcoming as a summer shower. But the last move did him in, so today we took his broken and battered tub to the sand and gravel recycling. It was kind of sad to have to leave him there. It is like the end of an era. Adieu, old friend, you will be missed.