Meet the neighbors

This is Hartwell. He's a particular favorite of mine. We share a deep and abiding love of cookies. Plus, he's one of the few kids who doesn't like my dogs, which means he likes me for myself. As you can see, he's all grown up now, but even when he was a mere slip of a lad of two or three, he always knew my name.

"Hi Karin!" he calls, full of good cheer, as I walk by.

I used to ask if he wanted to pet one of the mutts, just because that's usually why I'm popular with the young, athletic set. I no longer ask, so we get along just fine.

(I've got a new column up at Patch Altadena. You've never heard me talk about gardening before, have you? Come by and pet my plants.)