A few tugs on one of the largest weeds in my daylily garden yielded a pleasant and unexpected surprise. Nestled between the disappearing weed and a large daylily clump was a yellow box turtle.

He did not seem to mind my infringement and I lingered a while remembering turtle and child interactions from many years ago. I also could not help but contrast the turtle's composure with that of many of the humans I encounter.

I wondered if the turtle's daily newspaper is filled with as many stories about coping with stress as have appeared recently in our daily newspapers. I doubt it.

The turtle showed no indication that he was living large as the reports claim we Americans seem determined to do. Perhaps there are no turtles with the surname Jones who need keeping up with. He seemed quite content with the pace the garden invites us to have.

I am pleased and somewhat dismayed with the frequency that plant shoppers express that they feel like kids in a candy store when they go into a greenhouse. I am pleased that they have found a relief for the stress in their lives. I'm dismayed that their lifestyle runs with such constant intensity.

A recent conversation with professional in the medical field yielded the following confession. When she returns home from work she immediately heads to the garden. She pulls a few weeds or deadheads a few perennials.

Within a few minutes she says it is safe to go into the house and she has no fear that she will bite the head off the first person she encounters.

Another report phrased the same thing quite differently. She said that if you visited her garden and couldn't find a weed or a flower needing attention her stress level was up. If you could spot a few weeds or other jobs waiting life was good. In the garden, time seems to stand still. How often do a few minutes in the garden turn into hours without us even noticing?

Our gardens are our space. With your hands you can craft that space to be yours. It is something you can see, smell, touch and feel. I guess we could also add taste without too much imagination. Working the brain is wonderful, but I sense it quickly leads to stress if we never take time to enjoy our basic senses. Our well being demands a mix.

Gardening gives me the opportunity to forget about time, to establish and define my space, to escape the rat race and to keep stress from affecting my well being.

I will quickly admit there are other activities and hobbies that can bring the same results. My point is that you need something or some things to do it. Gardening is one of my some things.