Officials in Melbourne, Australia had a great idea for taking care of the city’s many trees: they assigned an email address to each tree so citizens could report problems like dangerous branches. But instead, the people of Melbourne wrote thousands of love letters to their favorite trees.

Dear Algerian oak,
Thank you for giving us oxygen. Thank you for being so pretty. I don’t know where I’d be without you to extract my carbon dioxide. (I would probably be in heaven.) Stay strong, stand tall amongst the crowd. You are the gift that keeps on giving.

Dear Green Leaf Elm,
I hope you like living at St. Mary’s. Most of the time I like it too. I have exams coming up and I should be busy studying. You do not have exams because you are a tree...we don’t have a lot in common, you being a tree and such. But I’m glad we’re in this together.
Cheers,
F

Hello F,
I do like living here. I hope you do well in your exams. Research has shown that nature can influence the way people learn in a positive way, so I hope I inspire your learning. Best wishes,
Green Leaf Elm

What would you say if you could write to your favorite trees? Maybe it’s time to start composing — “tree mail” could be coming to your city soon!

Your “Love a Tree” Gift Guru,
Linda

Everyone has something they’ve dreamed of doing, but never quite found the courage to try. What’s yours?

Have you always wanted to learn to draw? Take a dance class? Train for a marathon? Start a business? Apply for a new job? Play guitar? Post a video of you singing your favorite song? Start a blog? Write a novel? Cook for a big crowd? Take up the ukelele?

July 26 is set aside just for the things you’ve always wanted to do, but never did. It’s National All or Nothing Day where people throw caution to the wind and dare to try. Be bold! Be adventurous! You might fail, you might succeed – just give it your all. For one day, the whole nation has your back!

All or Nothing Day isn’t well known, but once you go all-in, you’ll always remember the holiday. It marks the first time you did that thing you’d always feared – the day that changed your life!

Your “All-In” Gift Guru,
Linda

Tuesday is Junk Food Day! Not that Americans need a day to celebrate junk food — we’re pretty much the leaders in worldwide consumption of all things sweet, salty, fatty and fried. But a lot of us (myself included) feel so guilty when we eat our favorite sweet or salty treats.

National Junk Food Day is a holiday from all that guilt! We can gobble down desserts so sweet they make your teeth hurt. Salty, savory crunchy treats. Fizzy sodas and crazy candies. Deep fried wonders and fabulous fast foods.

But remember: only for one day. And try not to overdo it. Too much junk food can leave you with a hangover that rivals the worst New Year’s Day “bottle flu”.

So go ahead and indulge, but try to eat responsibly on National Junk Food Day.

Your “Guilt Takes a Holiday” Gift Guru,
Linda

It all started back in 2009 when Ellen Degeneres gave a Christmas gift to Oprah Winfrey. It was a coffee table book called Rover and it featured tons of pictures of really cute dogs. The book was the brainchild of Andrew Grant, who produced Rover after hearing “the heartbreaking stats about the homeless pet population in America.”

The book helped raise awareness and money for pet rescues all over the U.S. and sparked a new campaign designed to up the stakes for homeless dogs everywhere. In 2010, Grant launched a program for people to have their dog photographed and featured in Rover in return for a donation of $5,000. As you can imagine, the book was full of celebrity dogs and it generated over a million dollars for shelters all over the country.

Now you can have your dog photographed by Andrew Grant and featured in the next edition of Rover right next to all those celebrity dogs and help a homeless dog get adopted. Here’s how. You can even get your furry friend on the cover of all the books you order! But fair warning: according to Grant, “Some cover dogs have been known to develop diva-like behavior and been hounded by the pawparazzi after being featured in Rover!”

Your “Pawsitively Photogenic Pups” Gift Guru,
Linda

In a perfect world, every dog has a home.

4^th of July weekend is a great time to kick off National Picnic Month. If you don’t have a backyard barbecue planned, you can just pack up the picnic basket and head for the nearest park.

Picnics are fun almost any time of the year, but the month of celebration gives you a chance to be creative. Of course, you could stick to fried chicken and potato salad, but why not try some new and different themes for your July picnics?

Here are three fun ideas to get you started:

• Pasta Picnic: Instead of potato salad, make up a cold pasta dish. Here’s a great place to find some recipes. My favorites are the chicken caesar and greek pasta salads. Serve them as main dishes or on the side. Yum!
• Wine Picnic: Summer wines like Pinot gris or grigio, Sauvignon blanc and Rosé are perfect for picnics. Slice up some exotic cheeses, fresh vegetables and fruits to go with them and don’t forget the fresh bread!
• Hot Dog Picnic: Whether they’re the main dish or side salad, everyone loves a good hot dog. Stir up some dogs and beans or make cold hot dog sandwiches. Since they’re tasty warm or cold, hot dogs are the perfect picnic food.

Whatever you decide, National Picnic Month is all about getting out in the fresh air, eating something delicious and maybe even having a short nap on the picnic blanket — just watch out for the ants!

Your “Picture Perfect Picnics” Gift Guru,
Linda