THE DALLAS ARBORETUM

There’s something almost magical about basking in the quiet of the early morning at the Dallas Arboretum.

Neighbor David Davis says that’s when he prefers to visit.

“The main reason I like the early morning is the luxury of solitude, of having the gardens almost always all to myself,” he says.

Even inclement weather doesn’t discourage Davis. In fact, he welcomes it because it chases o even more visitors.

He rides his bike from his house in East Dallas to the garden to enjoy his favorite views, find a place to read or simply be still. His favorite spot is the Poetry Garden because “few people ever seem to find it.”

The Poetry Garden is a walled garden to the west of A Woman’s Garden — the long garden with all the fountains.

As a former landscaper and consummate gardener, Davis says he especially likes seeing the gardeners out working in the early hours.

“There is always something going on — things being planted, pruned, mowed, removed,” he muses. “It’s a reminder that any garden large or small, like a life, is a continual work in progress.”

Find it: The Poetry Garden is no. 52 on the Dallas Arboretum’s map. It’s tricky to find, so make it easy on yourself and ask for a map at the entrance, 8525 Garland Rd.

Julie Burch Webber says she enjoys canoeing in White Rock Creek where it runs under Northwest Highway. “Felt like I was not in the middle of Dallas,” she says. “Beautiful! And a great spot for checking out a variety of bird species.”

Brittany Code settles with her family at an outside table at The Lot, soaking in the electric vibe of the bustling restaurant, relieved to finally enjoy some adult time with her husband.

Her children — a 1-and-a-half-year-old and a 4-year-old — run o to the kiddie area to play in the sand while the Codes pick out a craft brew.

As an elementary school counselor, Code helps other people cope with stress.

“It can be very emotionally draining,” she says. “I talk to kids who have been abused, or whose parents are going through a divorce, or who’ve lost family. It’s very stressful, and it’s hard to take time for myself.”

As much as she loves being at home with her favorite people, her idea of taking the edge o is getting out of the house and enjoying a night on the town with her family and friends.

“It’s a treat to go out, but I also want to spend time with my family since I don’t get to see them that much,” Code says.

Their favorite place to go as a family is The Lot because it’s an adult restaurant with all the adult comforts, but it also has a fenced-in playground where the kiddos can play, so Code doesn’t have to worry about them making a break for the parking lot.

“That way, I’m with my kids, but I’m also able to sit down and have a conversation with my husband,” Code says.

Find it: The Lot is at 7530 E. Grand.

Erin Garrett says Café Izmir, the tranquil Mediterranean restaurant at 3711 Greenville Ave, is her “go-to spot” for food, wine, and atmosphere.

James Davenport says the old-fashioned, home-style restaurant Circle Grill at 3701 Buckner is “like stepping back in time.”

Julie Billingsley Geron says the picnic table at Peavy/Mockingbird and Buckner offers “a great view of Downtown.” She also suggests visiting the streets north of Flag Pole Hill. “There are peacocks that wander the neighborhood,” she says. Flag Pole Hill Park is directly north of White Rock Lake at 8100 Doran.

NORBUCK PARK

Neighbor Charlotte Koford says she’s something of a “park groupie” because she enjoys visiting parks so much.

She lives right across the street from the backside of Norbuck Park, which is one of her favorite parks to explore.

“We [Koford and her husband] watch the sunset and watch the fireflies cover the fields at night,” she says. “We watch the little bats come out and catch the mosquitoes, and the red-winged black birds that nest, and the red-tailed hawk.”

Although the side of the park facing Northwest Highway is rather bland — a baseball field and a field of maintained grass, the trick to enjoying Norbuck Park is knowing how to find its good side.

A street called Van Dyke, which stretches between Peavy and Easton, hugs the backside of Norbuck Park. From there, walkers can access the foot trails that zigzag through the grass and into the woods.

“I love to go over there and take walks,” Koford says. “In the fall, it looks like New England, and I’ve been to New England.

“I’ve been to all seven continents, and one reason I keep coming back here is because I think what we have on Van Dyke is one of the most exquisite views. I mean, here we are in the middle of the city, and it’s like being in the country.”

Find it: Norbuck Park is southeast of Northwest Highway and North Buckner. Access Van Dyke Road from either Peavy or Easton.

Maria Carmen Ybarra Montes says reading at Lakewood Library is her method of distraction. “It’s a nice quiet place to sit and read or dream your problems away,” she says. “I’ve done it many times.” Find your bookworm haven at 6126 Worth.

Promise Of Peace Community Garden

Elizabeth Dry, the founder of Promise of Peace Community Garden, says at least 30 people walk or bike through the Imagine Garden every day.

The Imagine Garden is in Little Forest Hills behind White Rock United Methodist Church, and it features a variety of flowers and other vegetation as well as a reflective butterfly garden.

Neighbor Talya Tate Boerner, who sometimes freelances for the Advocate, says her plot at the Promise of Peace garden is her favorite spot.

“Sometimes I sit on the picnic tables and write,” she says.

Find it: The Promise of Peace Community Garden is at 1450 Oldgate, behind White Rock UMC.

Lucky Dog Books

10801 GARLAND RD.

“A bell jingled overhead. The mild, spicy smell of old books hit him, and the smell was somehow like coming home,” wrote Stephen King in “The Waste Lands.”

If your most reliable mode of decompression involves curling up with a book — a real, paper-and-ink page-turner — you’ll get lost, in the most pleasant manner, inside Lucky Dog Books.

The building is small and welcoming. Inside, though, room after room, at least 10 of them, offers books organized by topic then author. Comfy chairs in crannies beckon visitors to loiter and peruse the pages they’ve heretofore plucked from the endless shelves. Once you’ve wrested yourself from the cozy couch in, for example, the poetry reading room, check the wall calendar for book signings, discussion groups, workshops and writing classes, and purchase your picks with cash, plastic or store credit, which you can obtain by donating your old books, records and media.

MEDICAL MESH: A tangled web

Lakewood neighbor creates a nonprofit to warn women about medical mesh

Lakewood neighbor Aaron Horton just wants her mom back.

It’s the little things — like going out for sushi, window-shopping, getting facials or manicures, and chatting about art — that Horton misses the most.

“I miss my mom,” Horton says. “I miss being able to pick up the phone and say, ‘Hey, I just saw this purse and it made me think about you,’ or ‘I just saw this movie; let me tell you about it.’ ”

Although Horton’s mom is still alive, in many ways Horton has been forced to prematurely grieve the loss of the mother she once had.

Horton’s mom, who asked that we not reveal her identity, is in a constant

SATURDAYS JUNE 7 - JULY 26 state of excruciating pain — at times worse than anything she experienced during childbirth — due to an injury caused by a medical device called transvaginal mesh.

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“I miss my mom. I miss being able to pick up the phone and say, ‘Hey, I just saw this purse and it made me think about you,’ or ‘I just saw this movie; let me tell you about it.’ ” June 5, 2014

The pain wasn’t always so extreme.

Originally, Horton’s mother suffered from urinary incontinence (the loss of bladder control) and pelvic organ prolapse (a condition in which the bladder and the bowels slip out through the vaginal canal). To fix the problem, doctors used trans-vaginal mesh, which essentially is a small hammock made of plastic mesh, to hold her organs in place.

She was told the operation would be minimally invasive, but she knew something was wrong as soon as she woke up from the surgery. Her surgeon told her she simply needed time to heal.

The pain was localized at first, occurring only in her pelvic region, but it was unrelenting. For months, doctors dismissed the pain. Eventually it began

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Dr. Gail Thomas, Willis Winters to spread to every part of her body — sometimes it was sharp, sometimes it was dull, sometimes it was throbbing, and sometimes it was all three. She talked with more doctors, but no one could give her any answers. She tried physical therapy and nerve blocks, but nothing helped.

“My mom was really sick, and she wasn’t getting better,” Horton says.

“Once I realized how sick she was, I got online to see if there were other people, and I realized there’s this whole community of women who have been injured by this medical device.”

Horton wrote what she calls “a hearticle” about her experience of watching her mom suffer and not being able to