Dare we call them learned? Why not? They are wordsmiths, absorbed with history, literature and languages. They have traveled far and written eloquently of what they saw. Now Lance and wife Susan Brind Morrow are settled on a farm with a dog they love and field mice of which they feel less kindly, as the mice also enjoy the warmth of their 18th century farmhouse in the midst of fields in the Finger Lakes District of northern New York that long ago were orchards planted by Johnny Appleseed. The Iroquois once lived here too, at least until George Washington sent his general to destroy the trees and banish the resident Indians to make room for white settlers in a brutally acquired new land.

On Wednesday, April 6, at 5:30 p.m., the Suncoast Humane Society will hold its final fundraising event of the season, just in time to take advantage of the Giving Challenge.The cost is $150 per person, with cocktails and dinner provided by Chef Micheal Durett. Make reservations by March 30 to Margaret Ann Behrend, development@humanel.org., (908) 752-5164.