It’s come to this, I’ve been crazy busy this past week what with all the summer arrivals. I spent a blissful two hours in the dentist chair and was grateful for it. It was the first time in months I had been horizontal during the day. How pathetic is that? The next person in the office collapsed into the chair and said, “What a relief!” We all burst out laughing at the ridiculous irony.

Let’s talk about strawberries! The June-bearing varieties really need to be removed and refreshed every couple of years. The baby plants or runners should be moved to a new location perhaps in the fall and the old plants ripped out or tilled under. Otherwise every year the berries will get smaller and smaller. The new bed will produce some the following June and give a great showing year two. Then out they go and by now the grandchildren are ready for a new home.

As the berries begin to ripen cut back on the watering. The commercial growers pump them up to gain size but flavor will be sacrificed. Violet and I spend some time in the afternoons stuffing ourselves right in the patch. The berries are sun-warmed and delicious. This is when the expression “Life doesn’t get better,” is all that can be said!

We’ve been eating peas, just a few —Oregon Giant Snow variety. The rabbits polished off most of the sugar snaps, little jerks! The English Shell types are barely flowering. I do replant in August for a decent fall crop.

I picked an armload of beets. The greens went to the chickens as they were somewhat sunburned. The roots were a little smaller than Ping-Pong balls—the perfect size in my opinion. I briskly rinsed them and cooked until soft in the crock pot. No water, just a tiny bit of oil and slipped the skins when they cooled. Some of my family members call them purple dirt but I love them. Good thing I grow them easily as they are remarkably pricey at the market.

Flowerbeds are at an odd in-between stage. The irises are gone and the peonies soon to follow. The summer annuals are just getting established and have yet to put on a real show. The lilacs are in need of deadheading but the Kousa dogwood is absolutely breathtaking. How is it possible to have so many flowers on one rather small tree?

Multi-flora roses have taken over a lot of roadsides. Check out the huge amount of them right next to the up-Island side of the Scottish Bakehouse. I admit they are not one of my favorites nor am I fond of their fragrance. Good luck trying to rid the property of it. Speaking of invasives, bittersweet is taking over Aquinnah and I’ve never seen such large leaves on poison ivy. Guess they love lack of water all spring.

I will say, last Monday’s rain was simply lovely. The air cleared of pollen, everything got a nice rinse, and I did not have to haul hoses around endlessly.

Kudos to whomever mowed the big field at the Tashmoo Overlook. They left a nice patch of yellow wildflowers at the top of the sled-riding hill.

Last week’s column omitted the name of the allium I was mentioning. It is Albopilosum. Most likely my poor editor had some trouble reading my handwriting. To their ever lasting credit the folks at the Gazette pick up my hand written column and enter it into the computer themselves.

Recently I was listening to a segment on NPR about avocados. Their popularity is growing every year. It takes 50 gallons of water to produce one. Mexico grows by far the most of them with California and Florida coming in second. We know the drought is causing huge problems in California. The price has skyrocketed. Therefore Mexico is really stepping up production. Land and resources are being solely devoted to growing what they call “green gold.”

The quinoa effect is now applied to avocados. Native peoples who have grown and eaten these crops for centuries can no longer afford to have them. The demand for them in the U.S. and First World countries is so high that selling trumps local sustainability.

I do love a good avocado but I will give myself pause next time I spend a couple bucks on one.