I guess this would be considered “High Summer.” There is plenty of food for the picking in the vegetable garden. Full and glorious color is everywhere. Everyone and his brother have arrived. We are all super-busy. One thing I have learned in life — this, too, shall pass. Hopefully we all enjoy it.

I am increasingly fond of the old-fashioned common orange day lilies. Talk about reliable, and they seem to be immune from deer damage. This is a huge plus. The hybrids will be eaten to the quick overnight if you forget to spray or leave the dog outside at night.

There is a huge patch of the aforementioned lilies at the end of Old County Road. I’ve been noticing and admiring them for decades.

There is a house overlooking Menemsha Pond on State Road in Chilmark. It has beautiful rambling rose hydrangeas and orange lilies — so very Vineyard!

The bunnies wiped out most of my first planting of peas. I replanted in late May without much hope but happily they are blooming and within a week of picking.

The hostas are particularly lovely this year. They are remarkably drought-tolerant. It seems unlikely since they are so fleshy and shade loving. There must be hundreds of cultivars. Some of the bigger wholesale nurseries have pages of them with some interesting names. I wish I had that job — the naming of plants or paint.

Violet and I have a family member in the Vineyard Haven cemetery. We do a drive-by every now and then. Last Sunday, in the old section, at the Tilton plot near West Spring Street, there was a rhododendron in full flower. It seems odd this much past spring.

I’ve mentioned this before but it bears repeating. Now is the time to be aware of certain plants which are called phototoxins. They can cause a bad skin reaction if touched mid-day in the hot sun. Among these are rue, angelica, wild parsnip, giant hogweed and even limes.

One year, Seniel, one of my workers, was weeding in a patch of rue. It was a hot and humid day. A few days later she began experiencing a burning sensation on her arms. By the time she arrived at the emergency room, the attending doctor told her he had never seen such a terrible chemical burn. She spent weeks recovering.

I think the expression “rue the day” has something to do with its danger. Honestly, it’s always something.

What a week in the news. I am still taking in the nuclear deal with Iran. We have a long and convoluted history with that country. For starters, both the U.S. and U.K. supported the regime of the Shah which was eventually overthrown in 1979 by supporters of the Ayatollah Khomeini. Then, of course, there was the huge hostage crisis which pretty much sealed the fate of the Jimmy Carter presidency. Oh yes — then Iran-Contra thanks to Ronald Reagan.

More than half of Congress and Benjamin Netanyahu hate any sort of deal made by Obama. What’s to become of us? Oh, then the bullying of NBC’s Katy Tur by the Donald. If there was an expression in the dictionary, “elephantine ego,” there would be a picture of him!