It’s been several years since it has been so hot and humid for such a long stretch. It seems like it could be a hurricane magnet. We are long overdue, I hate to say.

I drove past Whiting’s Pond recently. Pond is a misnomer really. There is no water in it. However, it is lovely with cattails, red lobelia and perennial hibiscus.

The same day I went around Panhandle Road and up Music street. The beautiful field caught my eye, covered with Queen Anne’s Lace. Several turkeys were foraging in the flowers when suddenly two bare pairs of human legs appeared — totally disembodied and doing a fun bicycle move.

Good thing I have an excellent camera computer in my mind as I stored it away to entertain me every time I pass that field.

I used a couple of crepe myrtles in some large pots. They have bloomed nonstop since the end of June. I plan to move them into a shrub border in the fall. I’m fond of perennials in pots. Sedum and hostas will winter over in a large enough container. Terra cotta is a bad idea since they crack when frozen. I usually manage to break several a year because of neglecting to bring them inside before a hard freeze.

I am learning to live with a baby bunny who is trapped inside my vegetable garden. It’s probably my advancing age. I simply cannot be angry at the poor thing. It’s so adorable. It reminds me of an experience I had years ago. I was deadheading petunias on a second floor deck and tossing the spent flowers onto the ground below. A bunny started eating the blossoms as fast as I tossed them. He looked up expectantly for each new drop.

The spireas which I deadheaded several weeks ago are blooming again. I hope to get another flush out of them before mid-fall. The beans I planted three weeks ago are setting flowers already. They, for one, enjoy the heat and humidity.

For those of you fortunate enough to have a greenhouse or cold frame, now is the time to prepare them to receive fall plantings of lettuce, spinach, kale and collards. You want them to get some size before the really short days when they will be great for harvesting but probably will not grow until January after the light change.

While rummaging in the freezer, I came across a duck which was purchased from Cleveland Farm at one of the winter farmers’ markets. I cooked it in the crock pot. (Never use water to cook meat, it will be tough.) It stewed in its own juices all day. I picked the meat from the bones, sauteed it with onions, garlic, sweet potatoes and brown rice. Wow! What a wonderful treat and the kitchen stayed cool since I did not use the oven.

The sad news this week was Jimmy Carter’s cancer diagnosis. He is a humble and decent man, as is Joe Biden. Ted Cruz immediately came out with disparaging remarks about the Carter administration. I guess he’s trying to out Trump the Donald.

Jimmy Carter as president put solar panels on the White House. (Ronald Reagan immediately removed them.) I loved him in his cardigan turning down the thermostat in the Oval Office. Oh, and how about the Camp David accord? I’m tired of the mean-spirited rhetoric.

Let me leave you with one of my favorite movie lines. In the 1950s classic Harvey (remember the six-foot tall invisible rabbit?), Jimmy Stewart says: “There are two types of people — those who are right and those who are pleasant.”

I recommend pleasant!