I’m a broken record. I’ve done nothing all week but complain about the lack of rain. My friend Phyllis called to say “what’s that stuff called that used to fall from the sky?”

I did hear on NPR that we are in the middle of a drought. I felt somewhat validated in my whining. Oh well, as we know, the weather, like family members, does not respond to criticism.

I felt hopeless this week navigating the garden world. As well as dry, powdery soil, two of my places were decimated by deer. They ate every single daylily and Asiatic lily bed. They ate several phlox practically to the ground and polished off all the P.G. hydrangeas.

Once again, I only have myself to blame. I neglected my weekly application of Bobbex for a few weeks. I do feel for the poor creatures. They are thirsty but seriously, could they share?

Marie mentioned the Cape Cod Rambling rose insinuating itself up into a tree at the Menemsha Crossroads. Check it out, right across from the church. It is slightly past its prime, but so are some of us.

I came down-Island on North Road on that sweltering day in my 1980s pickup truck. It has no air conditioning so I was very grateful for all the shade on the road. I was happy I wasn’t somewhere in American on a highway in traffic.

This spring I mentioned the Shasta viburnums in front of State Road Restaurant in North Tisbury. They are covered with attractive berries which I’m sure the birds will enjoy when they ripen.

Now is the time to take advantage of some of the nursery sales. Some of the annuals still look presentable and can brighten the perennial beds which are a bit shabby now. So many of the favorites have gone by — peonies, irises, poppies and the June-blooming roses.

Don’t forget, oriental poppies completely die back in the summer. Do not pull them up as they will come back in the fall and then bloom again next spring.

It’s great to see all the solar panels going up. The new building next to the Stop & Shop at Five Corners looks like it is getting fitted for them. It has great southern exposure.

It’s been an incredible news week. From Nice, France to the failed coup in Turkey, police shootings in Baton Rouge, I hardly know where to start. It’s Tuesday as I write this so only one day of the Republican National convention has passed. I thought my comments would head towards the open-carry law in the state of Ohio. There were photos of people with assault rifles strapped to their backs. I feared Cleveland could turn into the O.K. Corral.

But then Melania Trump gave her speech. I feel for her. She could not have wanted to talk to 10 or 20 million people. The speech writers must not realize there is Google now. Supposedly, the Donald only hires the smartest people (his words). They couldn’t copy Nancy Reagan or Laura Bush? Honestly, Michelle Obama is that crowd’s third least favorite person on the planet next to her husband and Hillary.