We are incredibly fortunate to live here in the Northeast. The three major hurricanes our country experienced this fall stayed far to our south. The worst weather story this week, however, is the fast-moving deadly fire in California. It was driven by 50 mph winds. Dear God. People barely had time to grab their car keys in order to escape with their lives. Hopefully, I’ll remember this the next time I dare to complain about the weather.

There is a nice stewartia blooming on the left-hand side of the down-Island Cronig’s entrance. It is a particularly nice tree, with exfoliating bark and late summer flowers. I have a small one which has yet to bloom. Speaking of Cronig’s, I’m a supporter of the store. I signed up for the discount card. As opposed to the Island Club card it was free and included my family members. I especially like the landscaping and being able to park in the shade of solar panels. Oh, and by the way, I always get a parking space. The store offers quite a few Island-grown products.

I cannot remember a fall when I’ve had such an extraordinary number of slugs and snails in the garden. Ewww. I hate them. They are devouring my pathetic tomatoes. Once, years ago, I was weeding in an overgrown section in my bare feet. All of a sudden I had a sharp pain in my big toe. It was a slug hanging on for dear life. Yuck. I wear boots nowadays. I’ve been canning like a crazy person. I had a bumper crop of small sugar pumpkins and winter squashes.

My usual routine is storing them on the floor of the pantry. They promptly rot and remove the floor finish. This year I have been cooking and canning them. They require a pressure cooker set at 10 pounds for almost an hour. No matter, I hang around the kitchen keeping an eye on the pressure valve.

In the 1970s I used a Presto cooker but became irritated at replacing the seal every so often. Then during the Y2K scare I purchased an All American. It cost a couple of hundred dollars but has more than paid for itself. Pressure cookers can be intimidating but reading directions is a big plus. Only once have I been involved in a mishap. Friends, Sharlee and Gale, forced it open — oops! There was some scraping of applesauce from the ceiling and tending of burns. Then, we read the directions — Never Force the Pressure Cooker. Live and occasionally learn.

Hope springs eternal. I planted radishes and lettuce this week. The radishes should be ready to eat in a month. I plan to transplant the baby lettuces into the hoop-house for the winter. I had terrible germination with lettuce this past season so I purchased some new seed and am hoping for the best. Spinach planted now will winter over under cover and stay nice. When I plant in the spring it bolts and goes to seed at about three inches tall.

Please, Mike Pence, spare me the sanctimony. The staged a walk-out of the football game in Indiana was downright ridiculous. This is the same man who stood silently when his running-mate called Viet Nam war hero John McCain a loser for getting captures. Oh, then let’s not forget the disparaging of Gold Star parents, the Khans. Again, Mike Pence said nothing.

The protesters are not disrespecting the flag, veterans or the National Anthem. Police brutality and racial injustice are being addressed.

Wait, there’s more — the little escapade cost you and me a quarter of a million dollars.