There has been a good deal of complaining about the chilly and often rainy weather. Mother Nature does not seem to mind. She has put out her best May effort. In just the past few days spring has really sprung.

The quinces and cherries are in full and glorious bloom. Forsythia and daffodils are still holding their own.

For some reason the deer didn’t get around to my red emperor tulips. They are fabulous in a bed of vinca and daffodils. They polished off all the rest of the tulips and hyacinths. I have no one to blame but myself. I have a five-gallon bucket of concentrated Bobbex which I’ve been meaning to pry open and dilute for the sprayer. My grandmother always said “The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” There you have it.

One lovely combination is a stand of mature helleborus nestled into about-to-bloom Virginia bluebells. Now that is a wonderful addition to the early spring garden. I never see the bluebells for sale in the nurseries but no matter — they spread like crazy if you are lucky enough to get a slip from a friend.

For years I had a lovely tree peony. It hasn’t done very well the past few seasons. Yesterday, I noticed it is reverting back to an herbaceous one. The entire bottom of a single stalk is a regular peony.

I know that roses are guilty of this behavior. Often a favorite pink will die and the next year a very healthy muddy red will take its place. It comes up from the root on to which the hybrid was grafted.

Lots of action in the vegetable garden. Peas, onions, fava beans, parsley and beets are outside in the ground at last.

My hoophouse is entirely too hot for the early greens. I had spinach go to seed at an inch tall for Pete’s sake. I think I’ll turn over the soil and prepare for peppers, eggplants and tomatoes. They love the heat and do better than outside. Many of the Island commercial farms plant in their hoops — it extends the season a couple of weeks on each end of summer.

Dan Sternbach has been selling his own Island-grown flour at Mermaid Farm — both wheat and rye. I tracked him down and bought several five-pound bags of Red Fife wheat berries. I had the bright idea that I would grind my own flour (I have a hand grinder). I wonder if I actually believed that? At any rate, I’ve been cooking those berries and enjoying them on salads. I put some of the cooked, soft berries into my last batch of bread. Somehow they turned hard and crunchy again during the baking of said bread. I had the same experience putting cooked brown rice into bread. It seems odd. I soaked it in milk and egg for some save-the-day French toast.

What a world!!! The most interesting and reasonable talk and news show guest is a lawyer for a porn star out to sue our sitting president. “America’s Dad,” Bill Cosby is convicted of serial rape. DJT is claiming victory in getting the two Koreas together. His fans are screaming for the Nobel Peace prize. The White House chief of staff calls his boss an “idiot.”

Finally, Benjamin Netanyahu dragged out old evidence to convince Trump to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal. He need not have bothered. He just could have reminded the President that Obama did it. All things Obama have to go in this White House.