I swear, I’ll never complain about Mother Nature again. I’ve been following the ongoing volcano story in Hawaii. The fact that the toxic fumes resulting when hot lava reaches the ocean contain shards of glass is incredible. The lava coming down a major highway is advancing at about four miles per hour. I suppose a person could out walk it (for awhile). Yikes.

We, on the other hand, have had at least two sunny days in a couple of weeks. All is good, relatively.

I took a couple trips up-Island this past week. It’s remarkable how far behind the spring greening up-Island is compared to Vineyard Haven. Thanks to a heads up from friend, Phyllis, I admired the kerria on the Menemsha Crossroads near Menemsha Gate. You don’t see them often but are a great follow up to forsythia. They are a more vibrant yellow and have a nice green stem of winter interest.

The field at Nip and Tuck Farm is awash in butter cups. They are so cheerful. I have tons in my vegetable garden and am loathe to remove them. Also, some ajuga has escaped the bed and is bound for glory all across the paths and lawn. It’s blooming happily.

I noticed a Montana clematis at the entrance to Heather Gardens. It left the fence and is threaded up into a neighboring bush. It is one of my favorites. It blooms right around Memorial Day, attracts honeybees and has a pleasant vanilla fragrance.

Just past Tashmoo Farm on Lambert’s Cove Road at the turn off onto Northern

Pines Road is a lovely stand of old-fashioned single flowered rhododendrons. Almeida Reed planted them from seed back in the fifties. It’s worth a trip to see them.

For the past several weeks I’ve lost electricity in the middle of the night. I only know because the digital clock is blinking the wrong time in the morning. Is it just me?

The irises are about to bloom. I love them right before they open. They are so stately. They lend a nice structure to a bed regardless of the flower.

I finally got all the leeks planted. I seeded them in January and they were languishing in the seed tray. There are plenty of hours in the day now but my energy runs out sooner than it used to. I see where several folks have tomatoes and peppers in the ground. I’m not one of them. Hopefully, over the weekend.

The good news vegetable-wise is that there are plenty of greens for eating raw and cooking. Plus, I’m enjoying asparagus every day.

I bought a tiny brined chicken at The Larder. It was already cooked. I picked it off the bones and had garlic, collards, ziti and the chicken pieces several days for lunch. It’s expensive to buy local meat but wonderful and moral.

Oops, moral just slipped out. I’ve been thinking a lot about morality lately and the lack thereof. Everyday is a new adventure in our nation. Let’s see, we have Rudy Giuliani as Trump’s TV lawyer and our President going all Turkey’s President Erdogan on us. He has picked a major fight with the DOJ. This behavior is working world-wide for other dictators-to-be.

Mike Pence is still up on his moral high horse acting like he knows nothing about Russia or corruption.

I’m reading the Michael Isikoff, David Corn book Russian Roulette. I just started it and found out that the investigator in the 2006 poisoning in London of Alexander Litvinenko was none other than Christopher Steele (of dossier fame). I think I’ll rent the old movie, The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming.