It was too rainy and chilly at the beginning of the week to begin the major yard cleanup. This task is now necessary as a result of last Friday night’s scary wind event. I did not lose any major tree limbs but there are good sized branches here and there. The real problem is the amount of debris everywhere. We’re talking weed mat, milk crates, buckets, tarps and trash cans. Apparently, they had 80 mph gusts in Truro.

I’ve said it many times but it bears repeating: I hate the wind. It leaves me anxious and unsettled. Rain, snow and cold are my friends comparatively. I will say I’ve never been bored a day in my life. There are so many things to do and not enough time and energy to do them. The age-old story of life!

When a large tree is cut, it leaves a hole in the sky. To wit, check out the massive table-top sized stump next to North Tisbury Farm (the old Farmer Green’s place, or more recently Fiddlehead Farm). I was irritated to see the lovely newly-planted winter berries a couple of doors past the Tisbury Printer office. They are simply loaded with berries. My own sad specimens have nary a one. What the birds have not eaten are strewn all over the ground. The bushes are completely naked.

But my witch hazel is doing well and sporting a few blossoms. I have yet to drive past Middletown Nursery or Doris Billings’s place on Skiff avenue to see if their plants are blooming yet. Sometimes folks mistake them for forsythia.

Annual poppies and bachelor buttons have come up in my flower beds. This has to be a first this early in the year, although, I’ve had weeds growing all winter. Have we had a winter?

I picked the last of the sugar beets. They are still firm with nice greens. Unlike the last few years, the leeks are still edible even though some are still in the ground. I know I mentioned my well-intentioned plans to get them lifted and stored properly. Oh well. Take my advice, I’m not using it.

I took a road trip this weekend to visit colleges with Violet. Out in western Massachusetts there was just a sprinkling of snow. We had a great time. She is a wonderful traveling companion. She read the worn road map, handed me refreshments, and unlike many of her peers stayed off her cell phone. We listened to old Hazel Dickens CDs while traveling rural mountain roads. The area reminded me of my hometown, Rew, Pa.

I’ll do anything to avoid going through the tax receipts. I could never have a desk job. Its simply too annoying.

That’s all I have for this week. Any day now spring will come and there will be boatloads of column material.

Of late, one day of news seems like a week. Just on Tuesday, William Barr’s so-called Justice Department stepped into the Roger Stone case on behalf of DJT. A couple of federal prosecutors found it so troubling that they quit. Wonder how long it will take for Roger Stone, Paul Manafort and Mike Flynn to get their presidential pardon?

Then there is the endless speculation about the Democratic nomination process. I was interested that the three moderates in the race got more than double the New Hampshire primary votes than winner Bernie Sanders. Amy Klobuchar had a surprising finish. It is still a wide open race.

I’m a bit cynical, however, as cheaters do seem to win in this life, so there may be another disastrous four years ahead of the country. Have mercy. And it appears Trump’s Ukraine theory worked against Joe Biden. Just saying.