My friend Dinah’s mother used to say that the weather patterns on the Island changed when they dug the Cape Cod Canal. This is probably a reason that everywhere else gets rain and we never do in the summer. It’s a bit depressing to see plants languishing for lack of water. I’m doing my best trying to keep up with the hauling of hoses.

One good thing about the garden being dry . . . the garlic was ready to harvest. I grew three types this year — one hard neck and two soft necks. The soft necks are not only braidable but will store well until spring. Hard necks, on the other hand, should be used first. They tend to lose their appeal by mid-winter. They are, however, much easier to prepare. They usually have just six good-sized cloves around that hard neck.

I am curing them in my greenhouse for a few days, then cutting the tops for a few more curing days before storage in a cool, dark spot. This year, I’m going to save some of the biggest and best to replant in the fall. I usually only replant for a couple years then freshen the stock.

The Queen Anne’s lace is blooming all over the place. A fun project for children, especially in the time of Covid, is gathering several of the flowers and placing their stems in various jars of water and food coloring. The white flower will take up the color in a few days.

I noticed the Betty Corning clematis still in bloom at the entrance to Heather Gardens. It’s been several weeks now.

There is a very nice mimosa in bloom at the mailbox area at the head of Snake Hollow.

Growing up in Rew, Penn., we had plenty of hollows up the sides of the mountains. Of course, we called them “hollers.”

Violet and I are big cabbage fans. Sometimes we eat small ones like apples. This year, I grew Charleston Wakefield. It is the largest of the Wakefields, a cone-shaped variety. They are all matured already so I can see sauerkraut-making in the near future.

For years, I have planted Early Jersey Wakefield but think the Charleston is now my new favorite. It is an open-pollinated heirloom. I started it inside in March.

Cabbage is my go-to salad green in the summer. My lettuce seems to go to seed way too quickly. I’ll plant more lettuce and spinach in August for fall picking.

I saw a young woman walking on the wrong side of the road with her back to traffic. She was wearing earbuds and was texting. The irony was she was wearing a mask, so clearly she values her life and that of those around her. Too bad that life could be cut short on the side of the road.

Violet has made the decision to stay home this fall and take college classes on her computer. The other choice was online learning in a college dorm with no chance of developing college relationships. It’s a yeah-boo situation for us.

Donald Trump is remarkably shortsighted. He has rescinded his order to deport international students if they do not attend in-person classes. The economic havoc would be long-term. Those students pay full price at expensive universities, not to mention the impact on towns in which they are located.

It’s like the same reasoning that he and worst-secretary-of-education-ever, Betsy DeVos, have. If schools do not open, he wants to withhold federal funding. This is a time schools need more money, not less. Federal school money funds school lunch and breakfast for poor children. Is there no end to his cruelty?

He certainly would not defund the police but schools — no problem.

Then he has put sanctions on China for various reasons but not one word concerning the Russian bounties on American troops in Afghanistan. He’s hoping to tie Joe and Hunter Biden to China. Donald, no one is thinking about Biden and China. We want Covid and race relations addressed.