There were a few days last week that were downright unpleasant for outdoor activities. The wind was relentless and made every task much more difficult than necessary.

The beginning of this week, however, showed us spring-like weather that we expect — chilly in the morning but simply lovely by mid-day.

Violet’s photo this week is perennial candytuft (Iberis sempervirens). It’s a reliable spring bloomer that makes for a perfect border. It only grows about eight inches tall but quite wide. It’s especially nice tumbling over a stone wall. Its pure white blossoms set off other colors in the bed. A huge plus is its deer resistance. Violet took the dog for an after supper walk recently. Just as she left the driveway I saw three large deer waiting for her to pass and immediately began browsing in my garden. They are fearless nowadays. How I long for a young hunting dog before the time of leash laws.

I came across a seed packet of zinnias left over from 2019. I planted them and was surprised to see that the packet contained at least three times as many seeds as the one I recently purchased from the same company this year. Need I mention they cost more this year.

There are huge amounts of spitting cress in one area I was weeding recently. I was surprised that it had already gone to seed and was spitting at me as I pulled. Eye protection is a must and the handy Covid mask keeps the seeds from your nose and mouth.

There is a nice crop of purple dead nettle and dandelions at the roundabout. I actually prefer them to the liatris they put there some time ago. Most of it died and was never a personal favorite. I spend a lot of time in the fall cleaning up my hydrangeas. I remove dead flower heads and worry free dead branches. Nevertheless, the task needs to be done again. Now that new growth has emerged it’s obvious that I missed a lot. Hydrangeas are beginning to lose their appeal to me. They look ghastly a good deal of the year, are way over used, and require too much maintenance.

The vegetable garden is coming along. Thanks to a layer of plastic I’ve been eating lettuce and spinach daily. Even the transplants into open ground are read to be picked.

Since I ran out of my stored garlic a few weeks ago I have been pulling some reseeds in the garden paths. A clump yields 10 or 20 scallion-like stalks that give a fresh garlic flavor to a dish.

I went on the search for some plastic inserts for wooden window boxes. Everywhere I shopped I was told they were back ordered, as was much of their stock. I wondered if the kerfuffle in the Suez Canal a few weeks ago was the problem. Covid may have made our world so connected and so small it seems, but we were already there. Because I’m not much of a consumer, never go to the off-Island big box stores, have yet to use Amazon and already possess too many belongings, I feel out of the loop.

I do, however, consume the news. Where do I start about Tucker Carlson? Besides being ridiculously wealthy and an unashamed white supremacist, he is the top-rated host on Fox News. He outdid himself this week by encouraging his viewers to confront mask-wearing strangers in public and tell them to remove their masks as it makes him uncomfortable. Tucker, what’s uncomfortable is being hooked up to a ventilator dying of Covid. Over five million people watch his show every night. Have mercy!