For several days there have been some pretty spectacular cloud formations. I think they are called thunderheads although nothing came of them. The gardens are much drier than they should be this time of year. A good soaking once a week is better than a daily sip. The roots will stay at the surface if they are not watered deeply. Then the plants will suffer when more intense heat comes.

The wisteria is lovely right now. The pergola at Morrice the Florist is covered with it. There is an interesting one on the Edgartown Road between Skiff avenue and Mount Aldworth. It seems more like a tree than a vine.

My favorite though is right at the end of the Edgartown Road. The blooms are all alone, way up on a very large tree. There is plenty of time to notice it as you wait for some kind soul to let you onto State Road.

Once again the pasture at Nip and Tuck Farm next to Ghost Island Farm stand is awash in buttercups. I love them — they are so cheerful.

My Lily of the Valley is blooming. This only happens for about a week and then they look terrible the rest of the year. Forget ever trying to rid yourself of them. Once I dug up a huge patch and threw it in the woods upside down. It still lived and, in fact, spread all over the area.

I like to think I know my poppies. I can identify them in the spring when they are tiny. I recognize the Californias, opiums, orientals, Flanders and Icelandics. However, I’ve had a stand of them for decades and don’t know what they are — maybe Shirley’s. They are orange, last a week or so, spread like crazy, have the toothed leaf of an oriental but not the flower, and attract honey bees. Another of life’s little mysteries.

I’m overrun with aphids on the brassicas in the hoop house. I need to address the problem. Once my friend, Sharlee, and I ordered a container of lady bugs. We kept them in the fridge and released them into a similar aphid infested area. We never saw them again. We ordered them from someplace out west. We were later told that they went home. I guess I’m gullible enough to believe that.

I never emptied a few window boxes last fall. In the spring both miniature hastas and varigated vinca emerged. I cleaned them up and now the vinca is blooming and they look great. It’s a starter kit for this year’s.

When we emptied my mother’s house after her death we found an incredible amount of yarn. She was a life-long and daily knitter. We donated quite a bit. Violet made some items, but still there’s more. I keep it in the truck for quick tie-ups in the gardens. It bio-degrades and blends in.

I watched an off-Island landscaping company scoop up all the blooming daffodils at the Vineyard Haven post office. The daffodils and the pyracantha (home to birds) have been replaced with a wall of lockers. I guess we need more space to receive more stuff. Jeff Bezos is now a trillionaire and his company, Amazon, pays no taxes. I feel like I’m stuck in an endless George Carlin stand-up sow. A few weeks ago I whined about waiting over an hour to get on the scale at the dump. People were throwing stuff away to make room for new stuff.

I love a good conspiracy theory but this latest tops them all. Apparently, the anti-vaxers are now wearing masks finally to protect themselves from the vaccinated folks. They think exposure to them will make them infertile. Honestly, you could never make that up. At least they are wearing masks.