I was all set to make my usual opening comments concerning our weather when, instead, I switched on the weather channel. The first hurricane of the season, Agatha, touched down in western Mexico. There is a tornado in Oklahoma with two-inch hailstones. There is always something for which to be grateful in this life. Our weather this week was fabulous.

Last week I mentioned some favorite shrubs and trees. I would be remiss to forget about a couple of others. One just beginning to bloom is kolkwitzia, known commonly as beauty bush. It has a fountain-like habit and can get quite large — perhaps more than ten feet. I have one cozied up next to a red-leaf ninebark, aka physocarpus. They make a lovely mixed marriage.

The peonies are also just getting under way. They are particularly nice when paired with a couple of oriental poppies like white royal wedding or salmon-pink Princess Victoria Louise.

I’m not a wife so this cannot be classified as an old wives’ tale. I don’t know if this is scientific or even true but supposedly a peony needs ants to eat a waxy coating on its bud in order for it to bloom.

I also noticed the locust trees are blooming. Sadly most are located so high that their lovely scent cannot be accessed.

I had a couple of bird-related incidents this week. On my vegetable garden path, there were two intact eggshells a little larger than a chicken egg.

A little later, while hosing an area, I caused quite a ruckus when several baby turkeys ran off complaining loudly about getting wet.

Conversely, a bit later, while I continued to hose some transplants, a ruby-throated hummingbird flew right into the stream of water not more than a foot from me and enjoyed the shower. I was motionless and completely amazed.

I have a couple of favorite fairly new (to me) perennials. One is a yellow-leafed phygelius. It likes shade, performs well in a pot, has lime green flowers and comes back reliably for years. I think it sometimes is called cape fuchsia.

Several years ago, I picked up a gas plant. Dictamnus is a clump-forming perennial, quite tall, has pink flowers and is striking in the late spring border. In summer it can exude an oily substance that can, in fact, ignite.

This seemed barely credible so I went on the Google and watched a minute-long video of this phenomenon. I guess everything on the Internet is true.

Memorial Day has come and gone and here I am still with no tomatoes or beans in the ground. Don’t do as I do. Yikes. Good thing we have a long growing season.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about white evangelical Christians. I’m a lifelong churchgoer and their current political beliefs have never been mentioned in the thousands of sermons I’ve heard. I wonder if they ever open the Bible they use to hammer other people.

Then, as luck would have it, I saw a letter sent by a Lutheran minister to the editor of The New York Times on May 22. In part it said “Evangelicals are great evangelists — for atheism. The damage they have done to the Christian faith by embracing right wing politics and lunatic conspiracy theories is perhaps irreparable.

If they want respect from society, then I suggest they start living by the spirit and teaching of Jesus.”

There you have it.