I took a quick trip out to Amherst to see Violet perform in a symphony orchestra. It was peak foliage and reminded me of the hills of Pennsylvania. We simply do not have the variety of seasonal colors here on the Vineyard. That is not to say it’s not pretty here but just not the same. Heading for the Mass Pike through Belchertown, Hadley and Palmer in the early morning, the yards and fields were white with frost. Any day now, we will experience the same.

The planting at the Triangle in Edgartown is particularly nice this season. There is a good amount of the annual lantana. It’s a great fill-in as deer hate it and the spent seed pod is a lovely teal color.

I ate my first salad of pea shoots. I usually grow them mid-winter on trays in the greenhouse. This year I planted a three by three foot square of them directly into the ground of the hoop house. Its sides and doors are still open. They came up in no time and were ready for cutting in a couple of weeks. I was so impressed, I planted another square this week.

I do have some baby lettuce and spinach but it is still too tiny for a decent-sized salad. The pea shoots do the job. Carrots that I planted in the aforementioned hoop house have germinated. They are barely recognizable . . . I almost need my reading glasses.

I have a little-leafed lilac whose proper name is boomerang. It is blooming like crazy for the second time. It seriously is the lowest of maintenance. I sprinkle a little lime on it now and then.

I took a break this year and did not order any fall bulbs. I made a promise to myself that I would either photograph or write down what I already have.

Often when planting in fall, I dig into a previous planting. In the past several years I have dug a hole about a foot around and placed at least five tulips or daffodils, covered with a couple inches of dirt and made another layer of crocuses. They grow nicely together and extend the bloom season.

For years, skunks would unearth them practically overnight to get at the bulb-tone and/or bone meal. Now I sprinkle a healthy amount on top of the soil. Pepe Le Pew licks it up and moves on.

For any of you English majors or linguistics experts, I have a question. The word figure was always prounced “fig-your.” Now everyone says “figger.” Which is correct?

I’m not a big fan of Halloween in general and the decorations in particular. While off-Island last week I had to leave a Home Depot. It was too bright and stimulating for me. I’m not meant for this world. There were plastic skeletons for sale at one hundred dollars. The people who purchase them probably complain about a twenty-five cent price hike for a gallon of gasoline.

My favorite seasonal decorations, however, are the Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School scarecrows. Violet attended that school and it was a fun time for the students preparing them for Island businesses.

They are not ghoulish and show some thought in the preparation — and, not to mention, they’re a great fundraiser.