Wow! The thunderstorm Monday night over to Tuesday early morning was pretty impressive. We’re talking downright scary. The old dog is now so deaf she did not seem to notice. Good thing for her as in the past she hated storms. Wish I could have slept right through it as well.

Happily, we did get a useful amount of rain. The ground has been very dry of late.

A rainy day brings out an inordinate onslaught of traffic. Vacationing folks looking for something to do, I suspect.

I have two favorite plants that I never see in the nurseries — or in anyone’s gardens for that matter. Both of mine are seed-grown. For several years I have seeded the annual called melampodium. It is a short, yellow-flowered border plant that doesn’t need deadheading and looks good in all seasons.

For the first time, I found some reseeded babies in a window box. I’m trying to bring them along even though Tuesday’s rain had them floating in a container. Oops.

The other interesting favorite is the narrow-leafed echinacea. As its name suggests, the leaves are unlike others in the coneflower family and the flower stems are particularly tall above the leaves. I started it from seed I purchased from Select Seed Company. The company has many old favorites not commonly found in modern landscapes or nurseries.

One good thing about the traffic these days is the opportunity for rubbber-necking into folks’ yards.

Check out the bottom of Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road while in the queue to turn onto State Road. On the left about a city block from the intersection is a Cape Cod rambler rose of remarkable size.

Further down, the house at the end has two perfect climbers on either side of the porch steps.

Then on the State Road side of the corner, a beautiful purple rose has been there for years. It only blooms for a nanosecond, so I hope you see it!

I have some outstanding beets this year. Last year voles ate almost all of them . . . little jerks.

We’ve developed a love for the greens. Rumor has it that the Romans only ate the greens and discarded the root. How anyone knows that is beyond me.

Anyway, I’ve been sauteeing the greens and stems with baby onions and garlic scapes. A sprinkle of goat cheese makes the dish downright fancy and restaurant-worthy.

The relatively cool nights have elongated the lifespan of spring greens. Good thing, since I was late planting all the midsummer crops. The tomatoes and peppers are barely beginning to bloom, for Pete’s sake.

Hopefully, by the time this hits the press, I’ll be getting the rest of the squashes and melons out of their plug trays.

The green beans have barely broken ground and meanwhile there are only a couple more pickings of peas.

Last fall my 40-year old gas stove finally called it quits. It had a pilot light that was very handly for making dried produce. I sliced Principe Borghese tomatoes in half and left them in the oven on pilot for several days.

I put them in glass jars into the freezer.

After soaking for several days in olive oil, they are great on pizza or pasta.

What a world. The news out of Russia was a bit alarming, what with the mental stability of Putin and nuclear capability.

The Wagner mercenary military force was named after Richard Wagner, the famous German composer. We all know Ride of the Valkyries?

He was a favorite of Adolf Hitler. Just saying.