I usually start this weekly commentary with a mention of the week’s weather. It’s a life-long habit. My maternal grandmother, Nellie Armstrong, lived until I had children, well into her 90s. She wrote me often and sent along a crisp five dollar bill. All of her letters (which I have) started with the weather events that week in Rew, Pennsylvania.

My observation this week is wow! Lovely, in the 70s, low humidity and cool for a good night’s sleep. I will confess I could do without the pollen. Everyone is coughing and sneezing with itchy eyes. There is much to be desired in my perfect world in which I do not live.

Last week’s rainstorm brought most of the peonies to the ground. Wonder if I’ll ever get out those peony rings in a timely fashion?

One fun thing this week was the appearance of several enormous perfect white foxgloves tight in the middle of a brush and pricker pile. The ones I carefully tend are not nearly as stately. Go figure!

I probably mentioned this in the past but why do people say “figger.” I learned the word as “fig-your.” Of course this was back in the day when we learned cursive writing and how to count change back.

The multiflora roses are in full bloom. Hopefully you do not have any on the property as they will quickly take over everything. I noticed them all along the roadside up-Island. Give up hope of every uncovering a stone wall.

Short-lived but very nice are the flowers of locust trees. They are very fragrant but usually too high up to cut some for the table.
Speaking of smells, irises tend to smell like the color they are: purple grape, orange citrus, white vanilla. It’s subtle and hopefully covid did not rob you of a keen sense of smell.

For more than three decades, I had a palomino quarter horse named Daisy. This time of year she pastured in a field of her namesake. I see those fields everywhere. Check out Flanders Farm on North Road right before the Menemsha crossroads.

Last summer I grew boatloads of onions (from seed). They lasted in storage in storage until May. Some of the large sweet varieties i.e. Ailsa Craig do not last long in storage so I pickled several canner loads of them. Sliced thinly they are covered with a mixture of one quart vinegar (apple cider) to one cup honey. We’ve been enjoying them on burgers and grilled cheese sandwiches. They are still crisp without the “bite” of raw onions. Oh! I processed the pints in a 10 minute water bath.

Thanks to Violet the green bean seeds finally got planted. I prefer the Provider variety. They produce like crazy and are round, not flat. They hold up well in the canner as dilly beans — a family favorite. Often I plant them in succession so as not to be overwhelmed. Also, the later planted ones do not seem as vulnerable to the Mexican bean beetle.

Since I write on Tuesday, the news just broke about Hunter Biden’s guilty verdict. The Republican is most likely tempered with the decent behavior of Joe Biden. He said he accepts the outcome no matter what since he trusts our legal system. Good on him!

It’s rich that it is a gun charge connected with lying about drug addiction. I thought the big second amendment people wanted everyone carrying. I’m sure all of us know someone afflicted with the horrible disease of drug and alcohol addiction. I’m pretty sure lying about it is universal.