By the time this hits the newsstands, the annual Agricultural Fair will be in full swing. Hopefully, the low humidity will stick around for the four-day affair.

When the children were small, we entered quite a few items into the competition, including rabbits and chickens. Our house bunny, BunBun, a gray lop-eared angora, won a coveted blue ribbon. We always loved spending time in the barn admiring animals.

Some major clean-up is in order for the perennial flower beds. The spent day lilies especially need attention. The dead flower stalks can be pulled out or at least cut back to green. They really look sad. While at it, the pulling of the brown leaves is not entirely unpleasant. I sit on a bucket and try to not think about anything at all.

I complain endlessly about the deer. One of my customers remarked, “They were here first.” After the total destruction of a large hosta bed, I’m not the least sympathetic.

A new first is the chomping of my coral bells and the agapanthus flowers of all things.

I usually use Skiff avenue and Lagoon Pond Road enroute to the Vineyard Haven Post Office. I noticed the phragmites are back strong as ever. Years ago, I did a property at the end of Northern Pines Road. There was a small pond before the sand dunes and beach. The customer had us in the pond wearing waders pulling out the invasive plants and placing them in small boats tied to our waists. It was a days-long task. The following summer, they were back. There you have it.

Nowadays, I simply try to enjoy seeing them. Yet another thing in life over which I have no control.

One happy garden observation this week (speaking of “out of my control”) was the reseeding of sugar beets. I had neglected to pull one last fall. It flowered, went to seed and reproduced tons of new babies.

The beet itself is very sweet (almost too sweet) but the greens are wonderful in salads, smoothies or a quick sauté. The root was originally grown for livestock feed and, of course, beet sugar.

I’ve often said, “Take my advice, I’m not using it.” It really applies to two more examples from this week’s garden tasks. Think twice before planting climbing hydrangeas on a shingled structure. The plant will get under the shingles and even worry itself inside eventually. It’s great plant material for a trellis or fence, just not the house.

Secondly, if you want ornamental grasses, avoid the narrow-leafed miscanthus variety. It reseeds everywhere and not in a good way. I was weeding it out of a patio without gloves (as one does) and got an impressive “paper” cut on the insides of my weeding fingers.

These little seedlings looked like harmless grass.

Thanks to my big helper Violet, we got a few beds planted with buckwheat. It will be killed by frost but improves the soil structure, is beloved by honeybees and is downright beautiful.

What an incredible few weeks in politics world. Polls are shifting, folks are enthused, and DJT is understandably beside himself. Wonder if the mainstream media will ever apply the same standard to him as they did to Joe Biden? Now he’s the old guy who forgets words. The only difference is that he’s mean, and people seem afraid of him.

The bad news for him is that Kamala and Tim aren’t afraid.