We’ve had several nice days with low humidity. Even though it’s quite warm, it’s been pleasant, especially in the shade.

Speaking of which, I set up a couple of beach umbrellas in the vegetable garden. It’s remarkable how much more enjoyable weeding can be.

I’m not a big fan of the sun. I cover myself from head to toe and never use sunscreen. I hate how it seems to baste a person’s skin. I find a cotton long-sleeved shirt is actually cooler. Also, it eliminates the need for bug spray and/or Tecnu in the event of poison ivy exposure.

Speaking of bug spray, my son Reuben discovered that it works as a substitute for WD-40 on rusty clippers. Who knew?

The front yard of Tisbury Printer is loaded with butterfly weed. It’s so pretty when you head past Chicken Alley.

The yellow Russian hollyhocks have seen better days, but once again they made a statement in June and July. They are the only true perennial hollyhock. I’ve had a stand of them for decades. Every year I mean to save some seeds. Isn’t there a road to that well-known place paved with good intentions?

I inadvertently pulled up a milkweed plant recently. The undersides of the leaves were coated with the larvae of monarch butterflies. I hung the dead plant among the live ones in hopes that the babies would move over.

Because I planted my tomatoes so late I am finally harvesting a few Sun Golds. It’s been a long year. I never buy tomatoes off-season, so when they finally arrive it is a real treat.

Any day now the main crop should be ripening. I have dozens of paste tomatoes planted. Most of them are of the determinate variety, so they have a determined amount of fruit possible and will pretty much ripen all at once. Therefore a large amount is available to process all at the same time.

I run them through the Squeezo Strainer to remove seeds and skin. I use a pressure canner to can the resulting juice. It can be made into sauce mid-winter when there is more time.

The indeterminate tomatoes would continue producing endlessly if they did not freeze and/or get pests or disease.

Be careful about complaining. I do it repeatedly concerning the hauling of hoses. Now my well is on the fritz in the big vegetable garden. This is a distance from my house, so I am driving there with buckets of water. Honestly, can a person catch a break?

I felt badly turning on the sprinklers at home for the perennial beds. I felt like I was cheating on the vegetables.

Sometimes I wonder if the people at the Trump rallies are actually members of a cult. They will believe him in the face of all known facts. His constant, hateful rhetoric has borne fruit again. Another crazy white guy took his words to heart and went on a killing spree.

I changed the adage for my children: Sticks and stones may break some bones but words can hurt forever.

I find it curious that in present-day America, white men are suddenly victims. DJT is always complaining that he isn’t treated fairly. Who has lead a more “fair” life? I’ve said it before — the man has a gold toilet for Pete’s sake. He has weaponized hate rather than mobilizing hope.

I saw a bumper sticker — any functioning adult 2020.