I met Susan Wilder Hobby more than 30 years ago. I look at three pieces of her artwork daily: a barrel stave painting of Menemsha Texaco, a small watercolor of Station Menemsha, and a shadow box with dried flowers, shells and a few little trinkets that have since passed their prime but still bring me joy.

They all laughed at me and rolled their eyes when I said I thought I could smell a slight smoky aroma in the haze that enveloped us. Sure enough, that haze was courtesy of wildfires far, far way.

August is upon us so let’s all take a moment to revel in those words by Moliere: "Trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit."

After Hans Solmssen, with a great big smile on his face, described the fantastic state of his and Sally's household, my thoughts immediately went to a children's story by Cynthia Rylant titled The Relatives Came.

Eleven years ago, on the afternoon of July 12, island-wide alarms sounded. The USCG Station Menemsha boathouse was on fire.

It's July in New England and the tomato plants have tiny, happy, green tomatoes and I can't wait until one of my Lydia Fischer sungolds is, well, golden,

If you read the Farmers' Almanac or any other pamphlet, book or magazine, you may stumble across the words, "If anthills are high in July, the coming winter will be hard."

I read somewhere, although I can't recall where, that "some of the best memories are made in flip-flops." This quote seems so appropriate for the first official week of summer.

It's pretty common for folks to stop by the Texaco for a sweet ice cream novelty or for a few minutes to say hello and catch up.

Congratulations to the graduates of 2021. It has been a wild ride.