We just completed yet another series of perfect days. I know folks in the southeast are keeping a close watch on the weather in the Caribbean, but so far we seem to be safe. It will be nice to put hurricane season behind us for another year. I do remember the perfect storm disaster, or no-named storm, that occurred in late October in 1991 — and not fondly.

There is much beauty in the late summer/early fall gardens. Certain plants are coming into their own. I’m not a fan of the “bomb” type mums that are filling the nurseries. Folks like to set them alongside a pumpkin. Speaking of which, every grocery, nursery and farm stand is overflowing with them. Thanks to various critters my own did not produce any to speak of.

Back to mums, I prefer the actual garden variety. They are available in the perennial section. The Clara Curtis or Sheffield Pink cultivars are amazing. They are just beginning to bloom, come back reliably every year and spread like crazy. They do not seem to be bothered by pests or critters. A property on South Water street has them escaping the fence along the street opposite the Federated Church parsonage (now a construction site).

  Another lovely fall bloomer is anemone. There is a white one at the doorstep of Middletown nursery. I believe it is the Honorine Jobert variety. There are spring-blooming anemones also called windflowers. They are a ground covering plant that can be planted as bulbs in the fall. The fall varieties, conversely, are quite tall and usually in white or pink. You’ll be happy if you pick up one now on sale.

The viburnums are sporting their fall colors and some varieties have colorful berries. Skimmia, an evergreen shade-loving shrub is covered with its holly-like berries. Its advantage is no sharp leaves and not deer food.

As mentioned a few weeks ago, several annuals are still on the job. Alyssum will often last in a window box to beef up the Christmas greens. Lantana, another favorite of mine and thankfully avoided by deer, is especially pretty right now. After the flower fades, it is replaced with a teal berry. The two annual beds flanking the entrance to Farm Neck are holding their own.

The Edgartown-West Tisbury Road near the dump, sadly, has roadsides covered in trash. Clearly, it is debris which fell off trucks on the way to the facility. We are talking large items. People, do you use your rear-view mirror? A good citizen and responsible steward of our common land might hop out and secure the load.

Growing up in the fifties and sixties, I recall that drivers often tossed trash from moving vehicles. We seemed to become more aware in the seventies, what with the first Earth Day in 1970. The event led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency to the everlasting credit given to Richard Nixon.

I’m wandering around now in my writing. I cannot bring myself to really comment on the state of our democracy, economy and the dying favor of the Unites States of America in the eyes of the world. I do not get enough credit for not saying what I really think.