The Vineyard must have several plant zones. I have frozen at least five times, requiring the busting of ice on the chicken’s water in the morning. Conversely, one of the properties I do in Aquinnah still has blooming geraniums and osteospermums.

Beetlebung Farm stand has large planters in the front of the store. Some nasturtiums from summer must have dropped some seed as there are small plants growing in the gravel next to the pots.

Nature never ceases to amaze. While leaving a Farm Neck property on Tuesday, I saw a lone crow on the row of mailboxes. At least two dozen turkeys circled around it. I guess they were waiting for some sort of lecture.

A weed forsythia is blooming in my vegetable garden. There are three new flowers on my ancient lilac. Some daffodils are poking through in an ornamental pot. Only about a half an inch, but nonetheless recognizable.

I finally dug all the dahlias and tucked them into a cozy tote of peat moss for the winter. They can be stores in an unheated room or basement. An occasional check to see if they are slightly damp and hopefully safe from mouse damage is all that is needed before spring. If only I had labeled them as to color and size I could be smug. Sadly, I do not live in that world.

Violet and I enjoyed several Honey Nut Squash. Each one was a couple of bites, but so sweet and delicious. They are the only squash variety I grew this year, which amounted to anything. Good thing Ghost Island has a bumper crop of butternut. Violet’s photo this week shows how tiny there are — never mind the enormous cabbage.

My to-do list is still quite long. The long-range forecast is for snow and cold. We’ve had a long stretch of mild winters so I have become complacent. It’s almost laughable that I still have some early summer weeding to be done. There are some thigh-high stands of mugwort looking at me accusingly.

I have a new irritation from deer. Every night I see their fresh prints. They come right to my front door and knock down winter berries. I cannot tell if they are eating them or just being little jerks.

Speaking of jerks, does our president think he’s funny or simply hates women reporters. The name-calling is becoming tiresome and I find it especially upsetting that none of the other reporters speak up when he calls a woman low IQ or “piggy.” It would be refreshing if someone could remind him that the press has a constitutional right to ask questions.

Oh! By the way, he is an employee of us taxpayers, so actually we the people (including reporters) are his boss. We get to say “you’re fired” in a couple years.

In other more uplifting news, 70 years ago on Dec. 1, Rosa Parks refused to get up and sparked the Montgomery bus boycott.