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From a NYT reader in Boston on the Serena Williams/Victoria Azarenka US Open women’s final this past weekend:

“I’m sure you and your family sat around agreeing with each other in a genteel pearl-clutching session about how dreadful, absolutely dreadful, it was to watch women overly exert themselves. Oh the horror!”

I was intrigued with Naomi Klein’s criticism of the “Big Green Groups” and found this is a term of art referring to the following well-funded organizations:

Defenders of Wildlife
Environmental Defense Fund
Greenpeace
National Audubon Society
National Wildlife Federation
Natural Resources Defense Council
The Nature Conservancy
Sierra Club
The Wilderness Society
World Wildlife Fund

In the words of activist Jeffrey St. Clair, Big Green has spawned the “ecological oxymorons of our time: ‘pollution credits,’ ‘re-created wetlands,’ ‘sustainable development.'”

Day before yesterday, Ron finally was able to unscrew the sign from the beach entrance at SPE. I did a bunch of weeding.

Yesterday, I brought the broken plexi to Falmouth Glass and Mirror, did a couple of loads of laundry, and started mowing the lawn here. Made veggie tacos. I finished mowing this morning and did some cleanup in the “oval”.

We sat ourselves in the jacuzzi at Sea Mist earlier this week. It was great until some shrill little kid entered the pool.

A muscle on my right shoulder blade has been bothering me. Ron grilled burgers for us tonight and had to switch out the propane tank. Glad I didn’t have to!

We went to Redfield for a lecture by Graham Brown, a local (Dennis) author who collaborated with Clive Custler on the NUMA series.

The best day of the summer is here, except that starting tomorrow, school buses will be clogging the roadways again.

We intended to get to the Sagamore for an anti-Pilgrim demonstration, but couldn’t make our way through traffic.

We joined some very nice ladies at the Oak Street overpass to wave goodbye to the tourists, something I’ve wanted to do for years. I discovered that it’s not that much fun unless you’re with a crowd, though: some fool flipped Ron and I the bird after the ladies left.

Unwilling to pay $20 to park at Sandy Neck beach, we’d boxed a lunch and ate it at Meetinghouse Farm while admiring their flower garden.

It’s been a poor weekend, weather-wise. After transfer station run yesterday, we crossed the bridge for cheaper gas and thwarted visits to the Old Company store and Tihonet Village. Ron lost his keys somewhere along the way but found them in the truck this morning.

Laughing fits last night folding laundry when Ron imitated Tantor the Elephant.

We took the train from the Plymouth station, point being to attend an afternoon rally for low-wage workers.

We used the opportunity to get Ron a Charlie card senior ID. We had plenty of time for dinner at South Station before getting the 6:15 back to Plymouth. Nice afternoon and evening altogether.

I tried an experiment this year, limiting fertilization to one application of 5-10-5 in the Spring.

Here’s what an urban gardener told the New York Times:

“She planted the melons in a fertile mix of potting soil, a little of her own compost, a couple of handfuls of calcified lime and a handful of what she calls Jeavons Mix. (The recipe, modified for a small amount, is from “How to Grow More Vegetables,” a book by John Jeavons.) Tonice keeps the mix in a plastic bucket with a lid, stashed in the closet. She also feeds her potted melons and tomatoes every other week with a half-strength solution of Neptune’s Harvest Organic Fish and Seaweed Fertilizer.”

As in the past, we’ve really enjoyed visiting the National Academy of Sciences’ Jonsson Center for their East Coast Distinctive Voices lecture series this summer.

Last night’s lecture by Cato T. Laurencin, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Institute for Regenerative Engineering, The University of Connecticut was an especially good one.

Well, I hope he’s correct.

Ed dropped by this morning for a brief visit while I was watering the veggie garden. I also gave the peony a good drink.

We picked up baked goods at the senior center; brought the truckload of brush to All Cape; delivered a full box of cans and bottles to the redemption center; and dropped off recyclables and trash at the transfer station.

Ron also changed the water filter/water pitcher filter.

Peter Randall came by.

Oh, yes, we cooked the lamb that our Peter gave us. Ron tended to it so I could go to Steering.

Fabulous weather, fireworks, visit with the Rooneys on Martha’s Vineyard and a terrific community get-together in Waquoit.

We did some hewing and hacking at Santuit Pond Estates, too.

Makes you glad and grateful to be alive, sez us.