I heard a Mark Twain quote this week which has amused me for a few days. “A clear conscience is a sign of a bad memory.”

What a beautiful week. All my favorites are blooming. There is an ancient redbud in front of the Edgartown Fire Station. For weeks there was nothing and I feared for its demise. Then on Tuesday it was in full flower.

I am particularly fond of the Shasta Viburnum (V. plicatum f. tomentosum). I love the way it sports its flowers on top of the branches in much the same way a Kousa Dogwood does. That cultivar of dogwood is later than the old fashioned Cornus Florida which is blooming now. There are some old ones here and there in the woods. They seem to have gone out of style. I have heard that the variety has some sort of disease and hence the popularity of the Kousa, aka Korean.

I have an update on last week’s turtle rescue. He spent a day at the charter school where he was named Sheldon. He then took a road trip to the wetlands of Beetlebung corner. Happy trails, little guy.

The bridal wreath spirea are blooming. They are also a bit out of fashion. Why, I wonder? They are beautiful and smell great. I saw them along the fields of grapevines in Italy. They use them to define the edges of the different vineyards. I probably made that up but I did enjoy seeing them. People, please do not hack them into a round ball or hedge. They want to behave like a fountain.

Every morning when I drive Violet to school we admire the orange elephant on State Road past the Scottish Bakehouse. It seems so out of the place but yet so interesting.

Speaking of orange, I have a giant patch of wallflowers. They are a biennial. I planted a mass of them last spring and promptly forgot them, yet here they are in all their glory and, oh, what a lovely aroma.

I love the way the wisteria at Morrice Florist has covered the pergola. The flowers smell like grapes, by the way.

On State Road, right before the floral shop, there are a couple of nepeta growing out of a stone wall. There is plenty of time to admire them since traffic along that stretch of State Road has been backed up for days. Sigh.

Once again I have the cobbler’s children’s feet. I have yet to plant my potatoes or carrots, have done no significant weeding in my flower beds and have even neglected picking my own lettuce. Such is the way of the world, especially before the big beginning-of-summer weekend.

We always called it Decoration Day when I was growing up in Rew, Pa. I wonder when we switched to Memorial Day?

I’m proud of President Obama. It brought up a lot of feelings to see him in Viet Nam. He’s a man who was not yet in middle school when that conflict finally ended. For those of us older baby boomers, that war was the defining issue of our youth. It’s funny how many of our old enemies are now allies — Japan, Germany, Italy.

I’m waiting for the right wing to start the criticism. It must be difficult for them to see his approval ratings go up.

For weeks I’ve been joking that Trump will most likely bring up Vince Foster. Sure enough, it happened this week. He’s savvy, Mr. Trump. He has a way with innuendo that resonates with his supporters.