We normally have lots and lots of sun and low humidity. This spring, going into summer soon, has been just the opposite. There've been quite a few late fronts coming through, as well as all the rainy systems from the west coast. The sun didn't show up today until about 1:00 and it's still only popping out a few minutes at a time, and yesterday it was cloudy most of the day. The coming week they're calling for mostly or partly cloudy and chances for rain most days. Maybe El Nino has something to do with it.
That's my favorite way, but battered and baked is good. So is boiled, though some people think it's slimy that way. Okra salad is good, made with batter fried okra, tomatoes, bacon, etc.
That's a shame about trees. It gets so hot here during the summer that we take all the shade we can get, helps the A/C not run as much. Plus we just like trees. I've let a number of various firs grow that have come up from wind-blown seeds.
Must have to do with the Amish bonding traditions. There are lots of Amish where my husband grew up in NY.
Some folks like to do things like that to get under our skin.