Steve Bender, also known as the Grumpy Gardener, doesn’t mince words.

He is honest and forthright and speaks his mind. In his blog, posted June 29, 2009, he provides this advice to gardeners: “When anyone asks me what’s the best time to prune a mimosa, my instinctive response is, ‘Any time you can find a chainsaw.’”

Those are strong words for a strong plant that has become successfully entrenched in many lands.

Knowledge of the Atlantic great white shark has been relegated for too long to the fevered imaginations of nervous beachgoers and boaters. With the animals returning to the New England coastline in larger numbers, one state scientist with Vineyard roots is bringing that understanding out of the realm of the mythical and uncovering fascinating insights into this elusive two-ton, apex predator’s behavior.

Jamie O’Gorman stood in a field of summer squash and cucumbers at Morning Glory Farm in Edgartown on Saturday, looking over her shoulder, hoping that more volunteers would arrive at any minute. The field behind the peach orchard had only a few volunteers that afternoon to help the Island Grown Initiative’s gleaning program.