Nature & Science
Friday, Sept. 28: Rain in the morning. Warm damp tropical air. Dark clouds break in the early afternoon. Skies clear at 4 o’clock. Edgartown harbor is serene. Fishing boats are adrift near Memorial Wharf. Sailboat heads out of the harbor. Starry skies at night.
It’s the great Pumpkin Festival! Anyone who ventures into the growing pumpkin patch at Morning Glory Farm next Saturday, Oct. 13, need only wait until 11 a.m. for sightings of — if not the Great Pumpkin — at least pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie, pumpkin squares and, well, you get the idea.
Nonbelievers, too, can gobble up an Island-grown burger, carve their own Halloween pumpkin, crawl through the hay bale maze, or join the pumpkin tossing competition.
One of the top striped bass caught in the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby this past week had a rough journey off and back onto the derby leader board.
On Sunday evening, Lev Wlodyka, 28, of Chilmark weighed in a 57.56 pound striped bass.
But the fish, it turns out, had ingested 1.68 pounds of lead prior to being caught.
This was a big surprise to Mr. Wlodyka, not to mention to derby officials. They quickly disqualified the fish. The decision upset Mr. Wlodyka, for he had caught the fish using a hooked eel.
Concluding four years of negotiations, the Chilmark selectmen this week announced a three-way land swap which will open up a new conservation corridor between North and South Roads and create four affordable homesites in town.
The land swap involves the town, the Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank and the Hillman family, longtime summer residents who own property in Chilmark. No money will change hands in the deal. Final approval will be needed from Chilmark voters, the town planning board and also the state legislature.
The Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby is a folksy event that has also become a mature, sophisticated enterprise generating more tha
By LYNNE IRONS
Holy potatoes. As you may recall, in the spring, I tossed my potatoes into my old chicken yard, covered each with a flake of hay, and walked away. I didn’t do one bit of maintenance except for a good dose of water every ten days or so. At the risk of sounding a bit smug . . . I can’t believe the results. I now have more than three bushels of spuds in the kitchen.
Almanac
A comprehensive guide to weather and tides on the Island.
Vineyard Gardener
I guess this past week weather-wise is called a January thaw. We did not really experience it the last several years as December was unseasonably warm.
Farm & Field
Beige and brown and tan and black, with horns spiraled or semicircular or in undulating waves, a legion of goats marched up the hill toward us, bleating in anticipation of fresh grass and leaves.