John Updike had a talent for finding beauty in not-so-beautiful places. For instance, he has waxed poetic about chicory, a plant that boldly grows in some questionable locations:  

In June 1965, conservationists concerned about development on the Lobsterville moors sent out letters to residents asking them to join the fight “to preserve the natural beauty of Martha’s Vineyard.” Fifty years later, the Vineyard Conservation Society endures, its mission unchanged.

With a PhD in ecology and a jaunty writing style, Carl Safina isn’t so much a science writer as he is a writer who is a scientist.

Without any federal or state permits, the Unicorn is likely nearing the end of her long residency in Menemsha harbor. Capt. Greg Mayhew recently sold his groundfish permit — the last on the Vineyard — to The Nature Conservancy.

There is a blue moon Friday but don’t go looking for a change in color. A blue moon is a full moon occurring on the last day of the month.

I was all set to write about the osprey population on the Vineyard but realized that shorebird migration was in full swing.