Nature & Science
An entertaining e-mail from Bob St. Germain reminded me that it is that time of year again. I must give my annual lecture on the importance of keeping a distance from bird nests and also slowing down on the roads. Birds passing across the Vineyard roads are undoubtedly carrying food for young at this time of year. If you hit one, then the nestlings or fledglings will have difficulty surviving.
The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has cut approximately 140 square miles from a wide swath of ocean south of the Vineyard potentially open to wind farm developers.
Bert Fischer had a spectacular avian experience on May 29. He was returning on his tractor from doing work in the field when he spotted a kettle of hawks flying overhead. A kettle of hawks is a basically a flock of hawks enjoying a thermal and circling in the sky. Bert didn’t recognize the hawks, so he drove home and ran and grabbed his camera and took two quick shots.
The hardest conker usually wins.
Methods for hardening your conker include soaking or boiling it in vinegar, baking it or painting it with varnish. Though there are many methods to firm up your conker, none is advised in this column, since doing so is considered cheating. So to be true, one must keep his or her conker pure, hardening it only with age.
Venus, the wonderful bright planet that has been a presence in our western sky since winter, is gone. Venus appears so close to the sun now that it cannot be seen.
Temperature: Precip.
Day Max. Min. Inches.
Fº Fº
May 25 68 55 Trace
May 26 66 60 .05
May 27 80 61 Trace
May 28 72 59 .00
May 29 75 58 Trace
May 30 80 63 .00
May 31 78 59 .05
Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 72º F.
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.