Temperature: Precip.

Day Max. Min. Inches.

Fº Fº

March 11 48 42 .06

March 12 51 36 .46

March 13 48 37 .00

March 14 53 38 .00

March 15 42 26 .01

March 16 45 33 .00

March 17 48 37 .43

Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 47º F.

Tomorrow night’s full moon has the name Mud Moon. The Old Farmer’s Almanac calls it the Worm Moon, but on the Vineyard, we don’t see worms for weeks to come. We’ve got mud.

March 14 was the magical day when several signs of spring flew in, even though they were accompanied by a tad of snow in the afternoon. Fortunately, the snow did not stick around, but the signs of spring will.

Felix Neck is offering Fern and Feather Natural History Day Camp scholarships and discounts to year-round Vineyard residents again this year. Its camp offers children an opportunity to experience the outdoors on a 350-acre wildlife sanctuary while exploring forest, field, salt marsh, fresh water and saltwater communities. Each weekly theme incorporates outdoor investigation, games, hands-on natural history lessons, hikes, stories and crafts. Programs are available for children entering grades pre-kindergarten through eighth grade.

The science of bacteria provides one instance of how quickly our knowledge can change. Our understanding about the importance of bacteria has changed dramatically since 1975. A standard college-level biology textbook written in 1975 says that there are about 3,000 species of bacteria, and presents material about bacteria on 25 of its 1,000 pages.

Tomorrow night’s first quarter moon appears high in the west in the zodiacal constellation Taurus, soon after sunset. The moon hangs in the western sky for hours.