Nature & Science
Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary is expanding its citizen science program to protect coastal birds and wildlife by involving citizens, working side by side with scientists, to protect the nature of Martha’s Vineyard.
Winter Gardening
Ground frozen, snow forecast and the smart birds munching Spanish speaking worms down Mexico or South America way. So, time to start gardening, right?
Crazy as it sounds, it’s true. Waiting on the warmth to start laying the foundation for a summer garden is a quick ticket to a long summer killing time in line at the store for your fruits and veggies.
Temperature: Precip.
Day Max. Min. Inches.
Fº Fº
Jan. 21 41 27 .43
Jan. 22 42 18 .00
Jan. 23 29 17 .00
Jan. 24 25 4 .00
Jan. 25 32 6 Trace*
Jan. 26 37 22 Trace*
Jan. 27 34 26 1.02”
*Melted Precipitation
“Look, there is a rose-colored bird on the feeder that looks like it’s been in a train wreck. Its bill is all bent out of shape.”
“Cool, it is a white-winged crossbill, and that is the way the bill is supposed to be. I have been hoping the crossbills would come to our feeder; they have been seen in several places on the Vineyard and even on Chappaquiddick.”
If you heard the news, go to the “head” of the class.
Hot off the presses is the report that there is a new treatment for the perennial problem that plagues parents and schools everywhere. Lice now have a new enemy. After years of acclimating to traditional treatments and evolving resistant strains, the bugs will now have to contend with a new FDA-approved drug that gives parents a lice-ense to kill.
Colony Collapse Disorder: Although not a household name yet, it is a phenomenom affecting the way we live and eat.
Honeybees, an essential link via pollination in the survival chain of hundreds of species of fruits and vegetables, are disappearing all across the planet.
On Sunday, Feb. 13, at the Chilmark Community Center, Slow Food MV will present a screening of The Vanishing of the Bees which documents this mysterious and potentially devastating epidemic. The movie is part of their Bee My Honey Brunch which runs from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
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.