Nature & Science
By LYNNE IRONS
There is a Paul Simon song with the following lyric: “Why am I soft in the middle when the rest of my life is so hard?” The sentence kept coming to mind last week during the hurried preparations for Hurricane Earl. I continued to overthink everything. Will this or that be blown away or should I put a rock on top and call it a day?
Hurricane Earl was a bust for bird watchers. A cast of thousands, all the Vineyard’s most active bird watchers, met at the Gay Head Cliffs on Saturday, Sept. 4 with high hopes. Although the winds were not much more than a northeaster, we were hopeful that some unusual bird species may have been carried to our Island from afar. No such luck. There were more bird watchers than birds.
Crop Walk
The Crop Walk planning meeting is Saturday, Sept. 11 at 5 p.m. at Grace Church in Vineyard Haven.
Bert Marshall, the walk’s regional director and singer-songwriter behind We Could Walk Together, will be the guest speaker.
The Crop Walk began 60 years ago as a means of raising funds to combat world hunger. It provides money for food, water and the transportation of these resources to those in need. This is the 20th annual walk on the Vineyard.
I would like a word with wind.
Or maybe a few words with wind. Windfall, windburn and windmill would all fit the bill.
Wordsmithing aside, the winds that were whipping last weekend during Hurricane Earl were simply not that worrisome. Hurricane Earl was a bust, but with wind you never know if it will be wild, winsome or wimpy.
Temperature: Precip.
Day Max. Min. Inches.
Fº Fº
August 27 80 60 .00
August 28 77 58 .00
August 29 77 61 .00
August 30 85 68 .00
August 31 87 66 .00
Sept. 1 91 70 .00
Sept. 2 92 70 .00
Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 77º F.
Martha’s Vineyard is a great place to make your last stand.
We have almost everything that one would need — food, water, space and shelter. But if you are an insect, the best thing that the Island has going for it is what didn’t happen here — widespread DDT spraying and the introduction of a predatory parasitoid fly.
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.