Nature & Science
Care about the Island’s future? Next weekend there will be a fun way to help shape it: the Island’s third annual Living Local Harvest Festival.
On Tuesday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. Peter Cabana will give a lecture, Wind Economics 101, at the Vineyard Haven library. The lecture will begin with the basics of wind generated electricity and then follow up with what has happened in Europe, the opportunities available to the United States and how Massachusetts is positioned to lead the nation. Mr.
“How dry I am, how dry I am
Nobody knows how dry I am”
(No hiccup necessary)
This ditty could be the theme song of dusty miller, a plant that grows in the desiccated dunes of the seashore. As a dune dweller, dusty miller has had to adapt or perish.
Janice Shields returns to the Polly Hill Arboretum on Saturday, Oct. 3 for her popular bench workshop. Each workshop participant will construct a garden bench using native eastern hardwoods. The pre-cut materials and connecting hardware will be provided by the instructor. This is a five hour workshop, designed for all skill levels. A tool list will be available. Ms. Shields has been designing and building rustic furniture since 1995, and teaches workshops all over the Northeast. Class runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., bring a bag lunch.
Bird identification puzzles, as with all mysteries, are great fun to work on and, best of all, to solve. Tuesday Pete Gilmore, Lanny McDowell and I were birding around the flower gardens at the Farm Institute in Katama. We watched several Savannah sparrows perched on the fences surrounding the garden, when suddenly another larger “sparrow” landed.
More fishermen are coming: the Vineyard community, sportsmen and local businesses are pooling their resources to greet the Monday arrival of five men and two women who were recently seriously injured during military service. The veterans are coming to fish the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, now entering its second week.
What better opportunity to bring out the best of the Vineyard than to share a local passion with those who have served their country?
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.