Nature & Science
While most of us know that it is not polite to spit, there are some who refuse to follow even this basic tenet of manners.
Visions of wide open spaces are what one thinks of when they hear the name prairie warbler. Unfortunately, this lovely yellowish warbler has not been named appropriately. Dendroica discolor is the prairie warbler’s Latin name. Loosely translated, this Latin moniker means multicolored dweller of trees. Now that aptly describes the prairie warbler. How prairie got into the mix remains a puzzle to me.
By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL
The 27th annual John Havlicek Celebrity Fishing Tournament made a lot of money for the Genesis Fund last weekend, and not all the draw was the celebrities who attended. Much of it had to do with good fishing, and that success was tied to Vineyard and Nantucket fishermen.
With the final numbers still being worked out, the long weekend event on the Vineyard grossed at least $340,000, slightly more than last year. The gathering included a live and silent auction at the Harbor View Hotel in Edgartown.
By LYNNE IRONS
The gibbous moon appears late tonight, low in the southeastern sky. The moon follows behind the bright planet Jupiter when it rises. The moon is two days past full and rises after 11 p.m. In the nights ahead, the moon rises even later.
The post-mortem report on the tiny bird was clinically graphic.
The chick was laterally compressed, with internal trauma to the right side, and hepatic, pulmonary and intestinal rupturing. The left eye contained sand grains adhered to the surface and compressed within, misshaping it. There was trauma to the left side of the brain and the pelvis was squashed out of alignment.
“The bird was otherwise in good condition, and results are consistent with the hypothesis that the chick died from being crushed,” the report said.
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.