Nature & Science
The brightest planet in the evening sky is the red planet Mars. The planet is brilliant, close and a spectacle in the east in our evening sky. Mars is 54 million miles away, awfully close for a planet. Mars is closest to the Earth on Dec. 18, and in opposition Dec. 24.
The world around us is full of misnomers: hamburgers are not ham, tin foil is actually aluminum, and a shooting star is not a star. Nature has even more: koala bears are not bears, peanuts are not nuts, and a magpie is a bird, not a dessert.
This column is about a hornet that is not a hornet.
Bald-faced hornets are not true hornets. To call them hornets would be, well, a bald-faced lie. They are actually wasps, related to paper wasps and yellow jackets, and are identified by the white pattern on their face, if you cared to get that close.
It wasn’t exactly a summit conference, but selectmen from Chilmark and Aquinnah held a joint session on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of dredging Menemsha Pond. The two boards last met in Aquinnah roughly a year ago to discuss cell phone towers.
This time they met in Chilmark and the topic at hand was mutual concerns about the health of the pond that spans both towns.
Chappaquiddick has a powerful and stunning visitor from the North. Olsen Houghton and Joel Graves were between the Cape Pogue Gut and Cape Pogue Lighthouse on Dec. 2 and spotted a snowy owl working over the dunes. They were able to videotape the bird and watch it for quite a while.
By LYNNE IRONS
Last Saturday’s cold snap lit a fire under me. There were so many last (for me, first) minute winter preparations.
I stapled a bunch of grain bags over the hardware cloth windows of my hen house. The girls were mighty chilly last Friday night. When I closed their door that evening, their feathers were blowing around on them. I always feel sorry for birds in winter with their bare legs and feet.
It is fun to catch up on what has been seen on Island while we were away. I think this is the first time in years a rare bird didn’t show up while we were away. Maybe the jinx is broken.
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.