Nature & Science
Temperature: Precip.
Day Max. Min. Inches.
Fº Fº
Sept. 7 72 61 .00
Sept. 8 81 67 .00
Sept. 9 80 66 .00
Sept. 10 83 64 .00
Sept. 11 72 65 Trace
Sept. 12 73 60 .53
Sept. 13 75 50 .00
Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 71º F.
Tonight after sunset, the thin crescent moon hangs low in the southwestern sky. The moon is moving from the zodiacal constellation Virgo to Libra.
It was 5:30 a.m. and still barely light over Tisbury Great Pond. I noted motion over the pond and saw two birds chasing one another. Then I heard a distinctive rattle and realized that the silhouettes I was watching were two belted kingfishers. I put the kettle on and settled in to sip my tea and watch the sun come up. As dawn broke the two kingfishers raced by low to the pond, then they banked and rose up over the embankment and flashed a single broad breast band: two male kingfishers.
You have to crawl before you learn to fly if you are a tussock moth.
Don’t have a hairy fit if you find one of these creepy, crawly, furry caterpillars. In the Island world of caterpillars, finding a tussock moth caterpillar should not ruin your day. At least, it isn’t a winter moth caterpillar and won’t be raining insect debris on your head during a jaunt in the woods or in your yard.
By LYNNE IRONS
I have no business writing a garden column. I should be doing a political blog, as if I knew how to blog. I can barely Google in a pinch.
There. I have set the stage.
Heidi Feldman dreams of dirt. “If you have dirt, you can do more farming,” she said this weekend. Ms. Feldman is picky about her dirt.
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.