Nature & Science
On March 15, Luanne Johnson won the award for hearing the first red-winged blackbirds singing in a marsh.
Vineyard inshore fisheries almost came to a halt this winter, with ice more than a foot thick in some places. “This is probably one of the worst, if not the worst, winter we have ever had in terms of losing days fishing,” said West Tisbury shellfish constable Raymond Gale.
Spring is a week away and one of the change in season signs is “spring tide.”
It is finally getting a bit warmer, but since there is still snow on the ground, we need more signs of spring. This news about kestrels may help.
Wildlife tracker Tom Brown Jr. observes, “each day’s new landscape is like a new page, alive with the writings of animals.”
A complex and groundbreaking project that aims to bring back the heath hen is advancing “at lightning speed,” scientists said this week.
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.