Ralph Waldo Emerson observed, "Every wall is a door." His friend Henry David Thoreau noted that “Deep are the foundations of sincerity. Even stone walls have their foundation below the frost.” In either case, neither of them could be more right — about stone walls or sincerity.

In an effort to lower nitrogen amounts in Sengekontacket Pond, Edgartown and Oak Bluffs are embarking on a yearly project to grow oysters in the Major’s Cove area of the pond.

In Edgartown, shellfish constable Paul Bagnall told selectmen Tuesday that the shellfish committee is proposing spending $24,000 on 250,000 oyster seed for the pond. The original plan was to spend $48,500 on 500,000 oysters, but the amount was reduced because of the number of articles submitted for town meeting.

When the weather is fair and the sky clear, the Vineyard can feel like the top of the world. This is especially true in January. Typical winter conditions, such as steady air, bright stars and a transparent atmosphere, make for optimal stargazing conditions, on par with the best stargazing locations on Earth, including mountaintops. The most familiar constellations are also within view, high in the sky, at this time.

Sometimes there is that one person who has vision and energy and steps forward to lead the way. And in the process, things get done. Gray Bryan was just such a person, and when he died three weeks ago, the Vineyard lost a great friend. Gray Mac W. Bryan Jr. died on Dec. 29 at the age of 85. He was ahead of his time, at least when it came to water quality protection on the Vineyard.

Near the northern shore of Squibnocket Pond on a recent winter day, Tim Boland and Kristen Fauteux stood up to their necks in water, holding cameras, pruning shears and bulky bags high above their heads.

Mr. Boland, executive director of the Polly Hill Arboretum, and Ms. Fauteux, director of stewardship for the Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation, were in search of plant specimens that have not been documented in more than 60 years, and the only way to collect the specimens was by wading through the pond.

What a dirty trick! Old Zeus couldn’t get the girl, so he had to create a complicated ruse to possess her. In Roman poet Ovid’s book, Metamorphoses, Zeus’s subterfuge is described: