Nature & Science
All of us have been impressed by the birds that have shown up at the old jetties at Harthaven this spring. The latest highlight is Alex Greene’s royal tern on June 8. This species now occurs regularly on the Vineyard in the late summer, but it is unusual in the spring. Another unusual spring tern is the black tern that Pete Gilmore found there on May 30, when he was searching for the sandwich tern that Alex had seen.
Newspaper man Horace Greeley was overly optimistic in his assessment of the outcome of the battle between human and pest. In the mid 1800s, he insisted that “Man is bigger than the potato bug and he will master it.” I hope Horace wasn’t a betting man.
Ghostly Gadabouts
Swimmers and sunbathers aren’t the only people moaning for their Vineyard summers to begin. There’s also the plethora of Island ghosts who habitually haunt the downtown streets of the Vineyard. But they are a shy lot, often passing unseen, through and around you.
Where is Venus now? This past Tuesday, the second closest planet to the sun passed between the Earth and the sun, appearing as a dot before our star. Many astronomers observed the unusual transit of Venus using special solar telescopes.
Temperature: Precip.
Day Max. Min. Inches.
Fº Fº
June 1 80 60 .00
June 2 69 54 .14
June 3 65 58 .58
June 4 70 53 Trace
June 5 56 52 .08
June 6 62 45 Trace
June 7 66 54 .05
Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 68º F.
You could blame the devil for spawning this horned plant.
Or you could hold Thomas Jefferson responsible for its appearance on America’s eastern beaches. In 1807, he planted its seeds at Monticello “in an oval bed southeast of the house.” No matter whom you fault, the mellow yellow blooms of the horned poppy are on our beaches to stay.
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.