Nature & Science
The state’s highest court this week rejected a wide-ranging challenge to a power contract between Cape Wind Associates and the utility National Grid.
In a pair of decisions, the Supreme Judicial Court sided with the state Department of Public Utilities, which last year approved the contract calling for Cape Wind to sell 50 per cent of the wind project’s power to the large utility that serves millions of consumers in Massachusetts and three other northeast states.
The gibbous moon appears close to the bright planet Jupiter on New Year’s Eve. It is even closer to the big planet on Monday night. The two appear high in the eastern sky after sunset and high in the south by midnight.
Hear ye, hear ye! Do not forget that the Vineyard’s Christmas Bird Count will take place on Monday, Jan. 2, from dawn to dusk, rain or shine. Vineyard birders will join tens of thousands of volunteers who are taking part in the oldest and largest demonstration of crowd science in the world. This count is in its 112th year so the data that has been gathered over the years has shown the world the changes in the environment and bird populations.
There is much ado over eelgrass. On the Vineyard the modest sea grass has brought dredging projects to a halt, thwarted would-be pier developers and has down-Island towns considering millions of dollars worth of sewering to restore water quality to a level amenable to the light-sensitive plant. Why all the fuss?
My holidays are all about food. In truth, my life is about food.
Forget the gifts and give me the delicious fare and heavenly aromas that accompany this special time of year. The scents of the season arouse the senses — ginger, cinnamon, spruce and fir trees, cloves, mace, bayberry, frankincense and myrrh are just a few.
Perhaps the finest smell and flavor of the season is redolent rosemary. It is more than just perfect for your holiday cooking.
If the weather cooperates, there is a rare opportunity to get some help seeing the distant and hard-to-spot planet Mercury close to the horizon tomorrow morning.
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.