Nature & Science
Like the rest of the country, the Vineyard will shift from Standard to Daylight Saving Time on Sunday morning. “Spring forward, fall back,” as they say. The concept is that clocks should be turned back an hour. But for those who own old windup clocks, and many with battery-run mechanical clocks, it is better to turn the clock forward eleven hours. Turning a clock ahead instead of back is less punishment on the interior delicate gears.
We’ve got trouble and it is not in River City. Trouble, trouble, trouble right here on Martha’s Vineyard.
Trouble for the botanist, trouble for the homeowner and trouble for our plants and landscapes: trouble, trouble, trouble.
Somehow, birds that should not be here sometimes are here. According to the books these birds should be found far away. Then one shows up. The birds, as birders like to comment on occasion, do not read the books.
Wind farms have long provoked a certain cognitive dissonance among environmentalists, who favor renewable energy but oppose the negative impacts of turbines, including bird strikes and habitat displacement. The effects of turbines on bird populations are fairly well understood after a decade of European experience but less is known about their impact underwater, especially on local species of whales and sea turtles.
Temperature: Precip.
Day Max. Min. Inches.
Fº Fº
Oct. 22 63 38 .22
Oct. 23 52 41 .00
Oct. 24 58 44 .00
Oct. 25 60 52 .00
Oct. 26 66 60 Trace
Oct. 27 68 61 .00
Oct. 28 66 62 1.81
Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 63º F.
The planet Venus is about as close to the earth as it gets, about 25 million miles away. Finding it in the sky is especially difficult right now, because it is between the earth and the sun. But spotting will get easier in the mornings ahead. Earth’s nearest neighbor has shifted from being a sunset to a sunrise planet.
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.