Tonight’s thin crescent moon appears low in the southwestern sky. Look to the right of the moon and you’ll see the brilliant planet Venus, accompanied by two fainter planets, Mars and Saturn.

Temperature: Precip.

Day Max. Min. Inches.

Fº Fº

August 6 79 70 .82

August 7 87 59 .00

August 8 78 67 Trace

August 9 81 68 Trace

August 10 83 71 .03

August 11 87 70 .00

August 12 81 61 .00

Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 77º F.

On Saturday, August 14 Polly Hill Arboretum staff make their annual visit to Chappaquiddick to explore native plants along the trails near the Chappy Community Center.

From bog and wetland plants near Brine’s Pond to species common to the fields and woodlands, there are always interesting plants to identify and enjoy. Learn the natural and cultural history of some of these plants and how their presence may indicate past uses of the land.

It should be bonito season. The water is warm, well into the 70s. There are plenty of sand eels swimming near the shoreline and there are plenty of terns overhead feeding. The bonito should be here. But they mostly aren’t.

Friday, August 6: Partly sunny. A muggy afternoon. Temperature in the high 80s. Seven 12-metre sailboats are rafting at the Edgartown Yacht Club, under clear skies.

By LYNNE IRONS

Winter squash is a misnomer. For years I have saved them for post-summer meals. Thanks to the hideous squash bug, the vines are mostly dead and the squashes are no longer attached to anything. I see no point in leaving them in the field, probably to rot. On Saturday, Marie and I harvested a good number of hubbards, lakatas and spaghettis. We noticed that the Waltham butternut and the Tennessee sweet potato squash did not seem to be affected adversely by the bug. We left them to mature on the vine.