Nature & Science
Last week, for a change, Sunday was hump day.
Though it wasn’t the middle of the week, it was definitely hump day for the whale watchers who were called to a secluded south shore beach.
Around the Vineyard in Eight Hours
By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL
A badly decomposed 37-foot young humpback whale washed up on South Beach on Friday night.
Sgt. Matthew Bass of the state environmental police said the whale was first spotted in the wash Friday afternoon, in an out of reach on a private beach near Job’s Neck Pond.
By LYNNE IRONS
Here we go . . . heading into another summer season. The other day while sitting in a line of traffic, I noticed people getting cut off and thought it was early to have extra people here so soon. I realized it was the anxiety-riddled workers hustling around, trying to prepare for the arrival of their off-Island customers. It was nice to come to a place of gratitude for gainful employment regardless of the angst it produces the week of Memorial Day.
The birding community welcomes home bird photographer Lanny McDowell! And speaking of the birding community, it is always fun to put 25 birders in one house and listen to the conversations. What follows is a sampler:
• “You heard a whippoorwill. I am envious, I haven’t heard one in years. Remember when you used to bump them off the dirt roads when you drove them at night? The darned feral cats, skunks and raccoons eat their eggs — easy prey as their nests are on the ground.”
Not having a television, I was unaware (until someone mentioned it) that there’s a Wisteria Lane that holds a special place in the prime-time lineup.
Wisteria may or may not have a special place in your heart, but it will have a big place in your yard if you don’t keep an eye (and a pruner) out. Notorious for its rapid growth and strangling potential, wisteria is a plant to be reckoned with.
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.