Nature & Science
The walk to Great Rock Bight from the nearest parking area takes 15 or 20 minutes. This year, that extra mile or so could have been considered the true beginning of the annual Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank cross-Island hike. Best to have factored it into your plans, if you intended to meet up with the group of hikers before they set off on their 21-mile trek through the early-summer wilds of the Vineyard.
Sunday night’s full moon appears in the zodiacal constellation Scorpius. It is time for the Strawberry Moon. This is as far south as the Full Moon gets and it always takes place in June. Just as astronomers report that the noontime sun is at the highest on the day of summer solstice, the full moon of June is always the lowest full moon of the year.
Temperature: Precip.
Day Max. Min. Inches.
Fº Fº
May 29 61 52 .09
May 30 62 56 .27
May 31 74 51 .00
June 1 71 44 .00
June 2 64 53 .00
June 3 66 55 .03
June 4 70 54 .63
Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 64º F.
Bird watching or birding, you may call it what you wish, is great hobby, occupation, form of relaxation, and more than anything else is an ongoing education. The learning experience involved in birding is one that has kept me hooked on watching, reading about, talking to others about, and surfing the net for information about birds for lo these many years.
Friday, May 29: Mostly overcast. Skies darken as storm clouds pass overhead. Occasional rain. A midafternoon heavy shower. Pools of rainwater on the street have streaks of yellow pollen. Skies start to clear before sunset. Partly cloudy at night.
Felix Neck Wildlife Sanctuary will conduct new research with the help of citizen scientists, thanks to an environmental science research grant awarded by the Vermont Institute of Natural Science and the Student Conservation Association.
The grant provides funding for a conservation intern to work on wildlife research projects, including horseshoe crab monitoring, dragonfly and damselfly inventories, and breeding bird and salamander surveys.
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.