Foul weather predicted for this weekend may hinder but it won’t slow down the enthusiasts participating in the 63rd annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. Fishing is at a fever pitch.

Sloppy seas and a prevailing east-northeast breeze made the fishing tough this week. Nevertheless, at the Wednesday night derby weigh-in, the derby got a new leader in the striped bass boat category.

It’s derby time and the competition is fierce. But anglers aren’t the only ones out and about on the water; there is another land animal that likes to spend its time near water. Lucky for those that fish, this beast has a preference for fresh water. I, for one, would be a bit disturbed to find myself next to a fishing spider, which is more or less an eight-legged trawler.

By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL

The best of the fin fishing season is far from over, but already attention shifts to the start of the bay scallop season. Oct. 1 was traditionally the start for the recreational season. Not so anymore, except in Edgartown.

Hey, in the world of bird watching there is nothing better than a bird that is easy to identify. And when you are dealing with sparrows it is particularly exciting. Most beginning birders barely even look at sparrows, claiming that they all look alike and they are just little brown jobs! This weekend we had a visit from a sparrow that is far from an LBJ (little brown job).

By LYNNE IRONS

If I could rename my perennial bed a meadow, I would feel smug in the knowledge that I was a raging success as a gardener. There must be something about this karma thing; how could a person get so far behind in one lifetime? I have learned to live with many of my weeds. In the early summer I had a huge amount of daisy fleabane which has reseeded everywhere. This aster relative (Erigeron annuus) received its common name from a belief that the dried flower heads of the plant could rid a dwelling of fleas. As if!