MARGARET KNIGHT
508-627-8894
The bitter cold has had the advantage of making all the little ponds in my road turn to solid ice. It makes driving over a sorely pothole-ridden dirt road a relatively smooth and pleasant experience. A couple of sunny days have eaten away at the ice that’s covered so much of the ground for so long, but we’re still slipping and sliding at my house where the melted ice and rain filled the low areas — which happen to be right where we walk to the cars, and between the house and the clothesline.
Cape Pogue Pond is a solid sea of ice, with the patterns of tidal movement and wind frozen onto its surface. Last Saturday the temperature dropped twenty-five degrees in one day, which felt as if it happened mostly during an afternoon walk we took. The drop also happened to be on the night our cellar door came open.
At my house, we usually keep the faucets dripping on especially cold and windy nights. That was not enough to keep the instant hot water heater in the cellar — which is composed of coiled pipes — from freezing solid by the time I tried to run hot water at 7 a.m. This is not the first time that doors have mysteriously come open in midwinter at my house. Each door does have its own particular way it likes to be closed, but the main problem is that they’re subject to human fallibility — I call it timid door-closing.
After 30 years we may have finally realized that it’s human to be fallible, so we’re looking at the practicality of a simple freeze alarm that goes off when the temperature reaches 40 degrees. The trouble is that our cellar often reaches 40 degrees in cold weather, and I’m not looking forward to being woken in the middle of the night by a shrill beeping sound, only to find out there won’t be a problem for another six degrees, a drop that could easily take until morning to reach.
With all the cold, it’s hard to believe the trees will ever be covered with leaves again, but I was thinking of spring recently, remembering that it exists as a possibility. I thought it would be interesting to try to detect the earliest signs of spring, to see if there are any this early. Maybe remembering it is the first sign of spring.
The days becoming longer may be a sign, but I’m not sure it counts since the shortest day is also the first day of winter. I have heard a couple of birds sing a few notes on a sunny day, and I’ve seen robins, though I’m sure they’re ones that live here all winter. I’ve also seen a chipmunk busy at a new hole near the bird feeder. It must be quite an underground warren because this is the third hole in the same area. It’s not a rat hole; it’s a perfect little circular hole that goes straight down into the lawn. I do look forward to the antics of the chipmunks once the weather gets warm, despite the way they eat at my garden and gobble up the birdseed.
The community center is thinking about summer already. The board is starting to work on the summer calendar, and people are asking about tennis classes. Sue Phinney, who joined the board last summer to replace longtime board member and former coordinator Jo-Ann Tilghman, called to ask that I mention the center’s auction planned for August 8. Sue and Jo-Ann are heading up the auction committee. The center has had auctions in the past — gala events, Chappy style — but not for a few years, and this one promises to be at least as much fun. Sue suggested now is a good time for people to work on something to donate for the auction, which will feature Chappy-related items or services.
Skunk researcher Luanne Johnson was featured on PBS Nature last Sunday evening talking about the life and habits of skunks. She has been studying skunks on Chappy and Aquinnah for five years to learn about their habitat, diet and range for her doctoral dissertation. For several years Luanne has been taking kids on “skunkabouts” on Chappy, and giving talks around the Island to adults about skunks and our role in their lives, including our unwitting provision of food and shelter. I saw the show and thought they should have included more about Luanne and her study, but as she pointed out, people like to see baby skunks. They were very cute.
Chappaquiddick is renowned for its blueberries — at least those of us who live or visit here know all about them. The soil and weather favor blueberry bushes. If you’re interested in planting some in your yard or taking care of the ones growing near you (which they probably do), there is a pruning workshop on Saturday, Jan. 31, from 10 a.m. to noon at Murphy Blueberry Farm in Chilmark. Susan Murphy will demonstrate the proper pruning of blueberries in a workshop hosted by Polly Hill Arboretum. You can preregister at 508-693-9426.
Edgartown 101, the Edgartown library series intended to educate us about local government continues on Wednesday, February 4 at 7 p.m. with a presentation entitled, The Board of Selectmen: Who’s in Charge? Arthur Smadbeck, chairman of the board of selectmen, will be speaking on the responsibilities of the selectmen, and on the limits of their power. The program is an hour, but Felicia says she’ll be there until the ferry starts up at 9. Questions are welcomed.
Bob and Marvene O’Rourke’s daughter Brenna has been on Chappy this week getting supplied and medically ready for a year’s job in Chad with the International Rescue Committee, which provides relief for refugees from the wars in Somalia. Her job will be to write reports for the agencies that donate the money to run the two camps, and to help improve the overall programs which include health, education and child protection. The camps are in eastern Chad near the border of Darfur, where people whose villages have been destroyed have crossed over looking for any kind of help. The camps are just tents set up in the desert, with no running water, and a curfew at 6 p.m. in one camp and 8 p.m. in the other.
Since this is a hardship post, Brenna will get an R & R week every three months, and hopes to get back to the Island around the Fourth of July. She’ll be creating a blog, for which I’ll include the address in a later column, or you can ask the O’Rourkes.
On Wednesday, Feb. 4, beginning at 6 p.m., the bi-monthly potluck will be hosted by Sally Snipes and Peter Wells. All are welcome.
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