MARGARET KNIGHT

508-627-8894

(margaret02539@yahoo.com)

The Chappy Open Space Committee is celebrating “10 years of unprecedented land preservation on Chappaquiddick.” The committee, which was inspired by a collaborative effort to conserve the Francis property across the road from Caleb’s Pond, has raised more than $1.6 million from Chappy residents. With that money, they’ve worked with Sheriff’s Meadow and the land bank to protect over 500 acres in the past 10 years, bringing the total land conserved on Chappy by all conservation organizations to over 1,300 acres. They’ve also helped to create the cross Chappy trail system and to increase beach and waterfront access for all.

To celebrate, they’ve sent a DVD to everyone who has helped in their mission to preserve the beauty, rural quality, natural habitats and watershed on Chappy. The DVD is filled with amazing pictures of the fields, ponds, close-ups of ospreys, oystercatchers, and otters, and shots of seals lolling on the beach, a whale skeleton in the sand, and a beached fishing boat, among many more. The show was put together by Skip Bettencourt, who took most of the pictures. It’s accompanied by Kevin Keady playing guitar and singing his lyrics, which seem to arise from a way of life in keeping with the committee’s mission. The opening song is Hay Day Down on the Farm, about bringing in the hay at Pimpneymouse Farm; the second song suggests that if things aren’t going so well, go out walking and look for another view. These pictures give you plenty of views that will make you feel grateful for all the work of the committee, which consists of Nancy Hugger, chair, Joan Adibi, Norma Costain, Dick Knight, Karen Langford and Edo Potter. Nancy and Edo have anchored and led the committee’s work since the beginning. If you’d like a copy of the DVD you can contact the committee at chappyopenspace@gmail.com.

Lily Morris will hold an open studio for card making this Sunday, Dec. 6, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the community center. Lily has taught rubber stamp and card making workshops for all ages, and she’ll bring her large collection of rubber stamps, inks, embossers, collage materials and card stock for people to play with. All are welcome; there will be a $10 fee for materials.

After reading about kudzu in my last column, Dr. James Riley, an old friend of Beum and Art Phinney’s, contacted me. He and his wife recently moved to Pease’s Point Way year-round. Jim told me that they’ve had a kudzu vine growing for the past couple of years along a fenced border at his house. He said that they’ve cut it back yearly for several years and had thought they’d defeated it last year, but then it grew back again. He said it needs to be cut back each year at the ground because he can’t get it out by the roots. He sounds willing to do the job, and maybe eventually he’ll win the battle. It’s unsettling to think of another monster invasive plant on the Island.

The On Time III is now scheduled for return by mid December. By now, we who use the ferry regularly are used to expecting a wait; what we don’t ever know in advance is for how long. The upside of this for me is that when I’m going to town and there is no line, I get plenty of errands done before the scheduled reason for my trip. We all know the variations on the downside. However, we can be sure the III is getting all the attention it deserves, and that it will serve us well once it’s back at work. If the On Time II’s engine were actually horse-powered, I’d say those animals would deserve a nice long break in a back pasture to recover from the work of crossing the channel with the strong currents as of late.