MARGARET KNIGHT

508-627-8894

(margaret02539@yahoo.com)

Often Chappaquiddick has different weather than the rest of the Island — usually worse, if you’re talking about fog or clouds, but better if you’d rather have rain than snow. For awhile after the temperatures warmed up, it looked almost as if there were two different seasons happening on Chappy, even right at my house. The south sloping front yard was clear of snow for many days, while the back yard valley still had several inches of treacherously crusted snow and ice, diminished by the rain this week. On the main road, the north side, which receives the sun, became totally free of snow, while the south side has been white where the trees shade the snow.

In the woods with most of the snow gone, piles left from the plow eroded into odd shapes. At night in the headlights it looked as if strange creatures were lurking by the side of the road. In one place, a decapitated snow man stood with his head lying next to him. The giant snow pile at the Triangle parking lot looks permanent — it may still be there in May.

The longer days bring sure signs of spring, of new growth and newborns. One such happy event is the birth of Molly Juniper Carey on Wednesday, Feb. 17 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Her proud and happy parents are Nicole Carey and Ben Knight. Dick and Daryl Knight are the proud grandparents, and I’m one of several proud great aunts — as is Dorothy Knight. Lily Morris was coach and general support at the birth, along with Ben and Daryl. The new family is presently residing in Vineyard Haven.

Peter Wells and Sally Snipes were kept busy with extra grandchildren this past week. Their daughter Nearess brought her children Isaiah and Bailey for their biannual visit from California.

The potlucks at the Community Center continue every first and third Wednesday of the month. The Kagan family stepped in as hosts for the last potluck, which was a small but congenial group, with just the right amount and mix of food. Dessert was a homemade pumpkin pie made by Ellen Walsh. She and Nicky and their two children were visiting for the week, and planning to meet up with their son who was arriving on the T.S. Kennedy, the Mass Maritime training ship arriving back from its southern voyage.

One topic discussed at the potluck was how long before the new electric line pole at Caleb’s Pond tips all the way over. It had a hard start, being replaced in the dead of winter with the ground frozen. At this point it’s leaning even farther over than a nearby older pole, which has already been looking ready to go in the next storm.

The next potluck is on Wednesday, March 3 starting at 6 p.m. Claire Thacher and Roger Becker will be the hosts. All are welcome.

The Adult and Community Education Program (ACE MV) registration for the spring session, beginning March 8, will be held Tuesday and Wednesday, March 2 and 3 from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. in the lobby of the regional high school. Early registration online (acemv.org) is recommended. Courses have limited class sizes. For more information, e-mail Lynn Ditchfield at lynn@acemv.org or leave a voice mail message at 508-693-1033, extension 240.

This week, the Edgartown Library’s Island Plan 101 series on Wednesday, March 3, will be a discussion about transportation, and energy and waste. The guest panel will include Jeff Parker of Chilmark, an international consultant in public transit who was chairman of the Island Plan transportation work group; Angie Grant, general manager of the Martha’s Vineyard Transit Authority; and Sharon Strimling-Florio who was chairman of the energy and waste work group. The evening starts at 7 p.m. and runs for an hour, but the library stays open until 9 p.m. The next two weeks’ discussions are on housing, livelihood and commerce, and “the path ahead.”

A U.S. Census job fair will be held on Saturday, March 6 from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Oak Bluffs Library. Recruiting assistants will be on hand to answer questions of those looking for enumerator jobs with the 2010 census in the next few months. The written application test will be offered to the first 12 people who are interested. Others can take the test on most days the following week. If you do plan to take the test on Saturday, you need to bring a valid identfication. You can find out what’s valid and more, or take the practice test, online at 2010censusjobs.gov, or by calling 866-861-2010.

The flocks of eiders, mergansers and other sea ducks can still be seen swimming in the channel and in the Edgartown harbor. Every now and then while crossing on the ferry, I’ll see one with something big in its bill, with other ducks gathered around hoping for a free handout. With binoculars, I finally saw that the duck had a large conch which it was managing to both hold and eat at the same time. It’s hard to imagine how such a small animal gets to the bottom in the middle of the channel with the strong currents, locates a conch there, and brings it up to eat.