PETER WELLS

508-627-1577

(peter@chappyferry.net)

The Trustees of Reservations have been providing tours to the Cape Pogue Lighthouse for many of the Vineyard’s first and second grade school children. I have had the pleasure of bringing several of these groups over on the ferry. Clearly a lot of preparation went into these outings as the kids were appropriately dressed and had their knapsacks. These kids were exuberant yet well behaved. Each one said a cheerful thank you upon departing from the ferry in single file. This is an especially good time of year to take the tour since the roses are in bloom and the mosquitoes are still scarce. For tour information, call 508-627-3599.

Mytoi gardener Chris Hart is planting a sampling of native species alongside the expanded parking area adjacent to Mytoi Garden. His goal is to attract birds and other critters with fruit-bearing trees and bushes. Even the pitch pine will have a place in this new setting. He was delighted to inform me that both the snapping turtle and painted turtles have laid eggs. The nesting sites are still identifiable from the disturbance of the soil.

Fishermen are beginning to school at various spots along the Chappy shoreline. There is now four-wheel drive vehicle access to the new beach on the Wasque side of the opening. You can drive right down to the shallow spit that has formed at the very eastern end of the still rapidly flowing cut. I saw a couple of fishermen in waders at least a hundred feet from shore casting right into a rip.

The TTOR beach access hotline is updated often as conditions change daily. I had to call back a few times to get all of the information straight. The woman on the recording had a lot of details to relay and she said it really quickly. Along with the good news that most of the beach is open to driving, came the caution that a few spots are off limits to protect nesting birds. To prevent accidental harm, dogs are not allowed on foot or even in vehicles on Leland Beach, the east end of Norton Point or at the Gut. Call 508-627-8390 for the latest news.

The outdoor crops at Slip Away Farm enjoyed the rain earlier this week. The roadside fields now have discernible rows of green. Inside the more controlled environment of the greenhouse the lettuce is lush. The farm stand is open Friday through Sunday. They have on hand very fresh eggs courtesy of the ladies in the Slip Away hen house, a wide variety of Chappy-grown leafy vegetables, as well as yogurt from Mermaid Farm and beans from Chilmark Coffee Company. For information call 508-627-7465 and be sure to take a peek at the Slip Away website. You should also check out the fabulous websites for both Mermaid Farm and Chilmark Coffee Company.

The final CCC potluck of the season still needs a host. Whoever steps forward to take on this noble honor and obligation will surely enjoy the unbridled admiration and great respect of potluck attendees for the entire evening. So if you are that person, please sign up to host the June 19 potluck.

The CCC calendar is filled with weekly activities. Tai Chi with Tom Pardee continues on Fridays and Mondays at 9 a.m. The 12-Step program meets every Thursday at 7 p.m. Yoga with Emily starts Saturday, June 22 and Yoga with Amanda starts on Tuesday, June 25, both at 8 a.m. The sailing program begins Monday, June 24. Sign up, medical and liability forms are available on the CCC website. The Chappy Book Club welcomes all to discuss Zeitoun, the 2009 best seller by Dave Eggers, on Wednesday, June 26 at 10:30 a.m. Also on the reading list for July and August are The Good Earth by Pearl Buck and Restless by William Boyd. You can contact the book club organizer Dot Dropick at dkdropick@verizon.net.

I’ll bet that a few Chappaquiddickers were quite surprised to come upon state and town police officers on the road early mornings this week. They were there to help traffic safely pass the equipment working on the road repairs. You might want to think twice before driving your Chappy car with the three-year-old rejection sticker to the ferry point until the work is done.

I don’t want to put a hex on the highway department, but hopefully by the time you read this the Chappy Road patching will be completed. Equipment and weather delays have stretched the project into its second week. The obstacle course created by the work has made driving the main road amusing for some and frightening for others. Litchfield Road has seen a lot more traffic as drivers used it as a detour.

I know that it’s not easy to feel appreciative now, but once the work is done we will enjoy an improved and long-lasting road surface. The highway department guys removed the loose sandy soil from beneath the failed sections of asphalt and replaced it with real road foundation material. The new pavement will have a good footing to rest upon.

My granddaughters have been paying very close attention to their lessons at the Edgartown School. Often their interpretation and integration of this new-found knowledge into their daily lives is creative. For example, a while back I was crossing the road with Erin and suggested that perhaps we should take a moment to check for traffic. She said, “I know. You stop, look, listen then drop and roll.” I said, “Those are for two separate things.” She replied, “No you can do them all at once.” So if ever you find yourself about to cross a road and your pants are on fire, you now know what to do.