Folks have been asking about the Chappy ferry service for Christmas Day. The operating schedule for that day is steeped in tradition.

My Chappy column partner Brad and his family have headed west nearly halfway around the world to spend the winter in the warmer climes of the Philippine Sea. Arlene has island roots of her own. They will be away for about four months so Brad is entrusting me with the honor of keeping our readership enthralled until his return.

For a little over a month the ferryboat On Time III has been hauled out of the water in Vineyard Haven for maintenance and Coast Guard inspection. If the weather cooperates, she will be relaunched by the end of this week and she will make the voyage back to Edgartown over the weekend and return to service on Monday.

I was chatting with ferry captain Liz on a recent trip to town (we chat quickly, but still rarely finish our topic before the chain goes down) about who we are, or more accurately who people think we are: Witness Protection clients. Why else, folks wonder, would we choose to isolate ourselves on Chappy when we could do so almost equally as well in Edgartown?

Chappaquiddick island is still firmly attached to Martha’s Vineyard. The Trustees Of Reservations staff has determined that Norton Point is sufficiently stable to accommodate vehicle traffic. I have spoken to a few folks who “went by the beach.”

Chappy decided that we really didn’t need our storm door after all, so she enlisted the help of the wind and had it ripped completely off its hinges. A lot easier to get in and out of the house with groceries now.

As I write this, it is possible to drive a vehicle between Chappaquiddick island and Martha’s Vineyard island via dry land. By the time that you read this, that may not be true. Mother Nature seems indecisive about that stretch of beach.

Grass waits for no man. Typically by this time of year, I have the Cheetos bag open and am in full recline in my comfortable chair. But there is nothing typical about life on Chappy. The temperatures are now approaching the 70s, and all sorts of flora are making their comebacks, chief amongst them the grasses.

The next potluck at the Chappy Community Center is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 4. Dorothy and John Dropick will be the hosts, with appetizers beginning at 6 p.m. and dinner at 6:30. All are welcome. Please bring a dish for six.

Most weeks when I sit down to write this column, I make an honest attempt to include insights and observations outside the confines of my own small world. And most weeks I fail.