MARGARET KNIGHT

508-627-8894

(margaret02539@yahoo.com)

The gray skies of this past week have shown the shad blossoms off to their advantage. The bushes started blooming early, at the end of last week, but the cool and rainy weather has kept them looking good. Shads look like small trees, and are covered with delicate white blossoms in mid-spring. They grow at the edges of the woods, along roads, and where the oaks and pines have not yet overshadowed them. They are the first of the flowering trees and shrubs on Chappaquiddick. Their name came from the fact they come into bloom when the shad are running. Another of their names is Juneberry, which is self-explanatory.

I was off-Island last weekend, in western Massachusetts, where I try to go each year around this time to harvest one of my favorite wild foods: ramps, or wild leeks. I’ve managed to get a few growing at a wet spot on my property — they’re not invasive! — and I know a couple of other people who have started them on the Island.

On Chappy, there are lots of tasty wild foods growing, including dandelion, chicory, nettles and Japanese knotweed. It’s a good idea to consult a reliable source on which parts of the plant to eat and how to cook them. My garden has “volunteers” which seed themselves from the previous year, but like other gardens, most of the vegetables won’t be ready for awhile. So, why wait for them — eat the weeds!

Sasha Kagan is pleased to be four-years-old now. She had a birthday party last Saturday, which included a puppet show.

Chappy Haz-Mat is on Saturday, May 16 — not May 9 as I wrote in last week’s column. From 7 to 9 a.m. you can drop off your hazardous waste at the community center, and it will be transported to the main drop-off site. This C.I.A. program is thanks to Terry Forde.

Stephanie Duckworth-Elliott, Marion Harding’s daughter who grew up on Chappy, has a book coming out at the end of May. The book, Poneasequap, Goddess of the Waters, is aimed at children in grades four through seven. It’s about McKenzie Jones, a precocious ten-year-old Wampanoag girl who is always looking for a place that she can call her own, to be accepted the way she is. McKenzie and her family live on Chappaquiddick with her grandfather. from whom she learns many lessons in her journey growing up. You can visit Stephanie’s Web site at duckworthelliott.com, or find out more this summer when Stephanie comes to the Island for some book signings.

With all the rain, it’s useful to know where the potholes are on main road, as they tend to be invisible under all the water. The dirt roads, with their pervasive puddles, seem to defy maintenance attempts. Tom Osborn recently bought a John Deere skip loader which he drove from the big ferry on its maiden voyage, and which he’ll be using for Chappy road maintenance.

The Martha’s Vineyard Whole Health Alliance will hold its annual Spring into Health fair on Saturday, May 9, from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Yoga Barn, one-half mile past Alley’s on State Road in Chilmark. One of the main organizers is Chappy’s Amanda Cohen, who teaches yoga at the community center in the summer and does massage at Church and Main Natural Therapies in Vineyard Haven. Attendees will be able to receive mini-sessions in various healthcare modalities, including massage with Lily Morris, and Alexander Technique with Margaret Knight. There will also be classes, talks, and demonstrations. Children are welcome.

Ferry captains and those they transport are attempting to get used to the new ferry loading plan: two cars load first, then bikes and passengers, and then the third car. If you can’t remember, just try to remember to pay attention to what the captains are telling you with their hands, which is always a good idea anyway. The unloading plan remains the same.

The On Time III is back at work, looking shiny and refreshed. It’s nice to have two ferries running again when there’s a line, which has been more often lately. The III’s deck, where passengers stand and cars drive, is now all on the same plane, although where the cars drive is painted black. The even deck should help steady people on foot, and help with baby buggies, etc. And it will help, as soon as we stop trying to step down where there isn’t any down.