Margaret Knight>

508 627-8894

(margaret02539@yahoo.com)

Despite the cool temperatures and what the calendar says, summer has started. One of the sure signs is a siting of Siamak Adibi riding his bike up to or back from the ferry. He has a way of pedaling along that makes it look like summer — or an idealized version of it — as if he’s in no rush to get anywhere.

Another sure sign of summer is the Chappy Store opening, which is scheduled for Friday, June 5. Patrie Grace, who is living at North Farm (formerly Marshall house) and her daughter Nisa Webster (formerly Kontje) will be running the store this summer. They’ll have produce from Morning Glory Farm, general groceries including lots of whole foods, pre-made lunch items, muffins and coffee, ice cream and cold sodas.

It looks as if the osprey that live on my road have finally settled down to have a family. They were relocated a year ago from the top of a telephone pole to a new, specially designated pole, and have lived as a “housekeeping” pair for two or three years. Nearly every time I drive by, the mother-to-be is sitting on the nest (unlike the robin whose nest is in our wood shed — she’s almost never sitting on her eggs). The pole is up on a rise, so all you can see is the osprey’s head sticking up above the tangle of branches that make up the nest. One day when I was walking by, the male kept flying back and forth overhead, with a fish in one claw, making a threatening noise I’d never heard before. It was like a sound you’d make in the back of your throat. If I was much smaller, I think he might have tried to pick me up in the other claw.

A couple of weeks ago, Will Geresy was on Norton Point in town when he heard a bird call that he recognized, but not from here. He looked up and saw a sandhill crane flying overhead — a very unusual bird for here, but one Will knew from living near a nesting area in the Midwest. The cranes used to wake him up every morning when they flew low over the house.

Barbara and Steven Raichlen are very excited about the arrival of their first grandchild, Ella Francesca, born to their daughter Betsy and her husband Gabriel. The Raichlen’s will be arriving on the island at the end of May, and their kids will be here in July.

Annie Heywood spent the first two weeks of May exploring London on her first trip there. She saw all the typical tourist sights, including all the cathedrals, the changing of the guard, Windsor Castle, the meridian line in Greenwich, and Cambridge and Oxford Universities. With all the hiking around, she said she hadn’t realized what good shape you need to be in to be a tourist. One of the highlights of the trip was hearing the boys’ choir at King’s Chapel at Cambridge — she said it was like heaven. She also saw Romeo and Juliet in the Globe Theatre. Annie returned home in time to see the shad blooming on Chappy.

Starting on June 13, and every other Saturday through August, you can help with chores at the Farm Institute at Katama. Registration is necessary, so call ahead. Farm tea and tours will take place on Tuesdays during the summer.

Skip Bettencourt and Nancy Hugger held a gathering at their house a couple of weeks ago to celebrate the life of Skips’ half-brother, Walter Bettencourt, who died earlier this year. Tony Bettencourt was their father, and Foster Silva was their first cousin. Walter grew up on the Vineyard, partly on Chappy. He was the type-setter for the Vineyard Gazette for 25 years, and he lived for many years in his grandfather Casmede Bettencourt’s house near Pimpneymouse Farm. Walter loved to garden and to entertain. He sailed a lot and taught Skip how to sail. Walter drove a big old blue Cadillac, and loved Chappy and the Vineyard.

The next (and second to last for the season) potluck will be on Wednesday, June 3, starting at 6 p.m. at the community center. Jo-Ann and Tom Tilghman will be the hosts.

As of June 5, Jo-Ann will again take over the Chappy column for a few months — another sign of summer! Her e-mail address is: tilghmanjb@aol.com and her phone number is 508-627-7669, so send her any information or news for the column by Tuesdays.