MARGARET KNIGHT

508-627-8894

(margaret02539@yahoo.com)

Judging from the number of fishing poles attached to the tops of the vehicles in the ferry line coming to Chappaquiddick early Tuesday evening, the bluefish are here. According to David Babson, The Trustees of Reservations’ Chappy superintendent, the fishing has had mixed reviews so far, but there was activity at both sides of Norton Point on Tuesday, and some at Wasque. The bait fish are here, and the smaller bluefish (two to three pounders) have followed them. The striped bass are just appearing. David says that although the beaches are quieter now, The Trustees properties will continue to get busier with fishermen until the Derby ends on October 17th.

The Gruners, who recently moved here from New Hampshire, found their lost cat Edgar — temporarily. Jason said he and his wife were walking about a mile and a half from their home on Wasque avenue, and Lisa was calling for the cat, when he came bounding out of the woods. They fed him and kept him inside for five days while building a little cat palace outside (complete with heating pad), hoping to show him the benefits of his move to the island. Edgar hung around for a couple more days and then took off again. But as Jason says, “He’s got no money and no ferry tickets, and he doesn’t own a boat,” so they’re hoping he’ll come home again soon.

Jason and Lisa met here in 1999, and now live in the house her parents, Justine and Dale Hall, built in 1984. They both work at their jobs from home via computer. Jason says he’s traveled around the world and has found no place remotely like Chappaquiddick, except Cannon Beach in Oregon (which looks pretty nice on the Web site). Having only come here summers, Jason remarked on the oddity of seeing the school bus with flashing lights at the end of his road for the first time. Chappy is definitely metamorphosing back into a relatively normal year-round community. Sidney used to come home from the Farm Institute, where he’s education director, smelling like cows. Now he smells like goats. That’s because three of them have come to live at our house — in the backyard, really. They needed a new home, and as Sidney always has wanted goats, now we have some. Lemon and Lime are Angora goats, about six years old, and Magee is mostly Saanen, about five months old. Lemon is the top goat and butts Magee to make sure she knows it. Lemon, a female, and Lime, a male, like to sit snuggled together chewing their cuds, while Magee is off exploring or looking pensively off the goat shed “porch.”

Sidney built the shed for protection from the weather — because goats don’t like to get wet — and fenced in a brushy area for a pen. The goats are busy eating everything down to ground level. They’re willing to eat just about anything, but not always. Sometimes they turn up their noses at something they couldn’t get enough of just a few minutes earlier.

We’re thinking about renting them out for brush cutting — like a brush hog, only a “brush goat.” Unlike a mechanized brush cutter, they’re self-sustaining. The brush they dispose of becomes the fuel that keeps them going. Plus they have a handy byproduct: manure for composting to feed the garden.

The fall programs have started at the Farm Institute, after school and on Saturdays. You can call 508-627-7007 for more information.

Coast Guard inspectors were here looking at the Chappy ferries last week, making sure everything is up to date. Peter said that although Coast Guard rules were changed in 1995 in the T-Boat (small passenger vessel) category, they are just now requiring older boats to meet the code. Although all boats are supposed to have a compass, the ferries never did until Peter installed them this week. Now when the fog comes in really thick and the drivers can’t see the other side, instead of just charging ahead, they’ll be able to navigate across by compass. They’ll probably just be figuring out the course as they bump the slip on the other side.

Peter plans to take the On Time II out of the water soon for a short haul, to paint it and repair the dings and scrapes. He’ll take it out in the next week or so depending on whether the traffic slows down a little. After the derby, he’ll take the On Time III out for about a month for repairs.

The edible wild plant walk on Chappy with Russ Cohen is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 26, noon to 3 p.m. Sign up through Polly Hill Arboretum at 508-693-9426. The day will be devoted to the art of finding and preparing wild foods. As he identifies suitable plants, Russ will discuss what part is edible, when to harvest, and how to prepare it, as well as safety factors and conservation. Russ will be a guest at a special MV Slow Food potluck at the Ag Hall at 6:30 on that Saturday evening. His book Wild Plants I Have Known . . . and Eaten will be available for sale.