MARGARET KNIGHT

508-627-8894

(margaret02539@yahoo.com)

It’s been a spectacular fall on Chappaquiddick so far this year. In the swamps and fields, and along the roads, the beetlebungs, blueberry bushes and Virginia creeper have turned a satisfying red. The sassafras leaves are starting to yellow, and the marsh next to the road along Caleb’s Pond is a mix of oranges, browns and yellows that would be hard for any artist to duplicate. We’ve had sunny days with moderate temperatures, proving that this time of year can be the best — with no mosquitoes! I haven’t forgotten the year the mosquitoes lasted into November. In 1999, we were adding onto our house, and the electrician said he’d come back to finish the job after the mosquitoes were gone.

I’m writing the column this week for Brad, who has been writing it for me, who started writing it for Varian, et cetera. At this point, Brad and I are planning to share the column about 50/50. He’ll be back to it next week, I hope, and then I plan to take over sometime toward the end of the year.

With no column to write, I’ve been spending my free time with the chickens, building them a chicken patio (Sidney wants us to call it a terrace, not a patio, but I like the way patio sounds). For a couple of years I collected bricks from here and there, including from in front of the old school house that belonged to Annie Heywood’s family, before it got moved by the land bank. Bricks appear at unexpected places, like in the dirt road or on the beach, and I’ve been picking them up. They sat in piles outside the door, until recently when, for unknown reasons, I was inspired to start arranging them in the sand outside the door. The reason I call it a chicken patio is because the chickens like to hang out there and preen themselves and snooze in the sun. I like to be there with them whenever I can — relaxing chickens are very restful.

You may have seen white egrets this fall, in the marshes or flying overhead. For the past month 20 or 30 of them have been nesting every night in the swamp behind my brother’s workshop. They squawk and fight over who is sleeping where, and then finally settle down in the branches of the swamp maples and beetlebung, looking like white bags caught in the trees. It would be interesting to know from how large an area they gather there.

The ocean is continuing to eat away at our island, especially out at Wasque. Sidney and I took a walk on a windy late afternoon this week to check out the changes. Fishermen were suiting up at Fishermen’s Landing (when did that name appear and what area, exactly, does it refer to?) as if they were about to head out to sea in a storm. The Swan Pond continues in miniature, greatly shrunk in both width and length. The beach beyond, toward Edgartown, is strewn with roots and organic debris, with clumps of bushes growing right out of the sand. Beyond that, the walkway to the bathing beach area is gone, and the waves splash directly against the newly made bluff. From my perspective, back a few miles on higher ground, it will be interesting to see what the ocean does throughout the winter.

The Martha’s Vineyard Museum has an exhibit up with pictures and info about each town, and also lots of old maps. They show the opening at Norton Point in various places including one with the opening right at the bluff at Wasque Point. That was probably just before the sand bar connected to Chappy and a swan pond was created. It seems very likely the pattern will repeat itself, even with the rise of the ocean level — the question is how far inland the new swan pond will be, and when!

The Chappy ferry is on its winter schedule again. The On Time II is out of the water in Vineyard Haven getting ready for the Coast Guard inspection. Last year the III was gone for a long stretch, and although lines can be longer than usual at times, at least the III can fit three pickup trucks, so things move along pretty fast. You can check the Web cams at Chappy WISP to see if there is a line on either side — very handy!

If you’re on the Chappy Community Center mailing list, you will be receiving an order form for the 2011 CCC photo calendar soon. But if you’d like to download a form, you can do so at chappycommunitycenter.org. They can be mailed to you or you can pick them up at the community center while you visit the Open House and Craft, Et Cetera Sale, which is Thursday, Nov. 27 from 2 to 4 p.m. Other dates to keep in mind: Ferry Captain and Crew Appreciation Potluck on Wednesday, Dec. 8 starting at 6 p.m., and Holiday Tea on Sunday, Dec. 12 from 3 to 5 p.m.