MARGARET KNIGHT

508-627-8894

(margaret02539@yahoo.com)

Chappaquiddick swamps and ponds have been frozen much of this winter, although the ice on Brine’s Pond has never been thick enough for skating. After the brief spell of cold into the single digits this past week, ice flowing in islands and streams have been passing in and out the ferry channel. Luckily they haven’t been thick enough to stop service, yet.

Peter pulled out a hundred-foot plastic pipe that was floating across the ferry slip. He figures it was the outfall pipe from the scallop hatchery that used to be in the first house up from the point. It was probably loosened by the ice.

We are still relying on the excellent maintenance done by Peter, Eric and crew that’s keeping the On Time III trouble-free while the II is still being worked on in dry dock in Vineyard Haven. It may be there several more weeks. Liz suggested the II might be renamed the On Time Two-and-a-Half because so much of it will have been replaced.

The potluck at the community center on Feb. 2 is canceled. After postponing the last one, there would have been a potluck two weeks in a row, which might be unsustainable for the winter potluck population. The next one is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 16, and Sally Snipes and Peter Wells will be hosts — not to be missed, or rescheduled!

Dorothy Knight has recently moved to a condo in Leominster, and would like her island friends to know her new address: P. O. Box 784, Sterling, MA 01564. She regrets she couldn’t bring the apple trees and fields from her home in Sterling, but they wouldn’t fit in her new yard. She does, however, have a very nice condo with attached garage that is particularly handy this snowy winter.

Author Jon Katz will speak about his new novel, Rose in a Storm, at the Edgartown Public Library at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 29. Mr. Katz is a popular writer of dog and other animal stories. He’s been called heir to James Herriot with his books Soul of a Dog, Izzy and Lenore, and The Dogs of Bedlam Farm. His visit to Edgartown is part of an eight-stop itinerary that Mr. Katz is calling his Love Our Libraries Tour. On his blog, Bedlam Farm Journal, he writes: “It seems that at this moment, many in this country are thinking about what kind of a country it ought to be. I believe it ought to be a country that supports and cherishes our libraries.”

The library’s Fat-Free Film Festival — a series of tasty films with food as a focus — shows the French film A Matter of Taste on Tuesday, Feb. 1, at 7 p.m. on the big screen downstairs. Admission is free, and in keeping with the festival title, they will be serving healthy snacks.

I stopped by the new Edgartown Hardware store for the first time this week. I was impressed with the number of items and its orderliness. When I commented on this to Jonathan, he remarked that I must not be one of those angry, bitter Chappaquiddickers (who didn’t want the hardware to move out of downtown). I told him I actually was one of them. However, life moves on, and the hardware store turns out to be a good place to meet other Chappaquiddickers. There were three customers when I was there — all from our island.

One of them, who remains unnamed, drew me aside and informed me that it’s against the law to remove bits of that old shipwreck on Norton Point. I hadn’t personally removed any, but according to this unnamed Trustees’ employee, it’s possible that just reporting on the wreck has made it more vulnerable to pilfering, and the wreck is protected under a marine antiquities law because it’s on public land. So please try to keep your hands off.

I heard from Tim Leland a few weeks ago after he had seen an odd galumphing critter cross the field near his house out at Wasque. He described its movement as something like a giant inchworm, with occasional belly slides. After a couple of e-mails he was put in touch with Luanne Johnson, former skunk whisperer, who is now studying coastal river otters with Liz Baldwin. She confirmed that it was probably an otter. She and Liz have been mapping otter activity around the Island since summer 2009.

Luanne said, “During the time that I was studying skunks in that area I often observed otter tracks along the dirt road all the way from Katama Bay, past the gatehouse, and into the superintendent’s driveway headed to Poucha Pond. They do travel widely over land!”

Here is the web address for their Picasa photo gallery Web page, picasaweb.google.com/coastalotters/CameraPics?feat=email#. Liz Baldwin has 20 cameras placed at spots all over the Vineyard. These amazing photos are from cameras placed at otter latrine sites, with other animal visits as well. Some photos are from Naushon (where there are coyotes and fox). Luanne plans to give a talk about her otter study at the community center after the potluck on March 2.

Thanks to Hatsy for her informative column of last week. Work continues on the underground wires, and many of us still drive up from the point as if we lived in England — on the wrong side of the road until the curve.