Margaret Knight>

508-627-8894

(margaret02539@yahoo.com)

Chappaquiddick continues to be free of snow, although the temperatures and wind often keep us bundled. The sun is warmer though, and the days longer, and signs of spring can be found. Hatsy Potter’s first snowdrops in her kitchen dooryard garden are nearly open, and the witch hazel buds she took inside opened overnight. Our rooster Rudy spends more of every day crowing and trying to wow the ladies.

The ferry line on the Chappy side will remain where it is until the poles are taken down, according to Peter Wells, the one who gets to decide. That way we won’t have to change sides again. All that’s left of the large number of unusual vehicles and equipment which filled the dirt parking lot for so many weeks is one port-a-potty.

NStar has been working at connecting each house line to the main electric line, in preparation for taking down the poles. Instead of poles we’ll have green boxes by the roadside – not quite as many boxes as poles, but an interesting variety of sizes and placement. Maybe when the leaves come out the boxes will be less noticeable. There is a lot we don’t know about the complexities of getting electricity to our houses, but we have at least learned that it’s not a simple matter.

The main road has taken a beating through this process, and we hope the town will be over to patch the increasingly potholed areas where the new manholes are located. Many of us continue to drive up the left side of the road from the ferry to avoid these patches, and swerve over to the right just before the corner at Litchfield. This has worked so far, with minimal traffic, but by spring it could be a problem.

The Adult and Community Education Program (ACE MV) announces its spring session of courses and seminars from March 8 to April 10, with professional development classes ending in June. Register online or at the walk-in registration on Monday, March 7 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at the regional high school. See the Web site (acemv.org) for the catalog, course descriptions, and online registration.

Sidney will be one of the teachers for a greenhouse design course cosponsored by the Farm Institute. The course will explore the science, art, technology, and sustainability of building a food and heat producing passive solar greenhouse. Guest experts will focus on various features such as greenhouse glazing, thermal mass options, solar-heated raised growing bed construction, gray water treatment, and frame construction techniques. It’s for ages 16 and up.

There will be a Farm Family Brunch at the Farm Institute on Sunday, Feb. 20 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., with a chance to help feed and water the animals as well as help prepare a breakfast featuring farm eggs and meat. RSVP to Cathy at 508-627-7007, extension 101.

Shelly Wilbur is taking a massage training course at Cape Cod Community College this winter. Shelly, Gabby, and Jack spend part of each week in Barnstable in a house right on the water which Jack is painting in exchange for rent. Shelly is enjoying her course, and Gabby gets to go to the mall — not a frequent event when you’re growing up in the woods of Chappaquiddick. Gabby is a homeschooler, so she takes her work with her.

The application to the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners for funding for the new library was hand-delivered on Jan. 26. Now we wait and see. Meanwhile the library is soliciting ideas for the best use of the Carnegie building on North Water street which has served the town since 1904. They’ve put out a suggestion box, or you can use the link on the Web site to e-mail them. They will pass ideas on to the library trustees, the selectmen, and the library building committee.

The library celebrates Black History Month with a display in the hallway, and a series of programs on Sunday afternoons continuing through Feb. 27. Each week at 1 p.m. they will present a double-feature of films by Spike Lee.

The last in the library’s fat-free film series is Tampopo, from Japan, shown at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 22. Also, February continues as a fine-free month with a donation to the Food Pantry.

In speaking to Peter about the next question of the week, he mentioned how often cartographic errors are responsible for place names; for instance, Vermont’s Lamoille River, the name of which probably was the result of someone not crossing the “t”s in Lamotte, which is the spelling on old maps. Peter has seen mistakes continue on as fact just because the USGC maps are a main reference.

In discussing the correct spelling of Caleb’s Pond (Calebs, Calebs’, or Caleb’s) Peter said that his mother used to play a game of marooned or shipwreck on the pond when she was young. They’d moor a dinghy in the middle and people could try to rescue those in the boat without getting caught. Sometimes they’d make it more challenging by playing in the dark, and it was then she’d see Captain Caleb’s ghost. (Who was that Captain Caleb, anyway?)

But the question of the week is where did Sampson’s Hill get its name, and what is the correct spelling (and why do you think that!)?