MARGARET KNIGHT

508-627-8894

(margaret02539@yahoo.com)

Chappaquiddick made the front page of the Gazette last week with the article about a squirrel sighting on the island. People poke fun at us Chappaquiddickers for making a fuss about squirrels, but all of us living here have enjoyed a squirrel-free existence our whole time here, which is no small thing for people with bird feeders. Besides, it’s March, and as my brother said: although he hasn’t seen the squirrel, he has noticed some fellow islanders acting a bit squirrely. March madness isn’t just about basketball.

Dale Carter, who lives near the Dyke Bridge, definitely saw the squirrel on her porch. She called Skip Bettencourt who set up a trap, but hasn’t caught anything yet. And Dale hasn’t seen the squirrel again.

Nancy Hugger remembered past squirrel sightings, when quite a few of them were seen about six years ago. I saw one in my yard then. It was a big surprise, like seeing an exotic species, like an escaped tiger from the circus. Well, maybe not that shocking, but remembering back, that’s how it feels — of course, it is March.

At that time, Nancy saw a couple at her bird feeder, and other people saw them, too. Peter Wells caught one in a trap in his yard. She remembers that there may have been up to a dozen squirrels. Evidently, Skip and the other island men-with-guns took care of the problem, and no one had seen a squirrel on Chappy until two weeks ago. Nancy pointed out that this recent siting was in great horned owl territory. They and the red-tail hawks are hunting a lot now, getting ready for breeding season, and would love a tasty squirrel meal. Nancy said, “Hopefully Mother Nature has taken care of it.”

In talking to Edo Potter about squirrels, she mentioned how amazing this winter has been weather-wise. Her camellias are in full bloom, and her flowering bulbs all up. Her camellia tree, which came from Polly Hill, grows in a protected spot but usually blooms much later. In the south, Edo said, they bloom in January and February.

Edo’s early blooms got us talking about climate change, and its effects on the island. She said the causeway out to the marsh islands in Poucha Pond was three feet above the level of the marsh when it was built. Now high tide washes right across the road, partly due to higher water levels and also because the marshes have built up. When the road was first built, there was a flume where the Dyke Bridge is now. A flume is an artificially controlled water channel. This one was built to allow herring to come in to spawn in Poucha Pond. Edo said the herring were caught, put in barrels and shipped to New York. She said there was a flap that closed the flume all winter, making the pond level high. It was opened for the herring run, after which the pond level went down, allowing the marshes to dry out enough that hay could be cut on them. The cover photo of Edo’s memoir, The Last Farm on Chappaquiddick, shows them tossing hay up on a wagon out on the Poucha Pond marsh.

Anyone interested in farming has a great opportunity to try new crops or new growing processes at the Farm Institute this summer. Through a grant from the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, the Farm Institute is making one-acre farm plots available to Vineyarders. Water, tillable ground and assistance with planning and expenses will be available. You can download an application at farminstitute.org.

At my house we have a new (used) rooster, saved from execution. He’s a well-feathered bantum — even his feet are covered with feathers. As soon as he arrived, he took up his rooster duties, looking out for hawks and harassing the hens, who seem to take his goings-on in stride. Sidney wanted to name him Cogburn after the John Wayne character Rooster Cogburn in True Grit, but I thought it was too hard to say. Elliot suggested Walter, a name which fits him well, and sounds better with the hens: Isabelle, Gladys and Buffy. Sidney has taken to calling him Walter Cogburn.

May there be more news in April.