The Chappy Book Club has postponed their discussion of Circling the Sun until Wednesday, Oct. 12 at 10:30 a.m. at the Chappy Community Center. That’s good news because you still have time to read this latest novel by Paula McLain set in colonial Kenya in the 1920s. I can’t find the time to read the whole book, but the summary sounds great. This is the story of Beryl Markham who is one of the very few female aviators of that time. And get this: she’s caught up in a passionate love triangle with safari hunter Denys Finch Hatton and Karen Blixen who wrote the classic memoir Out of Africa. Remember Robert Redford and Meryl Streep in the movie? I guess that all seemed too tame to Paula McLain so she flies in a record-setting lady pilot to give Bob Redford a chance to do a few of his famous double takes! I’m sure it will be made into a movie. Anyway, I wish I had time to read it. These Chappy Book Club ladies sure know how to pick a book.

The Chappy Store is closed for the season. Thanks to Nefititi for providing such an essential service on Chappy. A visit to the store was always entertaining. One day I arrived just in time to save her from a gang of monarch butterflies that she thought were stalking her. They were! I saw it with my own eyes.

The Slip Away farm stand will be open one final weekend. This Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. will be your last chance for farm stand goodies and Chappy grown eggs and pumpkins.

Mark your calendar for the CCC Open House and Crafts Sale on Saturday, Nov. 26 from 1 to 3 p.m. The 2017 CCC calendars will be available for sale or pickup. Chappy artisans will be displaying their handiwork. If you are interested in joining the other crafters call Lynn at 508-627-8222.

The CCC is accepting new and used DVD movies to add to the borrowing collection. Sailing program director Martha Weston is already getting ready for the 2017 season. She is looking for a head instructor and assistant. Call her at 914-907-8920 or email marweston@att.net. The CCC is selling a 16-foot Old Town Stillwater Canoe for $450 or best offer. I’d buy it but I already have too many boats.

For those of you who must enjoy Chappy from afar, here are a few observations from my weekly tour around Chappy. The freshwater ponds are beginning to refill after the recent rains. The water in Brine’s Pond is just now touching the base of the big white rock. Hopefully the next storm adds to that. Some of the maples and beetlebungs have begun to turn red. The poison ivy is particularly colorful this fall. I stopped in at Mytoi to see if the snapping turtles were out and about. No turtles, but Mytoi is lovely and serene this time of year. I watched a big milk snake cross the road near the Captain Martin house. It was nearly four feet long and more than an inch in diameter at its mid-point. The Pimpneymouse Farm hayfields have greened up nicely. The purple asters seem to be having a banner year.

Word is that the ospreys have all departed. The blue jays seem to have a lot to say during the daytime and on quiet nights we get to hear several kinds of owls calling.

The Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby has enlivened Chappy beaches. Lots of fishermen catching lots of fish. Even when that contest ends at mid-month that’s not the end of the fishing activity. Larry’s Octoberfish tournament continues until the end of the month. Sponsored by Larry’s Tackle Shop, which now belongs to Chappaquiddick’s own Melissa and Peter Sliwkowski, the tournament is celebrating its 24th year. They don’t have trucks or boats to hand out, but they do have lots of great prizes.

Depending on the impacts of hurricane Matthew, the On Time 2 is still scheduled to depart for Vineyard Haven on Tuesday, Oct. 11 or as soon as possible thereafter. A few years back on the trip to take the ferry over to Vineyard Haven I had to hug the shoreline to get out of the wind and current. I saw people stopping near the Oak Bluffs seawall to take photos of the ferry. The pictures began to pop up on Facebook even before I passed the OB SSA terminal.

Send Chappy news to peter@chappyferry.net.