Remember that there is a household hazardous waste collection scheduled at the Edgartown transfer station on May 20 from 9 a.m. to noon. Start gathering up your old yucky stuff. Check their website for very detailed and complete information regarding what they will accept. Just Google Edgartown transfer station to find it. I will point out that any products or items containing mercury are collected free of charge at all district facilities during regular business hours. This includes watch batteries, hearing aid batteries, thermometers, barometers, fluorescent bulbs and neon bulbs.

The next Chappy Community Center potluck dinner will be hosted by Dot and John Dropick. They had to postpone from hosting the last one. Appetizers begin at 6 p.m. The buffet line forms up at 7. Please bring a dish of your choice to serve six. Call Lynn at 508-627-8222 to sign up to host one of the few remaining potlucks or put your name in the little book next time you are at the CCC. The last dinner is scheduled for June 7.

This is the perfect time to sign up for lessons and programs at the center. All the necessary forms can be found at and printed from the CCC website. Sailing lessons begin June 26. Tennis lessons begin on July 6. The Plum Cup mixed doubles tennis tournament will be played at the end of July. If you want your name on that trophy you had better get out on the court to hone your skills.

The Chappy ferry will begin operating on the summer schedule on Thursday, May 25. That means the ferry runs continuously from 6:45 a.m. through midnight, weather permitting, of course. On the ferry’s website, we post warnings when service may be interrupted by high tides or high winds. You can also keep an eye on the waiting lines to help you to avoid busy times. Just Google Chappy ferry.

All the freshwater ponds on Chappaquiddick are chock full from the recent plentiful rains. The spring peeper frogs are providing a deafening chorus every night. Buds are swelling on trees and shrubs. The Russian olives have leafed out, which gives this very successfully invasive species a big head start on the indigenous vegetation. A nest is beginning to appear on the osprey pole near the ferry point. The daffodils have outdone all previous performances. The ticks are already making their presence known. Those tiny little kitchen counter ants have awakened from their winter slumber. Keep an eye out for the shadbush to suddenly blossom.

We had several wild storms this past winter. The only saltwater ice was a thin skim on Caleb Pond and Cape Pogue Bay. Usually a northeaster will stir up the eel grass. The seaweed will wash ashore, piling up a foot deep as well as choking the ferry slips and fouling the ferryboat propellers. This year, however, almost none appeared. Good news for the Chappy ferry, bad news for the farmers.

The Edgartown Memorial Wharf is getting an intense makeover. The shingles, stairs, gutters, trim and wall boards have all been stripped off. The frame is now completely exposed. To my eye it’s a grand work of art. I spent lots of weekends as a kid climbing around in the trusses. With the siding removed, the remaining structure rocks in the breeze even more than before. The contractor has added temporary bracing to keep it upright until the refurbishing is completed. The wharf has always been a major landmark on the Edgartown waterfront. Not many harbors have such a wonderful public overlook.

Send Chappy news to peterchappyferry@gmail.com.