The Chappy Ferry steering committee will meet on Thursday, June 23 at 5 p.m. Check the town’s website for the agenda and Zoom link.

Keep in mind that this Sunday morning is the running of the Chappy Point to Point Run. Starting at 7 a.m., runners will be gathering at the ferry point to get their bibs and catch a van ride out to Wasque. The first runners take off for the run back to the ferry point at 8:30. The last group will start at 10:30.

On Wednesday I stepped outside at 4 a.m. to have a peek at the five-planet lineup in the early morning sky. In the past I’ve suggested that you drag yourself from the comfort of bed to see a meteor shower in the middle of the night, expecting you to stand outside with your neck craned for 15 minutes to see the momentary streak of a shooting star. If the sky is clear, the spectacle of the planet lineup is a sure thing.

These mornings, the moon is included. It’s bright enough to wash out most of the other stars so that the great square of Pegasus and the big “w” of Cassiopeia are obvious. Well worth the effort and you don’t need to get all bundled up because it’s all right there as soon as you step outside.

You might feel that getting up at 4 a.m. is too early for human activity. Not so for Chappy Ferry captain Joel Page. That’s when he steps aboard the Patriot shuttle in Falmouth five mornings a week to make the sunrise trip to Oak Bluffs. He gets to Edgartown in time to carry out the 5 a.m. special request run and to put fuel in the ferryboat. By noon, he’s already been up twice as long as many of us.

A word of advice. Before you let the dogs out in the morning, give the skunks a chance to clear out of the yard. It’s baby skunk season and their parents are extending their grubbing hours into daylight to provide for the little ones.