At 1 a.m. Wednesday morning I checked the Chappy Ferry webcams just to see what, if anything, was going on down there. The water was flat calm. The reflection on the water of the Chappy side landing revealed every detail in an upside down view.

Everything looked normal except that the deck had a coating of snow. It was the first snow of the season — and here it is the middle of the first week of December. Depending on your point of view, that’s either really late or pretty early. Not able to determine how much or how slippery that snow would be, I figured that I needed to go down there and see for myself. We don’t want the ferry captain or an ambulance crew ending up on their keisters when responding to an emergency on Chappy.

Once out on the paved road, I could see that the snow was a dry dusting. The snow had been swirled by previous vehicles. In some places the snow in the opposite lane was undisturbed while the road on my side was swept nearly bare. Halfway there I started wishing I had brought the leaf blower, which we keep for blasting fluffy snow off the ferry.

As soon as I got out of my truck I was aware of the profound silence on the waterfront. The only sound was a little creak from the ramp as the tide went out. I wouldn’t have wanted to disturb the peace and quiet with the dreadful racket of a leaf blower anyway. I herded the snow to the end of the boat with a push broom and sprinkled rock salt on the ramp and deck. Any more snow that fell would melt as soon as it hit the deck. All set, headed home.

I’m never eager to get out of bed in the middle of the night, but I’m always glad when I do. Town was deserted, the Christmas trees lining the streets were lit up and I promised myself an extra hour in bed in the morning to make up for the time I spent attending to the ferry.

The Chappy Ferry captain and crew appreciation potluck supper is on Wednesday, Dec. 11 from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Chappaquiddick Community Center. Bring a dish to serve eight. This is your annual opportunity to have a conversation of more than 50 seconds with the folks who get you home in all kinds of weather.