The next Chappy potluck will be hosted by that multi-talented duo Margaret Knight and Sidney Morris on Wednesday, March 2. Please bring a dish for six. Appetizers begin at 6 p.m. with buffet at 6:30. We have two open spots for hosting before the potluck season ends. May 18 and June 1 are still available. Hosting isn’t that much more time-consuming than preparing a hot dish or salad. We’ll all pitch in with the clean-up.

The Chappy Stitchers will be meeting together at the CCC on Fridays from 10 to noon. Bring your knitting, needlepoint, hand sewing, etc. or just come for the company. All are welcome. Call the CCC at 508-627-8222 if you have questions.

During the next seven weeks I will continue to sound like a broken record with my constant reminders regarding the ferry slip repairs scheduled for the April school vacation week. For a period of eight days the ferry will only carry passengers. The loading ramp on the Chappy side must be removed to access the space beneath it to remove the old disintegrating wooden bulkheads and replace them with durable modern materials. While the ramp is removed vehicles won’t be able to get on and off of the ferry on the Chappy side. The ramp will be removed first thing on Sunday, April 17 and will be back in place by Sunday, April 24 at 6 p.m. Passengers will be carried during the entire time. Bicycles, carts, baby buggies and wheelchairs will be accommodated.

During that week you can park a car in town without getting a parking ticket as long as it is a legal space. The time limits will be disregarded. You can drive the beach to town without OSV permits as long as you follow all of the TTOR rules, such as letting your tire pressure down to 12 to 15 psi.

The gang and I went out to Wasque Monday just before sunset to have a look at nature’s latest handiwork. We parked at the swimming beach lot and headed eastward along the shoreline at the base of the bluffs. About half of the way to the fisherman’s landing that beach is at its widest. The barrier beach opposite that area has migrated so far landward that we were able to hop across what little is left of the old channel and walk out to the beach.

Finally, after eight years, you can easily walk to the Atlantic shore from the swimming beach parking lot. That will certainly be a mixed blessing this summer. But for right now in midwinter it seems a luxury to get to stand next to the surf without a long hike or a long drive.

Seems very likely that the barrier beach will continue to move landward, filling in the old channel and potential swan pond. Eventually it should join the very narrow beach in front of the Wacks house. That will be as much like the old days as it gets. I don’t want to jinx it by saying it out loud, but then perhaps we can drive right onto the beach from the swimming beach parking lot and head out to Wasque or to town without having to endure the long run down from the Dike Bridge.

Last Friday Sally and I went to two concerts in two state capitals on the same day. At Symphony Hall in Boston we heard symphonies by Beethoven and Haydn plus a violin concerto composed by Haydn with a soloist who played her violin so well that we had tears in our eyes. Even with the easy availability of high fidelity recorded music, every concert that we attend is packed. I get seats looking right down onto the stage so that I can see exactly where the music originates. I was delighted to see a few folks from the Vineyard there as well.

Then we hopped into the car and raced to the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Providence, arriving just in time to hear a Mozart violin concerto. The soloist was a young man whose evident joy at playing the violin made our hearts swell. Following the performance was a question and answer session with the conductor and the soloist. I learned that the four solo parts of the piece are not written. The soloist can play anything he chooses for as long as he likes. This music is complicated work and these professionals make it look easy. I can’t get enough of it.

Send Chappy news to peter@chappyferry.net.