Naturalist Nicholas Culpepper made a valid observation when he noted that “God and nature made nothing in vain.”

He was speaking of honeysuckles, one of the first plants to leaf out in early spring, when he identified one of its detriments. Culpepper’s unfortunate observation was that “the chewing of a leaf is more likely to cause a sore mouth and throat than cure it.”

Birders have a tough decision, as there are two very important bird-oriented events this weekend; one for least terns and another for the Massachusetts Breeding Bird Atlas.

The Edgartown Public Library will present an evening program with Island poet, artist and printer Dan Waters on Wednesday, May 6, from 7 to 8 p.m.

Mr. Waters is a man of many talents and seemingly boundless energy. A former poet laureate of West Tisbury, he is proprietor of the Indian Hill Press and the author of three books of poetry, Robert Frost’s Answering Machine, Remembering the Islander and Needing Winter.

The long-awaited transformation of the Stop & Shop parking lot wall in the Gateway to the Island is set to take place tomorrow, Saturday, May 2, at 11 a.m., when the Tisbury mural is to be unveiled. This will be the public’s first viewing of the massive public art project, and a chance for all to meet the design artists, Anne Grandin and Thomas Larson, and the many art students and Island artists who worked alongside them to produce the historical Vineyard mural.

Sunday, May 3 is Pete Seeger’s 90th birthday, and as part of a worldwide celebration of the man and his music, Featherstone Center for the Arts in Oak Bluffs will host a free concert. The event begins at 4 p.m. Tristan Israel, Nancy Jephcote, Mark Lovewell, and Paul Thurlow will perform songs both written and made famous by the legendary environmentalist, civil rights activist, and folk singer.

Donna Blackburn, the resident artist on the staff of the Edgartown Public Library, will lead two free, four-week art classes at the library this May.

Basic Watercolors, a class for adults, will meet from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, May 5, 12, 19 and 26. Enrollment is limited to six people. To sign up and for details on what supplies you’ll need to bring, contact the library at 508-627-4221.

By HOLLY NADLER

In the good old Globe days, William Shakespeare’s audience welcomed the many hours it took to plow through one of his plays. What else did they have to do? There were no movies, no television, even books were in short supply: the richest citizens had two or three volumes per household, and at least one of them was the Bible.

Correction

A story in last week’s Gazette previewing the Chilmark annual town meeting inaccurately characterized the town budget. Chilmark was not the only town to see its annual budget go down this year; the West Tisbury budget also went down. The Gazette regrets the error.

KATHIE CASE

508-627-5349

kathleencase@comcast.net

Wow! What else could you say about this last week? The buds on the trees have burst open, and a lot of the plants have sprouted. What a week.

Happy birthday to all who celebrated this past week. Big balloons go out to Alexandra Habekost, Caroline Hurley and Ana Ribeiro, who celebrated their day April 25, and Korrine Alteri, Kyle Alteri and Jennie Lindland who celebrated April 27.

JUNE MANNING

508-645-2574

(lthslnks@gis.net)

The Women’s Symposium will be held at the Chilmark Community Center tomorrow from 9 a.m. to noon. The discussion topic is Coping.