A rare Wilson’s plover arrived on-Island May 18. It was discovered by Liz Baldwin and Luanne Johnson, the team from Biodiversity Works that is monitoring piping plovers and American oystercatchers on many of the Island beaches. They spotted the Wilson’s plover at Squibnocket and found it was keeping the company of a piping plover. Turns out the Wilson’s plover is a female and the piping plover a male; ah the odd couple!

Mouths of babes! My grand daughter, Violet, went on a school field trip to the Polly Hill Arboretum. She was impressed with the lecture on nectar guides. How I have been gardening for over forty years and did not know this is beyond me.

Excellence in Design

Martha’s Vineyard Interior Design announced that Liz Stiving Nichols has received New England Home’s 5 Under 40 annual award for excellence in design.

After receiving her BFA in Interior Design from Harrington Institute of Interior Design in Chicago, Ms. Nichols moved to Martha’s Vineyard. For the past 11 years, her work has been featured in several design magazines and her portfolio of work includes Martha’s Vineyard, Cape Cod, Boston, New York, Chicago and Philadelphia.

Chilmark

John J. Atkins and Jamie N. Atkins purchased 80 State Road in Chilmark from David B. Boyd and Joan M. Boyd for $465,000 on May 18.

Timothy J. Gollin purchased 92 Kings Highway in Chilmark from Michael A. Reuben for $730,000 on May 18.

Ellen B. Kaplan, trustee of Calliope Realty Trust, purchased 142 Quenames Road in Chilmark from Bank of America, N.A., trustee of C. Russell Walton Trust, for $1,325,000 on May 18.

New Fast Ferry Face

There’s a new boat on the block. A newly constructed $6 million vessel from Rhode Island Fast Ferry will be put into service in June.

The 150-passenger Ava Pearl will provide service between Quonset Point, R.I. and Oak Bluffs, and will replace the company’s current 400-passenger vessel, Millennium. The all-aluminum catamaran includes a snack bar, five flat-screen TVs, indoor and outdoor seating, and space for bicycles.

Grant Inquiries Accepted

The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation is accepting inquiries for its 2012 Intellectual Disabilities grant cycle. To be eligible to apply, organizations must be located in Barnstable, Nantucket, Dukes or Essex Counties in Massachusetts and serve children, adolescents and young adults to age 26 with intellectual disabilities. The deadline for inquiries is June 6. More information can be found at thetowerfoundation.org.

Pound for pound, there is not a more ferocious, hard-pulling fish than the bluefish — which makes it a perfect target for young anglers learning how to catch a fish. To the inexperienced youth holding a rod and reel, hooking a small, four-pound snapper bluefish can feel like hooking a whale. They tug and tug and tug (keep your fingers away from its sharp teeth).

Friday, May 18: Sunny. Deep blue skies. Lilacs in bloom in Vineyard Haven. Bright red geraniums in window boxes in Edgartown. Lawnmowers sing duets in the afternoon. Lawns are lush. Grass cuttings color a sidewalk green.

Saturday, May 19: Light breeze in the morning. Early fishing boats bob up and down on the Middle Ground. Hot inland. Temperature in the shade rises to the high 60s. Cooler at the Bend in the Road Beach. Clear in the afternoon. A steady, brisk east wind at Ocean Park in Oak Bluffs. Ideal kite-flying breeze.

In researching The Chappy Ferry Book, author Tom Dunlop asked his fellow Islanders what they thought was the most spectacular thing to hit the boat in its 200 years of operation

“I’ve gotten some good answers: a whale, a meteorite,” Mr. Dunlop said in an interview this week. “To a man and to a woman they stop and stare at me when I say, ‘No, an airplane hit it.’”

The third annual Martha’s Vineyard Yoga Festival returns this year, and while you have until Labor Day to stretch with the best of them, yoga devotees will want to purchase tickets now.

Prices range from $20 for a one-hour master class to $40 for a two-hour workshop. After June 1, prices increase by $5, and are $10 dollars more at the door.