KATHIE CASE

508-627-5349

(kathleencase@comcast.net)

There is nothing to say about this weather. It has been rainy, windy and chilly; the leaves are blowing (I hope to the neighbor’s yard) and the flower beds need to be turned over. I just know when the sun comes out, we are all going to be smiling again.

Please Adopt Us

Seven cats, five kittens, five guinea pigs, two dogs and one rabbit — the Animal Shelter of Martha’s Vineyard is bursting at the seams with animals needing homes.

By REMY TUMIN

Every August, Vineyarders flood the fair grounds at the Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society Hall in West Tisbury. Every fall, we are treated to the harvest festival to celebrate the season’s bounty, and every winter we have Island artisans’ fairs, community potlucks or most recently the winter farmers’ markets. The Vineyard is a place of tradition, and the Ag Hall is a beacon of that.

It’s been raining for like 40 days and 40 nights. But the sun is bound to come out sometime and when it does, time to head outdoors. Looking for a little hand-holding, though, to bring you back to the wild? Then you’re in luck. On Sunday, Nov. 14 the Vineyard Conservation Society is leading a walk out to Norton Point Beach on Chappy.

Anyone interested should meet at the Chappy Ferry parking lot at 12:45 p.m. If already on Chappy, meet at the Wasque TTOR gatehouse at 1 p.m.

Years from now. when they go Hollywood and won’t return your calls you’ll be able to say, yeah, well I saw them back in the day when they were still green in the green room. That’s if you head out this week and next to the Vineyard Playhouse’s annual fourth grade theatre project.

Water Essays

Water Matters, Why We Need to Act Now to Save Our Most Critical Resource, was recently released by AlterNet, an award-winning magazine and online community.

Water Matters includes a contribution from Island writer William Waterway. Other contributing writers include Barbara Kingsolver, Bill McKibben, Maude Barlow and Tina Rosenberg, to name a few.

For more information, please visit alternet.org.

Santa on a Steel Horse

Twas about a month before Christmas and many a creature was stirring.

And why not? It was a beautiful fall day, Thanksgiving still two weeks away.

There were no stockings hung by the chimney with care, nor did visions of sugar plums dance in the air.

Thoughts of St. Nick and his bag full of toys were not on this day’s list of joys.

Then a horde of Harley Riders all of them wearing red caps, some even in chaps,

Special Education Talk

On Wednesday, Nov. 17, Charlotte Spinkston, executive director for Urban Pride, will present a workshop highlighting one’s basic rights under the special education law. The workshop aims to help parents learn how to be effective partners with their schools to help make decisions and determine a child’s eligibility for special education. It will also discuss ways to plan and monitor the educational progress of one’s children.

Garden Club Monthly

The Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club will hold its monthly meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 16 at 1 p.m. at the Wakeman Center in West Tisbury.

The program this month is Holiday Creations. Dr. Else Membreno will offer ideas and demonstrate techniques for creating floral arrangements and decorations for the Thanksgiving holidays.

A hospitality hour with refreshments will follow the program.

The event is free for members and $5 for guests.

The sky’s the limit!

Well, up to now, the Milky Way galaxy has been the limit. Humans have never gone into space beyond our Milky Way galaxy. This is not surprising, as to breach the diameter of our barred spiral galaxy would take a space explorer 100,000 light years in travel time.