So, you all know about the giant Jack met up that beanstalk, right? But did you know that giant was the reason all those kids ended up in that old woman’s shoe? Here’s how the children themselves explain it, in song:

“The giant, big and mean and mad, made himself a snack of our moms and dads; now they’re gone and deep inside his belly, and we’re in his shoe all wet and smelly.”

Garden Club Plant Sale

The Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club will hold its annual plant sale and open house on Saturday and Sunday, May 29 and 30, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the historic Old Mill on Edgartown Road in West Tisbury.

The mill, located across from the Old Mill Pond, has been the home of the club since 1942. A great variety of plants grown in the Garden Club’s greenhouse through the winter will be offered for sale to members and the public.

Grow Brazilian

Island Grown Initiative in collaboration with UMass Amherst is hosting a transplant sale at Morning Glory Farm in Edgartown, on May 22 and 23. Taioba, maxixe, jilo and okra will be available as well as information on cultivation, cooking and nutrition. Hear from other growers what these crops have brought to their business and their kitchens. For more information, contact Zoraia Barros at zbarros@psis.umass.edu.

By LYNNE IRONS

My greenhouse is bursting at the seams. Thankfully, I did not jump the gun (where did that expression come from?) and plant out the many peppers, tomatoes, squashes, watermelons and cucumbers. I did plant a test row of beans, a few tomatoes and a couple of zucchini. Even the double covering of Reemay could not save them. It froze two nights last week. My son Jeremiah lost all his tender vegetable starts — blackened the first morning. Mine, however, died that slow, lingering death which alternately gave hope and despair.

We broke the record! The final total for the Felix Neck Birdathon was 132 species, and what a couple of beautiful days we had. The official start was 6 p.m. Friday and the end was 6 p.m. on Saturday. Friday early evening was clear, so owling was possible. A brief shower in the early morning hours of Saturday gave us what is known in the birding world as a fallout. Sunny, bright and warm with a bit of wind was the weather that greeted the birders on Saturday morning. Whit Manter hit the jackpot at Squibnocket as a mixed flock of warblers and vireos plus a couple of other song birds were in the willows to greet him.

True or False?

Sharpen your pencils, it is the season for final exams. But don’t worry too much: this is an open-book test (if Nature can be said to be an open book).

Given my druthers, I will always choose to take tests outdoors, where true and false describe two varieties of lily of the valley flowers.

A report commissioned by the Martha’s Vineyard and Dukes County commissions analyzing the delivery of public services on the Vineyard suggests the six Island towns should consider combining some departments and services, mostly to save money.

But the 29-page report, prepared by Edward J. Collins of the Center for Public Management at the University of Massachusetts Boston, makes few specific recommendations and takes no position on the issue of regionalization.

The Martha’s Vineyard Cancer Support Group’s annual spring gala celebration, An Evening under the Stars, welcomes guests on Thursday, May 20 from 6 to 9 p.m. at Mediterranean on Beach Road in Oak Bluffs.

With beverages, hot and cold hors d’oeuvre, and music by the Mike Benjamin band, the gala is “casual elegance,” and the price of admission includes door prizes and gift bags.

KATHIE CASE

508-627-5349

(kathleencase@comcast.net)

Well, I hope you all enjoyed our spring. Now we are back to winter. I am glad that I did not get my summer clothes out last week. It was a great tease but I’m sure the good weather will be back soon.

I was driving along the West Tisbury-Edgartown Road when I noticed a police car parked just below the rise of a hill. It was an obvious speed trap. After I had driven out of sight I reached down to flash my lights at an oncoming driver. This is what I have always done. The unspoken law of us, the drivers, versus them, the police, seems to require it.