In the annual Gazette Christmas poem Santa finds something in his sack for almost everyone.

Rising service costs have prompted modest increases to passenger fares, the last of which were approved last week by the advisory board for the Island public transit system. Phased-in fare hikes will continue through 2018.

I received an interesting book for Christmas, Wicked Plants: The Weed That Killed Lincoln’s Mother and Other Botanical Atrocities. I cannot wait to read it.

A bottle tree is not something botanical you might find at the Polly Hill Arboretum, or in any of our Island woodlands for that matter.

Recently someone asked me to identify the birds in three verses of The Twelve Days of Christmas. What are turtle doves, French hens and calling birds?

Prudence Fisher and Joseph Peters of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a daughter, Brooke Elizabeth Peters, born on Dec. 20 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital.

Marcie Mueller and Jason Mallory of Oak Bluffs announce the birth of a daughter, Ayla Hay Mallory, born on Dec. 18 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital.

Betsy Bray will present a talk entitled Beatrix Potter: A Woman Ahead of Her Time about the author and illustrator of The Tale of Peter Rabbit and other children’s classics.

The January page of the new Felix Neck wildlife calendar is off by a day and they want to replace the page with the corrected version.

Debora Barbosa Braz and Alexandro Braz of Edgartown announce the birth of a son, Asaph Barbosa Braz, born on Dec. 19 at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. Asaph weighed 8 pounds, 7 ounces at birth.