When Charles McGrath wrote about the annual Island Cup game between the Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket football teams for the New Yorker in 1984, he likened it to a fierce sibling rivalry. What mainland team could hope to drum up a rivalry as poignant with either of the Island squads? For all that the Vineyarders can’t stand about the Whalers, they also know that the only football team in the entire country that could possibly understand what it means to be an Islander is that of their brother-in-isolation, Nantucket.

It is indeed bad news to see that cod, once the most abundant fish in our waters, continues to have a hard time. Despite huge efforts on the part of fishermen and scientists to come up with a mix of fishing and conservation, the stocks continue to have problems recovering from historically-low numbers.

Friday, August 3: Mostly sunny. Oak Bluffs harbor is bustling with visitors on the promenade and boats in the water, in the afternoon. Youngsters carry ice cream cones. A steady stream of visitors move slowly off the passenger ferry Island Queen, under a hot, late-afternoon sun. A steady, unwavering southwest breeze in the afternoon cools the landscape, and fills sails offshore.

“I was a pest to a lot of people when I first came to the Vineyard in 1967,” confessed Mark Snider, owner and managing director of Mattakeset Properties in Katama since 1983, of the Winnetu Oceanside Resort at Katama since 2000 and now of the Nantucket Hotel and Resort that opened June 29 across Nantucket Sound.

“But, remember,” he added with a touch of pride, “that I was only 10 and there was so much I wanted to learn from people here who had history to share.”

“Patience is the greatest of all virtues.”

Though Cato the Elder figured this out around 200 BC, it is likely that crab spiders could have told him even earlier. They know that good things come to those who wait.

Gus Ben David, of the World of Reptiles and Birds, and I have received a few calls or e-mails about ailing sea birds and shorebirds. Deb Hancock called and described a very lethargic ruddy turnstone she spotted on Lobsterville Beach. The bird could be picked up and showed no sign of concern when she approached. Deb also noticed a common loon that was up on the beach and showed very little fear when approached, except to snap its bill. This is unusual because loons are not designed to go on land; it typically indicates that a bird is weak or ill.

No more Mrs. Nice Guy! I have had it with the voles in my vegetable garden. I have tried several deterrents for the little pests. Nothing has worked. The last straw has been finding every single paste tomato with at least one bite in it.

I marched myself down to the Animal Shelter and was fortunate to find two barn cats. They want to live outdoors and hunt small rodents. It was a match made in heaven. If you want a dog or cat in good health to fit your individual needs, the Animal Shelter at Pennywise Path is the place for you.

Emily Mercier, daughter of Susan and Philip Mercier of Edgartown, was named to the dean’s list at Smith College for the 2011-2012 school year. Emily graduated from Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School and is a pre-medical student at Smith.

Chilmark

Nicholas Negroponte and Debra Z. Porter purchased 3 Signal Hill Lane in Chilmark from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute for $2,650,000 on July 30.

James O. Stolaroff and Kyle McDonald purchased 12 Peases Point Road in Chilmark from Jane B. Wachsler for $550,000 on July 31.

Oak Bluffs

Charles M. Brown 3rd purchased 6 Foster avenue in Oak Bluffs from Marie T. Devine for $300,000 on August 1.

Martina Thornton was sworn in as the new county manager on Wednesday evening. Mrs. Thornton, who served as executive assistant to the county manager for four years, said she is pleased with the contract she negotiated with the seven-member elected commission last week in executive session.

The terms of Mrs. Thornton’s contract include an annual salary of $67,709.