Benefit Auction

A silent and live auction to benefit the Edgartown School eighth grade trip this spring to Washington, D.C., is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 1 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Oyster Bar & Grill, 57 Circuit avenue, Oak Bluffs.

Items slated for the auction include a Peter Simon family portrait, a Ray Ellis signed print, and 100 gallons of fuel. Edward Jerome will be the auctioneer.

Admission is $30. Tickets will be available at the door.

THIRD STRIKE: A Brady Coyne/J.W. Jackson Mystery. By Philip R. Craig and William G. Tapply. Scribner, New York, N.Y. December 2007. 323 pages. $24 in hardcover.

Cancer Support Fund

A fund has been established at the Martha’s Vineyard Savings Bank for Heather Jardin, who is undergoing treatment for leukemia at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Heather is the manager of the herb garden at Morning Glory Farm in Edgartown, where she has worked for the past 10 years. Her address is Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Dana-Farber Floor, 44 Binney street, Boston, MA 02115. Questions may be directed to Debbie Athearn by calling 508-627-8782 or by e-mail at morninggloryfarm@verizon.net.

Charter School

Monday, Jan. 21: No school, Martin Luther King Day.

Tuesday, Jan. 22: Tomato vegetable soup, hot dog or tofu dog on a roll, fruit smoothie and milk.

Wednesday, Jan. 23: Bagels with cream cheese, tuna salad or melted cheese and tomato, Japanese salad, pineapple and milk.

Thursday, Jan. 24: Pizza (plain cheese, pepperoni or tomato, zucchini and feta), tossed salad, fresh fruit and milk.

Friday, Jan. 25: Chili with beef or vegetarian, grated cheese, cornbread and butter, applesauce and milk

“Fight blue-sky thinking.”

So says part of the manifesto of the Cloud Appreciation Society. This London-based organization (with a membership of 11,546 cloud spotters) takes the position that “clouds are unjustly maligned and that life would be immeasurably poorer without them. Life would be dull if we had to look up at cloudless monotony day after day.”

Now that the annual Christmas Bird Count is fading into pleasant memories and a lot of fascinating data, we might be lulled into thinking that we can put citizen science aside until next winter. Nope! Such is not the case, as we have a request for help with a winter waterfowl survey of sites where people feed wild ducks and geese.

By LYNNE IRONS

I hope I do not sound completely hard-hearted, but, thankfully, my last rabbit has died. I started out with two adorable Easter bunnies when the children were little. I was assured they were both females. You must be able to see where this is headed.

Brickyard Hike

The Trustees of Reservations will sponsor a hike on Jan. 20 at the Menemsha Hills Brickyard ruins, the last remnants of a once-prosperous Vineyard industry. In this annual guided walk, participants will learn about the brickyard’s industrial past and plans for its future.

The walk is free for members of the Trustees and $15 for non-members. Pre-registration required; space is limited. No dogs will be allowed.

Katrina Benefit

The pastors of the United Methodist Cooperative Ministry will sponsor a fund-raiser today, Friday, Jan. 18 to help support volunteers who will travel to Slidell, La., to help with post-Hurricane Katrina reconstruction.

The event, which will feature home-made waffles, is scheduled from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Christ United Methodist Church, Church street, Vineyard Haven. More information is available by calling 508-645-3100.

Temperature: Precip.

Day Max. Min. Inches.

Fº Fº

Jan. 11 48 35 Trace

Jan. 12 55 39 .50

Jan. 13 49 33 .00

Jan. 14 47 34 .60

Jan. 15 38 23 .00

Jan. 16 40 25 .00

Jan. 17 33 21 .00

Water temperature in Edgartown harbor: 40º F.