Why is it when an accidental (rare, unusual or vagrant) bird arrives on Martha’s Vineyard there is always a scenario where there is a good cop/bad cop gig? In this case Allan Keith is the good cop. On March 24 and then again on March 25 he spotted and spread the word that a male common teal arrived in the pond at Turtle Brook Farm, Chilmark. Lanny McDowell took great photos of this bird and a male green-winged teal that was in the same pond.

What is so romantic about rodents?

In the case of muskrats, there is clearly something that inspired songsters Captain and Tennille in the mid-1970s: who doesn’t remember the refrain?

“And they whirled and they twirled and they tangoed

Singin’ and jingin’ a jango 

Floatin’ like the heavens above

It looks like muskrat love.”

It was definitely a favorite for this muskrat (and Captain and Tennille) fan.

Edgartown attorney Edward W. (Peter) Vincent Jr. is facing legal action after the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals filed suit in superior court, “concerned that Mr. Vincent has absconded with its money.”

At issue is a sum of nearly $200,000 due to the MSPCA from the proceeds of a $950,000 real estate sale in January.

The MSPCA hired Mr. Vincent to handle the sale of a veterinary clinic building and cottage on the Edgartown-Vineyard Haven Road, where for 50 years it had operated an animal shelter.

The Hard Way Around> , by Geoffrey Wolff. Alfred A. Knopf, 2010. 218 pages. Hardback, $25.95

A confession: I love sea stories, but until a few weeks ago, I had never read one of the great, true-life adventure books ever written — Sailing Alone Around the World, by Capt. Joshua Slocum, originally of Nova Scotia and at the end of his life from a farm he called Fag End in West Tisbury.

The town of Oak Bluffs is signalling its seriousness about combatting the threat of nitrogen in Vineyard ponds with a warrant article that begins the process of sewering subdivisions along Lagoon Pond. In the annual town meeting warrant selectmen are asking the town to transfer $150,000 from the town’s wastewater retained earnings account to fund the initial planning of the sewering project.

Local lobsters

Editors, Vineyard Gazette:

The lobstermen of Martha’s Vineyard have great concerns about new lobster management proposals to be presented at your meeting on March 21.

Editor’s note: On Sunday, Nicole Galland posted a thank-you on Facebook for all who attended the Saturday show by Shakespeare for the Masses, a loose group that stages hour-long edited-for-fun versions of the Bard’s plays for free; such a thank-you is not an unusual thing for her to post. Except she called it a “magic-sad night.” Asked why, she sent the following reply, which has been slightly edited for style and clarity.

If you saw a young child wandering too close to a swimming pool or campfire, you’d likely steer them to safety without thinking twice.

As a former South Beach lifeguard and Edgartown School teacher, I thought I had strong radar for detecting danger and redirecting kids in a friendly, firm way.

Census Tales

More census figures emerged this week, enforcing with numbers the story of growth that has been told on the Vineyard for decades. The population of Dukes County, which includes Martha’s Vineyard, grew more than ten per cent in the past decade, the highest rate of any county in the commonwealth. We are now, give or take, sixteen-thousand, five-hundred and thirty-five people on this relatively small Island.

In Community

This winter the Island has experienced the deaths of many beloved residents. The passing of three men in particular, from very different walks of life, leaves a large hole in the life of the Island; Sheriff Christopher (Huck) Look, Edwin (Bob) Woods, and Jonathan Lipsky.

Each man made specific contributions to the Island, in law enforcement, conservation and the arts. On a deeper and perhaps even more significant level they represented through their actions what living in community means. This will be their lasting legacy.