Begin with a teapot. That’s the simple underlying premise for a group exhibition at Featherstone Center for the Arts opening Saturday, Sept. 6, entitled Teapots and More.

“The main thing needs to be a teapot,” ceramacist Washington Ledesma said, explaining that each artist who offers a teapot for the exhibit may bring up to four more pieces for display. If many artists bring many pieces, Mr. Ledesma hopes the show can spill out under a tent on the Featherstone grounds.

Author Marc Songini will return to the Island to speak about his book, The Lost Fleet: A Yankee Whaler’s Struggle Against the Confederate Navy and Arctic Disaster, at the Chilmark Public Library on Wednesday, Sept. 10 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. The event is free and open to all.

One day, after a performance of his play The Patriot Act a couple of weeks ago, Ronald B. Campbell Jr. was approached by an audience member, an older man, in tears.

The estrangement between the central character in the play and his son echoed the audience member’s own estrangement from his son.

“I’m going to call him,” the man said.

Irish musicians are melting the membrane that once separated the flute, fiddle and pipes from the driving baselines and hip-swiveling rhythms of modern music — and three free-wheeling members of the band Lunasa will show how it’s done at a concert Saturday, Sept. 6, at 8 p.m. at the Katharine Cornell Theatre in Vineyard Haven.

Two of the most popular recreational fish will soon be off limits to commercial fishermen. The commercial bluefish season ends tomorrow. The commercial striped bass season ends on Tuesday.

This is the first time Massachusetts fisheries managers are closing the commercial season on bluefish. Using landing data, the state estimates the 516,619-pound quota for bluefish in the state will be taken by tomorrow. Fish markets may carry the fish beyond the date, but it won’t be for long.

The most stressed-out fish of the sea, the false albacore, made an appearance a week ago. They scared the bonito away and now it seems as though both are absentee.

False albacore and bonito are among the fastest swimming fish of these waters from late August to October. They are a finicky warmer weather fish. It is hard to write a sentence about one without mentioning the other in the same paragraph.

But the prevailing northeast winds of the last few days have cut down on a lot of the boat fishing.

Friday, August 29: Partly sunny. An empty Oak Bluffs School sits childless and quiet at noon, soon to change in the days ahead. High flying clouds pass over the school and head over Farm Pond.

I am no night owl. Late night and early morning I prefer to be communing with the sleep fairies. Occasionally though, I lose the battle for the zzzz’s and find myself awake in the darkness. Luckily in these occasional moments of sleeplessness, I am not alone. Screech owls, referred to as “a sluggish loathsome bird” in Roman mythology keep those of us with insomnia company.

What are white-winged crossbills doing in Aquinnah in September? What are white-winged crossbills? First things first: a white-winged or two barred crossbill is a member of the finch family. Although they are relatives of American goldfinches, house finches and purple finches, the crossbills are built differently.

By LYNNE IRONS

I have never been fond of mayonnaise but I like egg salad in the summer. It is so convenient for lunches. I use cottage cheese with a bit of Italian dressing mixed with the chopped eggs. It is a high protein food for children as well. The other evening I was too tired to make a proper supper and added some chopped cabbage to the mixture. It may turn into a new favorite.