The vernal equinox will have passed by the time you are reading this, but surely the longer hours of daylight have been duly noted and appreciated. More early spring bulbs and shrubs are blooming in our yards. Several people were fishing in the Mill Pond last week. Pinkletinks are singing their songs.
I had a lovely conversation with Cathy Peters, who called to tell me she heard pinkletinks outside her Lambert’s Cove home on March 15. She became an avid pinkletink listener after moving here several years ago, and hearing about the race by Island residents to announce the earliest sounding. Her earliest recorded date was “Feb. 28, a couple of years ago.” Thanks for letting us know, Cathy, and thanks for your careful documentation.
I am writing with sadness for the passing of Joel Rebello last Friday night. He was the son of Lynne, brother of Ashley and James, brother-in-law of Tessa. My condolences to you all.
Everyone I know is busy starting seeds and planning more, more, more for their gardens. The seed catalogues, filled with deliberately enticing pictures of perfect vegetables and flowers, are irresistible for gardeners. The entry at Ghost Island’s farmstand is filled with trays of tiny seedlings, mostly early varieties of tomatoes, according to Diana Waring. The fields outside look eager to be filled with zinnias in every color. Krishna Collins is planting her seeds for all the amazing flowers she grows and sells every summer. She always finds something new, as well. My latest passion is for a lime-green double columbine I found in the Select Seeds catalogue. Steph DaRosa is starting some of those seeds for me, along with her own.
Congratulations to Seth Hyde, the West Tisbury student who won the Island spelling bee. He will be heading to the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C., this May.
Congratulations, too, to Sgt. Brad Cortez, West Tisbury’s Officer of the Year. He was awarded the honor and a plaque by Chief Matt Mincone. Everyone who knows Brad knows that he has all the qualities one would wish; he is a fine person and a fine officer.
Is anyone interested in serving on the West Tisbury climate action committee? They need a new member who will represent the planning board.
Tara Whiting-Wells has sent mail-in ballots to 365 town voters who requested them. She wants to remind you to read the directions carefully, and to be sure to sign the ballot envelope before sealing it and placing it inside the white mailing envelope. This inner envelope must be signed, or the ballot will be rejected. You will be sent another ballot, but best to get it right the first time. Ballots may be mailed back to Tara at Town Hall, you may use one of the drop boxes, or best of all, stop in and hand it to Tara during her office hours: Monday through Friday, 7:30 am to 12:30 pm. Call her at 508-696-0148 with any questions.
I attended the soup and bread lunch that the Howes House put on for Saint Patrick’s Day. Dan Sauer of 7A made the best beef and barley soup I have ever tasted. We were serenaded by Mary Sossong, who had everyone tapping their feet to her Irish fiddle music. Then I ran home to get my watercolors and paint with Nancy Cabot and the group that sets up there every Friday afternoon. It was a perfect holiday day.
I am writing this week back on my old Mac laptop. I had a couple of days enjoying life on my new, speedy MacBook Air, before it asked for my password, then refused to accept it. Megan had set it up to use my thumbprint to turn the computer on, and I am quite chagrined to find that unacceptable, as well. Who else’s thumbprint do they think it is? I find myself flummoxed by an inanimate machine that was supposed to make my life better.
I am taking a page from Lynn Irons, who ends her weekly gardening column in the Gazette with a political comment. My regular readers will note that I do try to refrain from such commentary, but this is too blatant to ignore. Has anyone noticed that all of a sudden the top manufacturers of insulin have dropped their prices to a monthly cap of $35? All of a sudden, since President Biden capped insulin costs at that amount for seniors on Medicare, the manufacturers have done the same for everyone using insulin. Presumably they will remain profitable companies, and the years of charging hundreds of dollars for a medication long past any patent restrictions can be noted for what it was, an example of a company doing what it wanted to just because it could.
If you have any West Tisbury Town Column suggestions, email Hermine Hull, hermine.hull@gmail.com.
