Keep Calm and Bird On: May 2023

Ginger Andrews • Apr 30, 2023
“If you don’t look, you don’t see. You have to go and look.”
-Edith Andrews

May is when we think of warblers. We dream of warblers, males in their full breeding plumage, bejeweled, radiant as they catch the light. Sometimes dreams they remain. We never know when a late Spring storm may blow in, preventing trees from blooming, insects from flying, pollinators from pollinating. Our tendency towards a late and chilly May makes some Islanders mutter “Mayvember!” as they haul the long johns back out during a surprise visit from Arctic air.


But we have always experienced delayed spring to some degree, due to the slow-to-warm ocean around us. So while our island may not have the species richness of a Cape May, a Central Park, a Mt. Auburn Cemetery, there will be treats to look and search for. Six species of warblers—now perhaps seven, as Northern Parulas sometimes linger to nest—breed on Nantucket. Only the most dire disaster will keep those birds from returning to the places they successfully raised families last year. So enjoy the Pine Warblers, already here in April and singing in the treetops. Wait for the demure Black-and-whites, the gaudy Yellow Warblers, the Common Yellowthroats, the Prairies, the American Redstarts to return. Listen for them. And we are bound to see a few migrants by the way: Magnolia, Palm, Blackburnian, Cape May Warbler—and with one of those late spring storms, who knows what else might blow in? It’s always a surprise out here.

 

And in the meantime, we put out the orange halves to entice Baltimore Orioles, the grape Jelly that will send catbirds into battle like inflating balloons: they puff up to assert dominance over the dish. There is always something to look at.


Photo by Trish Pastuszak

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“If you don’t look, you don’t see. You have to go and look.” -Edith Andrews

Shards

By Jascin N. Leonardo FInger • 06 May, 2024
I have written of my love for sea glass and pottery shards in the past and the recent replacement of the sewer and water lines on Vestal Street created a small shard collection over the last month. Since the work required the asphalt to be completely removed (all twelve inches of it!) and the road to be dug up multiple times as they worked to remove pipe, relay new pipe, hook up the water meters, and install drainage and manhole covers, this resulted in the earth in the street being tossed about quite a bit. And, with that, came the shards! Some of these likely came from the sewer line (yes, yuck) but others came from being simply in the dirt of the road – which was not paved until 1946/1948. Pieces were likely tossed out at times, made to act as filler in holes, or simply tossed. So I found all sorts of pieces I will keep here at the Mitchell House. They included: a lovely piece with a red floral, many pieces of plates, glass, the top of a late nineteenth or early twentieth century (medicine) bottle, glass shards, a flattened spoon, a brass knob (found by a neighbor) some nails, a spike, pieces of a larger container or two based on the size and curve and coloring of the shards, and possibly a Wampanoag stone tool. One person’s trash is another one’s treasures! JNLF

Is That A Wrap?

22 Apr, 2024
Yes. Well, almost. After about a month of working – and some living (staff and or neighbors) – on Vestal Street with all the sewer and water replacement work, the paving happened today (April 17, 2024). This is the first “layer” – a three-inch binder coat. In the fall, once time has passed, they will return for the final one inch of the finish layer. Some of the other things along Vestal Street will also be repaired and updated between now and the final coat – and a bit after that. But we are very happy, after all these years to have a modern system of piping – and all new drainage we never had before! While the curator in me loved the old clay pipes, they were riddled with roots from the trees, holes, and in some places, collapsed, and the twelve inches of asphalt had to go. Vestal Street was only paved in about 1946/1948 – and has not been paved in maybe twenty years so that is a lot of asphalt in about fifty years! And with climate change and the increase in how much rain we get in these heavy rain events, all that water rushed down Vestal Street with nowhere to go – except our cellars. I am sure the neighbors are happy too! A thank you to the Town of Nantucket’s Sewer Department, especially David Gray (who may regret giving me his cellphone number forever), N&M Excavating and Utilities (Dean, we appreciate you being so nice when we had too many questions), Victor-Brandon Corp for paving, and numerous others. We are looking forward to great flushing, powerful hose lines, and rainwater being whisked away via the new, never-before-had storm drains! JNLF And to all the N&M workers who wondered why I was constantly looking down as I walked along Vestal Street, you should see the trove of porcelain shards, glass, old nails, a bottle neck, 19 th century spoon, and even possibly a Wampanoag stone tool I found!
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