Pollinator Pathway

Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • May 24, 2021

It is official. The MMA gardens on Vestal Street are now part of the Pollinator Pathway.


As you walk by, you will see a sign on our fences at either side of the street. It’s actually a small, metal medallion-like sign with a butterfly. The MMA has always had pollinator gardens – it’s just now we have made it more official by joining this group. Such gardens are pesticide and fertilizer free, have native species, and make sure to control and remove invasive species. 


Many years ago, before the habitats of the monarchs and other butterflies (and most pollinators) were severely diminished, the MMA gardens would be covered in hundreds of monarch butterflies ever year. It was absolutely amazing. Now, with the continued decimation of their habitats in the US and Mexico, we have fewer and fewer. If I see ten in a season it’s a banner year for monarchs on Vestal Street.

Besides supporting insects, birds and small animals with our pollinator gardens, the MMA also uses its garden areas for children’s classes, family and adult programs, and our museum animals come out for walks to snack on the clover, grasses, and other plants that they can eat. So, fertilizer and pesticides are even more something to stay away from.


So, as you walk down Vestal Street and see the Butterfly Weed, Joe Pye Weed, Milkweed, and other native plants, revel in the knowledge of what these plants are doing. They are supporting the pollinators – from bees to butterflies to birds – that support our ecosystems and support life.


JNLF

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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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