Some Bunny

Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • July 13, 2020

Bunny fence installed in April.

Bunny fence in July with happy native plants – and a few garden varieties to boot!

If you read this blog then you have read several times of my bemoaning the presence of rabbits at the MMA – particularly the Mitchell House. As a science-based organization and myself a lover of wildlife, I have no problems with them. As a gardener, I do. And, I have written numerous times about the bunny population here on Vestal Street.


Well, it seems that maybe due to the COVID-19/Coronavirus pandemic and fewer people around, that the bunnies have been having something of a baby boom. I have SEVEN baby rabbits of various sizes!  SEVEN!  And they have an even greater audacity than their predecessors – all just lying about in the garden in front of the Maria Mitchell Vestal Street Observatory (MMO) as if they own the lawn and garden. They have no fear – though I do scare them as much as possible to teach them to have some fear.


This spring, once the Town allowed and I had my special permission permit, I installed a bunny fence to keep them out of the main wildflower garden in front of the MMO. It looks a bit different from the photograph here as it has actually kept them out – except for one – and now everything is flourishing! Joe Pye Weed, Prickly Pear Cactus, Blazing Star, Mallow, Mountain Mint, Pearly Everlasting, Butterfly Weed, and more! The one rascal who got in – a tiny baby – was ultimately chased out with the help of a neighbor – both of us wearing our masks and social distancing. The bunny had managed to squeak past the deer fencing I had to use when I ran out of chicken wire for the bottom of the fence. Yes, its green wire deer fencing at about two or so feet and then a one-foot addition of chicken wire at the base to keep out the baby bunnies. I had shown up when the neighbors texted me to tell me they saw “someone” in there. Luckily, I arrived with more chicken wire for the 12-inch deer fenced gap that the baby bunny had gone through. A friend unearthed the much-needed chicken wire in his shed. Seriously – the baby bunny GNAWED through the deer fencing – and then did it in front of me to escape my wrath!


But in any case, it seems to have done the trick – with a thank you to a MMA board member and fellow gardener who told me I had to or I wouldn’t win and I was being too nice.  And to the neighbors and their loveable dog who spied the invader.


Now, I have to figure out a historically-accurate bunny fence that’s low for the Mitchell House garden – which has been completely wasted by the bunnies! So much for 500 heirloom Heavenly Blue Morning Glory seeds – gone! I guess I’m going to have to weave a twig fence!


JNLF

Recent Posts

Top O’ the Ridge!

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • June 29, 2026
In April and early May, at long last, the Mitchell House roof was replaced. (I noted this in an earlier blog.) I had also noted that the roofwalk, given the condition it was in and its location – sitting on the ridge – had to be replaced. They had thought they could jack it up – as they have done with other walks – but the Blizzard of February 2026 that was ALL wind (83 MPH winds – read Category 1 Hurricane) and no real snow, made the walk impossible to treat in such a manner (read: crumble). So, after much discussion, review by our preservation easement holder, and permits, as well as some fundraising, we are replacing the roofwalk. The prior walk was not the original. The original blew off in a gale in the late nineteenth century, replaced at some point in the 1930s, and likely replaced again in the 1960s or 1970s. Then, since that time, it was heavily repaired. Its framing members were notched to accept the ridge boards (read: peak) of the roof and I think that may have been an original way to construct a walk. Makes perfect sense – and gives the walk more support and a lower profile. It was after all about putting out chimney fires and preventing roof fires. People copied what worked – and there have been a few others noted to be built in this manner still. It presents an issue though – because if you need to work on the ridge board or close to it – you cannot get to it easily – I guess you may be able to access it to some extent by lifting the deck boards of the walk. The new Mitchell House roofwalk will sit about six inches above the ridge – which will also allow air to circulate better over the ridge and the shakes in that area. That is the only thing that will really be different. It is protected by a preservation easement – as part of the Mitchell House’s easement – and frankly, even if we did not have an easement, we would not want it to look any different. So keep your eyes to the skies at 1 Vestal as we work to re-build the walk. With a special thank you to Barber and Sons and Lydon and Sons. JNLF

Maria Mitchell In Her Own Words

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • June 22, 2026
1875, June 20. A meeting of the Officers of Congress was called at the house of Mrs. Hanaford, 5 Summit Ave., Jersey City. The weather was intensely cold. I went to New York on the 19 th and stopped with my friend Mrs. Clapp, 100 W. 54 St . . . .It was a question who should preside. Mrs. Hanaford thought the Chairman of the Executive Committee should and I had been told that I should, etc. The question was decided by the non-arrival of the Chairman of Ex.Com. I called them to order at an hour after the time appointed. Of course I made many blunders, as I have never presided before, but I continued for 4 hours. We did a few good things . . . The thing most weighing on Maria’s mind at this meeting was the looseness of membership for the Congress. She felt people were not being vetted properly in some areas of the country and thus they may allow in “undesirables.” I would take this to mean women who were not entirely behind the cause of the Congress and the Association for the Advancement of Women. I am not surprised by her suspicions and likely she was correct – one could see naysayers gaining access to this group and trying to destroy it from the inside. The women’s rights movement would have many schisms within it as people disagreed and broke into smaller factions.  Another important thing to point out is that Mrs. Hanaford is Nantucket-born Phebe Coffin Hanaford. Raised a Quaker, like Maria, Coffin Hanaford would become the first woman Universalist minister in New England – among many other firsts. She grew up with Maria, attended and taught at the Coffin School here on Nantucket, and was a founding member of another women’s organization, Sorosis, which Maria was also a founding member of. It’s nice to see two sister Nantucketers continuing to work together as adults – far from home! JNLF

Pick A Picket

By Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • June 15, 2026
After many, many years of service, our picket fences are getting a much needed replacement. We are starting with the fence on the north side of Vestal Street along the front of the Maria Mitchell Vestal Street Observatory (MMO). This fence is being replaced with part of a grant from the Community Preservation Act. The grant was for the exterior conservation work and landscape issues related to the MMO. The current fence is approximately thirty-five years old so it did rather well. It had replaced a very old fence – one I wish we had kept! But it had been hit many times by cars and had so much paint on it, they decided to replace it. We have small part of that fence still and we will be reproducing it for all the fences we are replacing here on Vestal. The fence is not much different than a normal picket here on island – it’s a hair shorter but it also has a sort of rolled top – not this cut style. I am excited to have this fence back! The new fences are being built by Michael Gault – owner of Gault Woodworking and a Nantucket Preservation Trust Traditional Building Methods award winner. His work is incredible – and lucky for us – he loves building fences!  So keep an eye out – work has begun already. The south side where the MMA Research Center and Hinchman House are located will be done in the fall in the same style. JNLF
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