The Evil Four Inches

Jascin N. Leonardo Finger • May 23, 2022

It’s springtime! And you know what that means at the Mitchell House – my nemesis hath returned.


Oh yes, I think it a wee bit too early but the other day (I am writing this on May 5, 2022) I saw a flash and the haze of dread crept over me as the flash was furry. For a moment I sad, “No, WAY too early for baby bunnies. Maybe sparrow or a wren.” Ha! Oh no. It’s a baby bunny. All  four – EVIL – inches of her/him with, unfortunately, far more expressive eyes than her/his predecessors. 


And that four inches begets devastation like nothing else in the garden! This little, adorable puff of fur the size of maybe a softball eats 100 times its weight everyday – no, not a scientific calculation – but I really feel like that is more than accurate.


You may be tired of all of this but try seeing that and wondering how you are going to protect your 500 heirloom Heavenly Blue Morning Glory seeds that, when you did not have bunnies around, looked so lovely on the fence at the Mitchell House in late summer. Makes me wonder what Lydia Mitchell and William Mitchell (he was the flower grower) contended with at the House in the nineteenth century. I don’t want the resident Red-tailed Hawks to eat the poor thing but, “ARGH!” the frustration!


I’ll keep you posted – believe me.


JNLF



P.S. After writing this, a few days later, baby bunny number TWO discovered!

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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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