Recent Posts

Island Science

Warmer Water Draws More Sharks

As part of a recent work trip to Maryland, I found myself at the National Aquarium in Baltimore. It was a great facility with an amazing central tank with creatures large and small from the Atlantic. It’s fun to go from tank to tank and check out all the creatures. But it’s that central tank full of the BIG fish that draws the crowds.

Featured Articles

Raining Meatball

The other day, I waited on Surfside Road. I know all of the ways to duck around the traffic, slip up a dirt road, but I was listening to a radio and missed the turn. I was carrying two air conditioners to a house I was caretaking. With the heat and humidity of the summer on us, the owners wanted to cool off the bedrooms, at least. On the radio, the Harbormaster had sent out a message that pretty much all of the south shore was closed to swimming due to sharks. As for me, I was stuck behind a Defender 90 from New Jersey with five beach chairs hanging on a rack off the spare tire. And while I was sitting stock still in traffic, amazed at my own stupidity, I fell out of time.

Dial M for Murder
Nantucket Arts, Nantucket Events

Don’t Miss the Murder

You have just a few more chances to see the deliciously devious drawing room thriller that is currently on stage at White Heron Theatre: Dial M for Murder. This Hitchcock classic is one of the stellar professional productions during this Nantucket theatre company’s tenth anniversary season. It features Tony Award-winner […]

Dial M for Murder
Nantucket Arts

Deliciously Devious

No one is innocent in Dial M for Murder
This drawing room thriller that is currently on stage at White Heron Theatre is excellent on many levels. The strong, snappy dialog is intelligent and engaging, and the talented cast delivers it well. Director Mark Shanahan’s vision pulls it all together, from his ideal casting choices to the perfect timing and spot-on blocking essential for this intricate, single-set, dialog-heavy play to succeed.

Sunset | Nantucket, MA
Nantucket Essays

The Sun Will Still Set

In an idle corner of Massachusetts, Route Two dips along the Connecticut River for a moment, rises to a point in Turner’s Falls, pauses at a flashing red light, than just as fast swoops past Greenfield and out into the the hills of the Berkshires. At the light, a gas station has spread across one corner, a snow mobile dealership goes out of business on another, and a Polish food truck opens on the weekend. On the last quarter, a growth of trees spreads along the high bank of a river forested until Route Two turns into Greenfield. I spent an afternoon amid all of those trees and rocks.

aphids
Island Science

A Very Different Type of Farming

Aphids may be the bane of existence for some gardeners. However, these tiny sap-sucking insects are a diverse group with some pretty interesting habits. Aphids are very common insects and are found on many plants in yards and gardens. In most cases they cause little or no damage to the health of plants. There are more than 1,200 species in North America. While some are generalists, most species of aphids are monophagous or feed on just a few species of closely related plants. If

Bartletts farm
Nantucket History & People

Transitioning to Organic

Over the last fifteen years, 6th generation farmer/owner, Dave Bartlett, has been transitioning every aspect of Bartlett’s Farm’s field-grown produce to Certified Organic. I t has been a long and arduous process, with endless lists of requirements, years of transitioning the fields away from conventional approaches, buffer zones, long inspections, […]