News and Events for Nantucket Island
Summer on Nantucket is coming to an end. Usually at this time of year I try to hold on to summer. Phenologically, September is still part of the growing season, and it’s peak time for many of our wildflowers. That’s what I usually say. This year, however, is a bit different. We’re starting to see fall colors in August (!), plants going dormant earlier than usual, and some things withering before our eyes—more typical late fall activity.
We’re halfway into August, and it starts to feel a touch like fall. There’s a slight crispness to the air in the early mornings, and the humidity of July has waned. The August Blues Fishing Tournament, which I love to participate in, has me thinking about August blues—I mean the kind of feeling that has less to do with bluefish and more to do with disappointment at the end of something. Of course, I’m reading way too much into the name of a fishing tournament, but there is an element of sadness that summer might soon be coming to a close.
For many of us, Coatue is the sandy stretch we seek out to get away from the rest of Nantucket. Whether by boating across the harbor, kayaking, or traversing the over-sand paths by vehicle, many of us recognize that this place is special. Wild landscapes, nesting bird life, great fishing…it’s a wild place that brings us back in time. Even so, it might also be a place we sometimes take for granted. We might enjoy it for the escape, but how often do you think about how vital this barrier beach is to our island way of life?
I am spoiled this time of year, lucky to be working out on the Linda Loring Nature Foundation landscape or going out for walks with my dog on one of the various conservation trails around the island. This time of year, mid- to late-July is when the berries are at their peak, and I can easily find a snack while out in the hot summer sun. It’s a fun time to start foraging for your snacks.
The Madaket Ditch…it doesn’t have a very sexy name, but it is one of the most fascinating and vital parts of the western end of our island. For something so essential to the water quality of Long Pond, it is an often-missed feature of the landscape. Most islanders and visitors have never even seen it.
Purple Martins have arrived on Nantucket for the first time ever. After three years of conservation efforts to support breeding habitat for the species, they have finally “set up house” at the Linda Loring Nature Foundation, primarily due to the efforts of Libby Buck, Conservation Science and Land Steward with LLNF.
