MARGARET KNIGHT

508-627-8894

(margaret02539@yahoo.com)

As the natural world comes to life, the plants’ new growth has the appeal of the young of any species — the delicate tree leaves with creases like newborns’ skin, the vibrancy of youth that appears in the radiant green of grass and leaves, before time turns them ordinary.

The Katsura tree in my yard, which is an adolescent grown up from a seedling collected at my childhood home, has tiny new leaves which are almost the color the leaves will turn in the fall before they drop. This is true of other trees, for example, how the red flowers of the swamp maple reflect the bright red of the leaves turn in autumn — it makes me think of the similarity of characteristics between babies and old people.

The grass in Bill Brine’s new field and cemetery is the most luminous green of anything growing on the island right now. It’s as if the sun is shining from inside the blades. There’s a murder of crows that likes to hang around that corner, and the brilliance of their blackness makes a perfect complement to the green grass and blue sky.

All the birds are reaching their peak of beauty. The robin that frequents my vegetable garden now has the biggest red-brown breast I’ve ever seen. At the bird feeder, the male goldfinches, which used to be motley yellow-gray, have just about finished changing into their yellow summer garb, with only small patches of gray here and there. One of my favorite birds to see at the feeder is the male pine warbler, who has a bright yellow-green breast and luminescent olive-green cape.

The pair of osprey that rebuilt their nest on the electric line pole on the road to my house — ignoring a nearby pole put up for their personal use — were evicted again. Gus Ben David contacted me after I wrote about the pair in the column. He works with NStar to put up nesting poles when osprey build on electric line poles.

The sticks from the nest can cross the lines, especially in wet weather, and short out power to a whole line. When that happened at a pole on the Edgartown-West Tisbury Road across from the Edgartown School, Gus said it sounded like a bomb went off. He asks that if anyone sees osprey start a nest on an electric pole, they call him. He has done the osprey work on the Island since 1970, putting up more than 118 poles. Gus says, “I don’t want birds to be an inconvenience to people” — but I’m pretty sure he’s more concerned with protecting the future of the birds than the convenience of people.

Last week Gus and NStar cleared off the nest along my road, and this time they put a teepee of strapping on top of the pole to keep the pair from rebuilding. Last fall when they took off the nest, Gus had figured the pair would rebuild on the new higher pole nearby because osprey will usually choose the location with a better overlook.

After the nest removal this time, the osprey right away got busy building on the designated pole. Gus says if they build their nest quickly enough there will still be time for them to have a family this season – eggs take 35 days to hatch. Both osprey build the nest, and after the female lays eggs, the male feeds her during the incubation time. After a couple of days, though, the osprey seemed to lose interest somewhat in rebuilding.

They may not be planning on a family yet anyway. After spending their first year in the tropics, osprey return here. Then they can pair up and spend time at a nest for several years before having young. This is called a housekeeping pair. If something happens to one of the pair before they mate, the remaining osprey may repeat the process with a new and younger partner.

There are new benches in the little ferry house at the Point. Last week Peter Wells was doing the finishing touches — bolting down the seat planks — while people coming home at the end of the day were telling him how great the benches looked. He accepted the compliments, but would like to give credit where credit is due. It was actually Jonathan Morse who designed and built the benches. It’s nice to have the building looking more hospitable, as well as functional. The window will also be replaced, making it a viable shelter for waiting in rainy weather.

On Monday, May 5, at 4 p.m. at the selectmen’s meeting, the hearing for the proposed increase in ferry fares will be continued. The selectmen also will be choosing members for the new Chappaquiddick ferry advisory committee. This three-person committee was a recommendation of the Purchase the Chappy ferry committee, chaired by Woody Filley with vice-chairman John Dropick, which met over many months last year to investigate the pros and cons of town ownership of the ferry. The purpose of the new committee will be to act as interface between the board of selectmen and those using the ferry. Anyone interested in serving on this committee should submit a letter to the selectmen by noon on Monday, May 5.

The shad bushes are just starting to blossom. When they’re in full bloom, you can see their white flowers everywhere along the roads and in the woods — the first wild-growing bush to flower.