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Home
Columnists
The Watermen
J. V. Houlihan
Fri, Dec 13
Category:
The Ferry Dock Scribbler
“Never leave the playground and you won’t grow old.” —
Anonymous South County resident Paul Murray and Block Island’s Jeff Cowles have known each other for years and share a couple common interests. They work — Murray’s retired — on home heating boiler systems, and they both have passions...
And then the sun came out
Martha Ball
Thu, Dec 12
Category:
Island Notes
I t is mid-December and these days are the shortest of the year. Still, I seem to wake when the first light of summer would be creeping up around the horizon, when it is very dark now and will be for hours, yet. If I am lucky I can retrieve sleep before it slips beyond my grasp and dances around...
The fungus among us
Kim Gaffett
Fri, Dec 6
Category:
News
,
Columnists
,
Ocean Views
On Saturday, Dec. 7, author and mycologist Lawrence Millman will be walking and talking fungi right here on Block Island. First, a walk at 11 a.m. through the Boy Scout Camp. (Upper Connecticut Avenue. Park and meet at the Neptune House.) “Mushrooms at this time of year?” you may be thinking...
Corpus delicti
J. V. Houlihan
Thu, Dec 5
Category:
The Ferry Dock Scribbler
The first three-and-a-half minutes of the new movie, “The Irishman,” is tightly packed with the story’s expository information of the main character, Frank Sheeran. Right out of the gate, there is a long tracking shot of the interior of a nursing home; clients in wheelchairs accompanied by...
Surprising December
Martha Ball
Thu, Dec 5
Category:
Island Notes
I t is more than two weeks, yet, until the Winter Solstice, but the afternoons do not get much shorter than they are these first days of December. At four-thirty on Monday, the incoming afternoon boat passed, its west facing side drawing from the fading sky whatever sunlight was lingering among the...
Making memories, bumpkin-style
J.V. Houlihan, Jr.
Wed, Nov 27
Category:
The Ferry Dock Scribbler
By definition, a bumpkin is “
an awkward, simple, unsophisticated person from a rural area
.” I meet many New Yorkers who pull into Paradise Alley in Point Judith on their way to spend some slack time on Block Island. I always feel these people have a leg up on me; they’re quick on their...
Gone-by Hotels
Martha Ball
Wed, Nov 27
Category:
Island Notes
November Landing 2
Martha Ball
Thu, Nov 21
Category:
Island Notes
Wh at of summer do I love? Watching the boat come and go, watching the vessels pass each other just outside the mouth of the harbor, seeing the wide fanning wake of the traditional carriers spread and diminish, and seeing the very different plume of white foam quickly rising and falling behind the...
In the Afternoon
Martha Ball
Thu, Nov 14
Category:
Island Notes
In the afternoon one or more of the horses are often near the gate, either waiting for dinner, or hoping for a second serving. The other day there was only one vehicle by the wall, and the corresponding animal missing. It was easy enough to put those pieces together, only one was being ridden that...
Turning the Tide: Understanding whale migrations
Rosemary Connelli
Fri, Nov 8
Category:
Columnists
Marine mammal species, including whales and dolphins, have occasionally been found by the island’s coasts. Certain species, such as the humpback whale, have migration routes that pass by Block Island. Humpback whales, one of the most common species along New England’s coasts, are known for holding...
Wind
J.V. Houlihan, Jr.
Thu, Nov 7
Category:
The Ferry Dock Scribbler
Fall is the best time of year to pump the halyards and go sailing in Narragansett Bay. Late September and October of 2019 provided this sailor with some challenging trips up the bay to the north end of Prudence Island. There were five days in September that I got to burn some vacation time and put...
Come Along
Martha Ball
Thu, Nov 7
Category:
Columnists
,
Island Notes
“W e're going out to the wind farm, come along,” the late Norris Pike cajoled me one day in the Town Hall. I did not go. I was up against a hard deadline for this column, which I would miss if I went on a sea cruise. “Come on, what are they gonna do, fire you?” he chuckled. I always regretted not...
360 VIDEO
Walk the shoreline of the Great Salt Pond
Cassius Shuman
Wed, Nov 6
Category:
News
,
Video
(360 VIDEO) Walk the picturesque shoreline of the Great Salt Pond near the boat launch in New Harbor at low tide courtesy of
The Block Island Times
. It was a sunny, beautiful day with temperatures in the low 50s and a slight, gusting breeze. Note: Turn up the volume to fully immerse...
Wind tossed and salt-bitten
Martha Ball
Thu, Oct 31
Category:
Island Notes
Listening to the news I hear of great winds in Southern California, 80 miles an hour, great by even our jaded weather standards, fanning the flames of terrible, all-consuming fires, which easily could consume the whole of Block Island as a snack. It is raw here, the days are shorter, winter, mild...
Winning big at the World Food Championships
Thu, Oct 31
Category:
Columnists
Last week, the largest food sporting event in the world occurred in Dallas, Texas. The World Food Championships (WFC) is a multi-day culinary competition that has more than 1,500 contestants, including professional chefs and home cooks from 42 states and 12 countries, competing against each other...
Knowledge of Pie
Martha Ball
Thu, Oct 24
Category:
Island Notes
It is October and we are not on the edge of another storm, there is no gloom and doom in the forecast, at least for a few days. The clocks don't even kick back until Nov. 3 although these beautiful sunsets are already happening before six as it is. And the Harbor Church has made it though another...
Boat Books
J.V. Houlihan Jr.
Thu, Oct 17
Category:
Columnists
,
The Ferry Dock Scribbler
“About books. They let you travel without moving your feet.” —
Jhumpa Lahiri Reading is my favorite pastime and it’s ironic because as a young guy I never read anything except
Surfer Magazine,
and feeble runs at “The Hardy Boys.” Books got in the way of my Type A personality and my...
March, 1949
Martha Ball
Thu, Oct 17
Category:
Columnists
,
Island Notes
Th ere is another storm brewing, another October storm, the wind picking up in mid-afternoon as reports of rain are floating in from the west. It is going to be a dark and stormy night, there is a great green monster on the radar moving toward the little speck of white that is Block Island, sitting...
Dish off the Block: Double the Beef, Three Bean, Short Rib Chili
Pamela Gelsomini
Thu, Oct 17
Category:
Columnists
It’s football season and that means tailgate grub. Whether you are pre-game partying at the stadium lot or having Sunday Funday in your house by a crackling fire, chili is the quintessential dish. It tastes even better made a day in advance so you enjoy game day without being tied to the kitchen...
The Muted Colors of Fall
Martha Ball
Thu, Oct 10
Category:
Columnists
,
Island Notes
It i s October and there is a storm gnawing around the edges of the day because it is October and in October the wind blows and the rain falls. We had an extraordinary summer with very little “weather,” a strange fact given that the grass remained green through August when it is usually brown and...
Order this... the most wonderful food at Kimberly’s
Amy Lockwood MacDougall
Thu, Oct 10
Category:
Columnists
,
Order This
Kimberly’s menu is one of the few on the island where there really is something for every taste. Kids will be happy with the chicken and pasta dishes. The White Fish Plain and Simple is a nice clean fish dish for those who want their food delicious but unadorned. Seafood and meat dishes are...
Weather video
Storm batters Old Harbor
Cassius Shuman
Thu, Oct 10
Category:
News
,
Video
(WEATHER VIDEO) Gale force, gusting winds and high surf conditions battered Old Harbor on Thursday, October 10.
The Block Island Times
found it challenging holding the camera steady while capturing this video. Temperatures were in the mid 50s with a steady 30 mile-per-hour wind and gusts...
Weather video
Incoming storm impacting Block Island
Cassius Shuman
Wed, Oct 9
Category:
News
,
Video
(WEATHER VIDEO) The wind was gusting up to 25 miles-per-hour out of the north-northeast and temperatures were in the mid 50s on Wednesday, Oct. 9, as
The Block Island Times
captured this video taken from Corn Neck Road. The National Weather Service has issued a high wind warning for the...
Turning the Tide: The Killer Whale Rubbing Beach
Rosemary Connelli
Fri, Oct 4
Category:
Columnists
Arriving for a visit to Malcolm Island in British Columbia, I felt a sense of tranquility and nervousness wash over me. I prepared for days of studying killer whales with Troy Bright through an art-based residency. My first introduction to Troy Bright, the lead researcher on the northern resident...
Summer 2019
J.V. Houlihan, Jr.
Thu, Oct 3
Category:
Columnists
,
The Ferry Dock Scribbler
It was a busy and fast paced summer season and here are some nods from the day-to-day in Point Judith: *The weather folks had a field day on 22 June. A cold front went north of Point Judith; the wall was black and ominous as it headed east dumping
hail
on Newport, and points east to...
Remember me!
Martha Ball
Thu, Oct 3
Category:
Columnists
It ’s fall, time to start clearing out the paper accumulated over the summer, scraps with phone numbers (whose? no idea) and e-mail addresses (some containing clues), and snippets of summer’s little exchanges I wanted to remember, notes that went nowhere, among them:
A little girl with dark hair...
Dish off the Block: Grilled corn and chicken chowder
Pamela Gelsomini
Thu, Oct 3
Category:
Columnists
The fall weather is here. Sweater weather, cool nights, long walks on a quiet beach, early sunsets, and comfort food! There is nothing quite like the smell of soup on the stove with a fire crackling in the fire place. Try my twist on chicken chowder with pops of sweetness from grilled corn, a touch...
Once and future salt marshes: A tutorial
Kim Gaffett
Fri, Sep 27
Category:
Ocean Views
Depending on where you start counting, our earth satellite has just finished its year’s travel around the sun; and now, we start a new year with autumn. Some or our favorite summer activities are enhanced and made sublime by fall weather. A walk in October light and cooler air is delightful...
Suncatcher Clouds
Martha Ball
Thu, Sep 26
Category:
Columnists
,
Island Notes
T he glorious weather of summer has extended into the fall. The other night I heard raindrops on the south-facing windows about the width of a sleeping golden retriever away from the foot of my bed. It was the mild splatter of showers, not the battering of a deluge, but it still came as a surprise...
The Discovery Deck
J.V. Houlihan, Jr.
Thu, Sep 19
Category:
Columnists
,
The Ferry Dock Scribbler
“This is one of those little museums that you walk into, and you can actually learn lots of great information in a very small space,” says contractor Mark Holden. I do lots of reading and writing at Seamen’s Institute on Bowen’s Wharf in Newport. It’s a hideout. I was recently setting up my laptop...
The Last Week of Summer
Martha Ball
Thu, Sep 19
Category:
Columnists
,
Island Notes
Th ere stands a stone tower on Mansion Road. It was built with the Searles Mansion, for reasons that have varied with the teller, a sort of folly according to my aunt who was really some sort of cousin, or an entrance to the Poplar Cottage, as a favor or a payment for some right-of-way, or some...
Dish off the Block: Striped bass
By Pamela Gelsomini
Thu, Sep 19
Category:
Columnists
The stripers are running. I grew up in a fishing family where fresh bluefish and stripers were often on the menu. My father treated striper fishing as a science, determining what time of day they would feed, how the weather affected their habits, and what beaches they would be lingering at, waiting...
Order this... Delicious dishes at The Spring House
Amy Lockwood MacDougall
Thu, Sep 12
Category:
Columnists
,
Order This
September is one of the best months to come to Block Island. The days are warm and the nights are cool, the beaches are empty and the water is as close to perfect as it can be. The island is yours to hike and bike, and the restaurant at The Spring House is open to sate your appetite at the end of...
On Golden Pond
Martha Ball
Thu, Sep 12
Category:
Columnists
,
Island Notes
La st week feels to have been very long ago, indeed. Thursday evening was windless, a beautifully golden end of day which found me on the edges of the New Harbor. The forecast was not good but there was none of that eerie calm before the storm feeling in the air; it was a perfect end-of-summer...
360 VIDEO
Hike the Greenway Trail to Fresh Pond
Cassius Shuman
Wed, Sep 11
Category:
News
,
Video
(360 VIDEO) Hike the Greenway Trail, courtesy of
The Block Island Times
, past an apple tree and over a bridge to Fresh Pond on a sunny, perfect day. Temps were in the mid 70s with a gentle breeze. Note: turn up the volume, take your time, look around, and enjoy the journey. (Pause or...
Dish off the Block: Wasabi tuna steaks
Pamela Gelsomini
Thu, Sep 5
Category:
Columnists
I n my former career (before becoming a full-time foodie), I travelled extensively in China, Vietnam, and Indonesia. I was, and continue to be, greatly inspired by the flavors and cultures of Southeast Asia. Tuna steak pairs beautifully with Asian flavors and this dish provides the perfect balance...
Foretaste of Winter
Martha Ball
Thu, Sep 5
Category:
Columnists
,
Island Notes
We have had so many Labor Day weekends of hurricanes that never materialized in the wings, so many years of late August storm threats, some with floating docks pulled from the New Harbor in precaution, so many times of cars filling the Interstate parking lot in an attempt to get out before their...
Beach Flags
Martha Ball
Thu, Aug 29
Category:
Columnists
,
Island Notes
It felt like an exceedingly long afternoon, stretching out forever, like the prospect of summer in late June. It is almost September and I know the sun is setting earlier each day but it felt as though time was almost standing still. It was, almost. The batteries in the clock on the living room...
360 video
Stroll down Payne’s Dock
Cassius Shuman
Mon, Aug 26
Category:
News
,
Video
Stroll down Payne’s Dock on a sunny August 26 courtesy of
The Block Island Times
. The temperature was hovering in the low 70s with gusting 15 mile-per-hour winds out of the northeast. (Note: The wind was whistling pretty good, so you might want to adjust your audio level accordingly.) (...
Reservations
J. V. Houlihan, Jr.
Thu, Aug 22
Category:
Columnists
,
The Ferry Dock Scribbler
In 2016 I wrote a column simply titled, “Standby.” I wrote the piece while I was out sailing, and was laughing like a loon as I punched the keys — I’m easily amused. I told my wife that I thought the column was funny in a Mark Twain sort of way. “Well, we’ll see when it runs,” she said. My wife is...
Celebration of Summer
Matha Ball
Thu, Aug 22
Category:
Island Notes
La st night the sky was dark before sunset, a dramatic band of gray blue that promised yet another storm that never quite materialized here. There were splatters on my windshield on the Neck Road, a flash of lightning as I swung round in my barnyard, some wet on a few west-facing windowsills, then...
Old Sailors
J.V. Houlihan, Jr.
Thu, Aug 15
Category:
The Ferry Dock Scribbler
“If you haven’t played the Garden, you haven’t played anywhere.” —
Anonymous In 1968 while playing center for Providence College, Ray Johnson strode to the middle of the basketball court at Madison Square Garden. There, he stood face to face with a local New York City street player named Lew...
Dish off the Block: Grilled baby lamb chops
Pam Gelsomini
Thu, Aug 15
Category:
Columnists
Lamb — the other red meat! Mix up your grilling routine and try this super flavorful dish highlighting baby lamb chops with a twist on your classic pesto.
The Chops:
2.5 to 3 pounds baby lamb chops, cut into single chops 6 large cloves of garlic, chopped 3 Tbsp. fresh rosemary leaves,...
Order this... Flavors from the sea at The Beachead
Amy Lockwood MacDougall
Thu, Aug 15
Category:
Columnists
,
Order This
Many visitors who come to Block Island have a routine when they arrive — some go to their houses to unpack, some go right to the beach, and nearly everyone I interviewed for this article heads directly to the Beachead as soon as they disembark from the ferry. It’s that kind of place — right on Corn...
Summer, still
Martha Ball
Thu, Aug 15
Category:
Columnists
,
Island Notes
Fo ur years ago on this date I took a photo of the maple at the edge of the yard, noting the amount of sky I could see though its branches in mid-August when two months earlier it had been dense and lush. The rain that was never quite torrential here had ceased when I went out to compare this year'...
(360 VIDEO)
Journey through a busy mooring field
Cassius Shuman
Fri, Aug 9
Category:
News
,
Video
(360 VIDEO) Journey through a busy mooring field on the Great Salt Pond aboard the Harbor Master's patrol/collection vessel courtesy of
The Block Island Times
and captain Jameson Padien and his mate, Phil Trudel. It was a sunny August 8th with temperatures in the low 80s and gusting winds...
Summer Observed
Martha Ball
Thu, Aug 8
Category:
Columnists
,
Island Notes
My R ebecca Rotary/Roundabout Report on Facebook began a few summers ago, a line from one of those lovely, overheard family conversations. Bits and pieces of summer observed from one little corner in town, the world passing by — and coming into — the Greenaway Gallery. There are movie matinee...
360 VIDEO
Into the Coast Guard Channel
Cassius Shuman
Fri, Aug 2
Category:
News
,
Video
The Block Island Times
takes you on a journey into the Coast Guard Channel on a perfect summer day. The temperature was in the 80s with hardly any breeze; perfect for sun bathing, fishing and boating. And the water was warm... (Click on the 360 video or pause it and zoom in and out or...
Disruption
Martha Ball
Thu, Aug 1
Category:
Island Notes
So metime over the weekend Verizon cell service went from increasingly spotty to dark. I remain hopeful, even as I write, that it will be restored shortly, certainly a memory by the time this column is printed. I have a landline, it is my fallback, my fail safe; it is the line to which my computer...
Summer Storm Tide
Martha Ball
Fri, Jul 26
Category:
Island Notes
There is a screen in my window. Not in all my windows, and the door remains open while I am home, but firmly in the one the that draws the most birds, regardless of the season. It is the window at which I hear a thump and sometimes see a bird lying on the ground beneath the glass, generally stunned...
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Island Buzz
TimberTech by AZEK
Posted By
Riverhead Building Supply
10/22
Riverhead Building Supply offers TimberTech by AZEK Building Products. Click here for the latest collections and styles...
History Happening Here
Posted By
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10/22
*** Annual Meeting September 20th 11am Program 11:30 am Please join us on zoom ** Thank you for your interest in the Block...
Still Looking for a Summer Rental?
Posted By
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10/22
Sullivan Sotheby’s International Realty has some great options, if your still searching for that perfect Summer Rental. We...
This weeks Nature Conservancy Schedule
Posted By
The Block Island Times
10/21
Check out this weeks Nature Conservancy Schedule at https:// www.natureblockisland.org
Antique Maps and Vintage Photographs
Posted By
Block Island Historical Society
10/21
The Block Island Historical Society has a great selection of antique maps; vintage photographs; unique posters & prints...
Keep Active at Solstice at Groton
Posted By
Solstice Senior Living
10/21
You want the best for yourself and your family. So do we. Live safely and vibrantly at Solstice Senior Living at Groton...
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Island Religion
PART 17 CHURCH TEACHINGS
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PART 16 CHURCH TEACHINGS
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