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Columnists

Great Backyard Bird Count, Block Island-style

Kim Gaffett

Thu, Feb 15

Category:

Ocean Views

The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is this weekend: Feb. 16 – 19. This is a global effort to observe and report which bird species are where during the winter — between migration times. "The 2018 GBBC again promises to provide an important snapshot of bird occurrence in February," says the...
Waiting for the Wind

Martha Ball

Fri, Feb 9

Category:

Island Notes

In the late 1970s, we were often surrounded by blizzard conditions. Forty-one years ago yesterday my mother wrote: “Heavy snow. Drifts. John (Littlefield, Sr,) plowed the gate 3 times. Huge drift in barnyard.” Forty years ago yesterday her neat hand recorded: “Everyone at the store at 10 a.m. Power...
Charting your own course

J.V. Houlihan, Jr.

Fri, Feb 2

Category:

Columnists, The Ferry Dock Scribbler

“I frisked him; he’s clean,” says a guy eating a plate of food with authority and certainty. “I’ve frisked a thousand young punks.” A guy gets up from the table where there are three men sitting, and heads to the men’s room. The camera tracks back — twice — to the guy who frisked him. The guy keeps...
Going to the Registry

Martha Ball

Fri, Feb 2

Category:

Island Notes

Rhode Islanders think they are unique in their nightmare tales of Going to the Registry — after ascertaining the hours which mainland office is open. We are not. Neither does one have to travel to the other side of the water and enter a building to have a Registry Encounter. This year, when I...
Rivers in the Roads

Martha Ball

Fri, Jan 26

Category:

Columnists, Island Notes

Old maps of Block Island, drawn with great precision in the latter part of the nineteenth century, show single, unsteady lines interconnecting many of the ponds. Some are visible, dark streaks, on aerial photographs taken in the early 1950s, before the land surrendered to overgrowth. Collectively,...
Don’t lie to me, ma’am

Martha Ball

Fri, Jan 19

Category:

Columnists, Island Notes

We all get them, those annoying calls, be they robo or live, from bogus or legitimate companies, all ready to solve problems we do not have and/or to take our money. They come more on my landline, which I maintain for internet connection — and because it has the same number that was assigned this...
Bomb cyclone — help!

J.V. Houlihan, Jr.

Fri, Jan 12

Category:

Columnists, The Ferry Dock Scribbler

Any young dogs want to shovel old man Houlihan’s cars out and make some scoots? A blown shoulder just shut me down, and Cindy’s bull goring injury has slowed her down a little. Otherwise, we’d be on this… If interested, PM me, stat! I posted this note on Facebook on Jan. 3 and got a few...
Road to Eldorado

Martha Ball

Fri, Jan 12

Category:

Columnists, Island Notes

We are riding the roller coaster that is January, moving from deep, deep cold to seemingly mild upper twenties to ground-thawing, muck-threatening days of sunny, above freezing, temperatures. It is a time of staying oil deliveries, trying to dance around that seasonal trifecta of drifted snow, its...
2017 bird census

Sat, Jan 6

Category:

Ocean Views

Q. What do Ross’s goose, Virginia rail, Common raven, Ruby-crowned kinglet, Palm warbler, Field sparrow, and Fox sparrow have in common? A. They were all seen on Block Island, on Dec. 26, 2017, for the first time during the 17th annual Community Bird Census. Not since the first two years have we...
Spinning stories of winter

Martha Ball

Fri, Jan 5

Category:

Island Notes

Jan. 1, 1976 my mother wrote in her little diary “sunny above freezing,” which would have been an item of note only if the days preceding had been below 32. She was a teacher and five days into the new year vacation ended — or not — as her inscription reads “1st day of school. No oil, no heat,...
A glimpse of Island birdlife

Kim Gaffett

Sat, Dec 30

Category:

Ocean Views

Starting in January 2009, the Crazy-as-a-Coot bird walkers (co-led by Maggie Komosinski) meet twice a month (October through June) to survey bird presence and activity, and to take pleasure in our surroundings. We meet at different locations around the Island, depending on weather, mostly wind...
Keep it fit... One day at a time works for food, too

Eileen Birk

Fri, Dec 29

Category:

Columnists

Ah, it’s the new year... As the craziness of the holiday season winds down and the year comes to an end, I find myself reflecting back on the last twelve months — what was good about 2017, what challenged me, what would I do differently, and what would I love to do again? The often-heard “what are...
Words

J.V. Houlihan Jr.

Fri, Dec 29

Category:

Columnists, The Ferry Dock Scribbler

I got wind of a blow. While writing some fiction one day the aforementioned pun came out of my head, through my fingers, and onto the page. The context was just two guys discussing a nasty weather system coming up the East Coast. These six words flew out of my head and blew me...
Another year

Martha Ball

Fri, Dec 29

Category:

Columnists, Island Notes

Twenty-four and sunny” is the status of the moment. The “feels like” is considerably lower, but I do not believe that number; I have been outside and the sun is shining and the wind is light for late December. And, I remind myself, the onset of the cold is the price we are expected to pay for the...
Dove and Disttaff

Michael Schroeder

Thu, Dec 28

Category:

Trips Abroad

Alpaca—stylish, soft and warm—has a home in Wakefield at Dove and Distaff, Visitors can conveniently see and feel quality yarns, fibers and goods right here—all of the alpaca products come off their own farm in Matunuck. It’s one of seven showrooms within Dove and Distaff, which was born of an...
On the corner of...

Martha Ball and Mary Anderson

Sat, Dec 23

Category:

Columnists

Ed. note: The Block Island Historical Society was founded in 1942. To help celebrate its 75th year, the Society’s Diamond Anniversary, The Block Island Times has been publishing sketches and photographs of items in its collection throughout the year. This is the final column in the...
The gifting season

J.V. Houlihan Jr.

Fri, Dec 22

Category:

Columnists, The Ferry Dock Scribbler

Here we are again at that most wonderful time of the year — Christmas! Yup, everyone is gearing up to go out and buy gifts for kids, wives, husbands, grandkids, friends, boyfriends, and girlfriends. It’s a time when UPS and FedEx packages come flying off trucks in prodigious numbers at the...
After the Snow

Martha Ball

Fri, Dec 22

Category:

Island Notes

Tomorrow brings the Solstice, the turn into the cold and the light. It falls on the 21st this year, the sort of generic default date assigned to the change of the seasons, that does not always hold true. “Watch the way of the wind when the sun crosses the line,” a statement by an old-timer down the...
Kindness shown to injured owl

Thu, Dec 21

Category:

Ocean Views

The following report came in from Kim Gaffett: Kate Sprague Campanale and Heather Dippolito discovered an injured owl on Corn Neck Road early on Monday, Dec. 18. They called the Police Department dispatch, which called me. Kate and Heather protected the downed owl until I got there. It...
On the corner of... the old Adrian Hotel

Martha Ball and Mary Anderson

Sat, Dec 9

Category:

Columnists

Ed. note: The Block Island Historical Society was founded in 1942. To help celebrate its 75th year, the Society’s Diamond Anniversary, The Block Island Times will be publishing sketches and photographs of items in its collection. For those interested in joining or donating to The...
All for the life of the rolling sea

J.V. Houlihan Jr.

Fri, Dec 8

Category:

Columnists, The Ferry Dock Scribbler

A sleek and fast looking 70-foot motor yacht backed out of her slip on a sunny Sunday, in Newport Harbor. It was 3 July, 2008. As the sexy and shiny rig was making her way into the busy fairway, a loud, thumping Latin rhythm could be heard — booming. Aboard, there was a bevy of bikini-clad beauties...
To see or not to see... The Punisher

Mark Hunnewell

Sat, Dec 2

Category:

News, Columnists

It is such a lovely time to be into superhero movies, isn’t it? In just one day we have “Justice League” and “The Punisher” on Netflix. Now, I was planning on doing a comparison between the two, but after seeing “Justice” I figured it wouldn’t be exactly fair. And if I did write about “Justice...
Ocean Views: A Resiliency Roundtable

Kim Gaffett

Fri, Dec 1

Category:

Ocean Views

Block Islanders are nothing if not resilient. No harbor to support a fishing industry: design a special work boat – the Block Island double ender. No wood for building and fuel: salvage every stick that comes ashore, from driftwood, to cargo, to ship hulls run aground. Now, the Island –— like the...
Book nods for Christmas

J.V. Houlihan Jr.

Fri, Dec 1

Category:

The Ferry Dock Scribbler

One of life’s simple pleasures is reading The New York Times Book Review. I always feel a little more informed about things after I read a review — even though I may pass on the book — these reviews are thorough and expansive. There are so many good books out there, it’s sometimes hard to...
Maps

Martha Ball

Fri, Dec 1

Category:

Island Notes

There was a rumbling in the morning, the kind that sounds close and I walked across the yard thinking I might see the source of it; tree cutters, perhaps, although I could not remember if I had seen pink ties marking any trees on Mansion Road. It could simply be routine work on the old dirt road,...
Holidays, calories, and walking it off

Eileen Birk

Wed, Nov 22

Category:

Columnists

I’ve put on some weight since last winter... 11 pounds to be exact. Before you roll your eyes, I know I am not overweight, but I am not happy. I notice it when I try to put on some of my clothes that are a bit tighter; I notice my stamina isn’t what it was. As I reflect on the last 10 months, I...
On the corner of... Beginning a new era

Martha Ball and Mary Anderson

Wed, Nov 22

Category:

Columnists

Ed. note: The Block Island Historical Society was founded in 1942. To help celebrate its 75th year, the Society’s Diamond Anniversary, The Block Island Times will be publishing sketches and photographs of items in its collection. For those interested in joining or donating to The...
Block Island Summer

Martha Ball

Wed, Nov 22

Category:

Island Notes

The book “Block Island Summer” was published in 1971. Black and white photographs and eloquent little essays contained within its pages hold the island we think we remember but sometimes doubt truly existed. Yet, here it is, chronicled by Klaus and Elizabeth Gemming, printed and bound, a volume...
Travails in India

J.V. Houlihan, Jr.

Fri, Nov 17

Category:

The Ferry Dock Scribbler

The iPhone went off at midnight, and there was a text. “Cindy had a pretty serious mishap the other day. She got near a bull, and he gored her. She had to go to the hospital. She is OK. No internal injuries, but she has a serious gash across her abdomen.” This note was sent by my wife’s...
Osage

Martha Ball

Fri, Nov 17

Category:

Island Notes

On e week ago, the charger for my computer died. It was not sudden. I first noticed that the cord was starting to fray last summer, but in one of my habits that defies all logic, I did not order a new one as the delivery time seemed too many days away.It was a good three months before the little...
The first subdivision

Martha Ball and Mary Anderson

Sat, Nov 11

Category:

Columnists

Ed. note: The Block Island Historical Society was founded in 1942. To help celebrate its 75th year, the Society’s Diamond Anniversary, The Block Island Times will be publishing sketches and photographs of items in its collection. For those interested in joining or donating to The...
Remembering the songs

Martha Ball

Fri, Nov 10

Category:

Columnists, Island Notes

It was chilly, today. We seemed to have skimmed over crisp fall sunshine, like one of those flattish, roundish rocks my father tried to teach me to toss with a spin so they would skip over the surface of open water until a last, fatal, ker-plunk sent them to darkness below the waves. I am not ready...
Red Sky in Morning

Martha Ball

Fri, Nov 3

Category:

Columnists

Th e sky at sunrise held that warmth of promise, a deep golden rose that truth be told is quite orange but “orange,” the color of school crayons and morning juice, hardly does it justice. In late spring and early summer first light comes slowly, a gradually lifting of night that begins hours before...
On the corner of... 19th Century directions to Block Island

Martha Ball and Mary Anderson

Sat, Oct 28

Category:

Columnists

In the early 19th Century the country was still young. The west was being explored and mapped by Lewis and Clark, from the newly-acquired Territory of Louisiana to the Pacific Northwest. In the east, existing maps and measurements were being codified. Among the hidden treasures on the corner of...
Tales of The Dutch Inn

J.V. Houlihan Jr.

Fri, Oct 27

Category:

The Ferry Dock Scribbler

Last summer a guy rolls in to the standby lot to try to get on the ferry. I forgot his real name — but he looked like a Wally. He was a pleasant guy, and he got me a Diet Coke from the Portside where he went with his friends to burn up the clock and have lunch. Wally was a thoughtful guy — it was...
Small Miracles

Martha Ball

Fri, Oct 27

Category:

Island Notes

Wh en duties for this year's Roll Call Dinner were handed out many were the “what you did last year” default and so I happened to already have been assigned to the greeting of people and collection of money when I tumbled on Sunday and hurt my hand/wrist landing on the pavement. There were no...
Between Traffic and Wind

Martha Ball

Fri, Oct 20

Category:

Island Notes

It is a time of year between the traffic that becomes ambient noise — a background we do not notice, but think we do in the blaring horns and foolishly loud motors and pounding speakers — and the constant of our winter lives: wind. Now, after the morning cool is displaced by mid-day warmth and car...
Bashing to windward

J.V. Houlihan Jr.

Fri, Oct 13

Category:

News, Columnists, The Ferry Dock Scribbler

There was an article in Forbes magazine in 2012 that got my attention. It was a piece that dealt with the newly-released album titled “Wrecking Ball,” by Bruce Springsteen. It was an angry album, and some folks thought Springsteen was being a hypocrite for making this record. How could a guy write...
Day Is Done

Martha Ball

Fri, Oct 13

Category:

Island Notes

A few minutes before six, the land was near golden with the light of a lowering sun. The shadows were long, reaching down to the back lot, but still it was a shock to realize sundown was less than twenty minutes distant. It is not yet — quite — that heavy hammer of winter that falls swiftly and...
A living barn

John Willis

Fri, Oct 6

Category:

Columnists

It’s only a barn. Four walls, large hay loft, three horse stalls. A barn is usually the simplest of buildings with few windows, a few large doors, no plumbing, maybe a few overhead lights. Could have one staircase to the hay loft but sometimes just a ladder suffices. No heating system, cold during...
On the corner of... John Rose & Co.

Martha Ball and Mary Anderson

Fri, Sep 29

Category:

Columnists

The John Rose & Company, the gloriously asymmetrical building on Dodge Street that currently houses Lazy Fish and Persephone's Kitchen, was a shop and ship's chandlery, and a hardware store with a small lumber yard across the street. It was among a number of buildings constructed in the decades...
Fallen Leaves

Martha Ball

Fri, Sep 29

Category:

Island Notes

The last Monday in September, the first Monday of fall, it did not seem it would be as difficult as it proved to be to find the scant few seconds it required to take a photo of the Water Street curb, with no foot or vehicular traffic in the frame. It looked, strangely, like fall on the mainland,...
On the mainland... Paul Masse dealerships

Fraser Lang

Fri, Sep 29

Category:

Trips Abroad

This is a great time to buy a new car or truck and a visit to either of Paul Masse’s dealerships in southern Rhode Island is worth the trip. The Buick/GMC dealership on Route 1 near the tower is housed in a relatively new and spacious building appropriate for these high-end brands. When you enter...
Can Do Sailors

J. V. Houlihan, Jr.

Fri, Sep 22

Category:

The Ferry Dock Scribbler

“Yes, we ran like a scared chicken. After seeing Irma make her forecasted turn to the north up the east coast of Florida, we turned to the east, and chased her—like any badass sailor would—until she was safely clear of the Florida straits.” —Captain Lisa Chaplin-Dixon, Master of the M...
Forgotten Reality

Martha Ball

Fri, Sep 22

Category:

News, Island Notes

Mo nday and the sky is pale, almost without color, the mid-day sun diffused by a cover of fog. September, I am hearing, is never like this and I try not to say too quickly or emphatically, “well, actually. . .” September is remembered as crisp and sunny, a month of gentle breezes and warm water and...
On the Corner of... Pots & Kettles

Martha Ball and Mary Anderson

Mon, Sep 18

Category:

Columnists

Ed. note: The Block Island Historical Society was founded in 1942. To help celebrate its 75th year, the Society’s Diamond Anniversary, The Block Island Times will be publishing sketches and photographs of items in its collection. For those interested in joining or donating to The...
Ducks redux

J. V. Houlihan, Jr.

Sun, Sep 17

Category:

The Ferry Dock Scribbler

Over the past few years, the phrase “dust ducky,” comes flying out of my mouth when asked how I’m doing. It’s a corny way of saying that things are just fine. In the realm of the geezer, the idea of saying corny stuff is okay — it’s okey-doke — and the reason it’s okay to say a corny phrase when we...
September Hay

Martha Ball

Fri, Sep 15

Category:

Island Notes

I live on the Mansion Road, I grew up living on the Mansion Road. The Searles Mansion burned during school vacation in April of 1963 and in the twenty some years between that time and the purchase of the land and road by the town — with a healthy contribution from Block Island Conservancy — the...
‘Very L.D., dad!’

J.V. Houlihan, Jr.

Fri, Sep 8

Category:

The Ferry Dock Scribbler

“What fresh hell is this?” — Dorothy Parker. I first read this quote while studying American humor in a special topics class while in graduate school at URI. Parker was what we would call a wit . The quote informs a person who is already experiencing a situational hell, and the...
Scattered Showers and Dappled Sunshine

Martha Ball

Fri, Sep 8

Category:

Island Notes

It is going to be one of those days. The sun was out early, brighter and clearer than I expected it to be given last night's forecast. I dawdled but still made it to the dump with bins of recyclables, stacks of paper and three bags of trash. That seeming bounty represents no more than a long time...

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Posted By

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