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Columnists
Ocean Views
Marine Critters
Kim Gaffett
Thu, Sep 9
Category:
Ocean Views
Here are a number of photos of marine critters seen along the island’s ocean shores and in the Great Salt Pond. Refer to the captions for: species name, normal range, where observed and by whom. Although not all the species are exclusively tropical, they all include regular existence in waters...
September
Kim Gaffett
Thu, Sep 2
Category:
Ocean Views
As we near the end of summer, we find that the best of the season is yet to come. September is the umami of summer. The tastes, the feel, the scent, the sight, of summer wildness all gain a richness, and a depth of expression in September. September embodies the essence and concentrate of summer...
Wandering gliders
Kim Gaffett
Thu, Aug 26
Category:
Ocean Views
Dragonflies abound! Dashers, darners, skimmers and gliders, to name just a few, have been darting around the island all summer. But it is the preponderance of wandering gliders that has captured the wonderings of many of us, since the blurry eye of Tropical Storm Henri passed over us this past...
The taste of summer
Kim Gaffett
Fri, Jul 30
Category:
Ocean Views
August morning song is starting just a little bit later and is just a little shorter than it was in July. Even so, the power of the Carolina wren’s “tea kettle, tea kettle, teeeeee” at 5 a.m. is impressive, rousing, and more effective than a bugle call – at least to me. I’ve always been a morning-...
Summer Sensations
Kim Gaffett
Fri, Jun 25
Category:
Ocean Views
It is beginning to feel a lot like summer. It has been a nice cool spring, but the warm, moisture-laden, humid air is upon us – summer air. Summer air is a mixed blessing. At its best, the radiant heat is warming and pleasant; our muscles are relaxed, ready to stretch, and energized for all manner...
June is a Scented Month
Kim Gaffett
Fri, May 28
Category:
Ocean Views
There will come a day in June when, upon leaving your house, you will be greeted with a wall of moisture-laden air permeated with the smell of roses. June is a scented month. It can also be a month punctuated with bouts of fog. The collision of warming air over the ocean, still cool from winter,...
The Microseasons of May: a Phantasmagoria of Life
Kim Gaffett
Fri, Apr 30
Category:
Ocean Views
When I uncurled from sleep this morning and looked out my southwest facing window I saw the day’s sunrise reflected in the sky. For brief moments the baby blue backdrop was streaked with one wide band of peach and salmon, and several more thinner repeating bands drifting towards the horizon. In the...
Sounds of Spring
Kim Gaffett
Thu, Mar 25
Category:
Ocean Views
The sounds of spring enter April – and our consciousness – like ocean waves: sometimes loud and thunderous, sometimes murmuring and almost subsonic. The sounds of spring build throughout April in leaps and bounds, but by the first of May the island will be in the midst of a full-on spring chorale...
Volunteers Are Needed to Help Count Seals
Kim Gaffett
Thu, Mar 18
Category:
Ocean Views
On Block Island in February we celebrate Groundhog Day by counting people, in March we celebrate the arrival of spring by counting seals. Since 1994, Save The Bay volunteers have observed and recorded the presence and species of seals at haulout sites around Narragansett Bay throughout the winter “...
March’s Microseasons
Kim Gaffett
Thu, Feb 25
Category:
Ocean Views
March and October are my two favorite months of the year. Since we are on the eve of March, I’ll leave the charms of October for another day. March: what’s not to love? March is like that perfect morning slumber in those moments when you emerge from your warm blanket cocoon, stretch broadly and...
February Celebrations
Kim Gaffett
Thu, Jan 21
Category:
Ocean Views
February is a maligned month. For all its detractors, February has much to offer: traditional celebrations and the subtle reddening and swelling of shad buds are among the offerings. The February moniker hales from the Roman words februum and februa, relating to festivals of purification, of light...
20th Annual Community Bird Census: Socially Distanced & Communal
Kim Gaffett
Thu, Jan 7
Category:
Ocean Views
This year’s Community Bird Census (CBC), on December 26, 2020, dawned cold and windy, but fortunately it was only partly cloudy; there was enough sun throughout the day to keep spirits up and bird watchers afield. My expectations for this twentieth anniversary CBC were low. The cold and wind...
Community Bird Census: One birder at a time
Kim Gaffett
Thu, Dec 17
Category:
Ocean Views
“December 26, 1920 – 7 a.m. Temp. 14. Loon 3, H. Gull 20, H. Lark 12, Starling 12, Meadowlark 5, Song 4. A little vapor. — Elizabeth Dickens Bird Journals On Dec. 26, 1920 Elizabeth Dickens had been keeping her daily bird journal for just nine years; and had not yet started leading the Christmas...
I’m tired.
Kim Gaffett
Thu, Aug 27
Category:
Ocean Views
Like many locations on the Island, the Ocean View Foundation (OVF) Pavilion site has had a hard summer, and as usual, it is a tale of two communities. The good The OVF Pavilion was built in 2000, presented to the community of residents and visitors, an open-air oasis in the Old Harbor. Over the...
Sandhill Crane Makes a House Call
Kim Gaffett
Thu, May 14
Category:
Ocean Views
Any morning that includes a bird photo and the following text exchange, is a good one.
Paige G: “Good morning:) Kate Musso just sent this and is curious what it is?”
Kim G: “OMG where??? Sand Hill Crane. I need to see it!!!”
I was at the banding station handling gray catbirds,...
Earth Day, Arbor Day, May Day: Calls of action
Kim Gaffett
Fri, May 1
Category:
Ocean Views
Ahhhhh, what an April it has been. We can only hope that the adage, “April showers bring May flowers
,
” proves true. By my calculation, we have had only 10 mostly sunny days in April (30 percent). The other 20 days have been cloudy or rainy! Ahhhhh, keeping track of the weather is such a...
Kim Gaffett’s Ocean Views: Earth Day meets Poetry Month
Kim Gaffett
Fri, Apr 17
Category:
Ocean Views
Everything is Going to be All Right How should I not be glad to contemplate the clouds clearing beyond the dormer window and a high tide reflected on the ceiling? There will be dying, there will be dying, but there is no need to go into that. The poems flow from the hand unbidden and the hidden...
Celebrating seals and the Vernal Equinox
Kim Gaffett
Thu, Mar 12
Category:
Ocean Views
As we teeter on the cusp of spring we may find ourselves suddenly in a day where the wind has abated, and the afternoon sun feels so warm that it is like a Siren’s call to sit, and loll, on the lee side of a favorite stone wall while taking a little rest. If we are lucky, and let ourselves succumb...
The 2019 Bird Count
Kim Gaffett
Thu, Jan 9
Category:
Ocean Views
The 2019 Bird Count
By Kim Gaffett
A letter to Miss Elizabeth Dickens on the 2019 Community Bird Census:
Dear Miss Dickens, You were missed on our annual Community Bird Count, which of course was on Dec. 26. It felt like a drab day of low numbers with no sun, and although...
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...
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...
Ocean Views: Citizen Science: Seals, birds, and flowers, … Oh, my!
Kim Gaffett
Thu, Jan 31
Category:
Ocean Views
You might ask in wonderment, what do seals, and birds and flowers have in common? The answer is — for this article — citizen science. Citizen science is the process of many volunteers collecting observations and reporting them to one scientist/entity that is building a database of information. It’s...
Ocean Views: Food waste is serious
Thu, Jan 24
Category:
Ocean Views
Calling all chefs… and composters, back yard recyclers, and transfer station managers, and anyone interested in knowing more about how food waste is being handled (or not handled) worldwide, to a viewing of an incredibly interesting film, “Wasted! The story of food waste,” on Tuesday, Jan. 29 at...
Spy hopping, banana posing and other seal questions
Kim Gaffett and Clair Stover
Thu, Jan 17
Category:
Ocean Views
With our yards and meadows mostly buttoned-up or battened-down, we are paying more attention to our island-wide back yard. Have you ever been walking on the beach, and realized that somebody was watching you? Or, lost in thought admiring the rivulets of sand — created how? by wind or wave? — and...
57 species collected, one by one
Ocean Views: 2018 Bird Census
KIm Gaffett
Fri, Jan 4
Category:
Ocean Views
On Wednesday, Dec. 26, a hearty band of bird watchers — Jon Peterson, Heather Hatfield, Anne Connelli, Judy Gray, Jules Craynock, Sarah Grey, Laura Rosenzwieg, Cathy Payne, her granddaughter Bailey Payne, and cousin Aidan — met at Sachem Pond to kick off a day of looking for birds to be tallied for...
Ocean Views: Evening grosbeaks and other winter finches
Kim Gaffett
Fri, Dec 21
Category:
Ocean Views
Winter finches: purple finch, common redpoll, white-winged crossbills, pine siskins, and evening grosbeaks — all members of the finch family
Fringillidae
— are expected to be seen in unusually high numbers this winter as far south as New York and New England, and maybe even beyond. On Block...
Saving Block Island one blade of grass at a time
Kim Gaffett
Sat, Apr 21
Category:
Ocean Views
“A steady sea wind sweeping across the beach carries grains of sand inland. When its motion is interrupted by a log or grass clump, the wind drops its burden of sand. Slowly, a mound builds up. Growing higher, broader, merging with other mounds, it becomes a hillock, a ridge — a dune. Rolling up...
Ocean Views: A picture is worth a thousand words
Kim Gaffett
Sat, Mar 10
Category:
Ocean Views
The recent storm had a fierce erosive effect on the island’s outer shorelines. The same storm surges, coupled with full moon high tides, produced unusually high water in the largely protected Great Salt Pond, and associated inner harbors. The level of water that we witnessed on March 3 is...
SNOWstorm
Kim Gaffett
Fri, Feb 23
Category:
Ocean Views
From Elizabeth Dickens’ 1926 bird journal: “In Nov. and Dec. the greatest flight of Snow Owls ever recorded.” That entry goes on to identify sightings of 23 individual snowy owls on Block Island that winter. Since 1926 there have been several irruptions of snowy owls into our region, and well...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Ocean Views... Two new walks of discovery
Kim Gaffett
Fri, Jul 21
Category:
Ocean Views
The Age of Discovery was a fantastic time in the history of human adventure. It was a time when wanderers of all ilk struck out towards the various compass points of the world to learn what was there. They returned to their port cities and filled the museums with giant tortoises, magnificently...
Lobster cars and Ancient Mariners
Martha Ball
Fri, Jul 14
Category:
Ocean Views
It is raining, again. It did so in the morning, yesterday, a series of moving precipitation ranging from downpour to shower. By ten it had stopped and the sky to the east was oddly light, a reversal of what I expect of a storm sliding up the coast. The sky cleared, and by noon we felt the weight of...
50 Years of bird banding
Kim Gaffett
Sat, Apr 22
Category:
Ocean Views
Elise Lapham started the Block Island Bird Banding Station 50 years ago on April 27, 1967. However, beyond the fact of when it started, there are scores of stories and details to be told about the who, what, where, why and how of the banding station’s history. How and Who? While David and Elise...
Join ‘Expedition Block Island’
Kim Gaffett
Fri, Feb 24
Category:
Ocean Views
Have you ever wondered what was in that cove, around that point, or over that dune? After the Groundhog Day count, many islanders go in search of mountain slopes, coral reefs, hunting lodges, colossal amusement rides, grandma’s attic, or any oasis for introspection — in general, we head to parts...
Alabaster swans and charcoal coots
Kim Gaffett
Sun, Jan 1
Category:
Ocean Views
On Dec. 26, 2016, the Ocean View Foundation organized its 16th annual Community Bird Census (CBC) in the tradition of Elizabeth Dickens, who for nearly 50 years orchestrated the National Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count on Block Island. Each of those years she would rally the island’s...
Whistling Swans on Sachem Pond
Kim Gaffett
Fri, Dec 23
Category:
Ocean Views
On a chilly, Dec. 7 morning, Maggie Komosinski and I waited for the rain to stop and give way to a leaden sky of clouds before heading out in search of an odd-looking goose that we had seen – but not identified – the day before. We traipsed through field and dune and pond edge. We wended through...
Block Island Beach Cleanup: There is always more to do
Kim Gaffett
Sat, Sep 24
Category:
Ocean Views
International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) is a 30-year project of the Ocean Conservancy that collects information about ocean and shoreline debris from around the world. In 2015, about 18 million pounds of trash was collected by 800,000 volunteers around the globe. The Ocean Conservancy uses the...
Ladybugs & moths: A double hitter
Kim Gaffett
Fri, Jul 1
Category:
Ocean Views
Join Ocean View Foundation and Rhode Island Natural History Survey for two unique programs on Thursday, July 7 at 1 p.m., and again at 9 p.m., on Corn Neck Road near the trail to the Labyrinth. The Lost Ladybug The Rhode Island Natural History Survey wants help looking for ladybugs on Block Island...
Celebrate Earth Day
Kim Gaffett
Fri, Apr 15
Category:
News
,
Ocean Views
Next week is Earth Day. (Friday, April 22, for those of you for whom this date does not come readily to mind.) A day, and a week, to celebrate our home planet. Next week is also spring break here on Block Island. With the Island Free Library, Ocean View Foundation will be marking the occasion with...
It takes a village, to save a peregrine
Kim Gaffett
Sun, Oct 18
Category:
Ocean Views
On Oct. 5, I received three different phone calls/messages about an injured ‘hawk.’ The first call was from Norris Pike — which I could not take because I was in the bank — who described a large hawk on the porch of a house that he is building on the west side. The second call, from Donn Frageau,...
“Not what you look at, but what you see.”
Kim Gaffett
Sat, Jun 13
Category:
Ocean Views
Q. What do horseshoe crabs and Eastern spring beauty have in common? A. They both make rare appearances in May. And, both need more than merely to be looked at, in order to see their complete beauty. Eastern spring beauty (
Claytonia virginica
, a.k.a...
A visual symphony, and a month to be savored
Kim Gaffett
Sat, Jan 31
Category:
Columnists
,
Ocean Views
It was a visual symphony. The light came up slowly and the stage was revealed: a twisted bony armature of grey. The trunk, smooth and substantial, gave way to branches like arms with elbows and wrists, and then to a halo of twigged filigree. My old, and alas, declining, shad tree reappears each...
February Transitions
Kim Gaffett
Sat, Feb 8
Category:
Ocean Views
On Block Island, in February, islanders count people like ornithologists count birds. During the snows of February’s first weekend, the Chinese New Year of the Horse was ushered in, Sea Hawks prevailed (not a mid-winter osprey return), Phil in Punxsutawney saw his shadow, and 931 people (the...
Of Snowflakes & Snow Owls
Kim Gaffett
Wed, Jan 8
Category:
Ocean Views
The 13th annual Community Bird Census held, by Elizabeth Dickens-inspired tradition, on Dec. 26 was again a day of delight, surprises and inspiration. Although not a stellar year by species count, only 46 species (the 13-year average is 50), but the day did not disappoint. We were delighted to...
Snowy Owl report for 2013
Kim Gaffett
Fri, Dec 20
Category:
Ocean Views
“In Nov. and Dec. the greatest flight of Snow Owls ever recorded. The following numbers were shot on B.I. most of which were mounted. Hugh 3, Fred Shogren 1, Omar Littlefield 1, Ed Dodge 1, Harold Dunn 3, Sands Littlefield 2, Papa 1, George Millikin 2, Lincoln Payne, Jr. 2, Lester Littlefield 1,...
Celebrate R.I. Natural History Week
Kim Gaffett
Fri, Nov 1
Category:
Ocean Views
Where better to celebrate Natural History Week than right here on Block Island? The selection of the first week of November, by Gubernatorial Proclamation, seems especially fitting for us here. Keen observers will notice many changes in the natural environment in early November, not the least of...
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Island Buzz
This weeks Nature Conservancy Schedule
Posted By
The Block Island Times
9/18
Check out this weeks Nature Conservancy Schedule at https:// www.natureblockisland.org
Don’’t miss the new Museum Shop at Bridgegate Square
Posted By
Block Island Historical Society
9/18
The Block Island Historical Society has a great selection of antique & contemporary maps; unique posters & prints;...
History Happening Here-Special Exhibit through Sept 15
Posted By
Block Island Historical Society
9/17
Thank you for your interest in the Block Island Historical Society. We value everyone who shares our love of the island and...
Peace & Tranquility on Payne Road
Posted By
Ballard Hall Sales Group
9/17
Experience both privacy and convenience from this peaceful 2.1 acre property located just 1.4 miles from town. Mature trees...
Mums, Pumpkins, and More!
Posted By
Highland Farm Inc.
9/17
Fall is here and Highland Farm has everything you need to get into the fall spirit. Our homegrown mums are popping and...
TimberTech by AZEK
Posted By
Riverhead Building Supply
9/16
Riverhead Building Supply offers TimberTech by AZEK Building Products. Click here for the latest collections and styles...
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Island Religion
PART 3 THE FACETS OF DEATH
Posted By
Block Island Christian Fellowship
9/14
PART 3 THE FACETS OF DEATH 3 IS GOD A MASS MURDERER CAUSING MILLIONS TO DIE BY SENDING A CATACLYSMIC FLOOD? This is one of...
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