February 2020

It’s the middle of the winter, a moment for the island to be quiet, restore itself. The season shift is evident all over, when the island fades from its lush green fauna, and trades it for muted shades of brown. The winter sun glows over the ocean in gorgeous blue tones you just don’t get in the summer. Snowy owls appear for a visit if you are lucky enough to spot one, sometimes in the beach dunes, or every so often in our wildflower meadow below, near the pond. It’s also season for the beloved harbor seals, frolicking in the chilly waters and sunbathing on the rocks right near us on Pebbly Beach. This is the time of year when you will also hear the constant buzz of saws and hammers, as work gets done off-season, weather permitting. It’s a time to enjoy the island without the crowds of tourists. A few changes the community is facing this year includes: finding a new Town Manager, and finding a new Medical Director. Also on the agenda is the reburying of the BI Wind Farm cables off Crescent Beach will begin. The cables originally were buried only 2 feet deep, instead of the 4-8 feet as recommended. Due to shifting sand and the tides, the two cables are currently exposed. One cable is owned by National Grid, which links the island to the mainland, and the other by Ørsted, which connects the Block Island Wind Farm to the Block Island Power Co. The cables were installed in 2016, and there is now approx. 100 feet of exposed cable beginning 200 feet from the shoreline at Crescent Beach.