Used to be, winter meant you didn’t get all the local fresh veggies you get spoiled by on Martha’s Vineyard in summer and fall. No more! Catherine Walthers has rounded up six farmstands (that’s North Tabor Farm in the picture) now open and stocked with veggies, pastries and breads, ready-to-go meals, and much more. And read all about Beetlebung Farm’s new store, which has become a hub of downtown Chilmark. Read it all here. 

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Skip scrolling! Here's what you'll find in this edition of the Bluedot Newsletter:

• Chocolate-Tahini Sweetie Cakes

• A Bluedot Guide to Citizen Action

• What.On.Earth: This One’s For the Birds

• Gifts for the Bird Lover in Your Life

• Dear Dot Unscrambles Eggs

• Make Your Bed! (Sustainably)

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The MV Chamber Turns 100!

2025 marks a century of supporting our island community. Celebrate with us as we roll out exciting new programming throughout the year. Don’t miss out—join today and be part of this milestone!

What Can You Do? Plenty!

"Bundled up and ready to resist are (L- R): Mona Hennessy, Karen English,

Rita Brown, Roberta Kirn, Jane Katch." Photo courtesy of Kelly McCausland.

Bluedot was created with the mission to share solutions to our climate crisis — stories of people here on the Vineyard and around the world who are addressing sea level rise, protecting species and spaces, and forming communities dedicated to local food, clean energy, and protecting our most vulnerable. So we weren’t surprised to learn that a group of determined Vineyarders gathered at Five Corners last Saturday to make it clear that they stand with all Islanders, and invite all of us to join them.

If there’s one thing Martha’s Vineyard does well, it’s take the lead toward progress. The Vineyard Way is our roadmap to address changes coming from a warming climate, something many other towns and cities are only just starting to think about. And there’re plenty more Island resources, from Vineyard Conservation Society, to Climate Book Clubs at local libraries, to local farms dedicated to food security.

But if there’s one question we get asked more than any other, it’s this: What can I do?

To which we reply, plenty. We’ve compiled a long list that you can access here but in short:

Call your reps, join a local environmental group, go to town meetings and speak about what matters to you, run for elected office, and forge alliances with those on the front lines of the progress you want to see. Sometimes the best way to take action is to organize with like-minded activists — Sierra Club has an entire manual for organizing movements in your local community.

To those who bundled up to make their voices heard last weekend at Five Corners:

Thanks for taking the lead and standing up for the least of us.

– Jamie Kageleiry, Leslie Garrett, and Lucas Thors

No such thing as a free ride? Not true. VTA is free right until March 27.

Click here for route schedules.

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“ … Not unlike the hummingbirds
Imagining their wings
To be their heart, and swallows

Believing the horizon

To be a line they lift

And drop.”

That’s Island poet Jorie Graham, and we excerpted it in this What.On.Earth feature from our archives; it’s all about birds, in honor of the Great Backyard Bird Count coming next week (Feb. 14 – 17). More for the birds: Sam Moore introduced us to BiodiversityWorks’ MV Atlas of Life in this story from four years ago. Now parked on the iNaturalist site, there are tens of thousands of observations of birds on the Island, including most recently a winter favorite — the Common Eider.<> This Field Note from Felix Neck/Mass Audubon will help you protect shorebirds. The Martha’s Vineyard Bird Club holds biweekly bird walks; the next one is Feb 15 on Crystal Lake. Enjoy!

Buy Better Marketplace:

One Bird, Two Bird, Red Bird, Blue Bird 

If you purchase anything via one of our links, including from Amazon, we may earn a small commission.

Guess what, readers? The time has come once again for one of our favorite annual events: The Great Backyard Bird Count, which runs from Feb. 14 – 17. Citizen scientists (that’s you!) power this amazing global project by providing data that reveals important information about bird habits, habitats, and populations. To participate, you simply need to settle into a favorite spot for 15 minutes (or more), watch birds, and submit information about what you see to one of two free apps. Beginners should use Merlin Bird ID, which helps to identify species, and more experienced birders should use eBird. If you’d like to count birds and maybe even make some new friends while you’re at it, check out this map of GBBC events around the world. 

This week, our marketplace editor shares three of her favorite bird-related products. Click for even more items and to learn about updated birdfeeder safety information in the time of avian flu.

For Backyard Birders

Etsy sellers offer a delightful assortment of birdhouses, birdfeeders, and birdbaths that will help you invite birds into your home. Georgian, Victorian, Craftsman, mid-mod, hobbit … whatever your dream (bird)house is, you’ll find it on Etsy.

Shop today or read our review.

For Getting a Closer Look

Climate Neutral Certified, 1% for the Planet member company Nocs sells comfortable, quality binoculars that come with a “no-matter-what” lifetime warranty. You can even add on a rig that connects the lenses to your phone for close-up photos. Shop today or read our review.

For the Young and Young at Heart

Created by sustainability-focused toymaker Wild Republic in collaboration with Audubon and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, these charming stuffed toys make authentic bird calls provided by Cornell’s library of audio recordings. Shop today or read our review.

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DEAR DOT: How, Eggs-actly, Can I Support Happy Hens?

– Illustration by Elissa Turnbull

With the price of eggs on everybody’s mind lately, it’s a good time to revisit this Dear Dot about how to relish the production of happy hens.

Dear Dot,

What is the difference between pasture-raised hens (and therefore eggs), cage-free, or free-run? I want eggs only from the happiest of hens.

– Rona, West Tisbury

Dear Rona,

Oh, my hen-loving friend … your innocent question has opened up a can of mealworms that has, no yolk, seriously ruffled my feathers. It would seem that the $6.1 billion U.S. egg industry has more than its share of rotten ova. Egg producers have taken carton blanche to mislead us with labels, and making sense of the various egg classifications is enough to scramble our brains. But let’s crack this open. I hope my response meets your eggs-pectations.

Both cage-free and free-range are USDA-certified terms that may conjure up images of chickens strutting blissfully around a farmyard but that, under closer scrutiny, are actually fairly meaningless. While cage-free is what it says — uncaged chickens — there’s a pecking order among poultry that means less aggressive birds are often cowed by the bullies, and denied access to move about. Free-range means only that there’s a door to the outside, and a farmer may or may not open it at some point. 

Which isn’t to say that some cage-free and/or free-range-designated birds aren’t strutting about like feathered royalty. It’s just that, without more information, you can’t be sure. …

If you want more information, keep reading.

See more Dot here. Got a question for her? Write her at deardot@bluedotliving.com

Chocolate-Tahini Sweetie Cakes

You don’t even need a sweetie to enjoy these treats on Valentine’s Day (or any day). They’re made with crazy cake — an easy chocolate cake that originated during the Depression and uses oil and vinegar instead of eggs and butter. Sweet, and planet-friendly!

 Want more recipes in your inbox?

Sign up for our Bluedot Living Kitchen Newsletter here.

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Home repair costs have surged in recent years due to inflation and supply chain issues, making unexpected breakdowns a financial burden for homeowners. Fortunately, a home warranty could help cover the repair and replacement of your home appliances and systems for a reasonable monthly fee. Check out Money’s list of the Best Home Warranties and start protecting your essential appliances.

Sustainable Bedding

Like all at-home products, bedding can be more or less sustainable depending on the materials, source origin, and awareness of company practices. In this Room For Change article from our archives, Mollie Doyle lays out some broad guidelines for finding the best mattresses, blankets, and sheets for you and the environment.

The Keep-This Handbook

Our local libraries don’t just let you check out books, you can also access seeds and all sorts of items, like musical instruments, games, even a shellfish shucking kit. Find them and more in Bluedot’s Ultimate Simple, Smart, Sustainable Handbook to Martha’s Vineyard.

Jamie Kageleiry is a longtime magazine and newspaper editor from Oak Bluffs. Her favorite spot on earth is being in a kayak, anywhere on MV.

Leslie Garrett has been covering climate stories for 20 years. Anywhere near the water is her favorite place to be.

Lucas Thors is a reporter and associate editor at Bluedot Living.  He lives on Martha's Vineyard with his English springer spaniel, Arlo, and enjoys writing about environmental initiatives in his community.

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