Receipts by the Martha's Vineyard Land Bank from property sales on the Island fell almost eight per cent in 2006, reflecting the general slowing of the real estate market.

The figures also point to a growing polarization of a market in which higher end properties continue to sell well, while sales at the less expensive end are stalling. The greater part of land bank revenues in 2006 came from sales worth more than $2 million.

Just over a decade ago, the Massachusetts state government cut funding for the Dukes County Cooperative Extension Service and forced closure of the popular Island program, which provided useful resources for Vineyard farmers.

Today, with a resurgence of small-scale agriculture spreading across the country and taking hold here on the Vineyard, the state is recommending the creation of another Island public agency to address farming interests.

As Hurricane Florence brushed across Bermuda over the weekend, Vineyarders kept a sharp eye on the weather reports, many thinking with relief that the Island had dodged another bullet.

The gnarled grapevines that snake along two dozen rolling acres on Stoney Hill Road stand as survivors, straight rows that have withstood the cold, the creatures who would rob their fruit, and, perhaps most of all, the critics.

A vote by the New England Fishery Management Council this week to further restrict the number of days fishermen can pursue cod and yellowtail flounder drew sharp reaction from fishermen around the region, including one on the Vineyard.

On a calm day, ocean waves lap on the beach less than 20 feet from East Chop Drive in Oak Bluffs. The edge of the road is already breaking up.