I arrived on the Island as a twenty-something in the early 1980s and found a fledging art scene and stunning, unlimited beauty. There were a handful of galleries, one of which accepted me, but the bulk of my work was sold in New York. Little by little, independent art shows sprang into existence along with more permanent galleries. The all-Island art show was one such show, and the Family Planning art show was another.

It’s not July, but it seems like July. It used to be that some things that happen only began to happen in mid-summer, but not this year, no sir. Things are happening now. We can remember when the masses were blooming in the seventh month of the year, while this year, in the fifth month, they are congregating. From the Skiff avenue end of Lagoon Pond they have arrived — massive influxes of what appear to be brown clouds of death. The algae blooms are here.

What an amazing job everyone did to beautify the Triangle in Edgartown! I am very fortunate to live in the beautiful little town of Edgartown and I adore it. What an amazingly beautiful welcome for all our visitors. Joe’s sign is absolutely gorgeous and all the plantings are breathtaking.

How did a good faith effort on the part of a committed group of dog owners to work with the town of West Tisbury to keep Lambert’s Cove Beach clean and safe morph into a proposal for a year-round, townwide leash law? I am a member of that group — the Friends of Lambert’s Cove Beach — and I ask myself that question every day.

Remember the Citizens United resolution at spring town meetings? In all six towns, we voted to support Massachusetts Senate Bill 772, restoring free speech. It calls for the U.S. Congress to move to amend the U.S. Constitution to affirm that money is not speech, and that human beings, not corporations, are persons entitled to constitutional rights.

In my home, on a white shelf in the living room is a framed page of the Vineyard Gazette from 1989 announcing this old house’s 300th birthday. The notice describes the Island history of the building, pulled from scholars’ notes and public records, and has served as a source of pride and honor for my family for 23 years.

Recently, a friend of mine came to the Island to visit me.

“I love old houses like this,” he said, eyeing the exposed beams. “It feels like we’re in a whaler.”