Island Light: Early
Osprey dives fast pursuing their lunch.
Osprey dives fast pursuing their lunch.
Gotcha!
Gotcha!
Back to their nest with food for all.
Back to their nest with food for all.
No summer flowers yet, but daffodils and tulips aplenty in West Tisbury.
No summer flowers yet, but daffodils and tulips aplenty in West Tisbury.
Gay Head Light stands tall at the westernmost end of the Island.
Gay Head Light stands tall at the westernmost end of the Island.
Old and new: Passing the Shenandoah in Vineyard Haven harbor.
Old and new: Passing the Shenandoah in Vineyard Haven harbor.
Lights on at the Baptist church in Vineyard Haven.
Lights on at the Baptist church in Vineyard Haven.
Delanie Pickering performs at the Portuguese American Club in Oak Bluffs.
Delanie Pickering performs at the Portuguese American Club in Oak Bluffs.
Ellen Biskis handles vocals and guitar.
Ellen Biskis handles vocals and guitar.
Plenty of rockers available at the West Chop Club.
Plenty of rockers available at the West Chop Club.
Willow Bishop can hardly wait for the solar eclipse.
Willow Bishop can hardly wait for the solar eclipse.
A couple from Germany visits Lucy Vincent Beach to witness the eclipse.
A couple from Germany visits Lucy Vincent Beach to witness the eclipse.
Fantastic!
Fantastic!
Trout fishing season at Duarte's Pond.
Trout fishing season at Duarte's Pond.
Off-season construction on Ocean Park.
Off-season construction on Ocean Park.
Choppy harbor waters in Oak Bluffs.
Choppy harbor waters in Oak Bluffs.
Preparing for hatching season on State Beach.
Preparing for hatching season on State Beach.
Figure skating club performs at the ice arena.
Figure skating club performs at the ice arena.
Entertaining the little ones.
Entertaining the little ones.
Early. That’s the message of the Vineyard these days. Everything’s early and that translates to a kind of seasonal confusion. In the old days we didn’t need a calendar to tell the time of year. We knew the march of seasons on the Vineyard skipped from the chill of winter to summer, to autumn and back to winter and summer without so much as a pause for spring, always the missing season in New England.
Travel the trails of budding woodlands; stop long enough to notice the changes in old Island meadows and in the dunes along our never-ending shoreline. At the moment the Island boasts a genuine spring arriving during a year when we had no real winter to speak of.