February sits opposite August in our yearly rotation, each the final full month before the equinox. On the Vineyard August is when summer hits its stride. Beach days start to pile up. The Island is bustling, and the calendar fills with events. But the earlier sunsets, the first cold night, are a reminder that fall is on its way and glorious summer days are numbered.

Flip ahead six months to February, the opposite side of the seasonal coin, when parking is plentiful but businesses are shuttered. A deep quiet settles over the Island, now as empty as it was full just a few months ago. Summer seems a distant memory. But each day is a little longer. The first snowdrops appear, and soon will come the red-winged blackbirds. Spring is on the move: slowly, inevitably.