Island Light: Labor Day Weekend
Horses stir up the dust on a hot summer day at Arrowhead Farm.
Horses stir up the dust on a hot summer day at Arrowhead Farm.
Contemplating summer's end in the afternoon bright sun.
Contemplating summer's end in the afternoon bright sun.
Flower cutting garden at Ghost Island Farm will brighten any table.
Flower cutting garden at Ghost Island Farm will brighten any table.
Blaze the sea dragon at mama Vanessa's side in Farm Pond.
Blaze the sea dragon at mama Vanessa's side in Farm Pond.
Do you love me, do you surfer girl?
Do you love me, do you surfer girl?
Catching the green curl at Squibnocket.
Catching the green curl at Squibnocket.
So many initials carved into this beech tree at Cedar Tree Neck Sanctuary.
So many initials carved into this beech tree at Cedar Tree Neck Sanctuary.
Pine needles carpet this old road in the state forest in Oak Bluffs.
Pine needles carpet this old road in the state forest in Oak Bluffs.
Horseless buggy rests at the Ag Hall in West Tisbury.
Horseless buggy rests at the Ag Hall in West Tisbury.
Day's end – season's end? – at Tashmoo Landing.
Day's end – season's end? – at Tashmoo Landing.
Labor Day falls on Monday and it marks the last long holiday weekend of summer. This holiday forms a boundary between the fading of summer and the gathering of autumn, a moment that blends two seasons into one.
Now the year moves on, through this holiday turning point and on to a season that reminds us the great summer exodus of people homeward bound is underway. Even as new visitors come for this Labor Day weekend, the rhythm of Island life is governed by an old Vineyard equation: departures outnumber arrivals at this time of year.
The signs of a changing season are everywhere. The crowds grow thinner and the choke of traffic becomes less aggravating. An occasional parking spot pops open here and there. Water temperatures stay warm enough to invite swimmers to a shoreline less crowded. The days ahead bring those high blue ocean skies and a bright glitter to the waters around us.