Island Light: March Is Here
Good day for a dog walk (or sit) on the large dunes at Philbin.
Good day for a dog walk (or sit) on the large dunes at Philbin.
Snowdrops hold their heads high and cheerful over bleak landscape.
Snowdrops hold their heads high and cheerful over bleak landscape.
Fog cloaks the already-white Edgartown Lighthouse in wisps.
Fog cloaks the already-white Edgartown Lighthouse in wisps.
Finger piers in Edgartown Harbor are barely visible.
Finger piers in Edgartown Harbor are barely visible.
Chilmark's shellfish department is lone boat at Quitsa landing.
Chilmark's shellfish department is lone boat at Quitsa landing.
Pulled ashore and available for a quiet paddle.
Pulled ashore and available for a quiet paddle.
Gray tree trunks reach to the sky at Polly Hill Arboretum.
Gray tree trunks reach to the sky at Polly Hill Arboretum.
Is it a mushroom? A fungus? We don't know, but it sure is colorful.
Is it a mushroom? A fungus? We don't know, but it sure is colorful.
Perched high above Squibnocket, with a view that goes on for miles.
Perched high above Squibnocket, with a view that goes on for miles.
Rocks and seaweed line the wrack line on the south shore.
Rocks and seaweed line the wrack line on the south shore.
Lone sailboat spins on her mooring on a windy day in the Lagoon.
Lone sailboat spins on her mooring on a windy day in the Lagoon.
Huddling out of the wind, but in the warmth of the sun in Oak Bluffs.
Huddling out of the wind, but in the warmth of the sun in Oak Bluffs.
Beneath the Steamship Authority pier, weather by salt and waves.
Beneath the Steamship Authority pier, weather by salt and waves.
The Vineyard's most peaceful and least frantic week of the year is drawing to an end. It's the turning point of winter as spring appears on the horizon, and we have been blessed with appropriate weather, sunny and mild. All but the most stubborn mounds of snow have retreated into puddles, then disappeared.
But ah the quiet villages, the deserted country lanes and byways. Crows caw their urgent messages, chickadees dart about, and mourning doves bob along the ground in their stately way, dressed in formal gray. Visitors from the mainland are few. And this is the one time of year when families can go off-Island with free spirits. The schools were closed this week, and many an Island parent has taken a child or two to northern ski slopes, southern sun, or simply a mainland vacation. Those of us who remain enjoy our reduced numbers, note the closed cafes and coffeehouses, and take a walk on the winter beach by ourselves. Now March is here. Times will be busy again soon enough, soon enough indeed.