Island Light: Marching On
Bishop Gilbert Haven cottage, where President Ulysses S. Grant visited, in the Camp Ground.
Bishop Gilbert Haven cottage, where President Ulysses S. Grant visited, in the Camp Ground.
Boys of summer meet up in March for a game at Penn Field in Oak Bluffs.
Boys of summer meet up in March for a game at Penn Field in Oak Bluffs.
Lofty ceiling at the Island Alaca barn in Oak Bluffs.
Lofty ceiling at the Island Alaca barn in Oak Bluffs.
Enjoying a mild day in the field for some sunshine.
Enjoying a mild day in the field for some sunshine.
West Tisbury post office bulletin board keeps Islanders up to date on upcoming events.
West Tisbury post office bulletin board keeps Islanders up to date on upcoming events.
Steeple of the First Congregational Church of West Tisbury under blue skies.
Steeple of the First Congregational Church of West Tisbury under blue skies.
Tashmoo Farm horse stretches its legs along Lambert's Cove.
Tashmoo Farm horse stretches its legs along Lambert's Cove.
Recycling shucked shells on Edgartown Great Pond as culch for future oyster beds.
Recycling shucked shells on Edgartown Great Pond as culch for future oyster beds.
Fog creeps in from Nantucket Sound enveloping Ocean Park.
Fog creeps in from Nantucket Sound enveloping Ocean Park.
Feeding time at Katama Farm.
Feeding time at Katama Farm.
Patterns in the sand shaped by ocean winds at South Beach.
Patterns in the sand shaped by ocean winds at South Beach.
Soon enough beach days will be here.
Soon enough beach days will be here.
Red-breasted merganser.
Red-breasted merganser.
Red-tailed hawk.
Red-tailed hawk.
And red-winged blackbird completes the red-themed bird sightings.
And red-winged blackbird completes the red-themed bird sightings.
Foot path to State Beach is traveled year-round.
Foot path to State Beach is traveled year-round.
ARRF coordinator William Johnson on the tarmac at the Martha's Vineyard Airport.
ARRF coordinator William Johnson on the tarmac at the Martha's Vineyard Airport.
Inside the Tabernacle off season.
Inside the Tabernacle off season.
Dog walkers take their furry friends for a walk on Lucy Vincent Beach.
Dog walkers take their furry friends for a walk on Lucy Vincent Beach.
Strike a pose.
Strike a pose.
Endless waves from the Atlantic Ocean.
Endless waves from the Atlantic Ocean.
March. It’s a quixotic month. Some days it smiles in the way of spring and makes the pussy willows and the snowdrops bloom and the forsythia edge toward budding. Sometimes it growls in a forbidding way, letting everyone know that winter hasn’t quite gone by. In March, deciduous trees creak in the wind and evergreens sigh. They do little gentle sighing. Sighing, wistful winds come later — in April and May.
March is a month you have to stand up to if you would enjoy it. It’s a month in which to search out the first signs of spring and welcome them. But it’s a month that puts you in your place. It lets you know that neither farmers nor gardeners nor woodsmen nor beachcombers have any control at all over Nature.