Island Light: May Day
Waves wash in mixing the pastel colors like an artist's palette at Cedar Tree Neck.
Waves wash in mixing the pastel colors like an artist's palette at Cedar Tree Neck.
Shadows and light among the beech forest as buds begin to burst.
Shadows and light among the beech forest as buds begin to burst.
Daffodil peeks through white picket fence along Edgartown sidewalk.
Daffodil peeks through white picket fence along Edgartown sidewalk.
Crops get worked into the warming soil at Ghost Island Farm in West Tisbury.
Crops get worked into the warming soil at Ghost Island Farm in West Tisbury.
Turkey vulture keeps an eye out for potential lunchtime snack.
Turkey vulture keeps an eye out for potential lunchtime snack.
Weathered shingles on a classic New England house on Chilmark hillside.
Weathered shingles on a classic New England house on Chilmark hillside.
Horseshoe crab swirled onto a rock on Island's north shore.
Horseshoe crab swirled onto a rock on Island's north shore.
West Chop cedars, bent by the wind and time.
West Chop cedars, bent by the wind and time.
Little Lady gets fresh coat of bottom paint at Martha's Vineyard Shipyard.
Little Lady gets fresh coat of bottom paint at Martha's Vineyard Shipyard.
Willet surveys Sengekontacket Pond.
Willet surveys Sengekontacket Pond.
Car traces light up against sunset by Big Bridge.
Car traces light up against sunset by Big Bridge.
The question of when spring arrives on the Vineyard is a matter of debate. Some consider spring underway when the first pinkletink peeps or the first osprey soars over the Island. The best indication of spring's arrival is color: the drifts of bright yellow daffodils, some planted more than a century ago, that grace the rolling hills and roadsides of the north shore, and the vibrant emerald green of lawns and farm fields from Aquinnah to Chappaquiddick. Year in and out, the Vineyard explodes in color around May Day, last Friday. As May opens, the world comes alive again. Spring has arrived.