Island Light: Mid March
Bare trees overlooking Wasque on a stark cold day.
Bare trees overlooking Wasque on a stark cold day.
The view from Wasque with the Atlantic and the Azores beyond.
The view from Wasque with the Atlantic and the Azores beyond.
Constant high seas provide icicles for East Chop pier.
Constant high seas provide icicles for East Chop pier.
Full moon last Saturday night glimpsed through clouds.
Full moon last Saturday night glimpsed through clouds.
Our Lady Star of the Sea rises high in Oak Bluffs.
Our Lady Star of the Sea rises high in Oak Bluffs.
On the shores of Vineyard Haven harbor down on Owen Park.
On the shores of Vineyard Haven harbor down on Owen Park.
Summer chairs hibernate after March snowstorm at Vineyard Decorators.
Summer chairs hibernate after March snowstorm at Vineyard Decorators.
Walking with history in West Tisbury.
Walking with history in West Tisbury.
Visitors pay homage to West Tisbury's chicken lady, Nancy Luce.
Visitors pay homage to West Tisbury's chicken lady, Nancy Luce.
Edgartown's waterfront as seen as the whaling captains would, returning from sea.
Edgartown's waterfront as seen as the whaling captains would, returning from sea.
Colorful kayaks brighten the Oak Bluffs side of the Lagoon.
Colorful kayaks brighten the Oak Bluffs side of the Lagoon.
Rowing gig in use all winter long in Vineyard Haven's harbor.
Rowing gig in use all winter long in Vineyard Haven's harbor.
On the Lobsterville side of Menemsha Pond, a mooring waits for warmer days.
On the Lobsterville side of Menemsha Pond, a mooring waits for warmer days.
One after another, the waves roll in at Squibnocket.
One after another, the waves roll in at Squibnocket.
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.