Island Light: Silence of the Snow
Wintry cover at Packer Wharf in Vineyard Haven.
Wintry cover at Packer Wharf in Vineyard Haven.
Vineyard Haven waterfront.
Vineyard Haven waterfront.
Snow cover at the airport's art installation.
Snow cover at the airport's art installation.
Melting roadways make for slippery travel in downtown Oak Bluffs.
Melting roadways make for slippery travel in downtown Oak Bluffs.
Rooftop scene in Cottage City.
Rooftop scene in Cottage City.
Old red truck is backyard fixture now.
Old red truck is backyard fixture now.
Menemsha jetty frosted in February.
Menemsha jetty frosted in February.
Squibnocket Pond shoreline.
Squibnocket Pond shoreline.
Plows hit the roads for after-storm cleanup.
Plows hit the roads for after-storm cleanup.
Downtown Vineyard Haven.
Downtown Vineyard Haven.
Lambing season begins on the Island.
Lambing season begins on the Island.
Hayloft in a West Tisbury barn.
Hayloft in a West Tisbury barn.
Deer are prevalent in Chilmark this winter.
Deer are prevalent in Chilmark this winter.
Gay Head Cliffs seen from above.
Gay Head Cliffs seen from above.
Owls have been attracting bird enthusiasts to Katama.
Owls have been attracting bird enthusiasts to Katama.
Crows attenpt to run off an interloper.
Crows attenpt to run off an interloper.
Short-eared owl in flight.
Short-eared owl in flight.
Gretchen Lally on the hunt for owls (with her camera).
Gretchen Lally on the hunt for owls (with her camera).
Winter erosion on SOuth Beach.
Winter erosion on SOuth Beach.
Replacing the shingles on the Grange Hall roof.
Replacing the shingles on the Grange Hall roof.
Great blue heron.
Great blue heron.
Clay dunes at Lucy Vincent Beach tumble to the shore.
Clay dunes at Lucy Vincent Beach tumble to the shore.
Airport evening.
Airport evening.
Oak Bluffs at night.
Oak Bluffs at night.
Silence is simply the absence of sound, as darkness is the absence of light, and so it follows that nothing can really be quieter than quiet. But anyone who’s been walking on a snowy afternoon will agree that something more seems to be going on when snow drapes its muffling blanket over the landscape. Somehow the snow absorbs the background sounds of life that we’d never have noticed on a village street if they weren’t missing. The hush becomes a presence in its own right, uncanny, dreamlike.