The Vineyard is shuttered against the cold these days, Islanders wrapped in layers of fleece and wool as they go about their daily lives, with one eye on the heating bills, the other on the ice skates hanging in the shed. The bay scallop fleet is grounded until the thermometer climbs above 28 degrees. Farms are tucked in for their winter nap. Colds and flu are a seasonal hazard. And with the holidays over, many more businesses have begun to close for the winter.

The end of the year is often an occasion for quiet time and contemplation, when many Islanders redirect their lives and energies to family gatherings either at home or away. But late December this year was far from tranquil for real estate brokers, attorneys, appraisers, land surveyors, bankers and other professionals who handle the many steps involved in the sale and transfer of real property. The market for real estate was hit by a sudden burst of activity, fueled by impending changes in the federal tax code.

Selected from nature writings published on the Gazette editorial page in 2012: No winter to speak of — at least so far — at least not what we have steeled ourselves for with the harsh weather conditions in the last few years.

The Island is wrapped in the quiet of December. Shortened days are cast in mild drizzle with fleeting breaks of sun through a low ceiling of gray clouds. Long nights are inky and blustery beneath starry skies splashed with meteor showers. Is the sky higher overhead at night? It seems so. Main streets twinkle and smile with hundreds of tiny white lights, while the more rural reaches of the Vineyard are marked by an occasional burst of cheer in the form of a lone tree, mailbox or fenceline decorated for the holiday.

This afternoon at four o’clock the bonitos take to the water in a swim meet at the YMCA. The bonitos are a swim club for children ages six to twelve that introduces young minnows to competitive swimming. Not so much concerned with fast times and medals, the club appears populated by otters rather than the ferocious local game fish. The kids frolic in and out of the pool, their wriggling bodies representative of a time when standing still was the hardest test of all.

A budding dispute between the Boch family and the town of Edgartown over whether the Bochs may land a helicopter at their down-harbor estate now appears to be headed to superior court.

The town zoning board of appeals last week upheld the decision of the town building inspector to issue a cease and desist to Barbara Boch. Helicopter landings on private property are not allowed under Edgartown zoning bylaws.