The Vineyard’s annual appointment with spring, more often than not a fleeting affair, has stretched on endlessly this year, or so it seems. It began with extra warm weather in March — almost unheard of on an Island surrounded by frigid ocean water — that teased the daffodils into bloom earlier than at any time in recent memory. Islanders who were lucky enough to make mid-winter escapes returned to early spring flowers gone by and mayflowers already in bloom.

The statistics sketch a picture of the other Vineyard, the one rarely seen or understood by those who harbor images of the Island as an idyllic vacation spot. Substance abuse rates here are 21 per cent higher than the state average. There are high levels of depression and domestic conflict and violence. The Island has a significant Brazilian community whose people are often isolated and apart, and sadly sometimes targets of ugly acts of racisim.

If the purpose of art is to provoke, the positive messages festooning the Vineyard this week have met their objective.

For many, the eleven signs spouting love-oriented phrases are refreshing reminders that we need to be nicer to one another. And that appears to be one of the admirable goals of Julia Kidd, the West Tisbury artist who installed these signs across the Island landscape. “There is so much to love about you” and “I can’t get enough of you” are things most of us like to be told.

The sun fell behind the Chilmark Pond the other day, casting long shadows across the landscape as sheep grazed above at the Allen Farm. It was one of those April days where the spring air felt washed and clean, like a fresh batch of laundry snapping on the line. A brisk wind made little ripples across the pond. And for just a minute it felt like everything was right with the world.

Nearly ten years ago a small shed went up on the Cook Lands in Aquinnah fronting Menemsha Pond, property owned by the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah). It seemed an innocuous enough little building, but there was one glitch: the tribe had not obtained a building permit for it.