By LYNNE IRONS

I was saddened this past week by the death of my Uncle Dan Boyle. I mentioned him in my Memorial Day column as having been wounded on Mt. Suribachi at Iwo Jima for which he received the Purple Heart. He was a quiet man — patient and amused by life. I recall his driving a motor boat on the East Branch Dam of the Kinzua River. He hauled us children around water skiing hours on end. Thanks, Dan!

The big wooden doors of the Chicama Vineyards shop closed for the last time Sunday evening at two minutes past five. The shelves of the shop, once stocked with wines made from the grapes grown outside and vinegars infused with that wine, were empty, or nearly so. Hundreds of people stopped in over the weekend to celebrate the end of an adventure in farming and business begun 37 years ago by the late George and Catherine Mathiesen.

On Sunday, with the turn of a lock, that adventure came to a close. It was a bittersweet ending.

By LYNNE IRONS

While sitting once again in traffic, I was developing a bad attitude. I began seeing weeds, dead flower heads, planters needing water, and general neglect all over town. I was thinking, in a darkly humored moment, of pointing out some of those places in next week’s column.

In just a few weeks, the agricultural hall grounds in West Tisbury will be abuzz with activity. Already there are signs that the annual Martha’s Vineyard Agricultural Society Livestock Show and Fair — the first day is August 21 — is just around the corner.

It is the last Tuesday in July. The asparagus is long gone. Sugar snap peas have departed. Strawberry season has come and gone. But still there is much to look forward to. There are blueberries for sale and red, orange and even purple tomatoes ripening on Vineyard vines. There are cows to be milked, rains to be thankful for, sweet corn to eat by the dozen. August is just around the corner.

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