Flying the Flags of Freedom for the Fourth
Patriotism along Old South Road in Aquinnah.
Patriotism along Old South Road in Aquinnah.
Catboat Tigress makes her way through Edgartown harbor.
Catboat Tigress makes her way through Edgartown harbor.
Topsail schooners Alabama and Shenandoah fly their flags in Vineyard Haven harbor.
Topsail schooners Alabama and Shenandoah fly their flags in Vineyard Haven harbor.
Rock blessings on Fuller Street Beach.
Rock blessings on Fuller Street Beach.
Sweetened Water Farm's barn waves it's red, white and blue.
Sweetened Water Farm's barn waves it's red, white and blue.
You know which way the wind blows at the Sashimi Shack in Menemsha.
You know which way the wind blows at the Sashimi Shack in Menemsha.
Menemsha rigging in darkening skies.
Menemsha rigging in darkening skies.
Bunting is hung on the Ocean Park Bandstand with care.
Bunting is hung on the Ocean Park Bandstand with care.
Harbor View Hotel is picture of pure Americana.
Harbor View Hotel is picture of pure Americana.
The Vineyard this week is lush and green from a surfeit of rain, and tractors and lawn mowers are on overtime, knocking down the tall grass in yards and meadows to clear the way for picnics and barbecues and the occasional home fireworks display which are the hallmark of the Fourth of July.
Thursday marks the two hundred and forty-third birthday of America. This is the week for flags – hundreds of them, fluttering from porches and front doors and fantails and farm gates. They are the flags of freedom, and the air is charged with the energy and spirit that comes with this holiday and with the start of summer in this resort community.
Like the newly mown fields, the Island is fresh and sparkling, still untrampled by crowds.