Island Light: January Days
Windy week brought endless waves to the South Beach shore.
Windy week brought endless waves to the South Beach shore.
New Year's walk on Katama to begin 2025 outdoors.
New Year's walk on Katama to begin 2025 outdoors.
Happy to have the beach to themselves.
Happy to have the beach to themselves.
January gray on a Chilmark farm.
January gray on a Chilmark farm.
A visit to Stonewall Beach and the reason for its name becomes clear.
A visit to Stonewall Beach and the reason for its name becomes clear.
Perched precariously on a bluff at Stonewall.
Perched precariously on a bluff at Stonewall.
Off-season at the East Chop Lighthouse.
Off-season at the East Chop Lighthouse.
Sunset over Sengie at the Big Bridge on Beach Road.
Sunset over Sengie at the Big Bridge on Beach Road.
Returning home on a nighttime passage.
Returning home on a nighttime passage.
Aptly named Stone Church in Vineyard Haven.
Aptly named Stone Church in Vineyard Haven.
Swimming raft on West Chop pulled ashore until warmer weather returns.
Swimming raft on West Chop pulled ashore until warmer weather returns.
Rare blue sky this week at the West Chop Lighthouse.
Rare blue sky this week at the West Chop Lighthouse.
Winter is time for renovations and upkeep at the Flying Horses.
Winter is time for renovations and upkeep at the Flying Horses.
Fog settles in over Chilmark.
Fog settles in over Chilmark.
The windmill at Bliss Pond Farm in Chilmark.
The windmill at Bliss Pond Farm in Chilmark.
Hawk patrols the fields of Katama.
Hawk patrols the fields of Katama.
Bare trees surround the Tabernacle in the Camp Ground's Trinity Circle.
Bare trees surround the Tabernacle in the Camp Ground's Trinity Circle.
Bubbles delight children at Chabad on the Vineyard's Hanukkah celebration.
Bubbles delight children at Chabad on the Vineyard's Hanukkah celebration.
Let there be music to fill the air.
Let there be music to fill the air.
Rabbi Tzvi Alperowitz lights the Menorah at Owen Park.
Rabbi Tzvi Alperowitz lights the Menorah at Owen Park.
Katama sunset.
Katama sunset.
On a walk through the trails on East Chop, we found summer’s palette of greens almost entirely displaced by browns and grays. Our eyes were drawn, hungry for signs of life, to the hardy greens of cedars and to patches of lichens along the path. Now the path of the new year leads us out of the holiday season and into winter. But unlike our lives, winter is a story whose ending we already know. Each gray day will be bearable because we know it carries us closer to the advent of spring.