Island Light: Mud Time
Head of the Lagoon cloaked in fog.
Head of the Lagoon cloaked in fog.
Menemsha fishing boats are safely in their port.
Menemsha fishing boats are safely in their port.
Daffodils lift their heads to the sun on North Road.
Daffodils lift their heads to the sun on North Road.
Bikers use the shared use path on the drawbridge.
Bikers use the shared use path on the drawbridge.
West Tisbury barn, weathered by time.
West Tisbury barn, weathered by time.
Brock Callen uses the wind to propel himself across the water.
Brock Callen uses the wind to propel himself across the water.
Knotty trunk.
Knotty trunk.
Martha's Vineyard Museum.
Martha's Vineyard Museum.
Island Home makes her way through the outer harbor.
Island Home makes her way through the outer harbor.
And docked in her Vineyard Haven berth.
And docked in her Vineyard Haven berth.
Construction continues at Katama Bay boat landing.
Construction continues at Katama Bay boat landing.
Splash of red at Arrowhead Farm.
Splash of red at Arrowhead Farm.
Stacked firewood.
Stacked firewood.
Islanders can take solace from the fact that this dance of one step forward, two back, is the norm and not the exception where our season of spring is concerned. The most remarkable gift of this season on the Vineyard is the rare day whose meteorological mood matches the bright blooms of the daffodils and crocuses sprouting so bravely below.
Autumn is the magic moment in the Vineyard year, the season that seems to extend so languorously as to recall Saul Bellow's observation that bliss is eternal, that there are no clocks in heaven. Spring in these parts, by contrast, is a matter of lurching progress, a season in which Islanders have learned to take what each day gives them. Yesterday, the menu was mud, but we all know that could change in a moment.