Island Light: Seasonal Change
En plein air painting on the windswept shore of South Beach.
En plein air painting on the windswept shore of South Beach.
Sailboats head out in Vineyard waters at tail end of summer.
Sailboats head out in Vineyard waters at tail end of summer.
Catching some rays while warm weather remains.
Catching some rays while warm weather remains.
Wahling Church highlights downtown Edgartown.
Wahling Church highlights downtown Edgartown.
Sunset view from Little Bridge in Oak Bluffs.
Sunset view from Little Bridge in Oak Bluffs.
Dinghy pulled ashore at the Tashmoo boat landing.
Dinghy pulled ashore at the Tashmoo boat landing.
Choppy seas at Lucy Vincent beach.
Choppy seas at Lucy Vincent beach.
Gray day at Vineyard Haven harbor.
Gray day at Vineyard Haven harbor.
Football practice at the regional high school.
Football practice at the regional high school.
Soccer team huddles during game.
Soccer team huddles during game.
Dribbling the soccer ball during match.
Dribbling the soccer ball during match.
Tie score.
Tie score.
1nightstandband performs beside the bandstand in Oak Bluffs.
1nightstandband performs beside the bandstand in Oak Bluffs.
Tisbury School looking good after years-long renovations.
Tisbury School looking good after years-long renovations.
Nighttime at the airport.
Nighttime at the airport.
The Green Room lights beckon shoppers on Main street.
The Green Room lights beckon shoppers on Main street.
Rebecca El-Deiry supervises fillet table outside derby headquarters.
Rebecca El-Deiry supervises fillet table outside derby headquarters.
Rebecca El-Deiry volunteers at derby headquarters.
Rebecca El-Deiry volunteers at derby headquarters.
Fillet master uses his skills preparing fish for derby's fillet program.
Fillet master uses his skills preparing fish for derby's fillet program.
Derby headquarters attracts a crowd for evening weigh-ins.
Derby headquarters attracts a crowd for evening weigh-ins.
The changing of the seasonal guard is told not in the skies but in the lands and the sea around us. The gathering of fall turns thoughts ahead to the golden weeks of late September and soon October, to warm days and cool nights, to high ocean skies and flecks of glitter in Island waters. This is a season when the clarity of light pushes the horizon back to infinity.
It is not difficult to recognize autumn’s arrival. You will notice the season in the first turning of leaves in the woodlands, in chimney smoke from the first flicker of fire on a cool night, in the browning of old meadows, in the colors of beach grasses, and in the harvest of squash from the fields. Autumn returns open parking spaces and brings time, more time for absent friends to get together after a busy summer, more time for reflection, for thoughts about the future of the Island, about the need to preserve its fragile resources, its rural way of life, its character that so sets this community apart from others.