Island Light: On the Way
Winter hues color the harbor landscape in Edgartown.
Winter hues color the harbor landscape in Edgartown.
Shellfisherman heads out into Katama Bay.
Shellfisherman heads out into Katama Bay.
Waves crest and break on the Philbin shoreline.
Waves crest and break on the Philbin shoreline.
Swirling around Lucy Vincent Beach.
Swirling around Lucy Vincent Beach.
Water flows over the Priester's Pond falls.
Water flows over the Priester's Pond falls.
Sundown over Sengekontacket saltmarsh.
Sundown over Sengekontacket saltmarsh.
Chilmark sheep have their eyes on you.
Chilmark sheep have their eyes on you.
Fishing boats winter over in the lee of the Oak Bluffs harbor.
Fishing boats winter over in the lee of the Oak Bluffs harbor.
Many a wedding portrait has been taken on these stone stairs.
Many a wedding portrait has been taken on these stone stairs.
Cow Bay quiet.
Cow Bay quiet.
Pulled ashore on Lagoon beach.
Pulled ashore on Lagoon beach.
Menemsha fishing shack.
Menemsha fishing shack.
View from Moshup Beach toward Gay Head Cliffs.
View from Moshup Beach toward Gay Head Cliffs.
Catching a ride at Squibnocket.
Catching a ride at Squibnocket.
Old barn in Chilmark.
Old barn in Chilmark.
The days grow shorter and darker and winter approaches. The light on the Vineyard changes at this time of year, the sun now pale in its slide toward the Southern Hemisphere. And so we depend on other lights, the lights of the holiday season, to warm and illuminate December. Candles shine in Island homes and the altars of Vineyard churches speak to the joy and compassion of a season colored by music and thoughts not of ourselves but of others.