Island Light: Wintry Surprises
Seal basks on a rock off Squibnocket Beach on a gray January day.
Seal basks on a rock off Squibnocket Beach on a gray January day.
Frozen Squibnocket Pond view from the causeway.
Frozen Squibnocket Pond view from the causeway.
Icicles hang from a Camp Ground cottage porch.
Icicles hang from a Camp Ground cottage porch.
Elephants oversee activities on the Harbor View Hotel lawn.
Elephants oversee activities on the Harbor View Hotel lawn.
Edgartown harbor.
Edgartown harbor.
Gay Head Cliffs from high above.
Gay Head Cliffs from high above.
Old Aquinnah camp.
Old Aquinnah camp.
Gulls pick delicacies from a shell pile.
Gulls pick delicacies from a shell pile.
Jon Mayhew launches his drone for photography.
Jon Mayhew launches his drone for photography.
January days at Lucy Vincent Beach.
January days at Lucy Vincent Beach.
Endless crawl and splash of waves along the south shore.
Endless crawl and splash of waves along the south shore.
Menemsha fish shack, pretty as a postcard.
Menemsha fish shack, pretty as a postcard.
Overlooking the fishing port.
Overlooking the fishing port.
Heading out at Squibnocket.
Heading out at Squibnocket.
Surfing is a year-round activity on the Vineyard.
Surfing is a year-round activity on the Vineyard.
Snow flurries fall at Owen Park pier.
Snow flurries fall at Owen Park pier.
Katama waves.
Katama waves.
It's the third week in January and the Island now enters a final run through the back side of winter. The weather of our wintry season has been anything but predictable to this point. All the patterns seem confused and perhaps it will remain so until the gathering of another Vineyard spring. We may look back on this winter and think of it as a season where periods of thaw were interrupted occasionally by stretches of cold. The Island has had more than its fair share of rain but almost no snow worth mentioning.
Stay tuned to this season. More surprises may be on the way.