Island Light: Year's End
End of day at West Chop.
End of day at West Chop.
Plying the December waters for quahaugs.
Plying the December waters for quahaugs.
DInghies bask in the sun on their winter beach.
DInghies bask in the sun on their winter beach.
Jingle bells decorate horses in Vineyard Haven.
Jingle bells decorate horses in Vineyard Haven.
Ferry Island Home docks in her Vineyard Haven port.
Ferry Island Home docks in her Vineyard Haven port.
Waves of green and blue roll in to Stonewall Beach.
Waves of green and blue roll in to Stonewall Beach.
Fishing vessel Right Stuff tied in Oak Bluffs harbor.
Fishing vessel Right Stuff tied in Oak Bluffs harbor.
Barnacles.
Barnacles.
Passing over Duartes Pond on a footbridge.
Passing over Duartes Pond on a footbridge.
The calendar points to the moment of Tuesday midnight, to the tolling of the Island bells, to that time in our lives when old becomes new and we wonder what lies ahead. These are the days just before and just after the first bell strikes that we find most appropriate for that old and familiar greeting spoken so comfortably and without rancor. Happy New Year is the refrain now heard across the Island, in every corner of every Vineyard township.