Lulled by a lingering warm autumn this year, the Island has been basking in clear, leaf-strewn days that have stretched on as if they would never end. From early October on, you could see bay scallopers out on the ponds wearing little more than shirtsleeves and rubber overalls, pulling up their daily limit in a few hours.

Last week the full super moon drew Islanders of every stripe to the northern shorelines at dusk, many wrapped in blankets, smart phones and cameras in hand, ready to capture the huge yellow orb rising up over the Sound. It was a wondrous spectacle, and a reminder of how lucky the Vineyard is to have inky night skies unspoiled by light pollution.

Then early this week a November gale blew in, and anyone who might have temporarily forgotten that this is an Island was quickly brought back to reality. High winds, rough seas, cancelled ferries and a low gray cloud ceiling can only signify one thing: winter is coming. The leaves are down, and overnight colors in the natural world have changed from red and gold to brown and gray. In woodlands branches are bare, save a few lone clusters clinging to beech tress. Wild wintergreen pokes through thick carpets of oak leaves in places. American hollies wear their bright red berries. The super moon is already a memory. Darkness descends early now. Winter coats and gloves are back in the coat closet. The fireplace is a center of attention again.

Thanksgiving is Thursday, the unique American holiday whose chief trappings are food, family and giving thanks — choose your own order.

Many Islanders have returned home for the holiday — college students who have been living away from the nest for the first time in their young lives and summer residents who come back every year to gather their clans, tribal-style, most likely for one more time before their houses are closed and shuttered for winter.

Friday is the traditional kickoff to the holiday shopping season, but on the Island even that takes its own form, absent stuffy malls and crowds. This weekend the Gazette calendar is filled with listings for craft and artisan fairs of every description. Decorations of greenery and holiday lights are going up in downtown centers. A small tree in Hart’s Harbor was already aglow this week, greeting drivers traveling the coastal road that graces the entrance to Oak Bluffs. At Chilmark Chocolates the scene will no doubt be as crowded as an August day. And for many, the Friday after Thanksgiving simply means a good long walk on a woodland trail or the beach, surrounded by family and friends.

We have plenty to be thankful for this year: a clean, healthy environment, good company (isn’t that what Thanksgiving is really all about?), and fresh food to eat from Island farms and, of course, the sea.

Speaking of which, if yesterday’s meal has got you out walking it off, consider the following account that appeared in the Vineyard Gazette in 1888 describing the Thanksgiving meal of that year:

“Thanksgiving breakfast: Coffee, devilled oysters on toast, watercress salad, fried chicken, cream sauce, baked sweet potato, tomato omelette, Malaga grapes.

“Thanksgiving dinner: Stewed oysters, broiled smelts, sauce maitre d’hotel, Parisian potatoes, squirrel potpie, hunter’s style, stewed cauliflower, roast turkey, cranberry sauce, celery mayonnaise, fruitcake, lady fingers, pumpkin pie, mince pie, cheese, assorted nuts and fruits.”

No mention of supper.

Sending out warm wishes from the Gazette to all readers near and far for a happy and safe holiday weekend. Please remember not to drink and drive.