Thursday, April 26 was a classic day when the weather portrayed all of its fickle signs morphing from late winter to very late spring. The fog was heavy and the rains were torrential as the chill crowded the air until about noon. Then like an early summer day, the sun was bright and forceful giving landscapers, contractors and shop keepers a delightful milieu to continue to prepare for the fast approaching Memorial Day season opener.

Ben & Bill’s was surrounded by benches and chairs as the freshly painted concrete entryway was drying. Eastaway Clothing boxes were blowing down the avenue free from the inventory now on the store shelves. Roger Schilling at Ces’t La Vie has rolled out his front awning but still awaits packages from his Florida Trade buying trips that will soon pack the aisles in his store.

Zita Cousens at Cousen Rose Gallery is lining up artist and book authors who will provide the magnet for those looking for cultural and intellectual focus while enjoying wine and rum cake on summer evenings at the gallery. The Red Cat Kitchen displayed a number of “Free to Take” items as it cleans up and cleans out in preparation for another banner season. Fat Ronnie’s Burger Bar is open and while their hamburger formula has been in the family for four generations, their Big Hot Dog is also a terrific menu favorite.

Circuit avenue and Kennebec avenue are not fully in swing yet but now that Giordano’s Clam Bar is open we know that the season is fast approaching.

The For Sale sign that was on the Camp Ground Cottage just across the street from Nancy’s has given way to a complete restoration including a new roof and exterior clapboard, all welcoming a new family to one of the busiest corners on the Island. An entrance to the historic Camp Grounds, a front row seat at the harbor’s end and the smell of fried clams and fish from Nancy’s. Oak Bluffs at its best.

The fire that damaged several of the suites at the Martha’s Vineyard Resort and Racquet on New York avenue has been repaired and Claudia Robinson looks forward to a new lodging season.

Featherstone Center for the Arts will welcome the John Schule Chapel to its new home on Sunday, May 13 at 3:30 p.m.. The chapel will provide a space for serenity and creative inspiration on their campus.

Poet Christina Rossetti helps us understand the magic of Spring:

There is no time like Spring,
When Life’s alive in everything,
Before new nestling’s sing,
Before cleft swallows speed their journey back
Along the trackless track,
God guides their wing,
He spreads their table that they nothing lack,
Before the daisy grows a common flower
Before the sun has power
To scorch the world up in his noontime hour.

Paradise on earth is the Vineyard experience. Enjoy it as life is fleeting!

Send Oak Bluffs news to rtaylor@mvgazette.com.