Buenos Dias from sunny San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. My two-year-old daughter and I made the very long journey from Chappaquiddick last week, a trip which involved one car, two boats, one bus, two planes, one van and two days and left us so thoroughly worn out that we are not sure we will make the return trip home. Perhaps we will give up our Chappy life for one here, where winter daytime temperatures reach into the mid seventies and a bright sun warms the narrow cobblestone streets and colorful buildings. I would be quite content to eat gorditas and tacos for the rest of my days, although I might find myself pining for the occasional raw oyster or two.

Most likely I would also find myself missing the seasonal rhythms of New England. As a farmer, I need the off-season, a time when plants are dormant or dead, to recuperate and plan for the upcoming growing months. Down here in Mexico, crops grow year round and non-stop. No rest for the weary farmers, but endless treats for the consumers: pomegranates, avocadoes, limes, mangoes, papayas.

Perhaps, if the climate continues to warm, we will one day see crops like these at the West Tisbury Farmers Market. With more weekends like the last one, when temperatures on Chappy were close to what they were here, perhaps this is not too far into the future. On Sunday night, when I spoke on the phone with my husband, he was enjoying his dinner outside on our porch, an experience you don’t expect to have come mid-winter. Only a few days earlier, we had enough snow for him to clip on his cross-country skis for a few passes around the farm field.

More and more frequently we are feeling the effects of climate change on Chappy: Tides are becoming increasingly higher at the ferry, wind storms are growing more frequent (even becoming strong enough to wrench the plastic from one of our greenhouses this fall), and we are seeing heavier wet periods followed by long periods of drought.

This latest warm spell may have been just enough to confuse the perennials into thinking it is spring, causing them to break dormancy. If I were home, I would amble out to the field to check the garlic, one of the first plants to push green shoots up out of the ground come spring. There is not much that can be done except hope that we settle into a more typical weather pattern and the plants follow along. Erratic weather can really wreak havoc on a growing season.

In the spirit of Elizabeth Whelan’s Art Night of the previous two winters, Margaret Knight and Kate Greer are organizing upcoming Art Nights at the CCC. They will be from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. every other Thursday, beginning Jan. 23. Participants are welcome to bring their own projects or an idea to share, or draw from a set up still life. There will be a welcoming fire and hot tea. All are welcome. Please contact Margaret for questions: (508) 627-8894.

If you have visited Quammox lately, you may have noticed the construction of a new labyrinth to the right of the road and just before you reach the boat launch. The labyrinth is being built in memory of Laura Chasin, who passed away in 2015. Her daughter Jessica says, “My mother was a spiritual person. She found peace walking labyrinths and we enjoyed walking them together. The labyrinth we are constructing is an eleven circuit design based on the classic labyrinth at Chartres Chathedral.” James Bohan is overseeing the project.

There will be a meeting at the CCC on Tuesday, Jan. 21 at 5:30 p.m. to prepare for discussing Chappy Ferry concerns with the Edgartown selectmen. Finally, the next Chappy potluck is coming up on Jan. 22. Appetizers at 6 p.m., dinner served at 6:30.