I was saddened to hear of the passing of Siamak Adibi on May 10. Siamak and his wife, Joan, have owned a house on Chappaquiddick since the 1970s. In recent years, Siamak, 88 at his passing, could be seen nearly every day biking to and from the Chappy ferry. In his lifetime, Siamak earned a medical degree from Harvard and MIT, was offered the position of Imperial Chief of Medicine by the Shah of Iran, developed a patent for an alternative solution to sugar water for patient IVs, taught at the University of Pittsburgh, and authored two books. I knew him as a lighthearted customer on my farm stand, always gently offering a joke or two as he loaded produce into his backpack for the bike ride home. You’ll be missed, Doc Adibi. You can find a full obituary in last week’s Vineyard Gazette.

Edgartown was lively again over the Memorial Day weekend. Since the outbreak began, downtown has felt like a ghost-town: parking spots remained empty, all restaurants and stores darkened, and it was rare to see a pedestrian. Despite knowing that it is usually a big holiday weekend, I was caught off guard by just how busy (albeit still much quieter than a normal year) town was on Friday night. Groups and individuals, most donning masks, wandered the streets, picking up to-go meals from one of the open restaurants and enjoying them down by the water. It was a harbinger of what is to come: a Vineyard summer. An unusual one, no-doubt, but a summer none-the-less.

Here on Chappy, seasonal houses were opened as part-time residents returned for the warmer months. Many are here later than usual. Those arriving from out-of-state come with cars loaded with groceries and supplies and the intention of quarantining for two weeks. Welcome back to all.

The lilacs are in full bloom. Blueberry Cottage has a seven-foot hedge of them out the front door, filling the yard with their sweet scent. Lily Morris, guardian of Blueberry Cottage, says she has learned that lilacs prefer to be a bit shorter than her giants. She plans on giving them a good haircut at the end of the season, but for now she is just enjoying the heavenly blooms.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is a lilac that my mom planted this spring in her garden. She picked it up from the Edgartown school a few weeks ago and planted it out right away, half thinking nothing would come of the spindly, little whip. But in the last few days, a few leaves have popped out, renewing my mom’s hope in her summer garden.

If you cut any lilacs for your home, be sure to smash the tips of their woody stems with a hammer. This will enable them to draw up enough water to rehydrate and will keep them from wilting.

There is lots of news from the Community Center this week. Although the building is not open, the wifi is on for anyone who would like to sit on the porch and use it. While you’re there, pick up a free compost bucket from Island Grown Initiative. The basketball, tennis and pickleball courts are open and the CCC is now offering private tennis lessons for $100 an hour. You can sign up by visiting their website.

Margaret Knight is still stocking the Cooler at Blueberry Cottage with Island-harvested produce and perennial plants. On any given day, you may be lucky enough to find foraged watercress, salad greens, green onions, and lily of the valley bunches to bring home.

Due to a cool, wet spring, we are delayed a bit in opening the Slip Away stand, but we will get our doors open as soon as possible. We will have some plants available for sale this weekend, and we are also opening back up our compost drop off. Once we open, we’ll be sure to post it on our website so check in often.