Islanders can take solace from the fact that this dance of one step forward, two back, is the norm and not the exception where our season of spring is concerned. The most remarkable gift of this season on the Vineyard is the rare day whose meteorological mood matches the bright blooms of the daffodils and crocuses sprouting so bravely below.

Autumn is the magic moment in the Vineyard year, the season that seems to extend so languorously as to recall Saul Bellow's observation that bliss is eternal, that there are no clocks in heaven. Spring in these parts, by contrast, is a matter of lurching progress, a season in which Islanders have learned to take what each day gives them. Yesterday, the menu was mud, but we all know that could change in a moment.