For all of us, this three-day weekend is festive, as befits a moment in the year when we first feel the sharp tang of autumn and realize that we can no longer take for granted this season's balmy weather. Each day is a more sharply appreciated gift.

It's always good advice to seize the day. Here, in the sweet month of October, are three of them. It's a moment to be outdoors drinking in the Island's beauty, a moment to pause and breathe deeply here on the far shore of Vineyard summer.