The birdbath froze solid this week, as a spell of something like seasonal weather finally arrived on the Vineyard. Suddenly more than a heavy sweater was necessary for a walk outside. The dog, let out the back door in the early morning, was quickly barking to be let back in, and after seemed to spend longer than usual curled up beside the stove. There was nothing surprising about any of these signs of winter, except the sense of their vivid impression after one of the mildest Island seasons on record.