A group of the Island’s hockey enthusiasts gather at the Martha’s Vineyard Ice Arena to shoot the bull and shoot the puck.
A group of the Island’s hockey enthusiasts gather at the Martha’s Vineyard Ice Arena to shoot the bull and shoot the puck.
Trout stocking resumed on the Vineyard after a year off as John Garofoli and Connor Fleming from the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife transported the trout from the state hatchery in Sandwich.
It is March and, as expected, the pace of the northward migration has increased. Southwesterly winds brought a variety of birds northward. Can spring and summer be far behind?
It happened yesterday. The vernal equinox, meaning equal night, confirms our seasonal appointment with spring and hopefully the end of an Island winter.
This is the third year for unified athletics at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School, which brings Vineyard students with and without disabilities together for a true team experience.
March. It’s a quixotic month. Some days it smiles in the way of spring and makes the pussy willows and the snowdrops bloom and the forsythia edge toward budding.
On the Edgartown Harbor there is always some activity among the white caps and circling birds. The search for bay scallops and oysters is for the rugged, as the winter winds blow and the boat plows forward for one last tow.
Those of us who remain enjoy our reduced numbers, note the closed cafes and coffeehouses, and take a walk on the winter beach by ourselves.
As much as ancient sayings are to be revered, there's a lot to be said for March settling in like a lamb.
They are the commuters traveling for work, Islanders heading off for appointments on the mainland, or others just getting an early start.
These days and weeks of a slow Island pace, with the hours of daylight gradually increasing and the bite of winter balanced by the foretaste of spring, are perfect for solitary pursuits.
Now the path of the new year leads us into February, another month that has its whole being in the season of winter.
Resident winter birds are plentiful in February during the stretch between winter and spring, and northbound migrants begin to arrive.
The light lingers well past five o'clock now, and the late day sky is streaked with fuchsia punctuated by scudding, slate-colored clouds.
All was calm as snow fell on the Vineyard Thursday and Friday, turning the Island into a Currier and Ives backdrop.
So far the Vineyard winter has been manageable – hardly mild, but certainly less intimidating than some in recent memory.
As snowstorms go, this one was well timed, arriving before the Super Bowl with generous warning from weather forecasters.