It is mid-February. Winter’s sea-frosted breath is seeping through the cracks in my house and chilling the bones of everyone we left behind. I admit that it gives me the tiniest bit of guilty pleasure to imagine this as I linger over brunch with my family in historic Winter Park, Fla., 90 miles from where I attended high school. Call it Vacation schadenfreude.
W hen Molly Finkelstein and her husband David built their house in West Tisbury more than 40 years ago, they weren’t exactly building with their forever home in mind. But instead of starting from scratch, they have decided to help the home they’ve grown to love grow with them, along the way upgrading and reimagining the space to suit the needs of their family.
On Martha’s Vineyard, where the grocery stores proudly sell Island-grown meat and kids plant veggies at school, growing one’s own food is hardly breaking news. But some Islanders have taken this Do-It-Yourself impulse a step further by designing and building their own kitchen equipment, from solar ovens to industrial smokers. And while they’re hard at work pumping out great meals, (in most cases using only the freshest, most-local ingredients), these homegrown slow cookers are also busy building another Island-inspired tradition: community.
Bob Fuller of Chilmark studied marine biology as an undergraduate, before earning master’s degrees in aquaculture and aquatic pathology. His company, Fullers Energy, does everything from energy evaluations to solar and geothermal installations. Solar energy is a big part of his business and he says business is good.
It was after spending the holidays back home on the Island that I made the decision to tackle Dry January: an aptly-named, specialty cleanse in which one gives up booze for 31 days at the start of the new year.
Island herbalist Holly Bellebuono writes books, runs an herbalist training school, is a familiar face at the farmers market and lectures all over the country. Here she talks to The Vine about herbs for beginners, learning from her elders, and what to do about that pesky winter cold.
It’s a little after noon on a wintry Wednesday, and Alex’s Place is hopping. The YMCA teen center, made possible by a gift from the Gagnon Foundation, is a growing hub for Island adolescents.
Salted lamb, Hanukkah prayers, scary jello rings — many holiday traditions are handed down through generations but for some young Island families, new ones take their place.
We are the visited, the indigenous Islanders. We own mansions, castles, thatched huts (there must be at least one somewhere up-Island), garage apartments, condos, converted barns, Spider Shacks (maybe just me), bungalows and bodegas. And they know it. And they are coming.
The last stretch, that last tenth of a 3.1-mile race, can be the best part. At Katama it’s when you make the turn down the dirt road back to the Farm Institute. With any luck you’ve got a killer song with a strong beat helping to propel you to the finish line.
