Turtles could teach us a thing or two.

These shelled oracles have inspired much advice. Australian athlete Bill Copeland advised us to “Try to be like the turtle — at ease in your own shell.” Wise Dr. Seuss observed that “All the turtles are free – As turtles and, maybe, all creatures should be.” And a Jamaican proverb rightly notes that “Sleepy turtles never catch the sunrise.”

The Summer Institute at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center has traditionally programmed its summer movie series with selections from the Boston Jewish Film Festival. This year, however, they have taken matters into their own hands by programming the festival themselves, becoming, in a sense, an international film festival unto themselves.

This summer’s slate of films includes both documentaries and features from around the world.

’Tis the time of year young birds are fledging from nests Islandwide. I have taken a section from the Massachusetts Audubon Society Newsletter to answer the many questions I have been asked recently. It is headlined, If You Care, Leave Them There:

I think my brain exits my body through a pen. Every time I write something down it is gone forever from my mind.

West Tisbury selectmen have voted to refer the proposed roundabout at the Oak Bluffs four-way blinker intersection to the Martha’s Vineyard Commission for review as a development of regional impact (DRI).

On Wednesday West Tisbury selectman Richard Knabel argued that the $1.1 million state project tripped article 3.701 of the commission’s so-called DRI checklist, which provides for any construction or expansion of facilities that “exist as part of an internal regional transportation system for the Island.”

An Aquinnah man appeared in Edgartown district court Wednesday morning following a stabbing in Vineyard Haven late Tuesday.

The stabbing victim was airlifted to Boston Tuesday night and remained unconscious and in a serious condition at last report, at 3:30 a.m. Tuesday, said Tisbury police chief Daniel Hanavan.

Chief Hanavan said police were called to a house on Spring street at 5:56 p.m. where they found the victim. His alleged assailant had left the scene, but turned himself in about an hour later.

The architecture of the 18th century Colonial home enjoyed by four generations of the Cooke family won’t be the oldest art on display on Friday evening when the Martha’s Vineyard Museum opens its season with a free reception for members and guests: A traditional Afro-Brazilian dance that dates back to the 16th century will be on show, too, courtesy of a group from Martha’s Vineyard Capoeira.

James Joyce Returns to the Stage

“One by one we’re all becoming shades. Better pass boldly into that other world, in the full glory of some passion, than fade and wither dismally with age.”

On Saturday, June 18 from noon to 5 p.m., the 20th annual Oak Bluffs Harborfest motors into town. Each year seems to surpass the previous one in terms of attendance and vendors participating. This year, in fact, faeries have gotten wind of the party and are expected to attend. More on that later.

Gravestone Girls

The Gravestone Girls are coming to Vineyard Haven. Are you ready?

The girls are cemetery historians who claim as their mission to keep the dead alive. On Tuesday, June 21 at 7 p.m. they will appear at the Vineyard Haven Library to lead a virtual tour through the Vineyard’s 31 graveyards.