JANE N. SLATER

508-645-3378

(slaterjn@comcast.net)

Well, here we go. Today is the first day of summer and the last day of school for many schools in this state. Let the games begin. The roadsides are looking lush and green with many flowering plants in full bloom. The daisies rule the pastures and the farmers are trying to get the hay in between showers. The bluefish are biting and the lifeguards are on duty . . . what else do we need to make a perfect Chilmark summer?

JO-ANN TILGHMAN

508-627-7669

(tilghmanjb@aol.com)

While in past years I have enjoyed waking to the singing of the various birds (cardinals, goldfinch, nuthatch, and blue jay) that visit our yard, this year it seems all I hear is the cawing of up to two dozen crows. They not only visit first thing in the morning (shortly after 5 a.m.) but several times throughout the day. I can honestly say that their sound is not music to my ears. 

HOLLY NADLER

508-687-9239

(hollynadler@gmail.com)

KATHIE CASE

508-627-5349

(kathleencase@comcast.net)

This has been a great week. The sun has been shining during the day and it rained a little at night.

Happy birthday to all who celebrated their day this past week. Special wishes go to Shannon Dolby Smith who celebrated her day with a party. It was fun to watch the kids that we knew with their children as they chased them around the yard, as their own parents had done not too many years ago.

JOHN S. ALLEY

508-693-2950

(alleys@vineyard.net)

The Father’s Day weather was not so good but Dad got to relax, at least for one day. Many outdoor cookouts were postponed, but for once he did not have to clean up after dinner.

NANCY GARDELLA

508-693-3308

(vhavenvgazette@yahoo.com)

By LYNNE IRONS

Tomorrow is party time in Oak Bluffs. From noon well into night, the town will celebrate the arrival of summer. There will be fireworks at night, a show that organizers say will rival the way Oak Bluffs celebrates the end of summer in August.

The day marks the merger of two big events in the season: the first day of summer, and the 17th annual Harbor Festival.

Patricia N. Nanon

A celebration of the life of Patricia N. Nanon, Vineyard resident and founder of The Yard, who died Feb. 29, will be held Saturday, June 28, at 4 p.m. at The Yard, Middle Road, Chilmark. Those who plan to attend are asked to call 508-645-9662.

The West Tisbury selectmen have begun to advertise for bids for the $4.1 million construction phase of the $5.1 million town hall renovation project.

Specifications for the project were listed online beginning June 11 at the Central Register, an online service maintained by the Massachusetts Secretary of State.

“My phone has been ringing off the hook since, more than two dozen calls,” executive secretary Jennifer Rand told the selectmen at their weekly meeting Wednesday afternoon. She said the majority of calls were from subcontractors.