After nearly 20 years in business, Aboveground Records, the landmark indie Island record store that has had a following among people of all ages, plans to close its doors.

On Wednesday morning this week Aboveground founder and owner Michael Barnes announced a closing date for the beloved store at the Triangle in Edgartown by posting a simple message reading on the store’s Facebook page: “1995-2014.”

“We’re in the final three months,” Mr. Barnes told the Gazette on Wednesday. He said he will likely close in the first week of January 2014.

In 1641 when the Great Harbor Township founding Martha’s Vineyard was granted by King Charles, Edgartown’s East Chop neighborhood was included and remained part of that town until 1880 when consternation over taxation led to our secession and incorporation as Cottage City.

Sorry to have missed you last week. I was under the weather, which sounds ridiculous because this weather has been too incredibly beautiful to be under. Some of you seasonals and vacationers who have come or stayed later than usual now know our secret: this is the very best time of year on storybook Island.

Althea Freeman-Miller
looks to plants to describe her journey as an artist. A morning glory represents her childhood on the Vineyard, a black-eyed Susan the person she was in college, and a tree her future.

Metaphor extends to her family, too, but it isn’t confined to botany. An iris and an anchor symbolize her mother, and a bird with a heart as a body captures her father. Her inner purpose is a beaming candle.

The weather has been so nice. The temperature is warm, the sky is blue, the leaves are starting to show their bright colors and everyone is happy. Brides who have been planning their weddings have been very happy and the fishermen have been happy. Now, I hate to spoil all the happiness but we need rain. So lets hope in the near future we see some rain for our gardens and ponds.

Will it ever rain again? It’s been over a month without anything amounting to much. Don’t get me wrong. The days could not be more perfect. Clear and crisp in the mornings with abundant sunshine all day certainly raises the spirits.

The weather continues to be in the 60s and 70s, with beautiful calm autumn days. Many people are still swimming at the beaches while dodging day-time derby fishermen. We all wish the weather will hold like this for awhile.

Chilmark is gliding seamlessly through this unseasonable fall weather. No wind, lots of sun and still very few fall colors in the greenery. The sides of the road are full of yellow and purple wild flowers, lush green growth and the usual flocks of turkeys, always on their way to the other side of the road.

A warbler seen in the Phillips Preserve and a thrush spotted in the Gay Head Moraine are members of groups of birds I have always had trouble distinguishing between. The Connecticut warbler is one of three warblers that are tough to separate. The other two are the Nashville warbler and the mourning warbler. The MacGillivray’s warbler is also a look-alike, but is a western species never seen on the Vineyard and, to my knowledge, only five times in Massachusetts. The last time was in 2009 in Boston.

It would be difficult to create a better superhero.

The green darner dragonfly should have its own comic strip, book and movie deal. Its qualities are similar to those of all of the best crusaders: speed, size, strength and a dash of mystery.