Phoenix Russell tends alpacas in the morning and gives horses and humans massages in the afternoon. Anthony Esposito composes songs while waiting in his cab at the ferry terminal. Vineyarders holding multiple jobs say that summer is the time to hustle, but Sundays are a day of rest.

For Island businesses and contractors, this is a pivotal time of year — crunch time, you could call it. Ferry traffic picks up; the seasonal Steamship Authority port in Oak Bluffs is now open for the summer and privately-operated passenger ferries will begin running their late spring schedule this weekend.

A group of riparian owners on Squibnocket Pond pressing for permission to use herbicides to control phragmites found no relief from the Chilmark zoning board of appeals this week.

The board of appeals voted unanimously to uphold a cease and desist order that bars the Squibnocket Pond Organization from using the herbicide Rodeo on the invasive plants.

After concerns arose last week about noise and crowding, a leadership development conference planned for early June in Oak Bluffs will change venues. “To accommodate a much larger-than-expected group, we will relocate the conference to the Featherstone Center for the Arts,” Sean Findlen

Like so many other Islanders, David Stanwood recently admired the new trompe l’oeil mural on the back wall of the Whaling Church, a replica of the mural that graced the walls when the church was first built in 1843. Amid the neoclassical details that create the illusion of a light-filled room, Mr. Stanwood saw piano legs.

Four words are carved in a wooden block sign hung above the door frame in Peter Martell’s Oak Bluffs office. Ever Ready. Ever Willing. Mr. Martell is one of the co-owners of the Wesley Hotel, the oldest hotel on Martha’s Vineyard. Along with George Fisher and Richard Kelley, he bought the hotel in 1985 from Paul Chase. The three men renovated it for nine months and reopened for business in the spring of 1986.

Early season boaters will be able to fuel up at the Edgartown harbor this summer, despite concerns before the selectmen this week that the fuel station would be closed.

Harbor master Charlie Blair said Monday that there would not be fuel for Memorial Day weekend because equipment at the Edgartown Marine harbor fuel dock, which is operated by R.M. Packer, needed to be upgraded before the dock opens.

Town administrator Pamela Dolby said Wednesday that fuel will be available, with repairs scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday and permits expected to be issued on Friday.

Burnt toast.

It was the meal that made Michael Compean’s mother certain her son would someday be a chef. Scrambled eggs and burnt toast.

It was Mother’s Day in 1988. Michael Compean was 10 years old, living in California with his family and, like many children, he made breakfast in bed for his mother.

“That’s when she knew,” he said, “that’s when she knew I was meant to be a chef.”

At its annual meeting last month, the Edey Foundation awarded $73,700 to an array of Island nonprofit organizations.

Memorial Day on Martha’s Vineyard offers some traditional events that honor fallen service men and women but also celebrates the beginning of the summer season.

The Memorial Day Parade begins at 10 a.m. at the American Legion Hall, 34 William street in Vineyard Haven with the route ending at the Oak Grove Cemetery. Flags go up at the Avenue of Flags at the Oak Grove Cemetery at 7:30 a.m., and they will come down at 3 p.m.