It is often said that our strongest memories are evoked through our sense of smell. For many, the delightful scent of our native summersweet, Clethra alnifolia, calls to mind summer on the Vineyard. At the peak of the season, summersweet’s scented white flowers perfume the air with their sweet fragrance. Adapted to flowering in deep shade as well as in full sun (with sufficient moisture), large colonies of this native shrub occur in natural areas throughout the Island.

About 40 years ago my wife and I built a modest summer house on the high point of Chappaquiddick known as Samson’s Hill. We fell in love with Samson’s Hill due to its rural character and the serenity of the area. Since then, a number of thoughtful people have built modest homes around us and all have been careful not to violate the integrity of the neighborhood.

Author Jennifer Egan had a particularly memorable Vineyard visit three summers ago. While working on revisions to her novel, A Visit from the Goon Squad, she decided to add a chapter in the form of a PowerPoint presentation. As a result she spent her vacation pouring over computer slides, running from Aquinnah to Oak Buffs to print out and ship her work — and then running, literally, to the beach.

A new documentary about Israel forgoes the divisive political debate to focus on the daily lives of its inhabitants. Released in March of 2012, Israel Inside: How a Small Nation Makes a Big Difference features interviews with entrepreneurs, academics and politicians including Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat, Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, Sir Martin Gilbert, Prof. Alan Dershowitz, Prof. Jacob Frankel, Tamar Jehuda-Cohen and Shai Agassi.

The Vineyard Haven Yacht Club is hosting the U.S. Junior Windsurfing National Championships in Vineyard Haven harbor on August 1 and 2. The tournament also includes Mexico and Canada. Windsurfers will be competing in four age groups from 11 to 19 years old.

The Vineyard will be represented by several sailors including Eli Hanschka, Elie Jordi, Rasmus Sayre, Simon Elliott and Emily King.

Also competing in a separate class will be the Kona Class New England Windsurfing Championship which is open to all ages.

Somewhere along the way — perhaps to the playground — former opera singer Dan Cohen changed his name to Danna Banana and began using his vocals to entertain children and adults with tunes like Jungle Gym, Dugak, and Don’t Touch the Glasses. He refers to his music as, “music for kids that parents can stand.”

Mr. Banana has produced four albums, including Bananappeal, which won the grand prize in the John Lennon Songwriting contest.

Go to a party, eat great food, hang with neighbors and do good at the same time. It is, as the saying goes, a no-brainer. Or better known as the Chilmark Firemen’s Association Back Yard Bash.

The bash is an annual event to raise money for the all-volunteer town fire department. And since it doesn’t rain anymore, except for this past weekend, that is, the fire department is more essential than ever.

If while doing a bit of research on Othello, one checked in with Wikipedia, the following would be taken as fact: the first big screen adaptation of Mr. Shakespeare’s play that starred an African American man took place in 1995 with Laurence Fishburne in the lead role.

Martha’s Vineyard, however, proves once again to be ahead of the times.

Tomatoes and melons are on the way, cucumbers are having a banner year and demand is up for Island-grown produce, especially kale and chard. The biggest problem? Vineyard farmers can sum it up at the mid-summer mark in a single word.

“Dry,” said Bob Daniels of Old Town Gardens at the West Tisbury Farmers’ Market on Saturday. “I have irrigation, but it’s not like rain.”

Ashley Medowski creates unique frames for her paintings with wood salvaged from barns or found on beaches. Her painting The Elizabeth Islands is a panoramic done on an old wooden waterski.