Town Column : West Tisbury
By Hermine Hull
Published: June 26, 2008
The kousa dogwoods have been exceptionally beautiful this year. I don't remember ever seeing them so heavily flowered. We have two in our yard, gifts from friends that came as small seedlings from their own gardens. The seedlings have grown into mature trees, producing seedlings of their own, the flowers glowing green-white in the evening light. Leslie Baker commented that if we were to paint them, they would appear as an almost solid waterfall of color. If you have a chance, walk through the path lined with kousa dogwoods at Polly Hill Arboretum. It is splendid.
As of June 19, Mike and Kerry Saulnier are the sole owners of Heather Gardens. They are thrilled, as are all their gardening enthusiast friends for them. Mike and Kerry, with the able assistance of David Geiger, propagate or grow from seed most of what they sell. Much of it is really special, like the trilliums I found early this spring, or the chartreuse flowering primrose I bought this week. My other grand acquisition was a stone trough artfully filled with various succulents. The shapes and colors are amazing. It sits outside the door of my studio, welcoming all.
Nancy Cramer's Shaw Cramer Gallery will have an opening this Friday evening, June 27, from 6 to 8 pm. Leslie Baker will be the featured painter; her exhibition of new oil paintings is titled, "This Particular Time." They are luminous landscapes, places from Chappaquiddick to Chilmark. Showing with her is Kari Lonning, maker of contemporary baskets.
Allen Whiting will open his summer exhibition at the Davis House on Sunday afternoon at 4 pm. It is always wonderful, especially seeing Allen's new work, also the convivial party atmosphere. See you there.
I spent a pleasant few hours this afternoon reading Louise Tate King and Jean Wexler's fourth edition of The Martha's Vineyard Cookbook. Each edition combines the old Island recipes of their first cookbook with current culinary trends. Recipes from the Farmer's Market vendors are included, as well as recipes from our new Brazilian community, and a section called "Moors and Meadows" for those of us who like to forage for free food.
Beach stickers are on sale at the shed by the tennis courts at the West Tisbury School. Hours are: daily 9 am to 12 pm, also from 4 to 7 pm on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The beach officially opened with a lifeguard on duty this past weekend.
My yellow lab, Talley, has always been a bit timid, but since we adopted Murphy she has become more so. I decided she would benefit from some positive experiences that would build her self-confidence, so she and I enrolled in Laura Hearn Caruso's All About Dogs training class that began last Tuesday.
We arrived at the field across from Eric and Debbie Magnuson's at 6 o'clock. Talley was a little nervous, but she performed beautifully. I had taken her to puppy school with Gina Hayes five years ago, so she knew her commands. I think she was quite pleased with herself, as Laura was very complimentary.
There was a little barking as she and Lucille McGillicudy (a statuesque standard poodle) met for the first time. She and Caboose, a labradoodle nine month old, hit it off just fine. We have been practicing our leash walking, "heel" and "okay," and Talley doesn't pull at all. She's perfect. I am thrilled.
The other big experience in our family this week was having to call Tri-Town Ambulance EMTs to take Mike's mother to the hospital. Even though we know all of them and know how good they are, it was amazing to watch. They were compassionate, sensitive, firm, competent, all one wishes in such a situation. So was everybody in the ER. We felt very lucky, especially that Bobby was okay and home after a night in the hospital. Thank you all.
We will have our first meal of Island peas from the Farmer's Market, with Island lamb chops, potatoes, and strawberries for dessert. I know I have said this many times, but it bears repeating, that we are lucky to live in such a place where we know where our food comes from and the people who grow/raise it.
Everett Whiting was mowing the field on State Road this week. The fragrance is so delicious. Again, it's a treat to watch the next generation of Island farmers caring for their land.
