West Tisbury

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The first purple crocus has appeared in our yard. Lots more are up, appearing as I rake and uncover them. Hope rabbits don’t eat them off before I can enjoy them.

There’s been so much to do lately. I feel at a loss to come up with a column today. Cleaning closets and my desk, getting ready to do taxes, my daily painting routine, observations of my woods or my walks with Talley and Nanuk. I just feel like there’s nothing to say. Maybe it’s the mid-winter blahs, although I don’t feel blah, just that I’ve said it already and wish I had some piquant something new to share this week.

Mostly it’s been art stuff on my mind. Our group met for lunch at Wendy Weldon’s last week. It’s always exciting to see what everyone is doing after the solitude of our studios. Liz Taft had been in New York, visiting a mutual friend, Mark Reisman, and seeing lots of art with him. They went to a show of Lois Dodd’s work. I am a huge fan of Lois Dodd, so was excited to learn that she will be having a retrospective at the Portland Museum next year. Can’t wait to go. Mark told me there is a book of her paintings due out this spring. I have never seen one, just pictures from exhibition brochures, or online. There is nothing like seeing the true colors and brushstrokes, feeling the size of the work, small as a jewel box or engrossingly large.

By now, most of us have heard the sad news that Kathleen Brady died last week. She was a much beloved mother, grandmother, friend, and stalwart of the community. She manned the desk at the Up-Island Council on Aging with capability, grace, and always a good joke (she was quite a tease). Same with her annual stint at the Ag Fair. There will be a service at Our Lady Star of the Sea Church this Saturday morning, March 10, at 11 am. Following her burial, everyone is invited to join the family at the Ag Hall. Bring your best smile for a lady who always wore one.

It’s hard to believe that it’s already the middle of March. Lilly Kurelya celebrates her birthday on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17. The 19th is Monday, the mutual birthday of my brother Andy and of Marisa D’Antonio. Then it will be the first day of spring and my nephew Josh’s birthday on the 20th. Wishing you all a happy day.

Emma Young is leading a workshop for teens, “Book-making,” at the West Tisbury Library next Wednesday, March 21, from 3:30 to 4:30 pm. Please call or stop by the circulation desk to pre-register. 508 693-3366.

The Maltese Falcon will be the library’s Monday Night Movie. Get a good seat and free popcorn, beginning at 7 pm.

I took my own advice last Friday and went to see the library’s exhibition of Willie Huntington’s drawings and prints at 4 o’clock, so I could look at art and hear the JC Trio performing in the Reading Room. Peter Huntington collected some of his father’s work and hung it beautifully, with a book full of drawings to look through, and some of the books Willie illustrated. His careful studies of wildlife, birds’ wings folded or in flight, the family’s kittens playing, the Island landscape and flora, his friend John Mayhew, and his son Pete as a serious eight-year-old – all rendered with sensitive line drawing and the richest etched blacks. It’s a wonderful glimpse of our Island past by a masterful artist.

The ponds haven’t frozen for skating this winter, so it’s nice to have the arena, where Parks and Rec will hold their annual Family Skate this Sunday afternoon, March 18, from noon to 1:30 pm. Admission is free. Drinks will be provided, but everyone is asked to bring a snack or dessert to share.

I guess I’ve come up with a column. Somehow, it always turns out.