West Tisbury

0

Our neighborhood has witnessed and suffered through a tragic drama this past week. Ricky, one of the cygnets on the Mill Pond, was attacked by a resident snapping turtle. ACO and swan caretaker-in-chief Joannie Jenkinson found him badly injured and rushed him to Animal Health Care. We all hoped he could be cared for here, but on Saturday Joannie and Pat took him over to Cape Wildlife Center in Barnstable, where his internal injuries were pronounced too severe and he was put to sleep. He was such a beautiful boy. I understand that nature comprises both life and death, but my sympathy has always been with the cygnets, and it’s hard to watch their number diminish every year. Having said that, thank you, Joannie, for doing all you do to nurture them to swanhood.

On a brighter note, I met the nicest people this past week. Two separate incidents, both wonderful.

Last Monday evening, Bob Henry and Dorothy Barthelmes picked me up to go to David Crohan’s concert at the M.V. Film Center. We arrived in good time, parked the car, when Bob realized he had forgotten his billfold. Since he was driving, neither Dorothy nor I had bothered to carry a purse. I had $20 in my pocket for my ticket and that was all. Bob found a twenty in his car, but while we were dealing with all this, a gentleman passing by said, “I’ll lend you some money.” He did, and all the paying-back arrangements were made. He introduced himself. Elliot Kronstein. Later, we met his wife, May. Thank you for your kind gesture. We all enjoyed the concert and meeting you.

Later in the week, Friday, I took Ellen Wetherbee out to breakfast at the Plane View. It’s one of our frequent haunts, so I mentioned to our waiter, Neil, that we were celebrating Ellen’s birthday. (It was July 29.) After our always excellent pancakes and birthday wishes from everyone we knew, we were walking out to the car, when a woman walked up to us carrying a bouquet of sunflowers and blue-purple asters. “I heard you say it was your birthday, so I knew why I bought an extra bouquet this morning. Happy Birthday.” She and her daughter, CC, had been sitting at the next table. What a nice thing to do. Thanks from both of us. You made our day.

Cathy and Mike Minkiewicz, a.k.a. Nonni and Poppi, are enjoying a visit by their grandchildren. “The Mini Minx” are Annie, Sophie, Mikey, and baby Clare Bear, here with their parents, Kate and Drew, and their black lab, Osa the Good. One outing planned is a trip to see the progress of the new library and where the children’s bricks will go along the path.

Ben Cabot’s stone sculptures are part of a group show at the Old Sculpin Gallery in Edgartown this week. His aunt, Ann Howes, is exhibiting her watercolors. Also, paintings by Rosalie Ripaldi Shane, Theresa Yuan, and Eva Cincotta. Ben had celebrated his birthday on August 1 with a special dinner by his wife, Nicole, and carrot cake baked by his daughters, Violet and Reed.

Allen Whiting has rehung his Davis House Gallery with new paintings for August. I can’t wait to see what he painted in July. Gallery hours are 1 to 6, Thursday through Sunday, and by appointmen, 508-693-4691.

Kara Taylor is featuring new work, too, at her gallery on South Road. The Granary and the Field Galleries both have continuing series of shows throughout the month. Ruth Kirchmeier and I have some new woodcuts and paintings at my studio on Edgartown-West Tisbury Road.

I met Rob Hauck at a reception at Shaw Cramer last week. Rob is a new resident of West Tisbury and a new artist at Nancy’s gallery. He is a painter of large abstract compositions and smaller works on paper. Rob will speak about his recent painting trip to Maine at Shaw Cramer’s final artist talk of the season next Tuesday, August 13, at 6 pm.

Paul Karasik had a graphic report of the pre-opening rituals to the Farmers’ Market featured on the op-ed page of last Friday’s Vineyard Gazette.

The West Tisbury Church will host the 4th Annual Peach Festival this Saturday, August 10, from noon to 4 pm. Volunteers will be peeling and slicing peaches for shortcakes, smoothies, homemade ice cream, and specially brewed iced tea, plus sliced peaches to take home. There will be a raffle of, what else, a peach tree.

The West Tisbury Library traveling story times for August are Thursdays at 10:30 am. Meet at the Oak Bluffs Library on August 8 and 22; at the Vineyard Haven Library August 15 and 29.

Clea Baumhofer has returned from a stay in Paris. She spent a semester studying at the Sorbonne and the Institute of Pierre and Marie Curie. She finished an 8-week internship with GTM Batiment, a construction company building a project at the Curie Institute. Clea will return to Baltimore for her senior year at Johns Hopkins University where she is majoring in civil engineering.

Everyone is raving about Shirley Mayhew’s performance at the Moth Theater last Saturday night. She was fantastic. As always.