West Tisbury: The Ag Fair begins today!

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A lovely walk on Hancock Beach last week with my three summer beach-walking friends, Ellen Weiss, Mary Beth Norton, and Brooks Robards. We have been walking together for years, more some summers than others, but we always pick up where we left off, as good friends do, with laughter and catching up.

One of my favorite parts of the walk is getting there. It is a feature of many of our Island beaches, driving down twisting dirt roads for what seems like forever. Then the woods open up into colorful, luscious meadows full of grasses, wind-shaped cedar trees, bayberry, and beach plums. Out of the car, over a dune, and there is the ocean. Roaring or peaceful, it always mesmerizes; I could watch the waves forever.

I had just had breakfast a few days ago with Fran Woods, during which I commented that I wished I had more bird news for the column. “That would be a good addition,” said Fran. And then I walked with Mary Beth, an avid birdwatcher who was happy to share her observations.

She had been watching two osprey all summer on Lambert’s Cove Beach, fishing off-shore and in James Pond. Last week she walked with a visiting friend, Amy Silver Ritter, who had never seen an osprey catch a fish. The obliging osprey put on quite a show. Mary Beth also watched 10 terns diving for fish just past the swimming area at Lambert’s. A cormorant had discovered the site and the terns swooped in.

At Hancock, we saw an osprey overhead and a crowd of about 15 sanderlings wading in and out of the surf. We counted six cormorants and eight swans on Chilmark Pond.

And that’s my bird news.

My other big news from Mary Beth is that she has been elected president of the American Historical Association, the umbrella organization for historians in the U.S., with an estimated 8,000 members. She will be president-elect in 2017, and begin her term as president at the annual convention in January 2018. For those who don’t know her, Mary Beth is the Mary Donlon Alger Professor of American History at Cornell, where she teaches.

If you have been watching the construction at Polly Hill Arboretum this summer, it’s completed and ready for the public. All are invited to an informal free tour of the new Education Center and Botany Lab on Friday morning, August 19, 10 to 11 am. Please park at the visitors’ center. For more information, call 508-693-9426 or look on their website: pollyhillarboretum.org.

Jennifer Tseng and her daughter, Xing Senna, will return to the Island and to our library for a visit next week. On Tuesday, August 23, Jennifer will read from her new book of poetry, “Not So Dear Jenny,” based on letters from her father. The talk begins at 5 pm. West Tisbury Poet Laureate Emma Young will be there, too.

Other library events include a book talk this afternoon at 5 pm by LaShonda Barnett, author of “Jam on the Vine.” On Saturday, August 20, parents and children are invited to draw a picture or write a short story about grandparents, and to sign “The Grand Kids Proclamation” for President Obama. Materials will be set up in the Children’s Room between 4 and 5 o’clock. A sculpture of President Obama and his grandmother will be on display. Singer/songwriter Phyllis Dale will perform on Sunday afternoon, August 21, at 4 pm. The Friends of the West Tisbury Free Public Library will hold their annual meeting on Monday afternoon at 5:30. All are invited. At 6:30 pm, Monday Night Movies are “Alvin and the Chipmunks: Road Chip” and “Everest.” Jennifer reads on Tuesday (see previous paragraph) and on Wednesday, August 24, Lynda Cohen Loigman will read from her debut novel, “The Two-Family House.” A week from today, Thursday, August 25, Michelle Chalfoun will read from her new children’s book, “The Treasure of Maria Mamoun,” at 5 pm. At 7, there will be a free classical concert by David Rhoderick, Cesar Atzic Marquez, and Olivia de Geofroy.

There will be an opening at the A Gallery this Saturday evening, August 20, from 5 to 7 pm. “New Work” by artists Leslie Baker, Mariana Cook, Irving Petlin, and Rez Williams.

Michael Stimola and James Carter will be opening a show of their work at the Field Gallery this Sunday, August 21, 5 to 7 pm.

I’ve saved the biggest news for last. The Ag Fair begins today at 10 am. Town will be bustling with visitors from all over the Island. Animals and exhibits, rides and music, amazing food, it will all be there. So will everyone you have ever known.

Mary Ruth Flores will be here helping her sister, Katherine Long, in the Fiber Tent. Lots of “fair kids” from years past will be home, some bringing their own young children. The Fair is always the most exciting and busy time in West Tisbury. I’m sure this year will be no exception, so watch out where you walk or drive, and have a great time at the Fair.