Town Column : West Tisbury
By Hermine Hull
Published: June 23, 2011
What a beautiful week this was, our "January thaw" with temperatures in the 50s every day. All my gardening friends were out edging beds, planting their last bulbs, trimming branches. It is easy to appreciate such a gift.
I was especially grateful because my cousin, Wendy Savino, came for the weekend and I wanted to show her our Island at its best. And it was. We took the dogs for a walk on Lucy Vincent Beach Saturday afternoon just before sunset. I plan to paint the remembered view, but am afraid it will seem unbelievable in a painting. The sky was orange hued with blue and green streaks, the water reflecting pink, primrose yellow, and a paler green. As the waves rolled over, they made dark stripes and interesting connections to the rocks on the beach.
We did other things as well. I gave Wendy the basic "Island tour" after lunch on Friday. We had just-shucked scallops for dinner. Saturday morning, Wendy went off on her own to take photographs and explore. We all had a grand time together. I knew I really liked Wendy when she arrived three hours earlier than expected to an as-yet-un-vacuumed house and announced, "Sandy floors just mean you've been to the beach," after which she pitched right in and we made beds and tidied up together. I hope she has caught the Island bug and will return soon and often with her husband, Rob, and their two golden retriever puppies, Callie and Z. Or that I will get Mike off-Island to visit them and walk on their beach in Winthrop.
Sincere condolences to the family of Bob Morgan. There was standing room only at the Old Whaling Church Saturday morning as family and friends remembered Bob with wonderful stories and lots of photographs and letters. He was one of those "larger than life" figures the Vineyard seems to specialize in and I feel privileged to have known him.
Karen Overtoom, Louis DeGeofroy, and their daughters, Olivia and Michelle, spent the weekend in New York City attending the wedding of Karen's brother, Leo, to Gwen Brown on Saturday, Jan. 12. They got to stay in a fancy hotel and enjoy visiting family and city sights as well.
Father and son, Ben and Benjamin Stafford celebrated their January birthdays last week. Benjamin turned six years old on January 4 at a special Star Wars party. His dad's birthday on Jan. 8 was a more sedate affair.
We have a new resident of Edgartown Road, West Tisbury. Justin Bryant and Emma Kiely have a baby boy, Eli. Welcome home.
The Garden Club is accepting new members. It is the first time I can ever remember when there was no waiting list made up of people who have been waiting for an opening for ten or 20 years. There are fascinating-sounding lectures at the monthly meetings and lots of interesting people and projects to learn from. Upcoming topics include "Dried Flower Arranging" on Feb. 19 and "Sustainable Gardening" on March 18. Meetings are held at the Wakeman Center. If you are interested in joining or finding out more information, please call Catherine DeVito at 508-693-5372.
There will be a joint meeting of the boards of Library Trustees and Friends of the Library tonight, Thursday, Jan. 17, at 7 pm at the library. Both boards have been working together planning for the future growth of our library. The public is welcome to attend. Should you be unable to come, check on MVTV, as Jonathan Revere has filmed our past two meetings for airing on Channel 13 or 15.
Also at the Library, Ruth Kirchmeier is exhibiting some of her woodcuts throughout the month. On display is her first woodcut, quite simple, of a group of children ice-skating. The others are landscapes of Menemsha Hills, Maine, and New Hampshire, more contemporary and a great deal more complex in color and design.
The JC Trio will perform a Jazz program in the library this Friday afternoon, Jan. 18, at 4 pm. Don't forget that the library as well as all town offices and schools will be closed Monday, Jan. 21, for the Martin Luther King holiday.
I learned the most interesting thing this weekend. My Aunt Janice, a woman who marched to her own drummer, used to vacuum her dogs. It surely cut down on the amount of fur around her house, but my dogs were always skittish at the sound of the vacuum cleaner and usually disappeared. However, earlier this afternoon, I was just finishing vacuuming the living room when I heard our dogs at the door wanting to come in. I opened the door to see Talley, her neat ladylike self, but Murphy was covered with leaves and chaff all caught up in his fur. "What the --," I thought and turned the vacuum cleaner on and ran the hose along his back, then into his feathers. He liked it! At least he stood there and tolerated it. He actually rolled onto his back, paws in the air, and tolerated it. So I am passing this tip along to all dog owners. Give it a try.
