A nice surprise to see grass again. It’s a bit dull, sodden in some places, but still a solid footing after snow/ice/rain/mud and slicked one atop the other. I know we can still get snow in March, but it makes me eager to be outside. I love my daily perambulations around the yard to look for whatever might be newly appeared or tasks that need attention. Snowdrops are blooming across the back lawn now. There are buds on my hellebores. Lots of pruning to do. Lots of clean-up. Still, nice to carry my coffee cup and pruners for a pleasant walk-around.
Next weekend we “spring ahead” into Daylight Savings Time. Then it will really begin to feel that we are approaching spring.
Another event to anticipate, soon we will be back in our newly refurbished library. The furniture is in and the staff are shelving books that have been in storage during the project. There will be an official ribbon-cutting Saturday morning, March 22, at 10 am to officially open the library to the public.
Speaking of books, Leah Littlefield has designed a project she calls “Spread the Joy of Reading.” Leah is an avid reader. As part of the preparation for her Bat Mitzvah, her mitzvah (“good deed” in Hebrew) is to collect children’s books to be donated to Horizons for Homeless Children and Boston Children’s Hospital. She has helped a younger student with reading, made and sold bookmarks to raise money for literacy organizations. Anyone interested in donating new or like-new children’s books may leave them in a drop box inside the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center lobby on Center Street in Vineyard Haven. Leah will let us know how many books she collects by next year.
My condolences to the families of Faith Runner and Otis Burt, both of whom died last week. Seeing and nodding to Otis, maybe sharing a word or two, was part of my breakfast routine at the Plane View. I think they should place a memorial plaque on his regular stool. And Faith was always at the library or the post office, always with a smile, usually with Hasty. I will miss them both, and know many share that sentiment.
The West Tisbury Town Democratic Committee will meet this Saturday morning, March 1, at the Howes House to elect delegates to the Democratic Convention where candidates for Governor, Lt. Governor, Attorney General, Treasurer, and Senator will be decided upon. Door open at 9:30 and the meeting will begin promptly at 10 am.
This is a bit last-minute, but there are seven openings for summer internships at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum. Applications are due by February 28 for positions in curatorial, oral history, development, marketing/events, education, research/writing, and library/archives. Applications are available online: mvmuseum.org/internship.php.
Also at the museum, Chris Murphy will repeat his two-part workshop, “Learn to Carve a Decoy,” on Saturdays March 8 and 22. Tools and materials are provided. The fee is $20. Reservations are required. 508 627-4441, ext. 110 or frontdesk@mvmuseum.org.
Take a look at the current exhibition there, The Art of Advertising.
ACE MV is offering an amazing array of courses. An Ethics class, offered for credit with Fitchburg State College, begins next week. An in-person registration for spring classes is Tuesday, March 4, from 4:30 to 6 pm, in the MVRHS lobby. Lots of interesting possibilities from “ServSafe Food Sanitation Training “or “Auto Mechanics for Women,” to “Island Geology,” “Planting Bed Design,” “Buyers’ Beware and Buyers’ Guide to GMOs,” and many more. Register online at acemv.org.
Thanks to Nora Nevin, who returned our golden retriever, Nanuk, last week. Nan had wandered down the road and been spotted and picked up by Nora. It’s handy that Nan’s name and our phone number are printed on her collar, a tip that Joannie Jenkinson always comments favorably on.
Happy birthdays to Gaston Vadasz, Ernie Mendenhall, Blue Cullen, Diane Wall, Natalie Larsen, and Morgan Caruso.
I went off Island last Sunday to meet my cousins for lunch in Falmouth. They took me to a place I had never been, Dana’s Kitchen. It was wonderful, so I am passing the information along for anyone looking for a delicious, reasonably-priced breakfast or lunch. It’s at 881 Palmer Avenue, a bit of a circuitous turn-off, but you can find directions online. The food was fresh, healthy, beautifully prepared. Everyone’s meal was special (we all tasted). Malcolm and I had the best roasted winter vegetables. Sally’s Reuben sandwich had homemade sauerkraut and was delicious. So was Harriet’s chicken salad and the best cookies for dessert. They are closed Tuesdays, now closing for a month holiday before re-opening April 2.
A follow-up to the mystery rock story from last week’s column. Joel Cristea emailed the name of Sergei Makarov, a sculptor /stone mason who emigrated from Russia to the island around 1990. His son Denis, who sported a hammer and sickle tattoo, was a friend of Joel’s brother. He thinks they left the Island 10 or 12 years ago. I spent some time looking for him online, but haven’t found anything yet. Turns out there was a Russian hockey player by the same name, so the entries went on forever and none of the sculptor queries panned out.
A gentleman from Chilmark, Robert Fokos, called to explain the historical significance of the hammer and sickle symbolizing world Communism from the 1930s.
So far, that’s all I know. Will keep you posted.
