Between melting snow piles, visible casualties of winter appear; hobbled mailboxes line our three main roads, fallen branches cross footpaths, and a blanket of dirt masks the receding ice along the road’s edges. Be careful driving our muddy ways, or you too could end up in a ditch, as someone did on Pasture Road on Saturday morning. Happily there are now three baby Dorper lambs next door, and piglets born this week at Grey Barn. Check Susie Middleton’s blog, sixburnersue.com, to see her latest Island outing looking for newborn animals.
It was a good week for the movies; my husband and I enjoyed checking out the DVD Annabelle Lee from our local library, a silent film made in Menemsha and elsewhere on-Island in 1921. If you missed the summer showing, make an evening of it with friends; it’s only 57 minutes, but worth the watch. We made it to the 15th annual Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival’s Saturday-morning screening of Future of Farming: Five Short Films, and enjoyed every one of them. Glad the house was full, and not just of our local farmers who attended, including Pilot Hill Farm, Allen Farm, Grey Barn & Farm, Tabor House Farm, Native Earth Teaching Farm, Green Island Farm, and Bayes Norton Farm. The last film was made by Liz Witham and Ken Wentworth, and ended with the creation of the Island’s only official seed library, located at the West Tisbury library. It was great to have Noli Taylor get up and speak about it. Sarah McKay, president of Island Grown Initiative, spoke, as did Melinda DeFeo about planting her favorite crop — corn — with school kids, though she admitted being allergic. I enjoyed a hearty breakfast sitting in the Hay Café with young farmers, friends, and neighbors before heading back into the CCC to watch She’s Beautiful When She’s Angry, a documentary about the history of the modern women’s movement from 1966 to 1971, a must for every public library, high school and college or university.
It was fun to meet Viluyna Diskin and Miriam Hawley, two of the co-founders of the Boston Women’s Health Collective that produced the groundbreaking book Our Bodies Ourselves, and have them sign my $2.95 copy from 1971. I learned I appeared in the book when giggling girls emerged from the office of our school headmistress’s office after taking a course in Women’s Sexuality. The photo, which shows me hanging out with friends at Central Park’s Bethesda Fountain, necessitated a visit to the headmistress’s office to explain. Thankfully life goes on. When I met Viluyna Diskin and Miriam Hawley, Chilmarker Zelda Gamsom and Miriam connected. Though they had not known one another in Ann Arbor, Mich., or Boston, they have some very close ties in life.
I wanted to stay for Father Unknown, but after five hours I needed a walk with my dogs.
Discover 70 acres protected by a conservation restriction situated between Menemsha Pond and Squibnocket Pond when you join The Trustees of Reservations and Sheriff’s Meadow Foundation for this rare opportunity to visit Signal Hill on their Winter Walk, Sunday, March 29, from 1 to 3 pm. Meet at Squibnocket Beach parking lot. Very limited space. Light to moderate hiking conditions. Preregistration is required. 508-693-7662 or mpeach@ttor.org. Members are free. Nonmembers: adult $10, child $3.
There’s a fantastic black and white photo exhibit by Max Skjoldebrand, “Lines, Light, Shadows and Reflections,” up through March 31 at the West Tisbury library. All proceeds from sales go to the West Tisbury library. I am happy Chilmark Chocolates is open again on their regular Thursday – Sunday hours, and that Josh Aronie is still manning the food truck parked in front of the Chilmark General Store. I like knowing you can go on Facebook for the day’s menu and order ahead for pickup. Stanley at Menemsha Fish Market also accepts phone orders, and will have your lobster rolls, chowder, and more ready for takeout as well. And if you’re looking for company, head over to the Chilmark Church for Tuesday’s Pizza Night at 6 pm. I was very pleased to read that our town is looking to buy the Santander Bank property to house the Chilmark Fire Department and Tri-Town Ambulance Service. Let’s keep our fingers crossed, since in-town locations are so very rare.