Everybody and everything from the chirpy morning talk show host to your iPhone and computer insists on telling you the date. But why settle for those when there’s a bright new batch of homegrown Vineyard calendars out there, ready to adorn your wall and keep you up to date in style?
As a bonus, you’ll get a fresh look at your everyday surroundings. Along with reminding you of dentist appointments, lunch dates, and when the bills are due, these colorful calendars won’t let you forget the natural beauty of our Island home. Now that’s the way to start the day right!
The Vineyard Calendar 2016
After 28 years, photographer Peter Simon hasn’t lost his enthusiasm and knack for seeking out just the right images to evoke the months in his iconic calendar. He captures the sights and atmosphere of the Island seasons like no one else.
January’s wind-sculpted Aquinnah snow and wet flakes splattering the camera’s lens outside a shuttered Ag Hall send us to the closet for down jackets. In April, as Zeppy the perky dog stands sentinel atop a Chilmark stone wall, we sense chill in the air, despite the brave daffodils.
But oh, the exuberant joy when May sunshine warms picnickers at Lake Tashmoo. In October, an autumn-hued West Tisbury lane entices us. December draws us back to winter, a dreamlike image of white lights twinkling in snow.
Unlike many landscape photographers, Mr. Simon does not shy away from including occasional humans in his pictures, with happy results. Pedestrians stop to chat on the sunny Bunch of Grapes Bookstore terrace; revelers hold hands in a circle to celebrate a marriage on Lambert’s Cove Beach; daredevil surfers catch the Aquinnah waves.
As usual, Mr. Simon includes thought-provoking reflections from both Island neighbors and widely known notables to enhance his photos.
Vineyard Seadogs Calendar 2016
You don’t have to be a dog lover to be delighted by Lisa Vanderhoop’s photogenic canines as they enjoy the very best of Island seaside days. For her 11th calendar, Ms. Vanderhoop, a fine photographer as well as dog enthusiast, collects an impressive array of furry, endearing, and droll subjects.
These dogs range from proud and noble, like the snow-loving Leonburger and sleek Pilot surveying the sea from a boat, to jolly and rambunctious like boogie-boarding bulldog Holly. Just try not to say “awwww” at the image of Buddy, a bright-eyed Sheltie pup in a field of daffodils, or fuzzy golden retriever pups tumbling along Edgartown Lighthouse Beach.
These dogs know how to have fun. They head out to sea on boats, race down the beach, and dive right in. They savor quality time with their owners on a kayak expedition or Derby surfcasting adventure.
This year’s Squid Row shot brings together a motley crew of cuties from a tiny Chihuahua, to a feathery Papillion, to a slender yellow mixed-breed and an elegant golden. Nearly all are looking at the camera — a photographic feat in itself.
The wonderful thing about this calendar is how it inspires us to “seas the day,” in Ms. Vanderhoop’s words, as the exuberant dogs throw themselves wholeheartedly into each adventure with joyful abandon.
Extra pages are filled with small images of even more irresistible dogs, and there are quotes both inspirational and fun.
2016 Felix Neck Wildlife Calendar
This compact little calendar wins the yearly prize for the most compelling and unusual shots of our fascinating wild neighbors. From birds to a deer, and even an exotic moth, the creatures are seen in their native habitat — pond, ocean, woods, or meadow.
Each year, the calendar features images by several nature-loving photographers who clearly spend hours roaming the landscape waiting for that perfect shot. Like Michael Ditchfield’s great egret hovering above deep blue water, and Lanny McDowell’s snowy owl, resplendent in a wintry field, each breathtaking photo causes us to stop, look, reflect.
Timothy Johnson contributes an astounding image of a wild turkey displaying iridescent chest feathers, and a great horned owl with one large, unblinking eye.
Lanny McDowell’s delicate hummingbird clearwing moth floats above a pink blossom. A soft gray seal and a painted turtle soak up the sun. Jeff Bernier’s white-tailed deer is close enough to touch.
This 13th calendar is dedicated to Susie Bowman, former nature educator at Felix Neck. Sale proceeds benefit the sanctuary.
Vineyard Colors 2016
Vineyard Colors photographers Yann Meersseman and Moira Fitzgerald present their own unique perspective on the Vineyard’s loveliest landscapes. In 2010, the couple began documenting their early-morning newspaper delivery rounds with daily photos they emailed and posted online, gaining many fans and followers.
Their calendar combines a selection of these striking dawnscapes with short poems by Dan Waters that capture each month’s mood to perfection.
In morning’s earliest light, these scenes have a magical stillness about them, a world not yet cluttered by daytime business. In winter, the Island looks frozen in time from Packer’s Wharf in an icy harbor to chilled Vineyard Haven slumbering beneath a setting moon.
Come springtime, the Whaling Church steeple rises amidst a billow of flowering trees;, an alert deer watches warily at Tashmoo Overlook. Summer sailboats bob in a harbor tinged pink by sunrise. Adirondack chairs are neatly lined up on a manicured East Chop lawn. Lobster pots strung with colored lights at the Edgartown Wharf make the quintessential Island holiday image.
This calendar is packed with information too, listing holidays, community events, and useful contacts.
Cats of Martha’s Vineyard 2016
Fans of felines, rejoice! Lynn Christoffers has once again gathered a year’s worth of captivating cat portraits, each more appealing than the last. Her calendars offer intimate looks at soft, fluffy charmers from glamorous to haughty, cuddly to sleek to just downright cute. They snuggle and stretch, hunt and preen, doze and pose.
Along with the wall calendar, there is a compact desk format, so the kitties can cheer you while you work. The calendars are not available in shops, but may be ordered directly from lchristoffers@gmail.com.
