The snow I was hoping for last week began Monday afternoon, a few wispy flakes, at first, and then a real snowfall, a sky full of blowing, swirling flakes that obscured my view. It snowed through the night and into Tuesday morning. Only an inch or so of light snow was left on the ground. I swept off the porch and our walk, a gesture of pleasure rather than of necessity.
I had invited some friends for lunch. They arrived, undaunted by the weather. Leslie Baker carried in a bouquet of bright yellow winter jasmine from the bush outside her kitchen door. It has sat in a glass on my kitchen counter through the past week, a cheerful sight every time I walk by. We all talked about finding myrtle flowers in our gardens and hazes of pink-colored grasses across Misty Meadow, as outside snowflakes continued to fall.
By Wednesday morning, it was all gone. The sun came out, and temperatures rose back into the 50s, melting the pretty white blanket that had covered lawns across town. It was windy and wet all weekend, but starting to feel colder. Just a little. Maybe we’ll have winter yet.
The wind and rain didn’t keep people home from Olivia DeGeofroy’s concert at the library Sunday afternoon. The Program Room was filled. Olivia sang a selection of arias and art songs that had the audience entranced — “filled with wonder and delight,” as my dictionary defines that word. So it was. David Rhoderick provided his always excellent accompaniment on the piano. Everyone was full of compliments for both musicians after the concert, as they greeted people in the library’s lobby. And then out again into the weather to our cars.
There will be another concert this week on Friday, Jan. 15, at 4 o’clock. Come to hear “Live Bossa Nova at Twilight” with guitarists Al Shackman and Dan Waters. Please note that it’s Friday, not Sunday, as I mistakenly wrote in last week’s column.
Monday, Jan. 18, is Martin Luther King Day. The library will be closed for the holiday, as will schools and town offices.
The library reopens on Tuesday, Jan. 19, with two scheduled programs for the week. Sue Silva will teach a workshop on dried flower arranging Tuesday evening at 7 pm. Materials will be provided, all preserved from Sue’s and Krishana Collins’ gardens. There is a $15 fee that will benefit the West Tisbury Library Foundation. Please preregister at the library. On Wednesday morning, Tweed’s Reads group will meet at 10 am. This month’s book is “Race for the South Pole: The Expedition Diaries of Scott and Amundsen.”
In honor of Martin Luther King Day, the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center holds a special Sabbath service every year remembering the Reverend Dr. King and his friend and fellow activist, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel. The service begins at 5:30 this Friday evening, Jan. 15. There will be a discussion of “Black Lives Matter and the Contemporary Movement for Racial Justice.” All are welcome to attend.
ACE MV winter classes begin on Jan. 17. Take a look at their catalog online at acemv.org.
It seems funny to be writing about summer camp enrollment as I wish for snow and winter weather, but registration is now open for Felix Neck Fern and Feather Summer Camp. The 2016 brochure is online at massaudubon.org/felixneckcamp. For more information and with any questions, call 508-627-4850. There are some scholarships available for Island families.
There was plenty of surf after the weekend’s rain and the wind, crashing waves all along the south shore when we walked Talley and Nanuk early Monday morning. The channel from the Great Pond into an inland tidal pool had become a wide rushing stream, no longer the narrow rivulet of the past weeks. The pond was high up over the beach and dune grass. It made for a very wet walk.
I have been watching the night skies of late. The stars seem brighter, larger, closer to hand. It’s probably all in my imagination, but it interests me and makes the dark winter nights go by.