The house is filled with daffodils, lavish bouquets that seem to have left little diminution of the still extravagant displays outside. Wind and rain have knocked many stems to the ground, providing the daily replenishing for my collection of glasses, vases, and pitchers. What a pleasure to go out to my yard and pick my own flowers.
That said, Linda Vadasz and I took a tour of West Tisbury’s garden centers last week, a chance to discover new plants and compare the different colors and varieties of pansies, our intended purchase. We both found just what we were looking for. Linda wanted pansies for the window box of her granddaughter Reed’s new playhouse. She chose big pansies in a pretty lavender pink. I found little violas, dark purple and white with purple faces, now filling pots by my doors. No one seems to have the “black” violas I love. Guess I’ll have to plant seeds if I want those, but it’s such fun to plan an outing, usually the first of the season, to visit Heather Gardens, Vineyard Gardens, and Middletown, and come home with blooming plants ready to make an immediate effect. Brings back memories of doing the same thing with my dad when I was a child, then the Palm Sunday tours with my niece, Charlotte, when she was a little girl.
Mike and I took the dogs for a walk at the Ag Hall yesterday, a path that winds through the woods between the fairgrounds and the arboretum. It’s a wide path that follows old stone walls and is protected from the wind of our usual walks along the Great Pond. Mike reminisced about riding around the Island on Saturdays with Dan’l Manter. Mike worked for Dan’l from the time he was a boy, learning how to be a carpenter, learning about Island history, how to do just about anything the way Dan’l did. It was all open fields when Dan’l was a boy, not the dense, tall woods we walked through with Talley and Nan. Polly Hill Arboretum was open meadow then, too, before she began designing and planting from seed the lovely arboretum specimens we enjoy today.
My thanks always to Beth Kramer for taking over the column while I was ill. She did her customary excellent job, and bought her perspective to life in our town. Beth has news of her own this week. She traveled to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, our official sister island, as guest speaker at the 123rd birthday celebration of their National Library. Her topic was “Libraries Transform,” the same theme the American Library Association chose for this year’s National Library Week. When you see Beth, she is looking very tanned and relaxed. Douglas went with her, and they had one day in the sun among the many meetings and events. Anita Botti had been an instigator and supporter of our involvement in the Sister Island Project. Brava, West Tisbury and St. Vincent.
Events this week at our library include a community dance class offered by the Yard on Thursdays, 5:30 to 7, for dancers of all ages. Sign up with Amy Hoff at 508-693-3366 or wt_mail@clams.net. John Alaimo and Michael Tinus are this week’s performers at Sunday Afternoon Jazz, Sunday, April 24, 4 to 5. Monday, April 25, the newly formed Young at Heart Book Club for Adults will meet at 7 pm. The book, “Everything, Everything” by Nicola Yoon, is available at the library.
Tuesday the 26th, at 7, the Martha’s Vineyard Cultural Council will host a reception for 2016 grant recipients at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center. Meet council members, see the winners and their projects, and enjoy Indian cuisine prepared by chef Uma Datta. The event and the listed library programs are free, and everyone is welcome.
Congratulations to everyone who won in last Thursday’s town election.
Ellie Bates and the Howes House Writers’ Group are hosting an introductory session for writers of all levels of experience. “Inspire Your Writing Using Word Collages” will be this Tuesday, April 26, from 9 to noon.
If you are a graphic artist/novelist and like to travel, Paul Karasik will be teaching a graphic novel workshop in Umbria in August. “La dolce vita … plus comics,” he says. You will be staying in a gorgeous 17th century palazzo. Look at pictures and get more information at info@aWeekinUmbria.com.
Closer to home, things are beginning to open up for the season. Martha’s Vineyard Gourmet Cafe and Back Door Donuts is opening this week. Hannah, we have to make a date.
Fred Hotchkiss is looking for volunteers to participate in the annual horseshoe crab mating survey sponsored by Felix Neck. If you are interested, sign up for training on Saturday, May 7. It’s free, and you get time at the beach while learning new things. Call 508-627-4850 or go online to bit.ly/horseshoesurvey.
Also on the weekend of May 7 (I can’t believe I’m writing about events in May already), the Edgartown Board of Trade will host the fifth annual Pink & Green Weekend. Since it coincides with the Kentucky Derby, several events have a horseracing theme. If you are interested in participating, start getting your best pink and green outfits ready, and look at edgartownboardoftrade.com for a list of events.
I feel like I missed so much these past weeks. It’s nice to be getting out now, just in time to see forsythia and magnolias blooming all around town, swans nesting at the Mill Pond, baby lambs at Run Amok Farm, and lots of friends to say “hi” to. I heard that Cynthia Riggs has a new book out. Taxes are all done and mailed. What a relief.
Katie Carroll asks that everyone be reminded about new regulations in all the Island towns regarding fertilizer use. Check with John Powers at Town Hall or look online at mvboh.org for West Tisbury’s regulations.
Suzi Wasserman hosted our monthly winter tea, a celebration of Joanne Scott’s birthday. Her chocolate cake was so good. We all had lots to talk about and laugh about. It’s always good to be with dear friends.
Happy spring, West Tisbury.