Another perfect weekend. One day to work in the yard with Mike, and one day to read, knit, and listen to the rain. We had about 2½ inches in our rain gauge Monday morning, as we awoke to a chilly start. It really feels like fall.
I have sad news to report: West Tisbury has lost three longtime residents and friends this past week. Richard Doane died at his “other home” in Tucson. There will be a memorial service this Saturday morning at 11 am at the West Tisbury cemetery. Jack Wildauer died unexpectedly at the way-too-young age of 55. A celebration of his life is being planned for sometime next spring. And Joyce Brigish died Sunday at her home on South Pond Road. Her funeral service will be this Thursday morning, 11 am, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center. My condolences to all of their families and friends.
The deadline for voter registration is Oct. 18. Make sure you are registered to vote before the upcoming presidential election on Nov. 8. Absentee ballots are available at the town clerk’s office in Town Hall. Tara Whiting’s office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 1:30. Early voting will begin on Oct. 24. You can pick up your ballots and vote at Town Hall, or ask Tara to mail them to you. Her phone number is 508-696-0148.
The League of Women Voters will be hosting candidates running for Dukes County Register of Deeds and Dukes County Sheriff at a forum on Saturday, Oct. 29, 3 pm, in the Community Room of the Oak Bluffs library.
National Fossil Day will be celebrated with an amazing-sounding program at the Oak Bluffs library this Thursday, Oct. 13, from 4 to 7:45 pm. The program is being organized by Dr. Fred Hotchkiss, director of the Marine and Paleobiological Research Institute. Presenters will be available for a discussion, and will bring displays with them. You are welcome to bring fossils to show or ask about, too. Here is the list of presenters: Ann DuCharme of the Martha’s Vineyard Museum; Dr. Meg Tivey, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Dr. Ann McNichol, National Ocean Sciences carbon-dating facility at WHOI; prehistorian and artist Duncan Caldwell; Scott Smyers and Kyle Cormier, Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology; divers Heidi Raihofer and Joe Leonardo; students Jacob and Sam Gurney; artist and swimming instructor Michael Wooley; archaeologist and author Bill Moody; and marine ecologist Wendy Culbert. Take a look at the website: bit.ly/fossildayevents.
Children’s librarian Nelia Decker reports that last Saturday’s Fairy and Gnome House Building event was a big success, with lots of families bringing interesting materials for their house-making projects. The houses are now tucked around the gardens behind the library, awaiting residents. We are all invited to view the houses and enjoy the gardens during visits to the library.
This week’s programs at the library include a discussion with Lama Jampa Thaye, scholar and meditation master, presented by the Bodhi Path on Friday, Oct. 14, at 7 pm; painting wooden fish with Julie Prazich and Sara Rosenthal on Saturday afternoon from 2:30 to 4:30; “The Singer’s Life,” a concert by Music Street Musicians, on Sunday afternoon at 4 pm; yoga classes with Lisa Varno beginning on Monday, Oct. 17, at 5:30 pm (please preregister at the library); the monthly “Writers Read” evening is Monday at 7 pm; Amelia Smith will host the first meeting of a new book group based on genre fiction on Tuesday evening at 5:30. Stop by the library to pick up your copy of “The Transmigration of Timothy Archer” by science fiction writer Philip K. Dick; another new program begins on Wednesday, Oct.19. The library’s first Death Cafe will meet from 6:30 to 8 pm. Hosted by Cape Cod Death Cafe co-founder, Heather Massey, it will provide a comfortable atmosphere in which to share conversations about death, dying, and bereavement.
The Martha’s Vineyard Partnership for Health will begin “A Matter of Balance” on Monday, Oct. 24, 10 am till noon. The seminar will teach strategies and exercises to increase strength and balance, and manage and identify ways to reduce falls. The meetings will be held at our Public Safety Building. To sign up, contact ksamways@ihimv.org or call 508-627-5797, ext.114.
Everyone in our house is enjoying the cooler temperatures and quieter days as we all settle into our off-season lives. I suppose a frost will be coming soon, so it’s time to start repotting houseplants and bringing them inside for the winter. Last year, I brought in a pot of petunias that bloomed and gave me little bouquets all through the winter. I plan to do that again. In fact, I plan to make up a pot of annuals and see how long I can keep them going. My favorite green Langsdorfii nicotianas, orange cosmos, blue ageratum, and the black petunias I have loved all summer. Geraniums, of course. And a red-flowering begonia in a hanging pot. My collection of orchids and amaryllis bulbs. My mother’s Christmas cactuses that I have kept since she died in 1978. I have many fewer houseplants than I used to; I don’t want to keep everything or to have our house cluttered up with plants everywhere. But it’s so nice to have life and color through winter days, especially when snow falls outside the windows and I can see bright blooms against the gray sky.