West Tisbury: Quiet time

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It’s already noticeable that the sky is light later into the afternoon. Finally it’s cold enough to have icy patches on the lawn and icy skies above. I love those late afternoon colors close to sunset, frosty lavender or blue-gray with streaks of coral running through, real sunsets in our woods now that the trees are bare.

This is the most beautiful time of year, the quiet time. No noise or traffic. I can drive home from work and not pass another car. I can spend a day reading or writing on my sofa, as I am doing now, sharing the sofa with my cats, Mona and Nelson, a patch of sun warming the room and my shoulders. On the weekends, I feel like I’m hibernating. It doesn’t take much to make me happy. A bouquet of some sort on the table, a cat or two and our golden retriever, Nanuk, a stack of books, and my daily New York Times.

It’s time to bring in some forsythia branches to force, a habit I started after Dionis Riggs had forsythia blooming on her dining table at her first Groundhog Day party. Groundhog Day is coming up, and Cynthia Riggs will be the hostess, carrying on the tradition she and her mother started longer ago than I can remember. This year, Feb. 2 falls on a Saturday. The party is from 5 to 7 pm, with plenty of parking in the field on the left off New Lane, just past the Cleaveland House. It’s always a potluck, so bring an hors d’oeuvre to share.

Peggy Stone has announced this year’s Park and Recreation Winter Recreation Program, which is held at the West Tisbury School. On Saturday mornings from 9 am to noon there will be sports, art, and theater programs for students in grades 1 through 5 held in the school gym. Grades 1 through 8 are invited to the chess club that will meet on Wednesdays in the cafeteria. The annual free skate is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 3, noon to 1 pm, at the Martha’s Vineyard Arena. Please bring a snack or dessert to share.

At the library this coming week:

Judy Krantz will continue her Pilates class Friday, Jan. 18, at 4 pm. Saturday at 3:30 pm, Sakiko Isomichi will present “Let’s Talk About Garbage,” about what happens to our garbage and recyclables on the Island. The Death Cafe will meet Sunday afternoon at 2 pm. The library will be closed on Monday for Martin Luther King Day. Tuesday, Jan. 22, the Adult Community Dance Class with the Yard will meet at 10:30 am. At 11 am, Little Bird’s Laura Jordan will lead a music class for children. At 3:30 pm, a representative from Felix Neck will be at the library to lead an animal tracking program for kindergarten through third grade kids. David Rhoderick’s “Classical Music Is for You” class will meet Wednesday morning at 10:30 am. The second session of Felix Neck’s animal tracking program, for grades 4 through 8, will take place on Wednesday afternoon, also at 3:30 pm. Thursday afternoon, Jan. 24, students will hold a Q and A program, Plastic Free MV, with information about the upcoming plastic bottle bylaw that will appear on our town meeting warrant. Jan. 24. Only a week away. This winter is going by so quickly.

Outside next to our woodpile, I discovered a beautifully branched beech tree about five feet high. I had never noticed it before. Shocking to think that for a visual person I’m not very observant.