This was a week to shake troubles off, and show grit and no gripe.
The week before St. Patrick’s Day, the winter jigsaw table is covered by a large zinc tray filled with plant flats. Here’s hoping seeds saved from the last tomatoes my father planted two years ago, poblano peppers, and colorful and varied marigolds collected over the years all sprout. The packets of new pepper seeds contain far fewer seeds, but I hope a better yield — lunchbox, poblano, cayenne, jalapeño, bell, and shishito.
My father started his tomatoes in early February, and enjoyed early fruit. I appreciated the extended time before starting the growing season.
St. Patrick’s Day, in addition to marking the occasion of my eldest son’s birth, is the day we plant the first peas, pull out old cookbooks, and turn to well-marked recipes.
Last year I found in the bottom of a drawer an ornate lyre-shaped, clasped, emerald green velvet-–covered photo album holding pictures of ancestors without names. There is no one left who would remember.
My heart and prayers for complete healing go out to Kathie Olsen, this paper’s Aquinnah town columnist, suffering from severe carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands. Horrible. Thank you for letting us know, and maybe we can help.
This week, Seán McMahon and Siren Mayhew are scheduled to welcome their third child, and friends stand ready with help carpooling, meals, and chores.
Pregnant pauses. When we open our doors, stepping out, turning to face and look one another in the eyes, illuminating the darkness we are always walking through. Birthing courageous compassion, clarity, and competence.
Thank you to everyone who sent me emails, phoned, and alerted me to the error highlighted in my column last week. It is a good reminder of the importance of editing before hitting send.
Thank you to Kate Feiffer, and this paper, The Martha’s Vineyard Times, and Featherstone Center for the Arts for Islanders Write, a gathering where we connect, learn, and encourage one another. I wish there was time to do all of the adult offerings on March 15, and encourage students to enroll in the youth programs on March 16.
Come for pizza, conversation, and bananagrams, Tuesdays, 6 to 7:30 pm at the Chilmark Church, on the Menemsha Crossroads, before “Island Stories” at Pathways.
The Pathways Arts Gallery is exhibiting a beautiful selection of works by Whitney Cleary and Rez Williams. This is a selection of smaller works and studies by Rez Williams (1943–2024), best known for his large fishing-vessel and landscape oil paintings.
Whitney Cleary’s new emotive landscape oil on linen and canvas paintings display her customary limited palette, with new emphasis on a central hue in each. She explores the intensity of anticipating a storm brewing or something unexpected about to appear on the horizon. Also novel is a departure from vagueness, with short lines or words extracted from her own poetry as titles.
Rebecca Gilbert of Native Earth Teaching Farm is offering a class at the Chilmark library on “Drawing Celtic Knots,” Saturday, March 15, 2 to 3 pm. In addition to learning how to draw, we will learn about the history and symbolism of intricate Celtic knots.
Thanks to Rebecca Gilbert and Connie Hyde’s “Slow Stitching Circle,” the basket of moth-eaten sweaters is empty because they are all mended. A few things hanging in my closet still need buttons, and the conversations are priceless. The Slow Stitching Circle meets Fridays, 2 to 4 pm, at Pathways Arts at the Chilmark Tavern. Bring a small project, or start a new one. Basic materials will be provided. Perhaps you have a clothing item to repurpose, or favorite beads or buttons you’ve been waiting to use. Bring them along. The intention is to slow down, have good conversation, and be creative in the spirit of zero waste. There will be a skill-share demonstration, and advice for beginning knitters. No previous experience is required. It’s fine to just come for companionship, too. Free. Open to all.
Jill Gross’ “Country Line Dances” at Pathways, Friday, March 14, 7 to 11 pm, sounds like a terrific way to shake off the week and start the weekend.
Saturday, March 15, 7 to 9 pm, Pathways is hosting the PickPocket Bluegrass Band, composed of Charlie (“Lightning”) Giordano, Dana (“D-Pak Chakras”) Edelman, “Nephew” Andy Herr, and (“Cool Hand”) Luke Lefeber. PickPocket will be serving “Whiskey Before Breakfast” on a “Cold Frosty Morning” until the “Blackberries Blossom.”
This is a weekend for writers. Anna Marden is offering a “Sonic Flow Writing Workshop” at Stillpoint, 20 Stillpoint Meadows Road, in West Tisbury, on Sunday, March 16, at 2 pm. It’s intended to be a catalyst for accessing the flow state, to inspire creativity in freewriting and artistic practices.
Marden is a sound artist, writer, and community event organizer. She uses a 32-inch wind gong, crystal singing bowls, ocean drum, elemental Koshi chimes, and other percussive instruments to create live soundscapes. She offers meditative sound baths, sonic flow creative workshops, and other intentional gatherings, aiming to co-create accessible opportunities for collective healing. Enjoy a meditative sound bath followed by an invitation to write, draw, or engage in any personal creative practice. Close with a short group discussion. Duration is two hours.
I want to close with a note I found tucked into a cookbook: “May your day be filled with blessings /Like the sun that lights the sky, /And may you always have the courage /To spread your wings and fly!”
If you have any Chilmark Town Column suggestions, email Claire Ganz, cganz@live.com.
