The Times received its first report of pinkletinks, the annual sign the Vineyard is thawing after a frigid couple of months.
Gail Barmakian, Oak Bluffs resident and former select board chair in the town, called The Times on Monday afternoon to share that she heard the peeps near Farm Pond on Monday afternoon.
Pinkletink is the Island’s colloquial name for the small, brown frog, commonly known as the spring peeper. These amphibians typically live near shrub swamps and around brushy pond edges.
The cry of the pinkletink is something Islanders look forward to each year. Barmakian said she’d been paying close attention, since the persistent cold weather and snowstorms that hit the Island made her worried about how the small frogs fared.
“They’re a little late this year,” Barmakian said.
Barmakian said considering the chaotic world broadcast in national and international headlines recently, hearing the peeps of the pinkletinks felt like “there’s hope.”