It took me all day today to pull it together to go for my run. I had high hopes for outdoor activities today, but it didn’t really go that way. But I finally dragged myself out to run at 6:30, grateful that it was still relatively warm and light out. I kind of have to “feel” my runs. I can’t just go out and run. I have to consider my options and see which route feels right. Today it was one of my most common runs, out through Dodger’s Hole, over to the fire lanes in the State Forest, and back home through the paths between the two. As I came up through the paths, about a half a mile from home, I suddenly noticed little green leaves close to the ground and my brain immediately went, “Mayflowers!” So I stopped running and began foraging for mayflowers. I checked three different spots around me, and definitely found leaves, but no actual flowers. A little disappointed, I began running again when a little patch of pretty little pink flowers caught my eye. And there they were. My mayflowers. I giggled, knelt down to smell them, and as I turned to finish my run back home, I felt a lighter step, as I knew that Buzzy and Howard Andrews had just sent me a lovely gift. Glad I got these old bones moving finally.
April vacation has a very different feel to it than February vacation does. The Island is coming back to life. The boats are fuller heading this way. Businesses are opening up. There are lines with unfamiliar faces at those businesses that are open. The weather is improving. People are outside exercising and doing yard work. The two months between February break and April break are absolutely crazy in school! It is fast and furious. And this year it seemed like that time passed in a blink of an eye, and the workload doubled at least. Now vacation is here. It’s time to catch up a bit on work, rest a bit, maybe do some projects around the house, and take a big, deep, breath and head into the final couple of months of school.
Kiana, Riley, and their friend Rebeca went to Back Door Donuts Friday night, which is open each night during vacation and Thursdays through Saturdays when school resumes. I remember going to Back Door Donuts when Back Door Donuts wasn’t actually a “thing” and wasn’t written about in travel brochures, but rather a secret for locals who knew that if you went up to the back door and knocked, you could probably get them to sell you a donut or two. Now it’s a big to-do, with nightly lines and bragging rights after the fact. But Friday night’s treat revealed that the apple fritters are still as yummy as ever.
The Martha’s Vineyard Cancer Support Group’s annual gala, “Evening Under the Stars,” will be on Wednesday, May 18, 2016 at Farm Neck, from 5:30 to 8:30 pm. The evening includes a buffet dinner, drinks, and dessert, as well as music by Mike Benjamin and a silent auction. Tickets are $100, and all money raised goes directly to Island cancer patients and their families in need. For tickets or more information, please call Annemarie Donahue at 508-627-7958.
“In the Giant’s Shadow: Whaling and Martha’s Vineyard,” the Martha’s Vineyard Museum’s latest exhibit, opens on April 22, and explores the impact of the whaling industry on the lives of individual Islanders in the 19th century.
During much of the 1800s, whaling was the center of Martha’s Vineyard life. Men often left the Island for years, and sometimes never came back. Women traveled with whaling captains on their trips around the world, or stayed home to care for their estates and families. “In the Giant’s Shadow” explores how whaling affected the people who went out to sea and those who stayed here.
The museum curators are highlighting a number of Vineyarders who played significant roles in the Island’s whaling story. Featured in the exhibit are Captain Thomas Worth, who was murdered in a mutiny; Dr. Daniel Fisher, who became one of the wealthiest Islanders during the whaling era; Captain William Martin, the only African American whaling captain whose career was well recorded; Amos Smalley, who struck and killed a white sperm whale on the Western Grounds of the North Atlantic; Antone Fortes, a native of Cape Verde who survived a mutiny; and more.
“In the Giant’s Shadow” will open on Friday, April 22 with a reception in the Museum Galleries from 4 to 6 pm. Admission to the exhibit opening is free to members, $8 for nonmembers. The exhibit will be open through March 2017. Check mvmuseum.org for programming related to the exhibition. Special thanks to the Farm Neck Foundation and the Permanent Endowment Fund for Martha’s Vineyard for supporting this exhibition.
There is an Autism Awareness 5K run/walk on Saturday, April 23, starting at the Katama Airfield. Registration is at 8:30 am. Start time is 9 am. All proceeds will benefit Island Autism Group of Martha’s Vineyard (islandautism.org).
May 6-8, the Edgartown Board of Trade is celebrating its fifth annual Pink & Green Weekend. The weekend is a celebration of Mother’s Day and all things spring, and this year coincides with the Kentucky Derby! We kick things off with the “Run for the Roses” event at Donaroma’s Nursery on Friday, 4 to 6 pm. Other highlights of the weekend are the “Run Breast Cancer Out of Town 5K” on Saturday at 9 am; “Pink & Green Dog Show” in the Mini Park Saturday at noon; the Harbor View Hotel’s “Kentucky Derby Party” Saturday at 4 pm; and the “Baby Buggy Parade” on Sunday at 9 am. Details and a full listing of events can be found at edgartownboardoftrade.com. It’s a great time for Islanders and visitors alike.
Have a great week. Begin each day with a little courage, a little curiosity, and a little spring in your step!