Blog

Chilmark students kicked off their Holiday Break with a round of carolling at Beetlebung Corner. Their first visit was to the amazingly vibrant 100-yr-old Rena Fischer at Beetlebung Farm (see photo). The rest of the tour included Chilmark Town Hall, the Larsen's home across the street, the Chilmark Post Office and the Chilmark Library. Making their way through all of the classic Christmas songs, it turned out that Jingle Bell Rock and Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer were the singers' favorites. It was a treat to hear the childrens' voices ringing through a quiet and warm winter afternoon in Chilmark. Merry Christmas to all!

Everyone has been talking about “The Derby” lately (the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass & Bluefish Derby). The jetties are crowded with fishermen of all ages, fishing boats are out in full force and every truck on the road has a selection of rods lined up on the rack. But surf is another great thing about this time of year on the island! Fall is traditionally the season to surf on the Vineyard.  The tropical storms and hurricanes blowing up the coast bring swell to the island’s south shore and beyond. Hurricane Joaquin thankfully tracked way east out to sea but still delivered us a week's worth of clean waves last week for all levels of surfers…and there are more to come in the months ahead for those hearty enough to brave chillier water temps. Whatever your activity, this is a great time to be out on the water on Martha’s Vineyard!

September and early October are treasured time on Martha’s Vineyard as everyone tries to hold on to summer and log in as much beach time as possible before the season disappears completely.  There is a lot of denial about the days getting shorter, the wind direction coming out of the north again, and need to swap out flip flops for something more substantial. Outdoor showers are still in full use. Cottage windows are still open (in the middle of the day anyway). Leaves are still green, mostly. This is the time of year that, if you hang out on the beach until the late afternoon, you soon find yourself in the glow of the setting sun and heading home over the dunes in the dark, reluctantly letting go of the day, thinking about how magical this place really is. These are the quiet times to soak it all up before winter blows in!

There is a little known and magical waterfront neighborhood on the north shore of Martha's Vineyard called Chappaquonsett. Today there are only 10 homes in this very special area surrounded by protected woodland and beautiful water. It lies directly across Vineyard Sound from Woods Hole and the Elizabeth Islands. The word Chappaquonsett is native American,  meaning "where the nets dry". Not surprising since its most eastern point is now the entrance to Lake Tashmoo which was once the site of a famous and productive herring run before fresh water Tashmoo was connected to Vineyard Sound.

The Gay Head Light made it to her new location, safe and secure, over 180' from the eroding cliff! The move took two and a half days as hydraulic power pushed this 400 ton treasure gently and slowly along steel tracks. Now she rests as the engineered concrete block foundation is built to fill in the gap from the steel beams as they are retracted, and the move path is back-filled with all soils returning to their original location at the same compaction rate as existed prior to the move. Then the plant materials will be returned and the overall landscape plan will unfold, paying hommage to the lighthouse site from the 1800s with stone wall and repurposing of materials found during the excavation. The Lighthouse is planned to re-open to the public sometime in late July.

After two and a half years of planning and fundraising, the Gay Head Light will start to move to its new location on Thurs, May 28. It will take approximately three days to move along steel tracks to a safer distance of 180' from the eroding cliff edge, which geologists estimate will give the structure another 150 years! This is a truly remarkable project to save an island treasure. The lighthouse will open to visitors again by the end of July 2015.

MORNING GLORY FARM (WHERE YEAR ROUNDERS AND SUMMER FOLKS UNITE)

Although it has been highly reported, it is still amazing to drive to Chappaquiddick from South Beach across Norton Point!  Many remember when a 2.5 mile strip of sand connected Chappy to Edgartown, until a harsh storm in 2007 created the breach at Norton Point. Since then avid fisherman and nature lovers accessed their favorite places from South Beach in Katama or Chappaquiddick.

IF IT’S OPEN THEY WILL COME…It’s a grey rainy day, and quiet on North Road toward Menemsha as well as on Middle Road toward Beetle Bung Corner, and yet there are loads of trucks and cars parked in the Chilmark Store parking lot as well as in the lot next door to Tea Lane Associates and Chilmark Tavern.

Bela Fleck and Abigail Washburn played at the Martha’s Vineyard Performing Art Center Wednesday April 15th to a full and extremely enthusiastic audience.  For those who do not know this married musical duo, Bela is a gifted banjo player who composes and performs with great musicians from all over the world in a vast range of genres. He has been nominated for 30 Grammy awards and has won 15; Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, his band from the late 80’s, combined blue grass, jazz and rock- he’s a “musician’s musician” and it’s clear that Bela’s mind never stops…