A working fishing village with front-row seats for sunset, Menemsha exerts an inexorable pull on lifelong Islanders and weekend visitors alike, a seemingly timeless place where vintage post card imagery coexists with gritty, wet reality.
By Jim Miller
About a third of the food we eat is made possible by the cross-pollination of bees. But when you’ve got a huge hive within the walls of your house, your ecological conscience may only stretch so far.
By Geoff Currier
Most of us will never see the inside of the Dukes County Jail and House of Correction in Edgartown. But sometimes the unexpected arrest does happen – whether it’s your own or that of a friend or loved one – and there are definitely worse places to do time.
By Brooks Robards
First, stay away from Noman’s Land. If not for the strict government injunction against trespassing, then for the threat of obliteration by a five-hundred-pound bomb. After all, it’s not called Noman’s Land for nothing. Yet once upon a time this forbidden outpost was known as the “Isle of Romance,” boasting a bizarre and enigmatic human history replete with tales of Vikings, ghostly visitations, a furtive Nazi landing, and savage rumrunners.
By Peter Brannen
The culture of surfing in Vineyard waters has gained momentum in recent years with advances in weather-tracking technology. The Island’s south-shore swells are inconsistent, but occasionally they can be epic. The waves can also get crowded, and many surfers are protective of their turf.
By Mike Seccombe
From Aquinnah to Chappaquiddick, the Vineyard’s five lighthouses are an integral part of the Island’s coastal character. Each of these beacons has its own story of origin and survival, and we uncover the tale of a sixth Vineyard lighthouse that is no more.
There’s a quiet revolution gaining momentum on ten wooded acres in Aquinnah. It’s a place where children and adults convene to learn about the natural world – without cell phones and laptops, armed only with their senses – a place where dirty fingernails and muddied feet are the norm.
By Karla Araujo
With their austere off-season beauty, the Island’s wild places are a natural draw. This time of year many conservation groups offer education about the terrain, flora, and fauna – as well as entry to some private lands.
By Shelley Christiansen
Joseph A. Sylvia State Beach – the most public of the Island’s sea-and-sand boxes – is a two-mile-long smile on the face of Martha’s Vineyard.
By Jim Miller
The pulse of the Island quickens. The streets become livelier as the weather warms and seasonal shops start to open. Schoolchildren head outside for sports, the ospreys return to their untidy nests, and business turns brisk at garden centers.
By Mike Seccombe
Finding a crowd in the dead of winter can be a pleasant surprise.
By Jim Miller
Photographer Alison Shaw headed out at nine in the morning on December 20, 2009, and for the next eight hours she traveled the Island capturing both the whirls of activity and moments of peacefulness.
