They nourish the land as well as our lives. One afternoon I walked into my house and there was a chicken in the kitchen. The side door had blown open, and Dark Beak had come inside, presumably to check on the spider population. She has a passion for spiders, and she knows what kind of housecleaners we are – it wasn’t the first time she’d been inside.

By Margaret Knight

Overnighting at the Martha’s Vineyard Family Campground has become a tradition for many, and newcomers continue to be lured by its many charms.

By Karla Araujo

1. A week of Kahoots. The popular (and prolific) Vineyard band Kahoots is hitting the road, and luckily for us, it’s an around-the-Island tour. The band will be jamming its indie rock sound in all six towns and Chappaquiddick from August 1 to 7, playing through its twelve albums in chronological order. The newest, “Play Something You Know,” is timed for release at the Saturday performance.

By Simone McCarthy

As the story goes, the legendary Craig Kingsbury once drove his team of oxen into Vineyard Haven and was involved in a traffic accident.

By Geoff Currier

It would be hard to overemphasize how joyful the Vineyard made me. Like most children vested with the privilege of summers on the beach, I got a long- lasting, mellow kind of high from the annual pelagic assault on my senses – the feel of warm sand against my cheeks; the brackish air; the view of a lighthouse’s brave silhouette; ambient sounds made by boats at anchor, halyards pinkling against their masts. I loved to swim and would surf the chilly New England waters on an inflatable raft until my fingers looked like tips of white asparagus.

By Alexandra Styron