How do we know when the seasons have changed? Sure, you could look at the calendar, but there are plenty of other clues. We’d argue that spring is not a date, it’s a feeling: the ground thaws, the air stirs with the hum of bees, and, then, when Mother Nature says it’s time, there’s a flash of red. Strawberries arrive and we celebrate with berry-focused festivals like the one at Morning Glory Farm in Edgartown in June. Peak strawberry season is short, so enjoy it while you can. Then, suddenly, it’s summer. 

What to Do

If your idea of paradise is a small town where you can stroll down the street and happen upon a neighbor strumming their banjo on their front porch, you’ve come to the right place. On May 17, Edgartown holds its second annual Porchfest. Originally started in Ithaca, New York, in 2007 and now occurring in about twenty states and Canada, Porchfest is an outdoor music festival where porches, patios, and front yards become stages for musical performances. Last year’s lineup included Arlen and Lexie Roth at Rosewater Market, Big Weather at Edgartown Books, and many others. Stay tuned for this spring’s collection of hyper-local venues and acts. 

Where to Go 

Last year, the Martha’s Vineyard Garden Club celebrated its centennial anniversary. The group is starting their second century strong with a slate of horticulture programming including Blooming Art, held at the Old Mill in West Tisbury from June 13 to 15. Originally modeled after a show at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Island exhibition features works by local artists accompanied by floral arrangements inspired by their works, created by club members. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the art keeps the garden club growing. 

What to Eat

Need a new cookbook? PETA has donated its Lone Star Tick Cookbook: Easy, Tasty, Vegan Bites (self-published, 2022) to Vineyard libraries in light of recent alpha-gal diagnoses – a condition that often causes a meat and mammal-product allergy. “We’re introducing involuntary lone star tick blood donors to delicious vegan meals,” said PETA president Ingrid Newkirk in a press release. Yum.  

What’s Up and What’s Down 

Forget about the New York Stock Exchange. We’ll tell you what’s up and what’s down on the Island, what’s rising and what’s falling, what’s fared well and what has faced some challenges. Remember: buy low, sell high. 

Up: 

Short-term rental regulations are on the rise. The West Tisbury Select Board recently passed new regulations, adding to a bylaw that requires all short-term rentals be registered with the town, along with a two-night minimum for bookings. Property owners also have to live in said property for at least thirty days per year and can only offer one short-term rental. While West Tisbury is the first town to approve such a bylaw, other Island towns have started to consider similar regulations. Will this make a dent in the Island’s housing crisis? Time will tell.

Down: 

The Seeker – literally. The seventy-foot-long, twenty-five-foot-wide hand-built wooden scow, meticulously and lovingly crafted by owner Ted Box and hundreds of volunteers over more than a decade, sank in Lake Tashmoo in Vineyard Haven this winter. Storm water overtook the vessel and pulled it down until just the top of the deck was visible. Box, his son Jake, and a team of salvagers plan to eventually bring the Seeker to dry land.  

Numerology

4,000 – The number of miles you have to drive a Ford pickup truck to equal the air pollution of a leaf blower used for thirty minutes. Due to environmental and noise-level concerns, the Vineyard Conservation Society is advocating for regulations on the machines.

70 – The number of landscaping companies on the Island, according to federal labor statistics. 

400 – The number of people these landscaping companies employ – about 4.4 percent of the Island’s workforce.

“In the old days it was like the Wild West.”   

 – When Charlie Blair (above, in 1995) started out as Edgartown harbor master thirty years ago, things were different. Mooring schedules were written on paper. The town didn’t accept credit cards. Drunk boaters at last call had to have their keys removed by the police. Blair, seventy-six, will retire this spring. We wish him fair winds and following seas.

What to Read

Ashe Leandro: Archietecture + Interiors by Ariel Ashe and Reinaldo Leandro, (Rizzoli, 2024)

Why does a home design monograph that features lustrous marble and velvet surfaces decorated with museum-quality relics under moody lighting have a foreword by comedian Seth Meyers? The New York–based architecture and interior design duo Ariel Ashe and Reinaldo Leandro worked on his Island home, but their connection to the comedian runs deeper. Meyers met Ashe when she was an assistant in the set design department at Saturday Night Live. She helped him pick out furniture for his apartment. Then, she helped him pick out a wife: her sister. “You know what would look great here?” Meyers jokes in the foreword. “A spouse!” 

The book features many beautiful photographs of homes the pair designed in New York’s West Village, Gramercy Park, and Tribeca – along with Meyers and Alexi Ashe’s barn-style, cedar-plank-wrapped house in Chilmark. “The materials are largely reclaimed and rugged, so they can take sandy feet, ice cream drips, and lots of playing and entertaining,” Ashe, who also has a house in Chilmark, told Vogue last year.