As the Rush Comes...

For some people, their favorite thing about the island is a place, or a food or a person.  And I certainly couldn't blame the person who comes to the island and makes a bee line for Lucy Vincent, or the gal who can't call their trip complete without watching the sunset over Menemsha.  And of course, the season is never the same without that perfect, dripping chocolate peanut butter cookie dough cone from Ben and Bill's.  But for me, my absolute favorite thing about the island is spring.

Yep, right now!  Everything happening on the island right this very moment in time is part of the sum total of my delights and pleasures of living here.  Sure, summer's a treat and yes, September might be the biggest jewel in that crown, but despite the still cool weather, despite the muddy dirt lanes and nippy winds, despite with all the closed shops and vacationing locals... March couldn't make me happier anywhere else on Earth.

While many business owners are beginning the long haul towards the summer rush, I'm getting in my last moments of peace and solitude before the crowds begin to filter in.  It always seems like not long after the first few crocuses make their appearance, the weather begins to grow warm and wet, planting and weeding needs to be done, and soon whole weeks are streaking by, open signs and Help Wanted posters fly up in windows all along the streets, and one day I wake up and boom! it's June!  

Gone then are my opportunities for quiet walks or "quick" trips to the store, let alone slipping into the Scottish Bakehouse for a coffee and raspberry turnover before an afternoon walk, since getting in and out of S.B. during the summer could take all afternoon, and the parking lot is so jammed, you might as well walk.

So here's my short list of "Thank Yous" to the island for such a mild winter warming so gracefully into an early spring.  May I remember this in the frenzy of July, and never take for granted these simple, yet beautiful, treasures.

- Snowdrops growing right outside my front door.

- Waking up to one bird's song, only to realize that it must've been so silent the past few months of winter. Summer's steady hum of insect and frogs lasted clear through autumn and eventually dissolved into winter's silence... which must've been pressing in so closely to my ears that I forgot what it was like to hear you at all! Welcome back, migratory bird friends!

- The first pinkletink.  Seems like its a contest among locals to see who hears you first.  Well... we are ready and waiting!

- Hazelnut coffee from Alley's General Store, and not having to elbow my way to the register through the summer throng.  When everyone else has their windows shuttered and doors locked tight, Alley's is always there, and the coffee is always hot.

- Land Bank walking trails.  You look so different than in the summer, and walking the same trail spring, summer, and fall is like being three different places... here's to the first of your many faces.

- The tender greens of daffodils poking up from the litter of last year's leaves.  Watching your progress from "I think that's a daffodil" to "What a gorgeous bloom" is my barometer for spring's progress.

I've shared some photos I've taken on my walks around Chilmark over the past few weeks.  Spring is on the way!  What are your favorite things about spring on Martha's Vineyard?