Edgartown News, Middle Road, Chilmark Edition

Day two of fog and gloom, which is no help during these seemingly unending days of uncertainty and social isolation. A bright spot in my day was a drive up to Middle Road, Chilmark, with no particular destination in mind, and half thinking, "Okay, nothing new to photograph up that way, I'm sure; I've seen it all a hundred times," while keeping my mind open.  After spying possible photo opportunities while driving past Brookside Farm, I pulled into the Tiasquam Valley parking lot and took a stroll down Middle Road where I found oxen and attendant humans, and, as an added bonus, I happened upon a flock of baby lambs at Midnight Farm. I absolutely love the freedom the Lumix has afforded me - providing me with an excellent lightweight pro camera that is always with me - a true extension of myself and my therapy at the moment.


Look closely - can you see the little man dancing between the stones?

Brookside Farm

Red and yellow.

(to get to the other side)

I loved this cute little feller, one of several of this year's spring lambs that were gamboling about the paddock at Mermaid Farm. Seeing nature continuing to behave normally is reassuring on some kind of subliminal level, I suppose.





A communal dinner table for sheep.













Thus dispelling the assumption that these massive animals with the long pointy horns are in any way dangerous. 

My Little Town - Zombie Apocalypse Version

Strange times, indeed. We are currently in lock-down mode due to a virus pandemic, the first such event in my - or anyone else's - lifetime. The streets are bare, stores and businesses are closed, events are cancelled, and we are practicing "social distancing." It's not too bad on sunny days, but the rainy days do get me down; it's gloomy, lonely, and depressing, and life's ordinary daily challenges somehow seem more daunting than usual. I gave up Facebook for Lent and was enjoying the wilderness experience, but this is truly over the top. Thank God for being able to get out and around with my little Lumix. The challenge, of course, is to see the same familiar scenes from new angles and in different light. I get the distinct sense, however, that I am repeating myself.



First stop today: St. Elizabeth's. Most churches are closed these days - sadly, even for Mass - and I take comfort in the fact that this church, only a block from home, has its doors open and the sanctuary light is on. 



The Port Hunter was a 1918 shipwreck. We are all feeling a bit shipwrecked at the moment. 







Anchored in time.



Even the phragmites look soggy and depressed.



Where's that blinking red light when you need a little color?









Will these mooring stakes ever be full again?

Captain Isaac "Ike" Norton's former boathouse and dockage.



The Queen of the Zombie Apocalypse - a threadbare teen skateboarding the wrong way up Main Street in the middle of the day is as emblematic as it gets, I think.

Around Town, October 2019

I'm making a concerted effort to get out more, and to remember to take my camera with me. Today was a gray day - kind of blah for the spirit, but just the kind of day I like for photography. Not a whole lot going on, to be honest, but I was glad to run into a little local color - Michael and Clinton - while continuing to acclimate to a new camera.













I was happy to see Michael down at the docks, and, as always, he was eager to sing me a song. 



Clinton, a Fisher in name and in trade, in search of bait fish. 











                                                   Signs of the times.