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Tagged boats, buildings, churches, Edgartown, ferry boats, flowers, gardens, harbor, Lighthouses, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, New England, Oak Bluffs, Ocean Park, parks, Photographs, Tabernacle, water
Maude Louise Littlefield
Born in Waterville, Maine
Raised on Martha’s Vineyard
my mother, Maude Louise and grandmother, Albra Mae – Oak Bluffs, 1924
Moved to New Jersey after high school graduation and met a Jersey boy, Joseph Albert (Al)…
married him and had a Jersey girl (me)
The next to the last Mother’s Day I spent with my mom was May 1975. My parents were vacationing on the Cape and she was unaware that we were driving up from NJ to surprise her for the weekend. I gave her the book ‘Mostly On Martha’s Vineyard, A Personal Record’ by Henry Beetle Hough, as I knew she’d know some of the people mentioned in the book. I am so glad I did that because after reading the book she decided she wanted to sail over to the Vineyard to visit her mother’s grave. It turned out be her last trip to her beloved Vineyard.
Can’t let Mother’s Day pass without pictures of my sweeties…
Daughters Patty and Debbie…
Then Now
Grandchildren Tiffany and Tyler…
Then Now
Comments Off on Memories Of My Mom…
Tagged Books, children, Family, holidays, Maine, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, Memories, New Jersey, Photographs, postaweek
Prolific: producing in large quantities.
The lilac house. Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard.
Field of sunflowers. Sussex County, New Jersey
Comments Off on Weekly Photo Challenge: Prolific…
Tagged flowers, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Photographs, postaweek, sunflowers, weekly photo challenge
Prompt: Show an image of an awakening.
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The 7 a.m ferry Islander awakens and prepares for her first run of the day from Martha’s Vineyard to Woods Hole, MA.
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Tagged boats, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, morning, Photographs, postaweek, sky, weekly photo challenge
April 2009…A friend of my daughter Deb’s asked us if we’d like to dog sit for their two Labs, Silas and Balou. So Deb, her dog Chappy and I set out for MV .No matter how many times I go to the Vineyard my heart skips a beat or two when I see the above sign and the rotary welcoming you to Cape Cod. This was our first time sailing on the then new ferry, Island Home. Seven miles and 45 minutes later we touched tire in Vineyard Haven. We were about to start an Island adventure like none before.
Here is Deb surrounded by a happy, friendly threesome. Chappy on the left, Balou in the front and Silas being petted. We have never met nicer dogs, they are well behaved, sweet, gentle and loving, patient and fun. There wasn’t one moment that we didn’t enjoy being with them. Oh, okay, maybe when Balou was trying so hard to tell us things and we just were too slow on the uptake… but generally speaking (or woofing) things went very, very well.
Except for the weather. Two of the days we were there were wet… very, very wet. And when they said soaking rain they meant it.
This picture was taken from inside our dry car looking out at Edgartown Harbor. Wet, wet, wet. It was windy too. And wet.
But there were times of no rain and actuall brilliant sunshine and so off on our walks in the woods we would venture. The 4 leggeds were happy to be out and about sniffing, walking, and being together.
In all too short a time our dog sitting adventure came to an end and it was time to head home.
Chappy is waiting to say goodbye to his new friends. He had a great time with Silas and Balou.
The Island Home is waiting for us and all too soon we are setting tire in Woods Hole and back to reality.
This of course is my take on our dog sitting adventure but Chappy himself made a guest appearance on the blog and really, you should read his… CLICK HERE
Here’s a little bit of what Chappy eloquently had to say:
*’a friend of my mom’s invited us to dog sit… I didn’t actually notice anyone sitting like a dog (except my dog friends) but humans have weird jargon sometimes. I just go with the flow and don’t ask questions.
And….
Oak Bluffs is another of our favorite towns to walk around in. If you look really really close you can see mom and me standing outside the movie theatre on the corner. She’s taking photos and I’m trying to keep one eye on her and one eye on gram who wandered off to the other side of the information booth. Man, keeping them together would be so much easier if they were both leashed.
Comments Off on Looking Back At April 2009 (Dog Sitting)…
Tagged animals, boats, Boykin Spaniels, dogs, ferry boats, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, New England, Pets, Photographs, walking/hiking, weather, West Tisbury
Comments Off on Weekly Photo Challenge: Rise/Set…
Tagged Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, New England, New Jersey, New York City, Newport, RI, night, Photographs, postaweek, Rhode Island, sky, sunglasses, sunrise, sunset, weekly photo challenge
Prompt: Do you have a secret spot that you seek every now and then? A location in a faraway city that brings you joy? We all have connections to these kinds of places: places of solitude, of refuge, of wonder.
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Everyone who knows me knows my favorite place in the world is Martha’s Vineyard and here is my favorite spot to be when I’m in my favorite place.
I live in NJ but my heart and soul live on MV… and on MV they like to live here at the Tabernacle in the Campground . It is my favorite spot on the Island… an oasis of serenity and calmness in the middle of the Vineyard’s most bustling and lively town, Oak Bluffs. This magnificent iron structure was built in 1879… in 1979 was listed in the Natl Register of Historic Places… in 1999 a major restoration began, and in 2000 it became a project of Save America’s Treasures. Those are some of the facts of the building but not necessarily what constitutes the heart and soul of it.
Inside the Tabernacle is a banner that says “truly God resides in this place” and so he does. I am profoundly attached to the Tabernacle and visit it several times every time I’m on MV whether it’s in the heat of the summer, or the cold of the winter… I just magnetically gravitate there, I have no choice.
The Tabernacle.. Oak Bluffs, Martha’s Vineyard
These are only three of the memories I have of the Tabernacle.
As a summer kid I spent many hours here at Bible school…take a minu
te to read about my tussle with a church bell… CLICK HERE
The middle of August every year is Illumination Night. It begins with a community sing in the Tabernacle and as the skies darken the Campground is transformed into a fairy land. Every gingerbread house is decked out in Japanese lanterns… it’s a magical and special night. CLICK HERE
And then there was this concert, my very first time seeing my favorite singer/songwriter, Carly Simon who was appearing with Harry Connick, Jr. What better place then on the Vineyard and in the Tabernacle. I still get goosebumps. CLICK HERE
https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/favorite-place/
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Tagged architecture, Illumination Night, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, Memories, music, Oak Bluffs, Photographs, postaweek, Tabernacle, weekly photo challenge
Prompt:What would you rather be doing?
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Goes without saying
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Tagged beach, Gay Head cliffs, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, New England, Photographs, postaweek, signs, weekly photo challenge
I’ve been to Martha’s Vineyard in February and I love it. I love it any time but February is as different from summer on the Vineyard as you can possibly get.
There’s a cold crispness in the air, the colors are more vivid, the Island is quiet and yet speaks volumes to those who take the time to look, listen and drink in the beauty and wonder that is the soul of Martha’s Vineyard.
February 1989… a light dusting of snow made everything look like powdered sugar had fallen all over the Island.
February 1995… no snow that trip but bitter cold. Did not stop me from visiting the Gay Head cliffs in Aquinnah on the western most tip of the Vineyard… or hiking through the woods of Christiantown to visit the tiny chapel there. (Christiantown link)
I also experimented a bit with black and white film. From top left… Edgartown harbor, Christiantown stone wall..Sengekontacket Pond and South Beach.
February 2007… bitter cold, dusting of over night snow, icy ponds and harbors… and brilliant sunsets.
My birthday is in February and sadly the only one I’ve ever spent on the Vineyard was in 1950 when my beloved godmother, Gertrude Norris passed away. But I’m not anywhere near done having birthdays so who knows what the future will bring
Comments Off on Vineyard Februaries…
Tagged architecture, Bandstand, black and white, boats, Edgartown, Gay Head cliffs, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, Memories, New England, Oak Bluffs, Ocean Park, Photographs, sky, snow, sunset, water, winter
The eastern half of Martha’s Vineyard is called Down-Island and the western half is called Up-Island. Why you ask? To confuse you, that’s why. Not really, at least not on purpose. There is a very logical reason and here it is according to the MV website.
” Up-Island is the western area, which comprises the three rural towns of Aquinnah, Chilmark and West Tisbury. Down-Island is the eastern portion, home to the larger historic villages of Edgartown, Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven (also known as Tisbury). The two terms come from the rich seagoing tradition of Martha’s Vineyard, which once sent its whaling ships circuling the globe heading “up” in nautical terms takes you “west” because it’s further from zero degrees of longitude in Greenwich, England, home of the Prime Meridian.”
Well then, according to the Guide to Martha’s Vineyard we have this explanation. “When a ship sails in an easterly direction, it is decreasing or running “down” the degrees of longitude toward zero at Greenwich, England. A westbound vessel, on the other hand, is running “up” its longitude. Thus the Down-Island town are those on the eastern and northeastern end of the Island. The Up-Island communities are at the western end. A ship moving through Vineyard Sound sails “up” to New York and “down” east to Maine.” Ah ha.
OK, I’m still confused but I do know how to get from Down-Island to Up-Island and not get lost… it’s an Island, how lost could one get anyway.
Got all that… me neither
But that’s not the only confusion about the Vineyard … she had an identity crisis at one time involving Massachusetts and New York.
Martha! Martin! New York! Massachusetts! How many aliases and states have claimed this 100 sq mile island? The Wampanoags named it Noepe and that stuck until Bartholomew Gosnold came along in 1602.
No one seems to know who the Martin was whose name was once attached to the Vineyard… so let’s move ahead to Martha whose identity is still shrouded in myth. Was she one of Gosnold’s daughters, or his mother, or the name of an English royal. Whoever she was her name stuck and in my opinion has a nicer ring to it then Martin’s Vineyard.
According to the book “The History of Martha’s Vineyard” by Arthur R. Railton, in 1664 Charles II gave NY, NJ and the islands to the east to his brother, the Duke of York. In 1670 Thomas Mayhew, Jr and his grandson Matthew of Massachusetts traveled to NY to ask Gov Lovelace which colony his Island was under… New York or Massachusetts. Gov Lovelace made Thomas Mayhew “Governor for Life” of Martha’s Vineyard and gave him the authority to collect rents from all who lived within its bounds. Voila, Martha’s Vineyard Massachusetts. History lesson over.
Comments Off on Ups and Downs Of The Vineyard…
Tagged history, Information, maps, Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, New York, Photographs