This time of year, the low sun sears through the windshield, blinding you for seconds with its golden glare. The outdoor shower is “refreshing,” and mornings are brisk. There is room on the road and no long lines to get a cup of coffee. For year-rounders, this is our time of year. We get to dance between corn and tomatoes and winter squash.
In this issue, we get one last lick of summer with a late-season dinner party on Chilmark Pond with old friends George Ahl and “Vineyard Folks” author Tamara Weiss. We are lucky to have the book’s photographer, Elizabeth Cecil, shoot this beautiful night, when the chill in the air started creeping in.
Staying with the pond theme, we head over to Flat Point Farm, owned by the Fischer family for decades. The Tisbury Great Pond surrounds open fields with grazing cows and sheep. Amelia Smith meets with farm matriarch Eleanor Nuebert (Fischer) and her nephew Mason and sees how they work together in sync.
Staying with farming, both land and sea, we are introduced to nine Gen Z Vineyarders who have chosen to stay and farm or fish here on the Island. They are essential workers and part of the Island culture we all love. These are motivated, passionate Gen Zers who love what they do. The question they all raise is where will they live?
We also get to step back in time with our good friend Geoff Currier as he reminisces about his summers growing up on the Vineyard. Geoff always makes us feel like we are right there with him in his stories.
Every time we put together an issue of Edible Vineyard, we realize how lucky we are to live in a community built on farming and fishing, which continues to thrive and feed us with great people, stories, and food. We are always surprised and grateful that we do not run out of things to write about on this small Island. The well is full.
— Tina Miller and Connie Berry