Martha Clara

This past weekend, we decided to drive out to Greenport for the Maritime Festival. We couldn't get an early start, because I had to work until 1 pm, so we figured we'd just head east, and if anything else caught our fancy along the way, we'd stop. The destination wasn't particularly important, just time together, DH, Little Sir and I, outside on a gorgeous early autumn day.

We stopped at a few farms to check out their wares, bought a 50 lb. sack of Yukon Golds (I think they've got to be the closest American potatoes to the reallly good yellow Turkish potatoes we had this spring), 25 lbs. of tomatoes, some basil, nectarines, corn, and a few green tomatoes for frying. We looked at corn mazes and hay rides, but they didn't exactly thrill us. So, we kept going. Then we saw the cattle.

Martha Clara Vineyard has a mini-herd of Highland cattle that demanded our attention. I have never been a cow-lover, but these creatures really interested me. Perhaps it hearkens to the Scottish blood in me, seeing creatures equipped to deal with brutal Highland winters, with their gorgeous long furry auburn coats and horns that could do some real damage. I don't know, but something deep and ancestral was touched.

DH fell in love with the donkeys (he used to ride them in Turkey as a little boy, and has a soft spot in his heart for them.) Little Sir went for the sheep and goats, as they were a little more his size, and less threatening. There were beautiful draft horses, the color of white/grey marble, majestically pulling the hay-wagon. The alpacas (llamas) were sweet, docile as deer, but friendly, looking for free handouts, with coats I could imagine spun into blankets and sweaters.

There is an art shop on the premises, with some paintings in different styles for sale. There are also wood works of varying sizes, apparently made with an electric saw, that are truly amazing. Giraffes, over 8 ft. tall, horses, a bear, a mermaid, and a life-sized bull-dog grace the shop, and are definitely worth stopping by to look at.

Knowing that it is a vineyard, they surely have a wine tasting room, and all that goes with it, but we were having so much fun outside, we never went in. They had live music, with lots of picnic tables outside, where people had brought coolers and were enjoying the gorgeous backdrop to their lunch/dinner.

We eventually did make it to the Maritime Festival, but it was disappointing. It really wasn't much different than all the other street fairs we've been to on this Island of ours. There were some pirates wandering around, scaring little kids, then giving them rings. There was the carousel, which is marvelous (NOW I understand the phrase "the brass ring"!), and the marina is lovely, and of course all the shops, and walking through the village (as parking was scarce), we got to see lots of houses circa 1820 and older).

What a lovely day to be out and about. I wish we could have 3 months or so of this weather, with extended foliage-watching time. Ahhhh...