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  1. The Vineyard

Gay Head, November '08

Thanksgiving week on the Vineyard. One of my goals was to get up to Gay Head and find the glacial boulder that is prominent in a photograph on display on the M/V Island Home, a photo taken in 1915. I wanted to compare the landscape of today, using the boulder as a reference, with the landscape of almost 100 years ago.

I did find the boulder, after walking over an at-first daunting, very rocky beach. The rocks turned out to be of little consequence to me, however, as I am sure-footed in my Merrills. In fact, I welcome a variety of terrains with which to challenge myself. The walk down around the head of the cliffs did require much concentration; no room for dreamy gazes off to the horizon or meandering thoughts on this walk.

I've never seen this beach so strewn with rocks. Where do they come from? Do they lie beneath the sand, to be uncovered by winter storms? Do they migrate here? I think it must be the former.

Whatever the answer, it's hard to imagine that this will ever be a sandy beach again. But I know it will be.
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I was also treated to a light show.
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I was also treated to a light show.

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  • A green gem, a rarity these days.
  • I was also treated to a light show.
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  • These red winter berries offer a splash of color to an otherwise bleak landscape. I would imagine the birds like them, too.
  • Gay Head Light. I was disappointed to have found a No Trespassing sign at the entrance, remembering the days when the Island could be much more freely explored. Posted by the MV Historical Society.
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  • Not a great image, as it is a photo of a photo, an old one, to boot; also, shot through glass, with its attendant reflections and diminution of clarity.<br />
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However, from this image it is easy to see that the overall shapes match, as well as the notched profile on the left. Obviously, this photo and my photo were taken from different angles. <br />
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This photo was taken from much farther over to the left, an impossibility on the day I took the photo, partly due to the high tide. Also, I suspect, the beach extended farther to the left 100 years ago. <br />
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The rock - from the angle at which I shot the photo, at least - almost seems to have twisted slightly clockwise. Or, again, it could be the angle.<br />
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Also, the large rock in the foreground is now mostly under water.<br />
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Anyway, this was an interesting bit of detective work; a good brain work-out, as well as providing an excuse for a walk beneath the cliffs. I will follow up with a trip to Gay Head at low tide and see if I can more closely duplicate the perspective of the 100-year-old photo.
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