Just when you thought it was safe to walk down Main Street in Edgartown…along come these fabulous, “frightening”, reminders of the season!

Each year the MV schoolkids create their own versions of scarecrows like the one seen here, and Medusa shown below. (They are judged and prizes follow!) The fun part is to see the awesome creativity behind all the entries. My favorite is a Tin Man – get it? A Tin Man as a scarecrow? Very funny. I couldn’t get a good picture of him, though. Sorry.

Oh, by the way, the Harvest Dinner was incredible. The Chilmark Community Center was packed with people. (It was more fun than the scene in my book, THE SUMMER HOUSE, when the town had to evacuate to the center because of a nasty hurricane.)

The pie was great. But so were the Wampanoag selections of venison chowder, cod with sage stuffing, “journey cakes” made from corn meal, and variations on recipes from this year’s abundant cranberry crop. Yum, indeed.

Best of all were the talks given by a couple of Wampanoag Elders about growing up on the the Vineyard, where their families were sustained by all the wonderful foods and shelter that the island has to offer. Great accompanying documentary film, too. Nice job, Slow Food folks!