Transition day. A month ago, heading to Martha's Vineyard, it was Charlie who was sick. This time it's Suzi with a stomach problem she has carried home. We're all a little tired and out of sorts from packing, cleanup, and closure - home to all the mild chaos of return after a month's absence.

Suddenly, here we are, instead of walking over stones in bright sunshine along Vineyard Sound, walking under the canopy of shade trees, tripping over wild, invasive grapevines creeping across the path and vines of all kinds, flourishing, grabbing anything they can reach and cling to and climb.

A year ago on our return, the brook was caked dry, the water table low, and an official drought had been declared. This year, the brook's filled with fresh water, wildflowers and lush greenery. Suzi blissfully slips in for a dip.

Mushrooms pop up wild in the field, the shade, the woods, the moss, and many are mangled or withering, but I am delighted to find this shining orange bulb beaming to us from the shade of the pines - welcoming us home to riverwoods.