By Kimberly Nolan

In May, red wine swirls in glasses at the Nantucket Wine Festival. June is streaked with sunburns and Madaket Sunsets. Stars and red stripes hang off the stern in July, honoring the country’s independence. Red fleck sails of the Rainbow Fleet, drifting past Brant Point in August. Beach plums, followed by cranberries, followed by winterberries, lead autumn into the quiet time of year. The channel is marked with lights indicating “red, right, return” — the boaters’ way of retreating to Nantucket each season.

In town, White Swirls in Lattes at the coffee shops. Kids juggle White Mounds on Top of Cones outside of the ice cream shops. At sea, White Sails compete during Race Week. Swans float seamlessly at the first bridege in Madaket. White commemorates island Brides as ivory adorns their Nantucket Lightship Baskets. White are the Tents, surrounded in bales of hay, cornstalks and mums, at the Nantucket Island Fair. Along the quiet shores of Coatue, White Dabs the Coats of Seal Pups. During their winter migration, Snowy Owls stop on these shores to rest their white wings. The island serves as a respite for all types of visitors.

Country-singer Keith Urban croons “blue ain’t your color.” As Nantucketers, blue is our color. On land, it is Hydrangeas. At sea, it is the miles that separate the Harbor from the mainland. At Cisco Brewery, 888 Blueberry Cocktails pour out with lawn games and local music. Blue is the Big Sky Feeling swallowing Sankaty Lighthouse. The deep Blue Moodiness of a Storm Sky lures onlookers to watch Surfside Waves in awe. Blue churns up alongside the ferry as a penny floats down, the lucky charm assures another trip to the island.