2013 - Joyful June

If you can't beat'em, join'em

Memorial Day Weekend has become more the official start of summer than the actual Summer Solstice in June.  The wet and chilly weather didn't seem to dampen anyone's enthusiasm about traveling to Cape Cod and I'm slowly getting over the feeling of entitlement with which winter deludes us into thinking we own the roads and parking lots.  This too shall pass and by Labor Day I'll be surprised anew at the sudden exodus.

Tommy keeping a watchful eye on the new crop of bunnies

Meanwhile, nature knows just what to do and is gifting us with fresh, baby spinach leaves, fragrant lilacs, bright red poppies, purple and white irises, lush peonies, exquisite yellow Golden Chain Tree blossoms and lots of baby bunnies.  The new raised bed gardens on the sunny side have welcomed tomato and cucumber seedings and are sporting newly sprouted radishes, beets and squash.  The asparagus seems to have made the transfer to their own raised bed without any complaints, but the rhubarb is still undecided about being rudely yanked out of their old location.  Summer is always full of big landscaping ideas and the promise of newly found recycled treasures, but this year's focus is on less, rather than more, with the intent of claiming more time to indulge other favorite activities, too.  This year's garden projects will tweak areas to make them easier to tend.  Three years of collected treasures have been moved from the basement to the garage for an out-with-the-old/in-with-the-new sale, as soon as the weather cooperates.*  Kite flying on the beach, playing "tourist" in surrounding towns and always the quest to capture intriguing moments in photos for the next exhibit have been bumped to the top of the list with all good intentions to follow through. 
 * As regards the weather, my apologies to all affected for my namesake tropical storm Andrea.

Golden Chain Tree

Eastham Coast Guard Beach on the Top 10 list again

We know it's June because of the myriad of congratulations signs springing up like mushrooms for the Nauset Class of 2013.  They appear on fences, trees, yard signs and from overpasses in every possible media including bedsheets, cardboard boxes, rolls of paper and whatever else was at hand.  These "Woot Woot!" proclamations are a proud local June tradition.  

Playing tourist in Provincetown

Being in the public eye, we've gotten pretty used to strangers walking up to the door for one reason, or another, but we had a nice surprise when one of the former owners of our home, the ones who originally converted the house to a bed and breakfast, stopped in to say hello and look around.  It's always fun to learn bits and pieces of the history of where one calls home.  It's the antidote to "if these walls could talk".  On their way out, I was able to reunite Mrs. P. with the first painting she had ever done, but had left behind.   

The battle of the proposed Eastham water bills continues to rage in our town.  The big daddy plan for 114.8 million has now been defeated by the townsfolk 4 times in a row, as was the 40.8 million 'compromise' vote and the more sensible 5.8 million solution written by a local resident, which was finally accepted on the ballot  A record turnout of 1,345 voters thought it important enough to give up their Saturday to make their wishes heard and the scheduled 10 a.m. meeting didn't start until 11 a.m. just to get the lines of voters through the door.  It finally adjourned at 2 p.m. with little to show for the exercise except more confusion and polarization, which sadly is starting to come between friends.  I hope this proves to be a temporary condition once there is eventually a majority vote on a solution.  Politics, local or national, has never been a favorite activity of mine, but when one has the gift of standing up for what directly affects you, there is no one else to fault if you don't avail yourself of the opportunity.  

This is what one looks like when bitten by deer ticks and on antibiotics to ward off Lyme Disease
 and warned not to go out in the sun, but Fort Hill is calling.  

Who could resist this?

At Crosswinds B&B, we've had honeymooners and long-time anniversary celebrants, but this month we had our first proposal!  Congratulations to Jimmie & Linda who shared that they'd become engaged on our tree swing under the stars.  Our June guests came from Boston and Western MA, Brooklyn and Liverpool, NY, Ringgold, GA, Hampshire, IL, Houston, TX and Stratford, CT, and the countries of Britain, Canada, France, Holland and Australia.  

Fresh from the garden!

But, our favorite visitor this month was the bright orange Oriole that checked out our bird feeders, another first for us.  (No pictures, yet.)  Of course, that prompted a trip to the Birdwatcher's Store in Orleans to see if Mike had any special Oriole feeders, which of course he did, and of course Ron bought.  He's now added cooking the special mix of Oriole food to his every four day regimen of making Hummingbird food in the hopes of earning us a 4-star review with the Orioles.   
   

 Summer chores

It does, absolutely feel like summer now with 3-H forecasts (hazy, hot & humid), lawn sprinklers on the gardens, bright beach towels in the piles of laundry left behind and  traffic that keeps our feet close to the brakes.  We're very aware that a lot of people are here to soak up in just a few days what we revel in all year and that affords patience that might otherwise be compromised.  I've often been asked what the essence of Cape Cod's  draw is for me.  The simple answer is that I feel nurtured and accepted and fit in to the casual lifestyle, which makes it feel like home.  This is every bit as essential as the natural beauty, creative arts scene and history, but the one thought that prevails is "perspective".  When bad days disappoint my expectations, threaten my safety, or cause pain, frustration or worry, I'm always very aware that I feel lucky to feel that I'm finally home.  With each news report of families threatened by tornados, forest fires and flooding around the world, my perspective and appreciation stretches even farther.  It doesn't erase a bad day, but it sure keeps you from dwelling on it.  Cape Cod gives me perspective and there's no place like home!  

Sunset over Truro