2015 - June - Springing into Summer

Memorial Day Weekend on Cape Cod is a little like bumping into a beehive, only with swarming cars and people instead of bees.  The holiday started on a chilly note, but the sun warmed things up sufficiently for a lot of people to have fun in the water at Coast Guard Beach.  I wasn't one of them, but I treated myself to a beach photo shoot.  I like to think that my camera has replaced bathing suits permanently for me.  I must add that tourists are a lot more enjoyable to watch on the beach than they are on the roads, and when I can get a parking spot, it's a fun destination.

The Stop & Shop parking lot's four month pile of snow has recently been replaced by an equally large pile of mulch in June.  I've gathered up all my relaxation CD's and put them in the car, finding that they take a lot of the angst out of dealing with seasonal traffic.  And, as I waited patiently for my chance to enter the main road, I had a light bulb moment about all the cars passing by with headlights on.  Most year-rounders ignore the signs on the Mid-Cape highway that advise turning on headlights for safety, except at night, of course.  It occurred to me that it's actually a great service to locals on the road, going about their daily chores.  The headlights, that everyone forgets to turn off when they exit at the Orleans rotary, shine like a beacon, exclaiming, "Please be cautious around me, I'm a stranger in your strange land."  In other words, it's a heads-up, if you're paying attention, and I've already witnessed accidents at our rotary.  Opinions are still divided about the new round-about in Orleans.  I think it's looking pretty spiffy, since the road crews finished landscaping the center and marking the lanes.  I like the way that it's turned a busy and confusing 4-way intersection into something that demands you pay attention to the rules, and gives everyone a fair chance.  It certainly has grabbed drivers' scrutiny and deliberation.  But, we knew it wouldn't please everyone, and the first letter to the editor came from a man in Wellfleet, who derided it as a "frisbee-sized carnival ride".  He even went so far as to suggest selling T-shirts that say, "I survived the Orleans Rotary."  You really can't please everyone.          

Pretty, even on a gray day

Irises and alliums have had their premiere in the garden with just about everything else now vying for the spotlight, including beach roses everywhere.  It seems that I have one lingonberry sprout out of 30 seeds, but I'm ever-hopeful for more.   

Return of the Clam Trees to Rock Harbor-from the Cape Codder

Every now and then, we are treated to a new Cape Cod term we haven't heard before.  In a recent Cape Codder, our favorite go-to place for local news, the town of Orleans heralded the return of "Clam Trees".  We know "clams", and we know "trees", but this one stumped us.  The Codder explained that even veteran boat captains get confused with the changing channels in Rock Harbor, and the clam trees mark the deeper waters to aid with navigation.  But, why the name?  The trees are twenty-four foot pines and the signs are attached because they're illuminated when light hits them.  One of the stories about the clams is that in the '70's, quahoggers would drop the less desirable clams at the base of the trees, so when recreational permit holders looked for dinner, they had the best success by the trees.  Year-rounders would tell the summer folk that they fell from the trees, and said you wouldn't believe how many people bought the story.  

This year's new bird at the feeder is a brown-headed cowbird.  He's a handsome guy, don't you think?

And, another newbie at the feeders is this squirrel.  I've seen red ones, black ones, even a white albino one, but this is my first blonde one.

I don't usually notice much about local sports, but as I flipped through that section in our weekly Cape Codder, I got a real surprise this month.  Eastham's Nauset High School team, The Warriors, is getting a new football coach.  [ho, hum.]  That, in itself, still was not cause for note, except there was something very familiar about the man in the large photograph.  Reading on, I was amazed to see the name Mike Sherman.  It had to be a coincidence.  A common name?  But, reading further still, it seems that the former Green Bay Packers coach really is slated to become "an Eastham-ster".  I was a late-comer to football and the Packers were the first team I ever rooted for.  Long story.  Of course, it's the Patriots now, all the way.  And, the Nauset Warriors, of course.  

• HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Mike Sherman introduced as Nauset coach

Former Packers coach, and new Nauset football coach, Mike Sherman. Staff photo by Matt Rice

  As if the July 4th weekend in Provincetown isn't frenetic enough, it's been announced that Hillary Clinton will be making an appearance this year.  Eastham's looking like an even better place to get away from it all, and Dr. Beach confirms it in the Associated Press just-released lineup of the top ten US beaches for 2015.  Our Coast Guard Beach is ranking #7 this year in his list of "gorgeous and legendary beaches in the world".  And, in a fourteen-page spread, Yankee Magazine declares Cape Cod a "National Treasure".  
  

Coast Guard Beach

Cape Cod continues to be our haven, our happy place, our home.  I hope you've enjoyed reading and seeing it from my perspective, as much as I've enjoyed sharing it.  I will be taking a break from writing for awhile to focus on other projects.  It's not a farewell, just a see you later.  Have a wonderful summer, from wherever you're reading this.