2015 Another Autumn at Crosswinds B&B

A friend of ours told me shortly after moving here that post-Labor Day weather was like a switch that turned summer weather off, and Autumn weather on.  That hasn't proven to be the case this year.  Labor Day weekend brought some of the soupiest weather we had all summer, and it has fluctuated between T-shirt temperatures and fireplace weather throughout the season.  But, if Mother Nature seemed confused, the merchants were there to remind everyone with piles of pumpkins, technicolor chrysanthemums, stacks of firewood and New England Patriots gear.  Despite being the hottest recorded year on record for our planet, we still go by our calendars.  

Autumn paints Fort Hill

As the days get shorter and colder, local lobstermen begin the arduous task of hauling in their lobster pots.  Recently, a friend gifted to us a 14 pound lobster that got caught in his fishing net.  Usually, a lobster one gets for dinner weighs between 1-3 pounds, so when one of this size is caught, it's reason for a banquet.  You may remember our friend, Ray, who has lobstered for years, but has had to depend on friends to place and empty his traps this summer because his boat needs work.  This comes with a price.  When Ray visits his family in western Mass, he's expected to come with lobster, so when he found his supply running short, there was some fancy wheeling and dealing that went on.  In the end, "Pinchy the Lobster" went to Amherst, and we dined on a few smaller ones in exchange.  Easy come, easy go.

Pinchy the Lobster

Autumn affords us the slower small-town tempo we've missed during the summer frenzy of vacations.  Sometimes when going out, I enjoy pausing at the main intersection for just a moment to fully appreciate that there is nobody to wait on before turning.  Each day, the magnificent, decades-old trees give up another layer, looking like showgirls shedding frilly costumes to reveal their lean, strong physiques. The brisk winds make new, crunchy carpet designs on the ground each day until a concerted effort gathers and converts them to their next use as mulch.  Even the cats notice the change.  If there's a spot of sun anywhere, or a lap to be had, they are on it like heat-seeking missiles. Their dinnertime comes in inky darkness, now.  And, Tom knows that cooler weather means more likelihood of mice to catch, and there's no better entertainment for this 19-pound Maine Coon Cat.  Recently, a mouse that got trapped behind glass doors in the fireplace held his attention for three days, until it pulled "a Santa" and disappeared.   

Ho, ho, where'd he go?

The official word on new love-it or hate-it rotary in Orleans is in.  The Orleans police chief reports that while there were nearly as many accidents in that location as before, the injuries and damages were less because everyone now goes slower.  "It's not perfect", he said, "but, it's better."  Meanwhile, installation of underground pipes for the new Eastham town-wide water system has begun and is testing patience as four lanes narrow to three to get the job done.  As the town with the reputation of the best likelihood to get a speeding ticket, we at least have the extra lane to close to keep 2-way traffic moving.  Many towns only have two lanes, and road work means that forward progress requires much more patience as lanes take turns.  This is not a project that would be attempted during summer traffic, and now the race is on to complete as much as possible before snow impedes further progress.

Burke McKelvey and John Clark of the Chandler Travis Philharmonic
at the Wellfleet Oyster Festival

The one thing that hasn't slowed down is the amount of entertainment still available on this tiny island.  As usual, we took a shift manning the raffle ticket table during Eastham's Windmill Weekend in September.  We always manage to be there while the parade comes through.

And, in October, Wellfleet hosts an annual weekend Oyster Festival, which promotes the town's famous commodity.  Like other similar festivals, this one started small and has grown to be a regional event with a variety of activities to please everyone.  

Local theaters are still very active this time of year, and we indulged in three shows this Fall.  WHAT [Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre] put on an impressive production of Thrill Me, a musical based on the Leopold and Loeb murder in 1920.  I know, I know...a musical about a murder?  I wasn't sure, either, but in the hands of capable writer, Stephen Dolginoff and the two actors and one piano player, it was impressively entertaining.

Cape Rep in Brewster staged La Cage aux Folles. Although, in our opinion, it wasn't up to the quality of shows we've seen there in the past, it got rave reviews from local critics, and certainly was no less than a fun, evening romp.

We also went to the Wellfleet Library to see an informal reading of a new play called, The Critic, written by Brenda Withers, a local member of the Harbor Stage Theatre in Wellfleet.  At a bar in a small town in Russia, a colorful group of characters unwittingly undermine their own opportunism.  The room was packed and both the writing and reading was well-received.

November is the time for Eastham to celebrate its own infamous commodity at the annual Turnip Festival.  Don't think I don't hear that snarky snickering, but honestly, there are much worse things to be known for.  They're better than the traffic tickets, don't you think?  I entered the "Frozen Eastham" category of the photography contest on a last minute whim, and promptly forgot about it until I received a Monday morning call to advise me I'd won a grand prize.  No, it wasn't a turnip, it was a gift certificate from a framing shop, but if it had been a turnip, I would have been just as pleased.  Honestly.

Grand prize in the "Frozen Eastham" category.

People are still finding many different reasons to make their way to Eastham throughout the Fall.  We've hosted guests from Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, D.C., Florida, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.  And, not least of all, our first sighting at our feeders of a new, feathered friend, an Eastern Towhee.  He was identified for us by Mike O'Connor, our go-to bird man at the Orleans Bird Watchers Store.  He says it's one of his favorite birds, but [newsflash] he says that about all our birds. 

Eastern Towhee

The last news for Fall, although it won't have any impact on most readers, but is a very significant event to us, is becoming first-time grandparents to a beautiful, 10 lb. 3 oz. bouncing baby boy.  The second Daniels son to be born at Cape Cod Hospital made a lovely full circle in our family.  Our new little "sandkicker", named Ryan, made his first official visit to the B&B on his one-week birthday, and we look forward to many more.  

Grandpa's little sandkicker

    Best wishes to all 

for a healthy and grateful holiday season.