2016 Post-Labor Day - Where Everything Old is New Again

Hermine's footprint

As Hurricane Hermine lumbered up the East coast in slow motion, wreaking havoc in the Southeastern States and threatening a repeat of Hurricane Sandy in the Northeast, storm warnings were posted on Cape Cod to prepare for the last gasp of this monster.  With threats of rain [which we desperately needed after a very dry summer] and wind gusts of up to 50 mph [we call that winter], life went on as usual.  The Christmas Tree shop had their $10 off coupons out, there was one more free concert scheduled at Herring Cove Beach, and there were some very determined vacationers who weren't going to let Hermine boss them around.  As the cry went up, "what's the latest on the storm?", it soon became apparent that Hermine's heart just wasn't in it for Cape Cod. The following posting on Facebook's Provincetown Community Space by Sean D'Aversa told the story perfectly.

Oh, the humanity!

And now, A Lesson From a Peach Tree:

The Lone Peach

When we moved to Eastham in December of 2009, we arrived just days before a big snowstorm.  After it passed and we ventured out to explore our new yard, we encountered a large branch on the ground which reduced the size of its tree by roughly a third.  Later when Spring arrived, we were surprised to find out it was a peach tree, which not fazed by the loss of the large limb proceeded to bear a pretty decent crop of fruit.  As the years have passed, the crop has varied depending on how much water and attention we remembered to give it.  The last couple of summers have taken a toll on its production, as we've had to focus more attention on the care and feeding of ourselves and guests than on the tree.  But, as I passed by this summer on the way to preparing the Cottage for guests, I spotted a big, beautiful peach hanging from a low limb.  I scanned the higher branches for more, but finally realized that all of the tree's energy had gone into making this one perfect peach.  For some reason, that peach stayed in my thoughts all summer and I realized that I was feeling a kinship to the tree.  We're both showing signs of aging, our limbs not what they used to be, but we know what our jobs are and do them as well as we can.  Some days aren't as productive as they used to be, and some years you can only produce one peach, but we try to keep a peachy attitude.  I included the lone peach in a salad I made for a friend whose husband is fighting cancer.  It seemed like a worthy thing to do with a peach whose tree worked so hard to make it. 

Herring Cove Sunset

Usually, we end the summer season sitting in beach chairs on our town green, surrounded by friends and neighbors, listening to our favorite musicians, Chandler Travis and whomever is joining him that night, as they play the summer out.  We did huddle together on that suddenly chilly evening when my sisters visited in August and enjoyed the usual trimmed down "Philharmonette" collection of musicians.  But, Labor Day weekend was late this year, so the season gifted us an extra free concert at Herring Cove Beach in Provincetown with the entire Chandler Travis Philharmonic.  I hadn't been to that venue before, and the thought of welcoming Labor Day, the true end of the busy season, sitting on the northern tip of our tiny island where whales can sometimes be seen breaching, and the next stop is Europe, grooving to all our now-old favorites, played by musicians, some of whom teach other musicians at notable music schools in Boston, well...count us in!  

Ladies and gentlemen, 

tonight's version of The Chandler Travis Philharmonic!

Fred Boak, 'Valet', the inimitable Chandler Travis, and 'Slammy' Woods

Horn Section Extraordinaire du jour, Kami Lyle, Bob Pilkington and Burke McKelvey,

affectionately referred to by Chandler as 'The June Trailer Dancers'

And, the exquisitely fashionable, John Clark

Without a doubt, it was one of the best sets of feel-good music we've heard in a long time, made all the better as we all shared a beautiful Provincetown sunset and a much clamored for encore that was a wicked set of its own.  As we shared farewell hugs and got thanked for coming, my reply as always was, "thanks for spoiling us rotten".  Staying to chat for awhile, we realized on the way back to the car that, except for an inky display of stars in an incredibly big sky, there were no lights to guide us to our car in the large parking lot.  Thus, began an interesting finish to the evening as we wandered cluelessly in the velvety darkness looking for anything that resembled an object with which we were familiar.  I imagined the story that would appear in the Cape Codder about a couple found sleeping in a salt marsh at low tide, but we eventually bumped into a car, which turned out to be ours, and the evening ended happily in our own bed in Eastham.   

Our town of Eastham picks September to hold its annual 3-day Windmill Weekend Festival to celebrate the oldest windmill on the Cape right here on our town green.  It's not a fundraiser for any cause other than to make enough for the town folks to have fun again next year.  My favorite activities on the 3-day schedule are the Saturday sand castle competition on First Encounter Beach, the Sunday parade, and this year's new lobster races were tempting.  Ron and I have enjoyed volunteering at the raffle ticket booth for the last several years, but we seem to always be expecting new B&B guests on this day, too, so one of us usually has to come late while the other waits on their arrival. The festival was just not in the cards for me this year.  The sand castle competition was so well attended, I couldn't find a place to park.  And the guests, who were to come between 2-3 p.m. came at 6 p.m. so I was a little disappointed when Windmill Weekend 2016 came and went without me.  But, things have a way of working out.  After a long hiatus from the gym to heal injuries, September has been my triumphant return - can you hear the Rocky theme playing in the background?  And, First Encounter Beach is on the way home, and makes a dandy apres-gym treat in September, while the sun still warms the shoulders and the northwest breeze cools the sand off. 

What if you could magically snap your fingers and make all the traffic disappear?  No, that doesn't really happen after Labor Day.  September is one of the most beautiful months on Cape Cod, and the folks without kids in school know it.  And, with the town of Wellfleet's Oysterfest on the calender, it's not likely to happen in October, either.  But, it's coming...          

2016 SUMMER ON CAPE COD PART II - Where everything old is new again

A little shade goes a long way in August

August seems to bring a lot of finger pointing about almost everything.  Which soil you should have used on your garden.  Whether Route 6 or 6A is faster.  Which beach is best, or who has the best lobster roll.  Which state has the worst drivers and whether rotaries are better than stoplights.  The heat and traffic gridlock start to take its toll on patience, but a quick look at the calendar reminds locals what a brief interlude this summer season really is in comparison to the quiet months to come. 

It's a WOOWOOPALOOZA!

Before that happens, Cape Cod is awash with activity as flashy as Hillary Clinton's Provincetown fundraiser with Cher, to the Pan-Mass Challenge bike-a-thon, where 5000 cyclists ride from one end of the Cape to the other raising funds for cancer research.  Hillary's $500-$10,000 ticket range was a bit out of our league, but we jumped at the chance to purchase tickets to the WooWooPalooza benefit for local musician and friend, Steve [WooWoo] Wood, who is fighting cancer.  Because that is one thing the Cape excels at, helping friends in need.

At least six local bands donated their time to play at the Beachcomer Club, an old 1897 Lifesaving Station in Wellfleet, to raise funds for Steve's cancer treatment.  Locals call it "the Coma".  There are a few old wood booths in the corner, but the tables and chairs are always cleared away after dinner so the area in front of the stage becomes a big, sandy dance floor.  The event was planned by our friend Chandler Travis, whose band The Incredible Casuals played the Coma every Sunday for 30 years.  Especially poignant about this evening was that two generations were represented in a couple of the bands, including Steve's son Sammy [Slammy] Wood on drums.  Ron, who played keyboard in Steve's band, The Greenheads, back in the 80's, loves to tell how Sammy bounced in time to the music of their rehearsals in diapers and little cowboy boots.  It was just inevitable that he would take up drums.  The Casuals' rendition of "I Wanna Play Loud", summed up the three hours of bouncing to the old favorites, pausing to pass the hat and reminisce about old 'Coma days while friends generously filled and refilled it up.

"Slammy" Wood carrying on the Coma tradition

August is also sometimes family visit time for many Codders, including us, this year.  The house was packed with sisters reminiscing, sons reuniting, moms playing pass the baby and the spare friend, or two, who dropped in to share the fun.  We even had an impromptu fake wedding with a fancy cake and a lace tablecloth doubling as a wedding dress to make up for the quiet town hall ceremony that took place this summer when buying a house out of town became more pressing than a big wedding.  Not to worry, everyone got a plastic lei and a hat to wear and a delicious hunk of Stop & Shop bakery 's best, and a few pictures to commemorate the event.      Wedding Daniels-style Sisters do Provincetown I learned a new Cape Cod historical tidbit this summer.  The date of the start of the American Revolution is an easy one for me to remember because it's also my birthday.  And the words that became the rallying cry of the revolution, "taxation without representation" are still seen on bumper stickers in the District of Columbia.  [The exact quote was, "Taxation without representation is tyranny."]    But, I didn't know until now that the man who coined that phrase was none other than James Otis, Jr. of the town of Barnstable, and his statue is in front of the Barnstable County Courthouse on Cape Cod where I signed the papers seven years ago to become a Cape Cod homeowner.   The late-bloomers and feathered friends in our gardens continue to turn heads.  As the traffic starts to thin out on the main highways, my thoughts are turning to my winter list.  These are all the things I put off until low-season allows me the luxury of time to indulge in them.  But, there's still a busy Shoulder Fall Season to attend to, so at this point I'm just watching the list grow and looking forward to choosing the first thing.  Meanwhile, we say Cheers to our 6th summer season on Cape Cod, hosting visitors from all corners of the world.       "Happy as clams [...at high tide.]"