Priscilla Beach Theatre (PBT), Priscilla Beach, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Priscilla Beach Theatre (PBT) Co-owner and Producer Bob Malone announces the need to postpone this year's May season opener ("Sisters of Swing,") to May of 2021.  

Hopefully, this year's performance season can open on June 5th with eight performances of "She Loves Me." Frankly though, no one knows at this point. Stay tuned to https://www.pbtheatre.org/ for announcements regarding the future performance schedule. As it stands now:...........

Early Spring, Cape Cod Bay, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Twenty miles or so directly ahead across Cape Cod Bay is the upraised arm of Cape Cod. When it is exceptionally clear, one can see the slight rise of the landmass and even some of the taller buildings in Provincetown. On the beach below this bench, the endless pounding of the surf continues. Sometimes I sits and, sometimes I thinks and, sometimes - I do neither.



High tide on the curve of Manomet and points south.



What a difference a day makes......cold, cloudy, windy, snow flurries and rain showers.......



Nope, summer isn't here just yet.

The Return of the Turkeys, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

I heard them before I saw them. The sound didn't register at first. They have been gone during much  of winter. I thought maybe the sound was on the radio. And then, there they were, outside the window on this cold, windy morning in the first week of spring, standing tall and making that gobbling sound, and, alternately pecking in the unfrozen ground for bugs. Maybe they will roost in the trees here tonight, and I will look up and see their large dark silhouette. I hope so. They don't know about the coronavirus or anything like that. They simply live in the moment until they don't. There is something to be said for that. It is spring, yes, and all the world is anew.

The End of Winter, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

It's the last day of a winter that never really became a serious winter. But there are other differences.......



...... like the coronavirus sheriff out enforcing social distancing.



Of course, mostly this time of year there aren't many people at the beach anyway.



Though low tide does bring out solitary walkers.



The sand is shiny-wet from the outgoing tide.



And just a hint of spring green can already be seen. Virus or no virus, the cycles of nature continue on.

Scallop Shells, An Art Project, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Dozens of these giant artistic scallop shells can be found around the downtown and waterfront areas of Plymouth.



It may still technically be winter but, folks are out and about walking around enjoying the waterfront and the unseasonably pleasant weather.

Gale Force Winds and Low Tide, White Horse Beach, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

It was another of those magical winter days in Southeastern Massachusetts - blue skies, puffy clouds, unlimited visibility, gale force winds, midday low tide, bright sun driving the temperature up to the high 40's F. Days are getting longer, spring is right around the corner. That's a hard combination to beat anywhere.



The sandy beach is particularly wide this year at low tide. It varies each year by how the storms behaved over the winter - whether they scoured or deposited more or less.



Water temperature is about 40 degrees F - still too cold for most humans - even the dogs stay out.



Winter is not over yet - tonight, a deepening low pressure system is forecast to bring winds sustained above 30 gusting to 60 with snow. We'll see.

A Final Musing on St. Petersburg, Florida, USA

So, now that I am back home in the cold and dark remains of a New England winter, what are my summary thoughts of this exploratory trip to St. Petersburg, Florida?

The Good News: It sure is nice in the St. Petersburg, Florida area. Friendly people, beautiful weather, plenty to do and see. It is easy to navigate the grid-patterned street layout - avenues run east/west - streets run north/south.

The Bad News: There are miles and miles of just too many - too many people, too many roads, too many cars, too many structures, too many sirens at all hours, too many personal injury attorney ads. By contrast, in New England I live on a dead-end road in the woods by a pond with only the sounds of nature surrounding me. I like that - a lot.



As I walk some of the downtown streets, I hear the street sounds and loud music from multiple cars, pick-up trucks, bikes, scooters, pedestrians - everyone listening to his/her own music and not at a private volume level - it is a cacaphony of sound. Add to that all the cellphone conversations engaged in by multiple pedestrians (often loudly on speaker) as they walk - the din is just too much sometimes.

In my hotel room, I daily can hear the symphony of jack-hammers and car traffic and emergency vehicle sirens.

I guess that's part of the trade off - if one wants consistently warm weather in the middle of a New England winter, to be somewhere in the United States, to have known healthcare, resources, infrastructure, and language - this may be a price one has to pay.

Moving here would take some getting used to. Like palm trees waving in the breeze. No different from any other move. Change is change.



It sure is nice here.............hmmmm.



It sure is nice here, too..........hmmm.

Fort De Soto Park, Pinellas County Park System, St, Petersburg, Florida, USA

From the southeastern tip of the Fort De Soto Park, in the distance, the Sunshine Skyway Bridge (I-275) stands tall and spans the entrance to Tampa Bay connecting St. Pete to points south including the greater Bradenton/Sarasota areas. The main span of the cable-stayed bridge is 1200 feet. Contrast it with the 750 feet cable-stayed Zakim Bridge in Boston spanning the Charles River as it meets Boston Harbor.



It is a stunningly beautiful park with sculpted picnic areas, recreation areas, and lots of undisturbed dense Everglades-like swamp growth. The largest park within the Pinellas County Park System, Fort De Soto consists of 1,136 acres made up of five interconnected islands (keys). These keys are home to beach plants, mangroves, wetlands, palm hammocks, hardwoods and scores of native plants.



A pleasing visual arrangement.



Local birds........



... digging for good bugs in the sandy soil (American White Ibis).

One of many ospreys sighted throughout the park area.



And over at the beach, humans are enjoying rest and relaxation and shade and sun.



Fort De Soto was named America’s Top Beach for 2009 by Trip Advisor, and, in 2005, “Dr. Beach,” named Fort De Soto the nation’s #1 Beach. It's easy to see why. Restrooms and parking are offscreen right nearby.

It has been a wonderful visit to the St. Pete area over the past two weeks.  I have enjoyed sharing my observations with you through these blog posts.  Only one more to come.......

Around Town, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA

A slow night at the St. Petersburg Shuffleboard Club, perhaps the world's largest club - in business since 1924. (I did a little post-processing enhancement to create a brooding old timey look - notwithstanding the new cars visible in the lot). This is one of my favorite images of this trip.



One of hundreds of outdoor building murals throughout St. Petersburg - this one on the side of the Hollander Hotel.



The pair of old banyan trees at the downtown waterfront area in early morning light.



The sun rises behind the downtown marina. Another lovely, sunny day in St. Pete.

"One City Chorus," Palladium Theatre, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA

One City Chorus is a community group with 120+ singers who performed at the downtown Palladium Theatre.



A wonderful sound of human voices raised together in song.

What a great show!