Broken Glass

A broken window is not a completely bad thing - it can make for an interesting photo.

Random Sights, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

Here's a catch-all of photos that I didn't use in my other recent Cape Cod blog posts.

Wellfleet Harbor and Mayo Beach are on the distant horizon as viewed from Great Island.

The Wellfleet Congregational Church sticking out of the trees is reportedly the only church in America (and perhaps in the world) that rings ship's bells instead of regular time - don't know why they still do it that way, perhaps it has something to do with "because that's the way we've always done it?"

Waiting for the tide......

Curlicues on  a house in Wellfleet.

If you are "of a certain age," you will recognize this mid-1960's Ford Mustang convertible complete with fuzzy dice and "four-on-the-floor."

Resting kayaks in Orleans, the tourists long gone.

A trio of sad sunflowers in Eastham.

Eating leftovers in the great outdoors in Eastham.

Unique Gift

So if you're looking for that special birthday or other occasion gift for someone who doesn't really need anything but might like an eye-catching piece of yard art, this is for you.  These lions were made in Portugal and cast from concrete. And each one costs only about a dollar a pound. Unfortunately, each one weighs about 1500 pounds and would be impossible to load in a car and take home.

A smaller option, but less dramatic and with much less panache, weighs about 300 pounds. Clearly not as dramatic. They can both be found at the Lemon Tree Pottery Shop in Brewster on Cape Cod.

Wouldn't this look great in your yard?  Know anyone with a special occasion coming up soon? Maybe a 60th birthday? Hmmmm.

Fall, Cape Cod, Dennis, Massachusetts, USA

It's still mostly warm outside but, the signs of fall are unmistakable at Tobey Farm in the town of Dennis.

At Corporation Beach on the bayside, fewer folks are out enjoying early fall.

If you climb these stairs of the Scargo Hill Observation Tower you will be rewarded with  the following view........

Scargo Lake in the foreground, Cape Cod Bay in the distance.

Dennis was settled in 1639 and named after its first minister. It is located in the middle of the "upper arm" of the Cape Cod peninsula. The scenic Old King's Highway route, formerly a trail used by the Native Americans, passes through much of it. The Cape Playhouse, a popular performing arts theatre in Dennis, just completed its 86th season, and says it is America's oldest professional summer theatre.

Cape Cod Canal, Bourne, Massachusetts, USA

A tugboat pushes a double-hulled oil barge through the canal. I can't tell if the tug is part of the barge or just fits snugly into it. That particular Bouchard barge (number 225) is capable of carrying 110,000 barrels of oil.

A second tug follows behind - I guess it is a back-up in case the first tug has a problem. It wouldn't be good to have a loose barge full of oil hit the rocks.

View across the canal toward the town of Sandwich at the east end of the canal.

This is the jetty adjacent to Scusset Beach that protects and defines the canal entrance where it joins Cape Cod Bay.

In case you  missed the scale of the jetty's granite boulders, the black speck is my cell phone for perspective. These are definitely BIG ROCKS. It is great exercise to walk out the jetty on them - good balance and agility training for an old man - the consequences of a misstep help me to clearly focus on the task. 



Cape Cod Rail Trail, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

This 22-mile paved bike trail stretches from Wellfleet to Dennis along a former railroad train right-of-way.  I haven't ridden the length of it - maybe someday........

.......if I could just find me one of those cool recumbent bicycles to rent......

The bold line shows the 22-mile trail route through the "inner elbow" area of Cape Cod from Wellfleet at the top down to Dennis.

New Shoes

I don't like buying shoes and I avoid it as long as possible. I'll wear the same pair of shoes for years. Sometimes I buy two identical pairs at the same time. When I was a working man and had to dress up like an adult every day,  I had two pairs of black wing-tips that I rotated and wore for at least ten years.  Did I mention I'm a cheapskate and not at all stylish?

Anyway, I bought one pair of the shoes in the photo above recently. I was looking for all-day-every-day retiree shoes (but not the kind with velcro closures they advertise in AARP - I'm not that old yet). Criteria included the following: keep my feet dry and cool, provide support so I can walk in them for many hours, and they must be vegan (no leather or other animal parts). I decided the airy mesh construction of this model is perfect to meet all my criteria.  What I forgot to consider was the beach. Bad move.

Sand just pours in through the mesh.  Here's a couple minutes worth of accumulation.  Sure glad I didn't buy two pairs this time....... Note to self: DUH.

Fort Hill, Eastham, Cape Cod National Seashore, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

This is Fort Hill today. The entire cape was mostly forested in the 1600's when the Pilgrims arrived. Security was shaky, and rewards were even paid to the colonists for each wolf head. And in 1695, to further protect the enlarging farms, each unmarried man was ordered to kill six blackbirds, or three crows, while he remained single. Over-grazing and over-cutting became a growing problem in this area along with soil depletion. By the 1850's, Eastham forest had become Eastham Plains. These fields are kept open today as a reminder of those times. (Source: National Park Service, Fort Hill Trail brochure.)

The top of Fort Hill provides a commanding view of the surrounding marsh, sea, inlet, fields, and gentle hills.

The golden hues of fall start to become more visible in the grasses of Nauset Marsh.

This lone honey bee is not ready to give up on summer yet.

Sunset, First Encounter Beach, Eastham, Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA

When a low tide, sunset, and clear skies coincide, the beach sand at First Encounter Beach in Eastham creates some interesting ripples and ribbons of sand.  Here's what it looked like this week:

Folks milling around about an hour before sunset.

More milling about.

Self-portrait while milling about waiting for the sunset.

And the color show begins......

...and deepens....

....and darkens.....

....and ends. Another beautiful spot on Cape Cod.

Bumper Stickers

I like bumper stickers - not on MY car but - I like reading them on other's cars. Some strike such a chord of resonance with my own thoughts. This one for example - as a retiree, I enjoy wandering but am almost never lost - with or without a GPS.

This one I find generally offensive but, truth be told, I have earned the title myself on occasion.  See this Urban Dictionary link for a fuller understanding of the meaning.

This one I always find painfully ironic since, from my perspective, much of the strife humankind has experienced for thousands of years is due to the various religions wreaking havoc on others who don't share their particular beliefs.



Orleans Nauset Beach, Cape Cod National Seashore, Cape Cod, Orleans, Massachusetts, USA

Nauset Beach in Orleans is one of the town managed beaches within the Cape Cod National Seashore. It has restrooms, showers, a snack bar - it's a very well kept resource. Access is free for Orleans residents - visitors in 2012 pay either $15/day during the summer season (roughly Memorial Day to Labor Day) or a full seasonal pass for out-of-towners is available at $175.

This beach has lower dunes than those farther north on the outer cape. And what a location this is - 3 miles of sand if you turn north and 7 miles of sand if you turn south - all within the National Seashore and on public land.

These yellow flowers are a clear sign that the end of summer is at hand.

Lots of seals this year, thus, sharks looking for an easy treat have been seen closer to shore hunting a seal meal.

Notwithstanding the warning signs (and an actual shark attack recently farther north), some folks braved the waves - maybe their last chance this season before the air and water temperature get too cool.

Most folks were content to stay out of the water and amble along the surf line.

 

I guess it had to come to this - WIFI at the beach- we sure do love our technological gadgets. I feel like a renegade when I leave my cell phone in the car instead of carrying it in my pocket. 

I'm not a devoted fan or even occasional Facebook user and I know they didn't invent the popular "like"symbol. It's been around for a long time and it certainly applies to Orleans Nauset Beach in the Cape Cod National Seashore.

Cars and Copters, Plymouth Airport, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

The first sight that greeted the thousands of mostly young men who came to see the Cars and Copters Show at Plymouth Airport were two beautiful young women collecting donations for the Jimmy Fund.  The Jimmy Fund, founded in 1948, supports the fight against cancer in children and adults at Boston's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, helping to raise the chances of survival for cancer patients around the world. More than $750 million dollars have been raised over the years with 89 cents of each dollar going toward the fight.

Call me naive but, I've never given cash through a car window to a beautiful woman soliciting before. (I don't go to that part of some towns). Did I hand over some cash this time? - you bet I did!

Truthful to say, I  wouldn't have given over as much cash if the collector had been a sloppy, cigar chomping, grossly overweight, redneck man. Does that make me a dirty old man, a sexist, or a normal male? All of the above, some of the above, or none of the above?  But I digress .... on to the show......

It was another perfect late summer day in America's Hometown. An orange Lamborghini brightens the foreground in the photo above.

Rear view of a Maserati.

 

Cloud reflections in a 1959 Porsche.

Inside a Bentley convertible.

Hood ornament on the Bentley. If you have to ask, you can't afford it.

These automobiles ranged in value from a few thousands to many hundreds of thousands of dollars and were randomly parked on the grass in rows.  The visitors were free to wander close beside and among all the vehicles - none were roped off away from close inspection.  I think that's an interesting cultural observation - that many fine and expensive machines can be intermixed with the masses, many of whom can only ever dream about having such automobiles for their own. It's like being in an outdoor art museum but without stuffiness, guards, or velvet ropes - look but don't touch still applies.

Helicopters were on hand for up close viewing or rides. It was a beautiful summer day, well attended, and lots of smiles all around.  I hope the Jimmy Fund made tons of money.

Anyway, to put this tale behind me, I always support the Jimmy Fund - that's my story and I'm sticking to it.