Different Views from Two Benches, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

This bench is always a pleasant spot to stop and survey the world while out for a walk. There are gulls and seals that provide wildlife entertainment.



Alternatively, Green Heron Pond offers a different bench with other wildlife options......



....if you look closely........



....you'll see this Great Blue Heron in the shallows trying to find food.



But he spooks easily when he sees my movement.



.....and off he flies.



Meantime, the entire event was watched closely by this Red-tailed hawk perched in the nearby tree branches. Life is good in rural Manomet where wild critters still roam.

Yellow Brick Road, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

On a recent walk, I thought it would be nice to photograph a ballerina pose along the center line of the roller coaster section of Manomet Avenue. Amy was most obliging........



.....and then I tried various edits looking for just the right effect......



.....none of them are exactly what I imagined......



......... if only I had thought to bring along a red umbrella...............

Foster Kitties, Papa's Pet Supply Store and Adoption Center, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

It was more than two years ago that our last pet, Milo the cat, left this life. We had shared our lives with him for almost 14 years. His passing left a big hole in our hearts. But recently, a new business opened in our local neighborhood shopping center (where the Manomet Post Office is located). It is Papa's Pet Supply Store and Adoption Center. We popped in to visit and check it out. We came out as volunteer foster parents for cats!



A couple days later we brought these two home to stay with us until their forever home is found.

They are pretty fond of each other - apparently brothers. Although they had names when we brought them home, Todd and Glenn, we renamed them Kiwi and Felix, or Peanut Butter and Jelly, or That One and The Other One, for the duration of their stay with us. They don't seem to mind what we call them. If you shake their food in a plastic cup, the sound brings them running, name or no-name.

About a year old, the two are sweet, sociable, friendly, rambunctious, and curious. They will enrich some lucky folks' lives when they get to go to their forever home. In the meantime, they are doing just fine living here with us.

Santa Comes to Manomet, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

A good turnout greeted Santa's arrival in Manomet this year at the Fire Station on State Road. In recent past years, this event has been held at the Simes House and Manomet Commons property on Point Road but, this year with ongoing construction/renovation of the Simes House it was necessary to find an alternate site.

The Plymouth Fire Department on State Road in Manomet made their space available for this year's event. Next year, the Simes House construction will be complete and once again the families can romp more freely on the grounds of Simes House and Manomet Commons as they did last year (at this link).



A group of carollers provided the musical entertainment as Santa made his way to the site.



An added bonus at this venue was that the kids got to sit with Santa and also sit in a fire engine, always a popular idea for kids.



Santa made himself comfortable in a rocking chair just outside the fire house bay doors and a line instantly formed of kids and parents waiting for their turn with Santa.



There were happy young folks........



....and really happy very young folks at Santa's visit. A good time was had by all at this year's event!

A Magical Moment, Manomet, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

Out of bed just after dawn, I looked out the window and there at the edge of the yard, lay this handsome fellow. I was inside at a second story window looking through double-paned glass. Either he didn't see me because of the angle of reflection or he just didn't care. I doubt the latter because EVERY time in the past, he and the associated she and her two young ones will spook and run away instantly upon seeing or hearing human sounds or movement.



He hung out flat on the ground for another five minutes or so and then, as the first rays of sunrise cut through the trees, he stood up..........



....looked around........



....scratched his nose.......



.....flashed his tail........



.....and calmly walked off into the rising sun.



A nice way for both of us to begin the day.

Thanksgiving Parade, Part 2 of 2, Plymouth, Massachusetts, USA

This is part two of my posts about "America's Hometown" annual Thanksgiving Parade. Part one is at this link.

If aliens arrived from outer space and saw a parade in progress, what would they observe about us? A parade is usually a reflection of a society's focus - what events and actions we hold dear - music, patriotism, tradition, military, uniforms, performing precision routines in unison, are just a few elements.

I didn't see any aliens but, I did see thousands and thousands of folks turn out on the cloudy, chilly parade day to celebrate Thanksgiving. We gather in large numbers as a culture for sporting events and parades - the difference being that everyone goes home a winner after a parade.

In the fall of 1621, after surviving the first brutal winter that killed about half of the Pilgrims, the remaining number gathered with local Native Americans, the Wampanoags, and celebrated the bounty of the harvest. The survival of that initial group was due to the assistance, grace, and kindness of the Wampanoags.

The following images were made during this year's parade and are mostly in chronological order although I moved around from downtown to the waterfront sometimes seeing the same groups walk by twice.

That's all until next year!