The Lollipop Tree

A Trip to Green Briar Nature Center = An Extraordinary Jam!

2009-09-17T19:53:00.006-04:00

Wings of Freedom Tour

2009-09-16T23:09:00.004-04:00

The Pics are a bit of a jumble but here's what was at hand to see today at Hyannis Airport:

A B-17 Flying Fortress
A B-24 Liberator
and a TP-51C Mustang

What an experience being up close and personal with these marvels of WW II!

Mellow Yellow

2009-09-05T19:56:00.005-04:00

These are a few shots of the lake at sunset. No touch ups, just pure natural color!

The Point of No Return

2009-08-21T05:04:00.002-04:00

Yesterday afternoon I was invited to take a boat ride out of Barnstable Harbor. It was so hot and muggy, I couldn't wait to be on the water, with the cool ocean breezes! We zipped across the water, out past the lighthouse at the tip of Sandy Neck. When the tide is low, sand bars emerge from what seems like the middle of nowhere! That's where we landed, on one of those bars... and took a nice long dip in the cold ocean water. What a lovely treat!

It was very hard to leave such a beautiful spot!

Hawk on the Hose Tower!

2009-08-18T11:59:00.001-04:00

2009-08-15T18:58:00.002-04:00

My new goal. Isn't she beautiful? I figure about six years I'll have enough saved!

911 Info

2009-08-04T21:47:00.001-04:00

If you call 911 by mistake, DON'T HANG UP before we verify that you are okay! If you don't stay on the line you may get a surprise visit from your local police department. Most police have protocols that require a response on hang ups and abandoned calls. Some may call you back, some may send an officer. You may be able to avoid a visit if you just stay on the line! Even if you hang up before you hear it ring, the 911 lines are designed to recognize and connect those calls. So please STAY ON THE LINE if you dial 911 by mistake!

Alive and Well..... Just up to my ears in Summertime!

2009-08-04T09:48:00.003-04:00

Been working, sleeping, cleaning, swimming, walking the beach (when I can) and generally not spending a lot of time online..... I do check in on folks occasionally.... just being more of a lurker than a commenter. I'm guessing things will slow down a bit in the fall, so I'm keeping a journal of things I'd like to share with you! Stay well, and hope you enjoy your summer!

Cockatiels and Cocktails!

2009-07-15T16:19:00.003-04:00

Bird and Birdette have become fast friends. At first, Bird nearly lost his mind over her. I kept them separated, in different cages, only because I wasn't sure if Bird would know how to be social. Bird had spent over 10 years basically by himself. I was afraid that he might try to harm Birdette. When he first met her, he was very excited, paced back and forth on his perch, constantly emitting a soft squawk every minute to two minutes. ( He still does it, even now!) I eventually introduced them while they were outside their cages. Bird is very smitten with her, has eyes only for her and is totally devoted to being her friend. She, on the other hand, could care less if he fell off the face of the planet. Whenever he gets a bit too much for her, she lets him know it with a slight nip (never really touches him, just makes the motion). Today I ingeniously put the two cages together so now they can visit each other, or retreat to their own cage. They seem quite happy with the arrangement and I am quite happy to sit and watch their interactions and antics.

Birdette is in the foreground (the larger of the two) and of course Bird is in the background...

Hope all is well with everyone today.... I'm headed out for an adult beverage to cap off a very beautiful, sunny, summer day off!

2009-07-07T20:51:00.001-04:00

One of my favorite fishing spots... Scudder's Lane. What a beautiful day we had yesterday! On a whim I stopped by to see if anyone was around. As you can see it was deserted. Those who have boats had already gone out. I dipped my toes in the cool water and sat for a few minutes in the warm sunshine. Not for long though... had to head back to reality and an evening shift at work. It rained today but I'm hoping for better weather by Thursday.

My home computer is still disabled!

2009-07-06T13:23:00.002-04:00

It may be a couple of days before I'm able to post from home....
Interior house painting is very, very disruptive!
My house is in complete disarray; boxes and furniture piled into the middle of the rooms w/tarps covering everything. I can't find the book I was reading and my cat thinks we are moving. My computer has been disconnected and is in parts... monitor here, printer there; it's just plain painful! I'll be sending a post here and there via cellphone but the quality and quantity may vary! I'm still able to visit your blogs while times are slow at work,(something of a rarity, now that it's summertime!) I'm at the library now, and the call of all these books around me is too great.... I have to go explore! Later gaters!

2009-07-04T08:24:00.001-04:00

2009-07-02T14:17:00.001-04:00

Bad storms In New England! From the deck of Hemispheres Restaurant in Sandwich by the canal, We missed the hail here but other parts of the Cape got hit with quarter sized hail! There's a lull in the storm now, getting ready for round two!

A Pause for Station Identification.... or The Painters are Here and The Computer needs to be UnPlugged and Moved.

2009-06-30T07:34:00.000-04:00

Back in a couple of days folks.... Don't have too much fun without me!!

2009-06-28T23:16:00.001-04:00

This is where I'd rather be... instead I'm working a double shift!

Something to Say!

2009-06-22T17:00:00.001-04:00

I don't know who she is, but DANG! I found her here.

Whining in the Rain.....or is it time to build the Ark?

2009-06-22T08:14:00.008-04:00

The weather here in the northeast has been incredible. We have had only three days of sunshine in the who month of June! Go HERE if you think I'm joking! Normally, this kind of thing wouldn't really tear me up, but I've been on vacation (using up comp/personal/holiday time before they take it away!) and it doesn't look like I'm going to get a break!
So, besides fishing in the rain.... I've run from the grocery store to my truck in the rain (pushing a loaded cart with bad wheels)..... I've dodged raindrops at outdoor bbq's, puddle jumped in the mall parking lot, and I think I might be coming down with SAD !
I haven't been to the Wellfleet Drive-In like I wanted to do.... or been mini golfing, whale watching, or laid in my hammock in the back yard! My friend and I have postponed a trip to Martha's Vineyard for the last three weeks because each Monday we look at the week's forecast and go... "nope, no way, it just ain't happening!"
Here's the forecast for the next three days:

There's no defense but an umbrella!
I love Henry Wadsworth Longfellow... this guy nailed it when he said, “The best thing one can do when it's raining is to let it rain.”
Amen brother!

Happy Father's Day......

2009-06-21T07:20:00.000-04:00

To all those wonderful men out there, who stepped up to the plate, opened their hearts and gave of themselves to become the silent heroes of their children, and to those who also took on the children of others, may God Bless You and may you have rich rewards; love, respect and honor.

Happy Father's Day!

Engine 175 - Orleans Fire Department

2009-06-15T21:37:00.001-04:00

Along 6A

2009-06-09T16:52:00.019-04:00

Route 6A is considered to be Cape Cod's most historic and scenic highway. The highway is approximately 62 miles long and has many names; Old Kings Highway, Main Street, Sandwich Road, Shore Road, Commercial Street, and Cranberry Highway, depending on what town you're driving through. The present day 6A was once an Indian trade route, traveled on for thousands of years. When the pilgrims arrived, they used it for their carts and wagons, which widened the path. With the emergence of cars in the early 1900's, the trail changed again and is now a tourist attraction! It often follows along the coast and passes through seven Cape towns. I began my photo-journey of Route 6A in the Village of Barnstable, near Phinney's Lane.

TheCoast Guard Heritage Museum used to be a US Custom House and then a Post Office before becoming a museum.

This is the "Oldest Wooden Jail in America".

Across the street from the museum is the Barnstable Unitarian Church.

The church's history dates back to the 1700's but this structure was built in 1907.

The Bacon Farm dates back to the Boston Packet days,(1800-1875). It was owned by Isaac Bacon, a local farmer who sailed his crops of onions up to Boston in his own ship.

There are a lot of streets and lanes off of 6A that lead to the sea... My father used to bring us here to fish when we were kids.

The Post Office in Cummaquid is very small!

I had never been down Mill Lane before, so an adventure awaited! The road takes you by Hallett's Mill Pond.....

before bringing you to another section of Barnstable Harbor,called Mill Creek.

I found an old barn with a thatched roof.....

and Keveney Lane had a one lane bridge!

Here is just one of the many Cape Cod fashioned houses along 6A.

This is a restaurant called the "Gingerbread House", it was built by Captain Frederick Howes who became a famous clipper-ship captain, the master of the clipper-ship "Climax".

"Kitty-corner" across the street from the Gingerbread House, on the south side of the street, is a classic old fashioned Drug Store run by the Hallet-Clark family. They are direct descendants of the original Hallet who settled this area about 350 years ago. It is the only "authentic" ice cream parlor on Cape Cod. Upstairs is a museum containing lots of Hallet memorabilia, some of which belonged to their relative Captain Bangs Hallet.

The Old Yarmouth Inn was built in 1696!

This is the Kelley Chapel, built 1873, the building was intended to provide a place for families of the South Yarmouth fishing community to worship and learn scriptures.

It wasn't open so I peeked in the windows and took these through the thick-paned glass.

This place sits next to the chapel and is currently operational!

The Captain Bangs Hallet House is a must see on the 6A tour.

A ship's anchor, buried in ivy....

A handmade tomato plant cage.....

One of the largest magnolia trees on the Cape....

Beautiful flower gardens....

The back of the house, with the magnolia tree to the right. I believe they grow grapes back here as well.

Last, but not least, is the First Congregational Church,built in 1870.

You can also include my previous posts of Bass Holeand Bone Hillto this stretch of 6A, as well as a hundred more stops that I didn't make along the way. This particular stretch of 6A was merely 10 miles of the 62 miles that makes up The King's Highway on Cape Cod! I'll be doing more photo-journeys as the summer progresses and time allows... Hope you enjoyed this one!

Bass Hole, Yarmouthport

2009-06-09T16:09:00.004-04:00

Bone Hill - Long Pasture

2009-06-05T08:40:00.010-04:00

Bone Hill is one of my favorite fishing spots on the Cape. I went down to check it out at low tide this morning because I hadn't been down there since last fall and I wanted to see where the new holes were.

This little Cape Cod House sits next to a main house, so I'm not sure if it's acutally lived in... but it wouldn't surprise me.

Bone Hill is also the location of a Wildlife Sanctuary and as you can see, a small goat farm!

The fishing holes constantly change because of the storms that blow in from the northeast, strong winds and water currents. It's important to check out the "landscape" at low tide so you can find the spots that the fish like when the tide is high.

I found this strange circular mark as I was walking across one of the sand bars.

I followed it for about 12 feet and found these guys!

Two horseshoe crabs, waiting for the tide to come in!

I also discovered some tiny treasures scattered about....

These two spots look pretty good!

The beach in this section turns very rocky.

This boulder is mostly underwater at high tide.

Time to head back.... sure hate to leave!

A Day at Sea

2009-06-04T07:33:00.005-04:00

My fishing buddy invited me to try my luck at catching some bluefish yesterday morning... so on the early morning tide we jumped into his Carolina skiff, and headed out in search of our next meal.

Our launch was from West Bay Harbor in Osterville.

The water was calm, just a slight wind, and to make it even better... the sun was shining!

There had been a threat of thunderstorms, so we had to keep an eye on the sky. We found the bluefish, lazily swimming on the top of the water.... but couldn't get them to bite on any lure. Popper, Kastmaster, not one bite!

As the T-storms neared, the wind came up, blowing cold out of the north, and the waters turned choppy. We ducked in behind Sampson's Island to get out of the wind. Just as we did, the sun came out again, so we took a slow troll up the channel.
After deciding that there just wasn't going to be fish on the menu, we headed back into the harbor, north wind blowing straight at us. The boat handled great, and in no time we were back on shore, packing it up.

Undaunted, we opted for clamming a bit later in the day, at the tip of Sandy Neck Beach.

The sun did peak in and out of the clouds while we were there, but I didn't take any pictures until after we had dug the clams. By then... well, you see how quickly the weather changes here!

Yesterday, I took these pics of Barnstable Harbor.

It was low tide, and the water was making small ripples near the shoreline.

The summer cottages are beginning to open up and I could hear a roofing crew banging their hammers nearby.

The beach roses are in full bloom this week... very lovely!

Shamelessly Borrowed.....

2009-06-01T11:25:00.001-04:00

From Snigs Spot
A lesson on Socialism:

An economics professor at a local college made a statement that he had never failed a single student before but had once failed an entire class.
That class had insisted that socialism worked and that no one would be poor and no one would be rich, a great equalizer.
The professor then said, “OK, we will have an experiment in this class on socialism. All grades would be averaged and everyone would receive the same grade so no one would fail and no one would receive an A.
After the first test, the grades were averaged and everyone got a B.
The students who studied hard were upset and the students who studied little were happy.
As the second test rolled around, the students who studied little had studied even less and the ones who studied hard decided they wanted a free ride too so they studied little.
The second test average was a D! No one was happy.
When the 3rd test rolled around, the average was an F.
The scores never increased as bickering, blame and name-calling all resulted in hard feelings and no one would study for the benefit of anyone else.
All failed, to their great surprise, and the professor told them that socialism would also ultimately fail because when the reward is great, the effort to succeed is great, but when government takes all the reward away, no one will try or want to succeed.
Could not be any simpler than that.

A new Bird of Paradise..... We hope.

2009-05-26T08:00:00.003-04:00

I have a cockatiel. I've had him since 1998. His name is Bird. Yes, I know, it's not too original but his name fits him perfectly. Over the years I have tried to tame him, much to his distress and my frustration. After several years of un-sucess... I stopped trying and since then we've lived in peace and harmony. Except of course when he hears the crows crowing. He hates them, and in some earlier part of his life before life with me, he must have had a scare of some sorts involving crows. Anyhow, Birds life has been very secluded, quiet and I would imagine very lonely. Today, that's all going to change. I was contacted by the Animal Rescue League last Saturday. They've got a three year old female cockatiel who needs adoption. I thought about it, all weekend... did I want the noise in the house? Did I want the added cost, care etc. of another bird?

I've already named her.
Birdette.

I'll be back in a bit... got to go pick her up.