We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
Here is the lighthouse-keeper's house today (the Coast Guard moved the light itself to California):
This little brick structure in the back contained the kerosene, delivered by boat as needed, to keep Mayo Light burning to mark Wellfleet Harbor:
Just past Mayo Beach, through the 1920s, was the grand Chequessett Inn, built on pilings (the stumps of which still poke through the mud) and finally destroyed by an attack of sea ice in the 1930s. Rumor is that rum-runner boats would stop by at night, contributing to the Inn's popularity during Prohibition.
It was built by Mr. Lorenzo Dow Baker, the pioneer of the banana trade from the Caribbean and Central America. On a whim, he loaded his schooner's empty hold with tropical fruit for the return trip to Boston, and made millions. Mainly bananas, hitherto unknown in Boston. Ended up owning plantations all over Central America, and a big hotel in Jamaica. His employees were Jamaicans: They worked Wellfleet in the summer and the Jamaica hotel in the winter.
Baker's business became the Boston Fruit Company, the foundation of the United Fruit Company. A clever Yankee.
This is the time of year (mid-May to mid-June) when our Horseshoe Crabs come into the shallows to mate, sometimes ending up dead on the beach in the process. The WaPo did a piece on the spectacle a few years ago.
These critters, or ones similar, have been around for 1/2 billion years. The female digs holes in the sand and deposits around 20,000 eggs in each one, which the male then fertilizes. Those eggs are an important shorebird food.
Despite their size and intimidating appearance, horseshoe crabs are not dangerous.
A horseshoe crab's tail, while menacing, is not a weapon. Instead, the tail is used to plow the crab through the sand and muck, to act as a rudder, and to right the crab when it accidentally tips over.
The horseshoe crab's central mouth is surrounded by its legs and while harmless, it is advisable to handle a horseshoe crab with care since you could pinch your fingers between the two parts of its shell while holding it.
Horseshoe crabs have 2 compound eyes on the top of their shells with a range of about 3 feet. The eyes are used for locating mates.
Horseshoe crabs can swim upside down in the open ocean using their dozen legs (most with claws) and a flap hiding nearly 200 flattened gills to propel themselves.
Horseshoe crabs feed mostly at night and burrow for worms and mollusks. They will, however, feed at any time.
Horseshoe crabs grow by molting and emerge 25 percent larger with each molt. After 16 molts (usually between 9 and 12 years) they will be fully grown adults.
Horseshoe crab eggs are important food for migratory shore birds that pass over the Delaware Bay during the spring mating season. Fish also eat the juveniles or recent molts.
In the 1900s, horseshoe crabs were dried for use as fertilizer and poultry food supplements before the advent of artificial fertilizers.
The medical profession uses an extract from the horseshoe crab's blue, copper-based blood called lysate to test the purity of medicines. Certain properties of the shell have also been used to speed blood clotting and to make absorbable sutures.
A reader sent us this photo from two weeks ago. The male is the smaller one, clinging to the the barnacle-encrusted female:
TGIF: The Week Unburdened by the Week That Has Been - Biden’s out. Kamala leans into the meme. Cheatle quits. The sharks are on cocaine. CrowdStrike has a CrowdStroke. The Olympics are here! J.D. Vance’s couch. And much, much more…
I've worn out my almost-daily gym sneakers. I use them for weights, cardio, everything, but the bottoms have gotten slippery and the insides are disintegrating. No surprise but I hate to give up on shoes I like.
I do have a pair of "running" shoes but I don't really run much these days. Stair machine is fine cardio if you go fast enough.
First World problems, right? I like Sperry Topsider sneakers on the boat. Good grip on a wet boat.
Only New Balance for me, cuz they make narrow sizes.
What exactly is cross-training? It's not what I do, because I do not have a primary sport any more due to injuries.
What do our gym rat readers like for mixed workouts?
Harris’s own qualifications pale in comparison to the case against Trump. That case is simple and easy to make. Donald Trump is a fascist. He is a felon. He will be the oldest president in American history. All the Democrats need is someone who can repeat these facts again and again. Joe Biden sadly wasn’t that person. Kamala Harris is.
It's its own thing. I often wish I had done it. OK, the USMC is a different beast with a different purpose.
But "remedial swimmers"? And only a few weeks?
I was once boarded by armed Coasties. Did nothing wrong - just a random check. Slightly intimidating but I did worry that my flares might have been outdated.
Can Blue States
This is the time of year (mid-May to mid-June) when our Horseshoe Crabs come into the shallows to mate, sometimes ending up dead on the beach in the process. The WaPo 
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