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.
A salt farm refers to a farm adjacent to salt water. This old place's meadow overlooks Nauset Marsh, a large salt marsh which is full of life and also fun to kayak in. There is a famous book,The House on Nauset Marsh,written by Dr. Richardson.
Love that sign. The poison ivy is the credible deterrent.
I react to Poison Ivy, but manageably. Mrs. BD reacts with hives if she gets near it. (Poison Oak is a southeastern US thing and I don't think I have seen it.)
Cape Cod is full of Poison Ivy the second you get off a trail. We found a solution for her. After a hike, wash her legs with Dawn or some other dish detergent. Then use this magic stuff.
14:8 Philip said to him, "Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied."
14:9 Jesus said to him, "Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
14:10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.
14:11 Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves.
14:12 Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.
14:13 I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14:14 If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it.
14:15 "If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever.
14:17 This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you.
14:25 "I have said these things to you while I am still with you.
14:26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.
14:27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid.
Spent a glorious week on the Cape for our 100th Anniversary. Hiking and biking -rain, Atlantic fog, some sunshine), using Merlin for a lot of our birding, and living on clams, oysters, mussels, and some Cod. No internet. Read 4 books. Lost 5 lbs. I did not need to lose. Love Cape Cod.
This boat in Wellfleet Harbor drags for Sea Clams, not regular Quahogs. Happened to catch the Osprey nest in the same photo. They are everywhere, and that is wonderful.
The old inner harbor, Wellfleet, now silted up but once filled with tall ships, coastal schooners, and fishing vessels. The railroad dike - and the railroad itself -ended all that in the later 1800s. Congo Church steeple in distance.
I usually find turtle eggshells around these marshes. Diamondback Terrapin eggshells dug up by skunks and raccoons. This is the northernmost limit of their range. Rarely seen, wary, but they are around. Wonderful critters of the salt- and brackish marshes. They enjoy the edges of the spartina. Plenty of food for them. Problem is that they lay their eggs on the beaches. Despite predators of their eggs (fox, skunks) and of their babies (egrets), their species seems to survive.
Cape Cod may have had a little bit of topsoil long ago, but now the Outer Cape (aka the Lower Cape - north of Chatham) is pretty much all sand (which is why the Indians needed to throw a herring into each hill of corn), and the dominant tree is the Pitch Pine. Where it's subject to wind, it doesn't get much higher than a 6' scrub form.
Here's the path to our not-too-secret wild Blackberry patch, where it's not unusual to see a cheerful Eastern Box Turtle, to hear Bob Whites calling during the day, and Whip-Poor-Wills calling in the evening. Shrubs on front left, Beach Plum. Tree on right, Black Oak. Trees in background, Pitch Pine.
The basic outer Cape upland habitat is now Pitch Pine with an understory of Scrub Oak, with scatterings of Black Oak and feral Black Locust, with grasses below. In sunny spots, Bayberry, Blackberry, Poison Ivy, and Beach Plum. An occasional patch of wild blueberry filled with greedy Robins and Catbirds. This is officially known as Pitch Pine/Scrub Oak Barrens, but, for me, it's heaven. I hope that heaven, if I get there (doubtful) smells like hot sand, Pitch Pine, and Bayberry. The ground cover in the photo below is the dwarf shrub Common Bearberry with its small red berries in August. This was a foggy early morning:
For a number of good, non-serious reasons, I need a week-long sabbatical from morning links about all the the crazy stuff. Nobody seems to want to take over the duty.
Villages in Yankeeland - and surely everywhere in America - know how to have a parade on Memorial Day. All you need are some Boy Scouts and Brownies, some firemen and an antique fire truck, the Volunteer Fire Department Marching Band, and anybody else who feels like joining in.
Including people with their dogs, adorned with flags.
(And yes, in Yankeeland, we are big on Volunteer Fire Departments, and volunteer everything including volunteer Town Meetings as a form of local government.)
What a great country. How fortunate, optimistic, well-intentioned, and patriotic we are!
How Street Dogs Spend their Days. 
From last week on Cape Cod. Merlin made it much more fun. Mrs. BD is now hooked on it.
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