Apollo's Chariot

So, I haven't had a chance to figure out why the slide show thing didn't work out. I was kind of bummed, as it also blended in a little video of the soothing surf.

Ah, well, anyway...here's the photos I wanted to share with you. Our neighborhood's great, but with so many lovely trees, not much of a sunset viewing spot. And the breeze off Nantucket Sound was so refreshing, I was real happy to have made the trip...and only sorry that you hadn't been there with me!

The kid with the stunt kite was pretty enter taining. Well, he was just cute and skilled with the kite...the flying show was definitely entertaining tho: pretty cool as the kite dipped and whirled and swooped, all the while buzzing and humming as it chewed its way through the air.

Tide was coming in, and yes, I got my feet wet before I remember to take my stupid sneakers off. I was amazed by the amount of seaweed and such collecting at the top of the tide...never a big attractor as far as getting me in the water.

Once the shoes were off, though, the water was quite wonderful...not bathwater, exactly, but still, you gotta love that Gulf Stream--send me a message in a bottle from somewhere, Joe!

No reason to narrate any further, except to say I thought it was a little bland, as sunsets go...nothing like a puffy cloud or two to add a touch of drama...but then again, there's that brilliant orange orb, just hanging up there in the sky!

Back soon with some pretty flowers!

I'm told that this cluster of trees at the fenceline are sassafras trees. This is a species unfamiliar to me, so I look forward to getting better acquainted with them. Here are some interesting facts about sassafras. I'm as surprised as you are.

Below are views first west, then east, taken from the intersection of Lovers Lane and Route 39. There was no one waiting behind me, and I couldn't decide which sky I liked better.

The Great Migration Begins

Returning to Not Wisteria Lane this morning, and having some faith in what I could accomplish in the time allotted, I brought along the first plants I wanted to "install" along the fenceline.

Remember that big clump of curly grass (check the August archives if you dont...)? I divided it during the Great Potting a couple weeks back into four plants, which should make a nice soft spine for the fence garden.

Also making the trip were a small burning bush, two different roses, a pot of tall garden phlox, one of those mystery plants from the marsh with the tiny white flowers (I know it will hold its own in the bit of damp clay I discovered at the far end of the fence), some of the lavendar beebalm and a scotch broom. Oh, and a nice big pot of deep red dianthus.

The broom is one of those pretty rosey-purple cultivars, but has been languishing in some shade. I look forward to watching this plant thrive in the new sunny spot.

When I arrived, I discovered that a special session of the Harwich Crow Council had convened to examine and report on my project (which they did, loudly and at length).

The progress was a little slow at the start, as the temperature was still rather low (I was bundled in four layers) and some of the smaller clumps of sod to be broken up were a little frozen.

One of the nice things about all the trees is at the Eastham place is that we have been spared much in the way of frost yet. Not so in the open front yard in Harwich. It appears I'll be planting just in the nick of time.

I found things thawed pretty quickly as the morning ensued, and eventually I began to make some good progress.

While it's not nice to fool Mother Nature, I also don't appreciate the way she seems to be holding a gun to my head. With that in mind, I decided I could safely abbreviate my plans for the digging this fall, once I'd opened up space on either side of the fence. Two larger "loopy" areas, one at each end, may safely wait 'til Spring, unless inspiration and time to spare present themselves tomorrow (well, later today).

Finishing all the way to the far end of the fence should give me plenty of room for getting everyone in the ground...and if some re-arranging is necessary come Spring, well, that will be fun, too.

These plants are the largest, potentially, and so it made sense to plant them first and deepest along the fence. It was nice to finish with the labor and get to a little of the fun stuff, like deciding how to arrange things.


I'd have loved to stay and do more, but as always lately, there wasn't much time to tarry today, as I kept a steady forward momentum going, on to other tasks, including a pretty late evening at work.



I am looking forward to exploring Harwich once we are settled in. Here's a photo of the Brooks Free Library in town. It strikes me as a very interesting and old building and I particularly look forward to exploring there this winter. In some way, it reminds me of the library I grew up in, which lived in a Revolutionary-era former home of one of the early Dutch settlers in New Jersey. Of course the architecture's not the same at all, but it intrigues me just the same.

I was, honestly, a little horrified to discover that the Town of Harwich has already hung up their Christmas wreaths. They have a quaint nautical feel to them, with the red, green and white lobster buoy, but they appear to be artificial >gasp< greens...and it's just a week too early for my taste.

Returning to Eastham, I made a momentary detour to catch this shot of the swans - and assorted other water fowl - having some fun in the sunshine on Salt Pond, before stopping by the Eastham Turnip Festival (for part of my contribution to the Thanksgiving feast in Long Lake) and then showering and heading for work.

Golden Afternoon

Taking advantage of the day off and some fantastic weather, I delivered a first load of rocks for the garden to Harwich and did a little sight-seeing to celebrate the beautiful day.




I love the way the cranberries in a flooded bog make the shoreline blush.



Since my day's activities weren't particularly "Hallo ween-y", I thought it might be interesting to shoot a couple photos of the churchyard cemetary at the First Congregational Church, which was actually quite lovely. Many of the headstones' etchings seem to have worn away, but I did spot one dated at 1837.





There wasn't too much time for tarrying, though, as I had candy to buy and a house to spookify a little. Actually, since we're at the end of a dark wooded driveway, I wanted it to seem more inviting than anything. (The red luminaries, BTW, are plastic Folgers Coffee cans, with sand and a tea candle. I'm pretty pleased with this re-use discovery. The labels have been removed, of course.)

And we were lit up just in time to greet our first and only trick-or-treaters of the evening!