Sunny Monday

At the feet of the arbor vitae (I think that's what it is...I'll look more closely in the morning) by the back yard gate is a nice spread of creeping myrtle, or vinca. Over the past week, blue flowers have been quietly unfurling from its carpet of shiny green leaves. Here they are in the early morning sunshine.

I found this tiny spider in the box of dryer sheets and shook him out into the garden this morning. I'll probably need a clearer shot for identification, but I'll see what I can find out and get back to you.

Here are some of the chewed tulips. It looks like they've not begun to show their flower stem, so perhaps that's not been short-circuited. I have some fresh ideas about how I might go about discouraging this. I'll keep you posted.

Meanwhile, you can see the daylilies towering over the nibbled tulips, with some sword-shaped siberian iris leaves shooting up near the feet of a rose bush. I'm not entirely sure from this vantage what that unfocused stuff is, sweet William, maybe.

Don't be too sad about the tulips, though. Many more things are being spared by the mystery muncher(s). The hyacinths are coming into bloom finally and adding a nice splash of color here and there in the border. Some of the crocuses are still doing their thing, too...and I spotted the first signs of some grape hyacinth flowers poking up.

I met up with Mom and Dad for dinner again tonight and we enjoyed some great Chinese take-out, before enjoying a walk down to the beach and back. We were a little late for full-on sunset...but the angle from that particular beach isn't quite right for it, either. Still, it was nice. Very peaceful.

Too peaceful, in fact, to only tell you about it.

I dedicate this to anyone who's Monday maybe treated them poorly, or anyone who's looking to find a moment or two of serenity as they make their way through the week.

Take a deep breath, make sure your volume's on...and enjoy!

Stormy Seas

While I was on my run to the store, I decided to detour to the shore and do a little bit of exploring. I found myself at the far end of Riverside Drive, where Herring River meets Nantucket Sound, in West Harwich.

This common eider was stoicly letting the wind and the rain buffet him around the river's edge. He really looked as though he might enjoy a quiet inland pond better on a day like today.

By the Sea

I was scoping out another part of Harwich for a rental Mom and Dad are considering for their upcoming Cape Escape, and had the chance to stop by the beach at the end of the road.

It's just a little neighborhood beach, room for just a few cars to park. Most beach-goers probably stay in the houses nearby...coming down to the shore in the morning and watching the summer sun cross the sky...well, when the tide is right, anyway.

It was a beautiful day to stop and smell the salt air. The beach, though, is rather small, at least at high tide, as this was becoming...even the steps down from the parking lot were occasionally awash.

Still, it was nice to be the sun and a well-timed couple of steps got me off the stairs and onto the beach and...well, why don't I just let the photos tell what little tale there is?