For nearly two weeks, people across Cape Cod have been watching the weather with the danger of wildfires in mind. Since Oct. 26, a National Weather Service red flag warning […]
Archives for 2024
CLIFFHANGERS
An Estate Sale Empties That Big House on the Bluff
Conservation commission wants a plan as risk of Blasch house collapse rises
WELLFLEET — The estate sale of furniture, small appliances, and decorative items at the house that has loomed over the estuary and bay as well as over residents’ minds from […]
WELLFLEET HOUSING
After 11 Years, Construction Begins on 4 Habitat Homes
Three future homeowners are single mothers; two lived in tents before Habitat’s offer
WELLFLEET — Nash Badams learned to ride a bike in the summer of 2012. He was four years old, living with his recently divorced mother in a tent at Maurice’s […]
HOUSING
Eastham Considers Funding a ‘Lease to Locals’ Program
Unspent community housing funds would pay homeowners to switch to year-round rentals
EASTHAM — This town may follow in the footsteps of Provincetown and Nantucket and use short-term rental tax money to encourage owners to switch their properties to year-round rentals. Eastham […]
SEASIDE GARDENER
The Hoarfrost Cometh
Lulled into a false sense of seasonal security, a gardener loses a few favorite plants to the cold
One of the things I love most about living here is being more in tune with nature’s rhythms. Watching tides, Moon phases, storm systems, and bird migrations, I’ve learned to […]
THE ESSENTIALS
The Ottolenghi Challenge
For a home cook, mastering the art of a flavor wizard can be a journey
The pressure was on — an invitation to dinner from a close friend I’ve known since school days. Barbara and I often cook cooperative dinners, but this time I was […]
MEET THE MAKER
Nature in the Round
A Wellfleet musician who finds rhythm in the seasons discovers that wreaths aren’t always evergreen
On fall mornings, Jordan Renzi can be found in the back of her truck making wreaths while she keeps company with the familiar voices on NPR. She works several jobs […]
HALLOWEEN
Tricks and Treats on the Green and the Streets
INTERVALS
In Eastham, Music, Camaraderie, and HIIT Are Hot
Among the seniors, a class that’s right for the high-intensity types
EASTHAM — High Intensity Interval Training, known as HIIT, isn’t the kind of exercise regimen that one would automatically associate with the over-65 crowd, but the program has been hugely […]
UP IN THE AIR
A Neglected History Gets the Spotlight
Professional juggler and author Thom Wall says the circus is ‘known by everyone and studied by no one’
Thom Wall enjoys holding a knife between his teeth and balancing objects like wine glasses and playing cards on the pointed tip. The trick falls under a discipline called “mouthstick.” […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
A Leveling Off of the Steep Right Whale Decline
Births have increased but so have deaths caused by human activities
There is some good news about the population of North Atlantic right whales: after seven years of declining numbers from 2013 to 2020, there has been a small increase in […]
MORNING FLIGHT
Late Fall Brings Rare Flycatchers to the Outer Cape
The cause of ‘vagrancy’ remains hard to discern
It was a warm late October evening — one of those days when summer doesn’t seem ready to leave — when I spotted the rarest bird that I’ve ever seen […]
HOUSING
At the Groundbreaking on Lawrence Road
WELLFLEET — State and local officials wielding shiny shovels officially broke ground at the site of the Residences at Lawrence Hill on Oct. 30. Speaking to a small group of […]
UNDISTURBED
Thoroughly Hyssop-Leaved
A meadow plant that thrives in sandy soil with good drainage, hyssop-leaved thoroughwort (Eupatorium hyssopifolium) will show up at anthropogenic sites with similar conditions. The pictured specimen is a volunteer […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Nov. 5 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
