Before weather reports bombarded us with storm tracking, our predecessors would observe their flocks or herds for changes in their behavior, noticing telltale signs that storms were on the way. […]
BACKYARD FARM
How to Keep Your Goats From Going South in the Winter
No need for winter coats, as goats grow their own
We were still new to goat herding when the first icy storm of 2019 blew in. I felt sure our Nigerian Dwarf herd could not survive it outdoors and insisted […]
BACKYARD FARM
Sergeant Major Spruce, the Christmas Goose
What’s good for the gander is good for the whole farm
If our backyard farm were in my home country of Austria, we’d be trussing up a plump goose for our Christmas feast right about now. But here we are in […]
HUMANITY
The Wondrous Words of Hilde Oleson
At 98, she is still inspiring others to write
“I’m almost a hundred years old,” says poet Hilde Oleson from her room at Seashore Point in Provincetown. “I’m not going to make myself a famous author, and that doesn’t […]
MEET THE MAKER
Barbie and Ken Get Dolled Up for Christmas
Toys, tinsel, and fake fir
Celeste Hanlon sits in her Eastham studio surrounded by vintage Christmas ornaments and boxes of Barbies from the 1960s, ’70s, and ’80s — most missing those fabulous fashions Barbie collected […]
ART AS CELEBRATION
The Quirky and Quotable Ellen Anthony
The artist has spent the ‘second half’ of her life listening to dreams
“I’m interested in weird,” says Truro artist Ellen Anthony. “So much of our culture is about ‘getting it right’ and ‘doing it well,’ and I’m just not into that. Take […]
MEET THE MAKER
Beanies That Blanket Babies, Near and Far
Carolyn Souza keeps on knitting because it tickles her pink
Carolyn Souza first learned to knit when she was in the Girl Scouts in Truro, where she grew up. “We all knitted little squares,” she says. Then all the girls’ […]
BACKYARD FARM
So, You Want to Wean a Goat
Lessons in how best to send your kids into the world
When we bred our doe, Buttercup, for the first time, we were novice goat keepers. We rented a buck, Stinky Dan, whose musky aroma was nothing out of the ordinary […]
ARTISTS
Donna Pomponio Paints the Human Experience
The artist of ‘Free to Be’ finds the person underneath the portrait
“I’m not a portrait painter,” says Donna Pomponio. “What I am trying to do is get under the forehead and into the psychology of the person — to peel back, […]
MEET THE MAKER
Paul Townsend’s After-School Sewing Success Story
Making key fobs takes an eye for detail and skill at the machine
WELLFLEET — Sewing spans the generations in Paul Townsend’s family. His grandmother, Theresa Townsend, remembers how, as a toddler, he would sit on her lap while she sewed quilts, fascinated […]
BACKYARD FARM
A New Chick in the Flock
After a gradual introduction, a new bird finds her place in the pecking order
If you’re serious about raising chickens, the day will probably come when you want to add more birds to your flock. Most fledgling backyard farmers start out cautiously, with small […]
ARTISTS
Karen Cappotto Brings Back Some Souvenirs
‘Why do people save tokens?’ the Provincetown painter and collagist asks
“My artwork is about telling stories,” says the artist Karen Cappotto. “I always thought that I would become a writer, but I discovered that telling my story visually works better […]
MEET THE MAKER
Lisa Ventre Is Provincetown’s Accidental Hatmaker
Evolving designs in a place for playing with mistakes
“I call myself the accidental hatmaker,” says Lisa Ventre. Ventre is renowned in Provincetown — and beyond — for her original hat designs. But she never meant that to happen. […]
GALLERIES
Room 68 Sets Up Shop in Wellfleet
Works by Katrine Hildebrandt and Tim McCool are on view
Brent Refsland and Eric Portnoy, who own Room 68 in Provincetown, and now in Wellfleet, too, are, in some ways, spur-of-the-moment people. Their Provincetown gallery started as a pop up. […]
BACKYARD FARM
How to Milk a Goat, Maybe
Even with massage and sweet nothings, Buttercup won’t be milked
I think goat kids are among the cutest creatures on Earth. But most backyard farmers are more interested in goat mamas — does. That’s what happens when you’re keeping goats […]
