Watching a shorebird is like watching a comet: you have to trick your eye into detecting it. To find a comet, you look sideways at the sky until your peripheral […]
Commentary
island notebook
That Was Our Tonic
A grandfather’s resourcefulness and its rewards
Elmas Gustauvos Bowlin — or Dadda Bowlin — was a man respected by the entire community for his resourcefulness and way of life, and he was my own hero and […]
the observer
Sophie’s Choice at a Special Town Meeting
A fight that does not have to happen now
I think we all can agree that Sophie’s Choice was a great movie, but no one wants to be Sophie. At Provincetown’s upcoming special town meeting, however, the year-round community […]
MOVEMENT
Overcoming the Smartphone Slump
Good posture can improve digestion, breathing, and even mood
It’s too bad so many of us are taught about good posture as merely a matter of virtue or aesthetics. Good posture is actually a matter of good health, starting […]
TURNING THE TABLES
Don’t Be That Guy
A definitive guide for servers and bartenders
PROVINCETOWN — I was having lunch recently with a friend who loves food and restaurants as much as I do. We always have a blast together, laughing pretty much nonstop, […]
kitchen table
Boletes Ask for Butter
Layer them over pan-grilled bread for a well-foraged meal
It’s been a good fall for mushrooms, with plenty of rain followed by some warm, sunny days. I’ve been out in the woods looking for boletes — being careful not […]
steamers
Stalk & Shop
This month’s drawing by A. Crock does a doubletake on Marty.
queer I
At 45, Provincetown’s Fantasia Fair Is as Vital as Ever
Fantasia Fair, which unfolds from Sunday, Oct. 20, to Sunday, Oct. 27, represents the best of Provincetown. This isolated village at the end of Cape Cod is a haven for […]
METAPHYSICS
Persephone on the Sagamore Bridge
The sadness of leaving one set of pleasures for another
Driving west over the Sagamore Bridge in early October, heading back to Chicago, I sighed as I realized I was once again doing my biannual Persephone act. Ah, but which […]
the year-rounder
Fishing Is Our Essence
Has Provincetown learned Mary Heaton Vorse’s lesson?
PROVINCETOWN — My late father-in-law was a wonderful man, with a simple palate, a real meat-and-potatoes kind of guy. Whenever any of his three daughters (each an accomplished and inventive […]
island notebook
Cock Soup From Scratch
Memories of my Jamaican grandparents come back to life
WELLFLEET — I grew up in the agricultural community of Black River, Jamaica, where my grandfather, Elmas Gustauvas Bowlin, was a prominent butcher at the local farmers’ market. The pride […]
THE YEAR-ROUNDER
Provincetown’s Fake Economy
Income inequality is all around us
PROVINCETOWN — I live in an unusual Provincetown neighborhood. There are 11 nearby dwellings, and eight of them are occupied year-round. (That’s 73 percent.) Two of my year-round neighbors own […]
VIEW FROM THE HIVE
In September, Honey Bees Turn Conservative
To survive the cold, colonies produce a crop of “winter bees”
Honey bees, like all social insects, are inherently aware of the late summer’s waning day length, low sun angle, and chilly nighttime temperatures. With the end of the sweet pepperbush […]
MOVEMENT
Balancing Act
Try this at home: Simple exercises for a steadier future
We all strive to find balance in life. In a physical sense, it’s central to everything that we do from walking to surfing and from gardening to high-intensity sports. The […]
million-year picnic
Celestial Navigation
Finding Jupiter and Saturn at the end of your arm
The planets Jupiter and Saturn returned to the evening sky last month and will be with us through autumn. Jupiter looks like a brilliant white-gold star, and Saturn is a […]
