WELLFLEET — Seawalls and bulkheads built to fend off coastal flooding are becoming a thing of the past here and in communities all along the Massachusetts coast. They are, with […]
Environment
NATURAL SELECTION
She’ll Be Green, Come Spring
What future does Cassandra see for herself in the winter reflection of a Wellfleet kettle pond? Probably one that involves rain or snow. Or ducks. The ericaceous shrub Chamaedaphne calyculata, […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Jan. 7 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
WATER QUALITY
Sewer District Lots Exempted From Upgrades
Board of health considers triggers for fixing Wellfleet septic systems
WELLFLEET — The board of health got mixed reactions when it brought an amended version of its new septic system regulations to the select board on Dec. 10. The resulting […]
DEVELOPMENT
With Septic Plan Approved, Collins Cove Sale May Proceed
Lawyers say they’re close to deal on cottages that buyer will convert to condos
EASTHAM — Despite a bitter disagreement between the sellers and a prospective buyer, the Collins Cove Cottage Colony, a cluster of summer rentals on the shore of Town Cove owned […]
MORNING FLIGHT
When a Bird Ignores Its Zugunruhe
Looking for lingerers and finding the reasons some birds stay here for the winter
Zugunruhe is one of those perfect German words that have no equivalent in English, so we Anglophones just decided to steal it outright. The word translates as “migration-anxiety” and describes […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s early deadline on Monday, Dec. 23 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s […]
NATURAL SELECTION
Never Too Soon for Sunscreen
Last week we marked the winter solstice, the daylight’s yearly nadir; now, each subsequent day will bring with it incrementally more sunshine. Xanthoria parietina is ready. The orange coloring of […]
DRY RUN
Town and Neighbors Join Up to Face Future Floods
DPW tests new barriers as Howland Street residents organize against rising tides
PROVINCETOWN — Serious flooding used to be rare in Provincetown, but since 2018 four major floods have struck. And after a December 2022 flood brought water as deep as five […]
GROWING WILD
Nap Time for a Fancy Fern
The local ferns in the Dryopteris genus all have feather-like fronds, but they can be differentiated by their varying degrees of frilliness. The compound leaves of D. marginalis, the marginal […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Dec. 17 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
RABBIT HOLES
A Rabbit Species That Once Was Lost Is Now Found
The rare New England cottontail persists, and maybe thrives, on the Outer Cape
WELLFLEET — For decades, the New England cottontail, a rare species of rabbit, appeared to be nearly wiped out here. But a new study has found evidence that these rabbits […]
BUCK TAG
At the Deer-Check Station, Science and Tradition Cross Paths
For one week in shotgun season, state biologists examine every deer taken in the state
ORLEANS — In the long, flat twilight of a December afternoon, two pickup trucks rolled up to the rear entrance of the Goose Hummock Shop in Orleans a few minutes […]
RABBIT HOLES
A Rabbit Species That Once Was Lost Is Now Found
The rare New England cottontail persists, and maybe thrives, on the Outer Cape
WELLFLEET — For decades, the New England cottontail, a rare species of rabbit, appeared to be nearly wiped out here. But a new study has found evidence that these rabbits […]
NOT A FOLLY
It’s a Holly, Y’all
The Outer Cape is the last stop on the train for Ilex opaca, the American holly, a southern tree whose range snakes up the mid-Atlantic and New England coasts before […]
