Do you remember that scene from Hitchcock’s The Birds when a flock of crows silently swoops into a deserted playground — first one, then a few more, and then many […]

We each tumble into birth somewhere on this planet, and many of us just stay put. In fact, for most of human history the vast majority of people lived and […]

You know what you’re doing, but do you know why you’re doing it? How often do we really think about our actions? How conscious are we of our motivation? We […]

In the heat of July, I found myself dazed and confused, and I remain so still. I have no idea what is going on with this whirling planet of ours […]

On a warm, cloudless morning, I am crouched in the underbrush, the only sounds in the woods the song of a pine warbler, the whine of a mosquito, and the […]

The young humpback whale swam near his mother out on Stellwagen Bank in the Gulf of Maine. He had had many experiences in his young life, but that day three […]

Beauty follows us everywhere. The color of the harbor today is blue, the color of the sky above it, blue, too, but paler. Of course, they are just reflections of […]

The ungainly spider crab out on our tidal flats decorates its carapace with bits of seaweed, the better to camouflage itself and enhance its role as an ambush predator. Several […]

There is a sadness in Provincetown’s East End Dwyer Woods today. It is a beautiful morning, with bright sunshine and enough breeze to make the mosquitos work for their blood […]

Exactly 50 years ago, I met Charlie Schmid, or Dune Charlie, as he was known. He was what might have once been called a hermit, living by himself with his […]

Of all the human shortcomings I can think of, the one that irks me most is complacency. Of course, a healthy sense of self is a positive thing, but being […]

I have lived in Provincetown so long, loved it so much, and traveled so little in recent years that I sometimes forget there are other beautiful places in the world. […]

We all live our lives where the sea meets the land, and it does so every day, twice a day. This meeting is foreordained — it is an encroachment really […]

Most of the philosophers I have ever met have been from Maine. I am not sure why, but they seem to crank them out up there. Perhaps it is their […]

On a cold gray day trying to be blue, large blowsy snowflakes swirl out of a pewter sky. There is no wind. The harbor and the bay beyond are calm […]