When the sun is shining, they glow with a bluish hue, standing out from the luminous white marbles, polished granites, and matte-black slates. There are not many of them in […]
Visual Stories
GALLERY
Mailboxes, Straight to Your Heart
Because letters keep us near, while we’re apart
When we moved to Wellfleet, my daughters considered it a major upgrade that we’d be getting a mailbox. We had gone from one remote village to another, but this one […]
KITCHEN TABLE
Sweet But Subversive Maple Walnut Pull-apart Bread
From Rage Baking to refocusing women’s power
Two years ago, after watching the Kavanaugh hearings, Katherine Alford chose one of the first recipes she would contribute to the Rage Baking collective: Maple Walnut Pull-apart Bread. Like other […]
APPRECIATION
To Peter Watts, Who Captured Wellfleet’s Timeless Luminosity
With thanks from one here, still walking in the landscapes he painted
Thank you, Peter Watts. The loss of any artist is a double shock, as it dawns on us what has ended. Not only will we never again catch his eye, […]
NAVIGATING BY THE STARS
Mercury and Virgo Raise the Bar on Practicality
A time to step up wellness, work, and organization
When a planet spends time in the sign it rules, it is said to be in its domicile, one of the five “dignities” that determine the level of influence it […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Aug. 25, included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
ANIMAL CLINIC
A Belly Full of Sand Is No Picnic for Your Dog
Summertime animal eating adventures to be avoided
As a veterinarian on Cape Cod in the summer, I sometimes feel as if I am spying on visitors who are probably here for a short time and trying to […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
A Chill Arrives and Fish Stop Biting
Flounder fishing and whale watching remain good
We got our first hint of fall this past weekend as a tropical storm passing to our east ushered in a much cooler and damp air mass from the north. Relentless […]
BEYOND THE TURNIP
To Market, to Market in Eastham?
Residents plant seeds of support for local food and community
EASTHAM — For several years, the outer reaches of Cape Cod have been home to weekly farmers markets, where a wide variety of locally grown fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy, […]
BEHIND THE WHEEL
A Lot of Neglected Service
Covid means more reasons to get your car checked before you hit the road
“I’m driving my parents’ 2008 Subaru to college in Ohio.” The daughter of some regular customers was pretty excited when she told me about the drive she’ll be making next […]
WORK PODS
Performing in a Pandemic Requires Improvisation
Inseparable performers work a socially distant stage
TRURO — Teddy Ment and Eleanor Getz, the two halves of the acrobatic performing duo Teddy and Eleanor, have spent the past six summers at the helm of Payomet Performing […]
ULTIMATE PUTTS
A Tour of Outer Cape Mini Golf
Ranking the courses for skill and amusement
It’s a sport that requires strategy, patience, mental fortitude, and an ever-gentle touch. It’s one of Cape Cod’s most popular and traditional summer activities, one that can either boost budding […]
Right Whales Are Now ‘Red Listed’
Scientists fear the worst as whales are designated ‘critically endangered’ by IUCN
Population trajectory is very simple, so simple a fourth-grader could calculate the formula, according to Center for Coastal Studies scientist Stormy Mayo. Take the number of animals born and subtract […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Aug. 18, included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
How to Watch the Earth Spin Through This Summer’s Stardust
Averted vision can bring a fading comet into view
A few nights ago, I stood on a deck in Truro that looked east over the National Seashore. In the distance, I could hear the Atlantic surf; from the opposite […]
