I am going to miss the chaos of a good estate sale during this time of distancing. My strategy at such gatherings is to stand in one place, ignoring the […]
Visual Stories
GALLERY
The Comforts of Home
‘I simply remember my favorite things’
Now is the time to find ways to take comfort in being at home. Here we can surround ourselves with what’s most familiar. And look at these things anew: a […]
CAREGIVING
Past Practices of Cookery and Hygiene
Finding comfort in ‘simple remedies’ and suffrage sarcasm
I turned to old cookbooks for comfort last week, wondering what my American foremothers had done in times of crisis and scarcity. Given that our best strategy at slowing the […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, March 24, included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
CREATIVE ISOLATION
Bridging Generations With a Memory Book
Questions, answers, and art tell a family story
Making a memory book is something like writing a memoir, but much more free-form. To make one, you gather stories and images that don’t have to fit together to recreate […]
BODY/MIND
A Time to Voo
A breathing exercise that brings calm
Amid news reports of climbing infection rates, hospital bed shortages, and people ignoring guidelines during this unprecedented time, I can feel myself contracting. Lack of control has never been my […]
GAME OFF
What to Play, Watch, Listen To, and Bet On
Sports fans, scratch that itch
Sports fans across the country are itching to watch, play, place bets, and argue. Just when it seems the world of sports has gone totally dark, along come some good […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
Venus, if You Will
Finding optimism in the night sky
I have never met a pessimistic astronomer.” A New York Times reader recently posted this comment, inspired by another reader’s delighted account of looking through a telescope. I haven’t either. […]
NAVIGATING BY THE STARS
A Time to Revisit Interpersonal Connections
Are you willing to embrace change?
Time to rewrite the social contract for modern times. The Sun in Aries in the 7th House of Relationship places scrutiny upon our interpersonal connections. Meanwhile, a massive conjunction […]
NATURA VIVA
Helleborus
“Helleborus” by Natalie Van Staden
PLANTCRAFT
What’s in a Woodpile?
How to make a holzhausen to warm your home and your spirit
Outer Cape winds can be unruly, knocking trees down in a tantrum. On the days following a storm, the sound of chainsaws rings through the neighborhood. But when the trees […]
VIGNETTE
Ark
“Ark” by Daniel Dejean
KITCHEN TABLE
Red Lentils With Bright Flavors
Reach into the pantry for a comforting supper
We’re hunkered down, working through one big shopping binge and the supplies in our pantry. We’re eating simple meals, but we’re still trying to keep them interesting. This red lentil, […]
GALLERY
Provincetown Bracketology for the Win
On a walk downtown, details to look up to
Basketball fans won’t be filling out brackets this year. Instead, March Madness is taking on a whole new meaning. Meanwhile, Provincetown’s antique facades remind us of the town’s endurance. Intricate […]
View from the Hive
Bees in Boxes
Built to make tending and harvesting easy
Probably the most common image that comes to mind when someone mentions honey bees are those tidy (classically white) wooden hive boxes set out in a field, orchard, or country […]
