The native shrub Lyonia ligustrina is a close relative of blueberries and huckleberries in the Ericaceae family that makes a name for itself by producing hard capsules around its seeds […]
Visual Stories
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 11 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
ASTRAL PROJECTIONS
When the Outer Planets Align
Brace for big shifts and brash behaviors
The planets are affecting how we end old cycles and start new ones. This is the last week of Pisces season, and Pisces, being the last sign of the horoscope, […]
HOEDOWN
The Boot Scootin’ Boogie and Other Line Dances
Francis Grant wants you to allow yourself to have a good time
Music drifts out of the Wilde Playhouse room at the Gifford House in Provincetown, but it’s somehow not what you’re expecting. It’s the twang of the “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” by […]
THE ESSENTIALS
Lucky Soup
Finding — and sharing — good fortune by cooking with what’s in the pantry
What can you do with four carrots, three sausages, two potatoes, a cup of leftover marinara sauce, some chicken broth, and a takeout box of steamed rice? I checked the […]
CULTIVATION
The Bold and Patient Art of Bonsai
David Gavelek teaches a class that’s part horticulture, part art, and part engineering
Six bonsai trees in clay pots stand in a lineup under the fluorescent lights of the cafeteria at the Truro Central School, awaiting critique. The bonsai, all larches and junipers, […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
When More Stripers Overwinter in Northern Waters, Poaching Follows
Massachusetts does not have a winter moratorium, at least not yet
As we wait for the weather to warm and trigger the striped bass spring migration, there are some interesting — albeit troubling — issues to follow regarding the effects of […]
GIRLS HOCKEY
Playoff Run Ends With Second-Round Loss to Woburn
Warriors lose 5-3 after defeating Norwood in first round
WOBURN — Time ran out on the Nauset-Monomoy girls hockey season Saturday afternoon at O’Brien Rink but not before another gutsy, entertaining effort by the Warriors. The girls lost to […]
BOYS HOCKEY
Nauset Blanks Danvers and Advances to Elite 8
The Warriors’ next obstacle in title run is their old rival, Marblehead
ORLEANS — The Nauset Warriors made it look easy on Saturday, cruising to their second playoff hockey win, 9-0, over the Danvers Falcons and advancing to the Mass. Div. 3 […]
WILD THINGS
Fully Vaccinium-ated
Wampanoag people across southeastern Massachusetts have appreciated the astringent qualities of the native Vaccinium macrocarpon for thousands of years. Europeans were not entirely unfamiliar with this plant either when they […]
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 4 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
ASTRAL PROJECTIONS
Better Living Through Chemistry
Some reactions are beautiful or useful, others are explosive
This week is all about relationality and connectedness, a view of the world in which existence means being in relationship with others. Astrology always takes this view, I think. Or […]
MORNING FLIGHT
The Ravens Say It’s Spring
These intelligent birds start laying their eggs in late February
I was driving past Old North Cemetery in Truro a couple of weeks ago when I saw a bird flying upside down. It soon flipped back over, completing an awkward […]
NEW ORLEANS DISPATCH
A Cure for the Day After Mardi Gras (Also Recommended for Winter in Truro)
Ya-ka-mein proves that the intersection of cultures is what makes America great
It’s a bright and cool late morning in New Orleans and we’re lingering over the last of our coffee (me) and tea (Christopher) on the little front porch of our […]
CIRCLE GAME
In Capoeira, the Rhythms of Resistance
Andre Lima teaches children to practice strength, self-expression, and belonging
Capoeira begins in a circle. And it always comes back to a circle. But at nine o’clock on a cold Saturday morning, six children (along with a couple of their […]
