“I’m exhausted. I’ve done absolutely nothing.” This is what I hear from friends, students, and family. I say it, too. We’re exhausted, but worried we’ve somehow missed the mark. Why […]
Visual Stories
VIGNETTE
Hairdresser
Hairdresser by Daniel Dejean
MISSING LINKS
Local Golfers Impatiently Wait to Tee Off
Will courses open after May 18?
Golf has always been a game of patience. During the coronavirus crisis, it still is, but in a different sense: local golf courses have been closed since Gov. Charlie Baker’s […]
SOIL BUILDERS
Salt Hay, Biochar, and Other Secrets
Healthy soil is less about fertilizer, more about microbes
Outer Cape gardeners can get restless counting the days until they can safely set out their tomato seedlings. But seasoned local growers have some advice on what to do right […]
DOVETAIL JOINT
A Fresh Look at Your Project List
Small jobs that make a big difference
The Question: Now that we’re inside these four walls all day, I’m noticing so many things we ought to fix up. Our list is long and we can’t decide where […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
Can Commercial Boats Survive Social Distancing?
Charters, ferries, and whale watch boats will need to reduce capacity
Another week has gone by, and we are still living in a world where social distancing is very much a part of our day-to-day lives. At this point, it’s time […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Comet
Dirty snowballs travel alone in their long orbits
I no longer know what day of the week it is. I have friends and family across the street, or right upstairs, that I haven’t seen in weeks. My wife […]
PLANTCRAFT
Grow Your Own Elixir
A medicinal garden gives you everything you need for fire cider
EASTHAM — My garden is popping with bright green life as perennials wake: lemon balm, mint, oregano, chamomile, echinacea. The sight is soothing, and it brings to mind the ways […]
KITCHEN TABLE
Homemade Cream of Tomato Soup
With a grilled cheese sandwich, it’s the comfiest
If soup is comfort food, cream of tomato must be the comfiest. Grilled cheese with tomato soup has been the number one requested meal at our house for the last […]
GRAVEYARD SHIFT
The Mysterious Cape Cod Epidemic of 1816
Eastham, the epicenter, lost 10 percent of its people
If town records offer little detail about the “fearful and fatal sickness” on Cape Cod during the late winter and early spring of 1816, the cemeteries are a melancholy testament […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, April 28, included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
DISPATCHES
Postcards From the Pandemic
Personal reports from around the world
Several weeks after U.S. states have gone into lockdown, the Independent continues to follow friends and family across the globe as they cope with the challenges of living through the […]
SIGNS OF LOVE
Teachers Show Support
Preschool teacher Nancy O’Connell joined a crowd of Eastham Elementary School teachers, students, and parents, who gathered at drive-by distance to wave and cheer one another at First Encounter Beach […]
MOVING MILESTONES
Cape Cod Tech Class of 2020
Teachers from Cape Cod Regional Technical High School honored all nine seniors from the Outer Cape with a surprise house-to-house parade on April 28. (Photo Nancy Bloom)
NAVIGATING BY THE STARS
Planets Move, Tempers Flare
For each sign, ways to cool it
As we languish in lockdown, tempers and temperatures rise alike. Meanwhile, certain planetary motions stoke our emotional fires. Will internal friction lead to combustion? As our frustration builds, it is […]
