Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, March 5 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
Visual Stories
ASTRAL PROJECTIONS
Seekers of Truth Don’t Have It Easy
Still, it’s better to keep our heads out of the sand
With heavy, looming events at play in the world and among the stars, the Sun is shining on seekers of truth. We don’t have it easy. The Sun this week […]
SURFING
Flying on the Edge of Sunset
After fearing it, a surfer rides the calm of the fading light
For most of my life, I’ve had a recurring nightmare. It’s dusk, the light is fast fading from the day, and I’m headed to the ocean to surf. I arrive […]
FERMENT
The Rise of Sourdough Culture on Cape Cod
Local bakers love their starters and have the loaves to prove it
Making sourdough bread requires a commitment of time. If you can get hold of a friend’s mature starter and get your loaf underway now, you’ll be taking it out of […]
MORNING FLIGHT
It’s Leap Day for Chickadees but Not for Gulls
Why do some birds hop while other birds walk? The answer is in their arboreality.
There are a lot of ways to categorize birds. Waterbirds versus land birds, flying birds versus flightless ones, and whether birds are nocturnal or diurnal are all important distinctions. Another […]
MILLION-YEAR PICNIC
What Leap Day Does for Us
The dance that keeps us in sync with the orbits of the Earth and Sun
Everybody knows that one day — the time it takes Earth to rotate once around its axis — is 24 hours. And one year — the time it takes Earth […]
PAPER BIRCH
All About That Bark
A stand of paper birch trees in Vermont in winter is an idyllic scene. Everywhere you look, you find ribbons of bark that practically beg to be used as canvases […]
LEAPS OF FAITH
‘The Margin for Error Is Nonexistent’
The long jump takes skill and timing, say Nauset High’s champions
EASTHAM — They fly through the air, legs and arms circling to propel their bodies forward, and in an instant they thud into the sand. “The long jump is one […]
SEAFARING FREEDOM
In Whaling, Blacks Had Power, at Least When at Sea
Stevenson and Shorey, who sailed out of Provincetown, became whaling captains
PROVINCETOWN — Whaling was a difficult and dangerous way to make a living and generally not a very profitable one for members of the crews, who had to face typhoons […]
RARA AVIS
This Week’s Bird Sightings
Confirmed bird sightings on the Outer Cape in the week preceding the Independent’s deadline on Tuesday, Feb. 27 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
ASTRAL PROJECTIONS
You’re Going to Need That Extra Day
Confront your limitations and leap beyond them
We have an extra day on hand this trip around the Sun, and we just may need it to get through the bumpy transition out of a particularly harsh conjunction […]
SNOW DAY
A February Tour in Provincetown
Finding the bright spots after a storm
Photos by Elias Duncan
SEAFARING FREEDOM
In Whaling, Blacks Had Power, at Least When at Sea
Stevenson and Shorey, who sailed out of Provincetown, became whaling captains
PROVINCETOWN — Whaling was a difficult and dangerous way to make a living and generally not a very profitable one for members of the crews, who had to face typhoons […]
MEET THE MAKER
Timelessness, Sculpted Slowly
In Sophia Dress’s woodshop, form and function occupy the same territory
On a tabletop in Sophia Dress’s Truro studio are about a half dozen wooden objects carved from walnut wood. It’s not obvious how to categorize them. About the size of […]
‘THIRSTY THROUGH THE YEARS’
A Collection of Costumes Hits the Runway for a Cause
Thirsty Burlington auctions (some of) the contents of her closet
Two-foot-tall wigs and chandelier headpieces barely cleared the doorway of the Gifford House in Provincetown on Feb. 10, where the lobby served as backstage for “Thirsty Through the Years.” It […]
