Baptisia tinctoria is a plant so nice they named it twice. Both the genus name and specific epithet refer to the native perennial’s use as an agent in dyes — […]
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, July 15 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
WEATHER
The Humidity Heads Out to Sea
After cooling down late last week and remaining on the cooler side of things through the weekend, temperatures have climbed back to well above average this week. And those warm […]
FOUND AT THE FARMERS MARKET
Shake Your Hips
July 12, 2025 Provincetown Many farmers have a bounty of colorful vegetables right now. Other farmers’ offerings are quieter in appearance but no less seasonal. Sarah Naciri of Wild Blossoms […]
DATE AND TIME
Sea Serpents Seen Whithersoever
From the July 9, 1833 issue of the Newburyport Herald, selected and edited by Kaimi Rose Lum The sch. Charles, of Provincetown, Jacob Cook, master; James M. Needham, mate, arrived […]
ASTRAL PROJECTIONS
Leo Gets Down to Business
At least for now, it’s obligation over celebration
We’ve got a few more days to indulge in the cool refreshing tides of emotional connection and deep intuition before the Sun shifts into the sign of the Lion. It’s […]
BIRDWATCHING
A Secret Planter of Oaks
Giving blue jays the credit they deserve for reforesting the Outer Cape’s woodlands
It doesn’t seem possible that these hills around us were planted. We know they were clear cut; Europeans and their ships had not seen trees this size in centuries. It […]
THE WHOLE KITCHEN
Crêpes for Bastille Day — or Any Day
An artist imagines a meal in Monet’s kitchen
I have never been to France, never eaten a true French crêpe or croissant, never walked over the “Japanese Bridge” painted in multiplicity by a man with a long beard […]
GARDEN TOUR
Roses to Redbuds, and a Few Hydrangeas, Too
Five Eastham gardeners show off their artful outdoor spaces
Artist and gardener Alex Tureaud never wants to mow the lawn again. “Having a lawn is a very demanding chore to have to do at a beach house,” he says. […]
GRAVEYARD SHIFT
Forts Useless and Ridiculous
Life was tedious at the Civil War fortifications on Long Point
On March 5, 1864, Massachusetts ceded jurisdiction of Provincetown’s Long Point to the United States for a military reservation. People in town didn’t like the idea much, although they did […]
THE COCKTAIL
Raising a Glass to Revolution and Resistance
A blackberry-thyme version of the French 75 to stave off relocation
It’s weird how many drinks we consider classics were first mixed in France — a country that doesn’t really do cocktails. Admittedly, many of them were concocted largely for American […]
FOOD
The Edible Abundance of the Forest
In Feed Us With Trees, Elspeth Hay tells the story of food before farming
To Elspeth Hay, it has always seemed clear that, when it comes to food, we take more from this planet than we give. In her new book, Feed Us With […]
GOOD FENCES
A Dead Hedge Brings Life to an Orleans Garden
Hard work turns yard debris into an intriguing organic border
We never put much effort into the woods at the back of our property. Hurricane Bob took out most of the locust trees, then sycamore maples, honeysuckle, and runaway privet […]
THE SCUTTLEBUTT
A Perfect Fourth, Except for the Boaters
Striped bass are in an old spot that’s new again; blues are nowhere to be found
The waterfront was alive with activity this past week, culminating in a spectacular fireworks show on one of those 10-out-of-10 Chamber of Commerce perfect summer days. Given how much awful […]
CAPE COD BASEBALL
Firebirds Impressive in 5-2 Win Over Bourne
College teammates Murdock and Potestio lead the way
ORLEANS — The beaches of San Diego are about as far away as you can get from Cape Cod and still be in the continental U.S., but two Orleans Firebirds […]
