If Dolly Parton were a flower, she might just be a butterfly weed. Just like Dolly, Asclepias tuberosa is small in stature but bursting with life (native bees and bugs […]
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 8 included the following, based on a report prepared by Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet […]
ICE DREAMS
Two Outer Cape Figure Skaters Head to National Excel Festival
After a full season on the ice, they’re still training (and smiling)
ORLEANS — Harper Meads said she was feeling “more excitement than nerves” as she and her friend and fellow skater Sloane Young ripped across the ice at the Charles Moore […]
WEATHER
Long-Term Data Confirm: It’s Getting Muggier
If you watch the news or follow the weather at all, chances are you’ve heard of the Bermuda high. Meteorologically, the Bermuda high is really an extension of the Azores […]
FOUND AT THE FARMERS MARKET
Early Heat Can Be Sweet
July 5, 2025 Orleans Garlic has come early to the market, a result of dry and hot weather. Many farmers have garlic on offer, but Benjamin Chung of Caroline’s Corner […]
DATE AND TIME
Fresh Studies of This Quaint Old Town
By Charles O. Stickney, from the July 12, 1890 issue of the Boston Evening Transcript, selected and edited by Kaimi Rose Lum The daylight of one of the loveliest of […]
VIEWFINDER
Summer Sights
TWICE AS NICE DAYTIME FIREWORKS
I SCREAM
The Annual Outer Cape Ice Cream Report
Independent writers dare to share on dairy
At the Independent, many things change every year: the headlines, the bylines, the deadlines, and, for a few, the hairlines. But some things never change. Independent writers are back in […]
ASTRAL PROJECTIONS
A Universe Full of Potential
Be ready to roll with the punches
While we walk boldly into a new era of ideas, be prepared for the small changes. They sometimes affect us more than the big ones. With Uranus freshly stationed in […]
GRACE GOUVEIA SERVICE AWARD
Bruce Mason Goes Forth Into the World, to Rejoice and to Protest
Spreading peace and love, he says, ‘I receive more than I give’
PROVINCETOWN — There were still 20 minutes left of the documentary, and Bruce Mason wanted to know if he could finish it before giving an interview. It was the day […]
I SCREAM
The Annual Outer Cape Ice Cream Report
Independent writers dare to share on dairy
At the Independent, many things change every year: the headlines, the bylines, the deadlines, and, for a few, the hairlines. But some things never change. Independent writers are back in […]
THE SEASIDE GARDENER
The Bewildering Beauty of Foxgloves
Learn the ways of biennials to grow these lofty stars of the late June garden
Foxgloves have a sense of mystery about them — even their name is a subject of lore. They are, however, very easy to grow in a Cape Cod garden if […]
GOOD HUMOR
Eastham’s Ice Cream Lady
A jolly jingle electrifies the air in the parking lot at Thumpertown Beach in Eastham. Seconds later, Nicki Waite swings into view, driving her vintage ice cream truck: a 1973 […]
FOOD MEMORIES
In Search of a Fourth of July Wattamelon
A DIY adventure recreates the inner goodness of Friendly’s famous dessert roll
I lived out in Oregon for more than a decade before moving home to the Cape in 2022. My husband and I often planned trips here around the Fourth of […]
CONSTITUTIONAL
Healing the World, One Stitch at a Time
Diane Midura knits together her love for gardening, birds, and democracy
Diane Midura is still flying her knitted Ukrainian flag outside Ocean Purls, her Eastham yarn shop. “I started knitting it days after the Russian invasion,” she says. She didn’t think […]
