Nature Entertains

We spent so much time outside this weekend! Felt so good after weeks of being inside in the AC as the very heavy humidity made for unhealthy air. Friday evening we did our favorite walk through the crowded village, hearing the delightful music of the Chatham Town Band entertaining at the Friday evening concert, and then stepped back in time to walk through the peacefulness of the "old village" and walk along the marshes....at sunset. After five days apart, we were just so happy to be holding hands and touching base with all the loveliness which surrounds us here by the sea.
Knowing we would be up early in the morning to visit the farmers market in preparation for the birthday dinner I would cook for my son Jason on Saturday evening, we were just so happy to be together and asleep early. The dinner, a special request by Jason, was a reprise of a Mediterranean style shrimp and pasta dish which I have been making for years. We accompanied it with a lovely salad made with fresh mixed spicy greens, pears, and dried cranberries and light raspberry vinaigrette. The birthday cake was the very same cake made for years by Jason's dear departed grandmother, Lucille....3 holes chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting. A simple eggless cake which harkens back to WWII days of rationing.
It was lovely to have perfect air, light breezes and great company on the deck at Jason's in Sagamore Beach
From left, LM's daughter, Kristi, daughter-in-law, Alison (and baby coming in Dec!!!), Jason, moi, LM...second photo shows Jason's best friend, Mark.


Sting-a-ling enjoys a few brief moments of "outside" time during the party. He had such fun chasing ribbons on the packages.
We fell into sound sleep after the wonderful day and awoke to threatening thunder storms on Sunday. LM's son, John stayed with us on Saturday night so Sunday morning we had a late breakfast together. John was delivered to a friend's and LM and I finally took the time to set up his blog. As we sat in the guest room working on the blog, my sharp eyed and eared love discovered that the cardinal family who live in the privet hedges around my house, have a new nest filled with LOUD babies, and we really loved watching the parent/baby interactions for much of the afternoon. There is such restoration of the soul to be had in watching nature in action....the only noise was the chirping and fluttering.

In preparation for a trip to NJ and NY today, LM had to go early last evening to the Saturn dealer in Hyannis to get the paperwork for the cars to be transferred. We headed in to town together with skies becoming darker and darker and warnings on the radio that violent thunder storms were approaching. We finished the errand just in time to drive over through Hyannisport to Craigville beach. I wish I could have gotten better photos but the storm was swirling wildly around us and we were mesmerized and fascinated as we watched the behavior of the gulls and terns on the beach in front of us. They were all positioned face first into the storm and steadfastly maintained that stance (we got the message!!). As soon as there was a lull, they began to flap their wings to dry off, and then, hilariously, as the storm passed, they began to all walk sideways! A few soared up into the winds of the storm, riding on the thermals. Go figure....neither of us, who spend countless hours along the shore, had ever seen that sideways dance. We couldn't stop laughing.
Also unusual, when the storm first started the water was roiling and at the height of the storm we were fascinated to see the water become flat calm. The heavy seas returned as the sky brightened.
Not a very clear picture here but conditions did not warrant much better. You can at least see that they are all facing into the storm. A little entertainment, courtesy of nature here on Cape Cod.