Spring is almost here...

I found the first crocuses of the season in a neighbor's yard over the weekend - spring is almost here!

An even surer sign of the season - Living Landscapes is back at work in the neighborhood. When the sound of lawnmowers accompanies my walks to the beach, it feels like summer must be just around the corner!

The erosion of sand from the beaches continues, but I'm still hopeful that the change in seasons will bring a change in ocean currents, and maybe bring some of that sand back onto the shore. We'll have to wait and see!

Think Warm and Sunny thoughts!

At the Strandway West entrance to the beach, down by the river jetty, you can see the toll the ocean has taken on the sand, having eaten away part of the dune and big clumps of the sea grass. Instead of sloping down gradually to the beach, the dune looks as though a giant has taken a bite right into it.

Some of the homeowners have new fencing that went up a few weeks ago on the middles stretch of the Strandway beach, where the sea had torn it away. It looks much neater now, ready for summer.

The View from the Far End of the Beach...

This wasn't even the lowest point of low tide, and yet look at all the rocks and old pieces of wharf sticking out...

In Like A Lion...

I was getting ready to write a post about spring to welcome March, and then this happened.

More snow and winter weather. Honestly, how did the groundhog know?

Last week we had a warming trend - it was up in the mid-50s by Friday - but it was windy, blowing in hard off the water, making the surf pound loudly throughout the day and night. Saturday, the wind changed direction, blowing from our beach out over the ocean and quelling the waves. Then yesterday for the first day of March we had snow, rain, and sleet, all falling and blowing in alternating waves. Cold, wet precipitation all day long.

We managed to get up to the beach for a quick walk late in the afternoon, in a lull between the waves of wetness. The ocean seemed gray and strangely quiet, as if waiting for today's blizzard.

Most schools on the Cape, and I guess in the Boston area as well, are closed today. We're not expecting the 15 inches on the Cape, but the blowing sleet and icy rain have made driving conditions scary, so the kids are home today. I'll try to get up to the beach tomorrow to check it out and take pictures. Sometimes immediately after a big storm is when the beach seems most beautiful.

Enjoy the (hopefully) last of the Winter Weather!