A Bird's Eye View of Cape Cod

Last weekend, my brother-in-law took an aerial tour of the Cape, and while the plane didn't make it over Old Mill Point, I just had to share some of the photographs. In addition to showcasing the natural beauty of the coastline, they also show that coastal erosion is a problem along the entire length of Cape Cod.

(Nauset Light Beach, Eastham)

(Race Point Light, Provincetown)

(MacMillian Pier Beach, Provincetown)

Tours like the one he took are available right out of the Chatham Airport on George Ryder Road. Call ahead for reservations.

A Blast from the Past...

The above photo came to me in an email today from one of our newest residents, John Donovan. He thinks it may be circa 1950s or 1960s, and wrote:

One of my colleagues used to summer with his grandmother, who lived on the Herring River in West Harwich, across from OMP. This photo turned up in a collection of old stuff he wound up with years later. He can’t date the photo – other than to “before I was born” – but is guessing the 1950s or 1960s. The interesting thing to me is the blades were still on the windmill, and there was no vegetation along the river bank down the path to the beach or near where the Doble memorial now stands. So maybe that helps date the photo.

I think the lack of vegetation is partly due to it being winter - it's hard to see on the blog, but the river is very iced over in this photo. But John's right in that there aren't any trees or tall shrubs visible on the Windmill property as there are today.

I do believe, however, the blades coming off the windmill is a much more recent phenomenon. I seem to recall they were still there when we first bought our house. They came down when the windmill was re-shingled around 2001 and never went back up. I could be wrong - please feel free to correct me in the comments section or with an email. (After all, I had just had baby when we bought the house. My brain may not have been functioning on all cylinders ;-)

Thanks for sharing the photo with us, John!

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood....

We're having an absolo-o-o-o-o-tely gorgeous week here in Old Mill Point. 

Hope you're enjoying nice weather where ever you are!

September on Cape Cod

 It was an absolutely gorgeous weekend here on the Cape - calm waters and blue skies... wonderful weather to walk, bike, run, sit on the beach, attend the multitude of craft fairs or festivals dotting the Cape this fall.

Today was supposed to be more of the same with temperatures headed up to the mid70s, but so far it's just cloudy and overcast. Hopefully it clears up for after school soccer matches, but we'll see.

The weather is supposed to get worse midweek before it gets better for the weekend - and the annual Harwich Cranberry Festival, part of the scheduled "Fall for Harwich" events slated for this month. For a complete schedule of events click HERE.

Next weekend also marks the annual "Truro Treasures" weekend, a full slate of events around Truro culminating in the Jazz fest and Grape Stomp at Truro Vineyards on Sunday (September 18) from 2-6.

And then in October we can look forward to a Cape-wide "Fall for the Arts" festival, sponsored by the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod. For a preview of those scheduled events, click HERE.

So much to do!

More Photos from the Sandcastle Contest

One last post to revisit the August Family Beachfire party held on the Seaway Beach! Many thanks to Pat Martino Whitney for these wonderful photos of the event, and of all the sandcastles entered into the contest. Each castle was a winner in its own right, and for its own reasons - from the volcano to the deep, treacherous hole to the mermaid sandsculpture... everyone did a fantastic job!

...readying the volcano....

...the fine art of dribble castles...

Congratulations to all our participants and all our winners! Can't wait until next year!

Happy Labor Day Weekend to all!

Irene's Recent Visit...

Irene visited Cape Cod with very little rain, a lot of wind and a big attitude problem.

OMP survived just fine, and the neighborhood didn't lose power except for minor blips in service so we're very lucky.

The beaches still look good - the seaweed piles did their job of blunting the force of the waves. While there are no seaweed piles left along the dunes, and there are dune grass roots showing, it could have been much worse, as evidenced on other Cape beaches.

The jetty also took a good pounding and stood strong, thanks to the previous work done this spring to add rocks and strengthen it. I think there may be one large rock that shifted, but nothing major.

The garbage barrel down by the Strandway tall stair entrance was swept away by the storm and hasn't turned up. The private beach sign on the Seaway Beach next to Pleasant Road was also swept away but found and dragged back. Neither will be replaced this season, as there's only one weekend left of summer.