Daylight at 5 P.M.

Several years ago, while living in New Jersey, I realized that, by January 10th or so, daylight remained until 5 p.m. In East Sandwich, that was not the case. Until today. We walked out of church at 5 p.m., and The Sainted One remarked almost immediately, "Hey, it's five o'clock." Lo and behold! There was daylight! 

I'll take it!

DBC vs. King Tide

We had another storm roll in over the weekend, which coincided with a king tide yesterday. A king tide is an unusually high tide, which occurs during a full or new moon. We had a new moon on January 21, which was Saturday. 

Now, the detrital beach chair (DBC) was already in a vulnerable position, having been moved from its overturned, embedded, house-facing position in the sand to an upright, seaside-facing position on the sand. How would it hold up to the rain, wind, pounding surf, and king tide? Would my beloved chair be carried out to sea without ceremony, recognition, or even a goodbye? We stood watch, safe and dry, behind our French doored deck, to witness the fate of my most beloved chair.

Of course, before there's a high tide, there's a low tide.

The DBC Presiding Over The Beach At Low Tide

However, the low tide always precedes the high tide. Yesterday was no different.

King Tide Approaches

Soon, it was time for the king tide to greet the DBC.

"Hello," said the King Tide to the DBC

In a flash, the battle was on!

The DBC Digs In

The DBC stood firm in its resolve, refusing to be taken by the sea, despite the onslaught of wave after wave.

Waves Be Damned!

Alas! Despite the good fight, the DBC goes down. 

Ruh Roh

Then it tossed.

Tossed

And then it turned.

Turned

And then it flipped.

Flipped

And then it flopped.

Flopped

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The king tide twisted, turned, flipped, and flopped the DBC until it came to its final resting place on the other side of the detrital stairs, a good distance from its former position on the beach directly in front of our house.

Final Resting Place

As the DBC lie on its side seemingly defeated, the king tide began to recede. After a while, the DBC's hero, Mr. Bale, went down to the beach, rescued the DBC, and returned it to its rightful location in front of our house.

The DBC Dug Back In

King tide, schming tide. The DBC survived!!

Tonight, there will be yet another storm....
 

 

Who Moved My Detrital Beach Chair?

We were at Christina's and Lou's for a few days. There was a heavy snow fall on Friday -- the kind that clung to the trees but did not cover the road. My grandson Tommy and I had to go out for a short while, and, as I drove, I couldn't stop saying, "It's so beautiful!" Here's a shot.

Winter Wonderland

The trees were much more beautiful where Tommy and I were driving, but, when I was behind the wheel, I couldn't exactly take a picture. So, the shot above was taken at a stop light yesterday. Of course, when we returned to Sandwich yesterday, it was clear that not a flake had fallen here. 

Back at our house, Mr. Bale had to pull up the storm shutters. As always, as soon as I could see out the French doors, I checked on my detrital beach chair to make sure it hadn't been swept away while we were gone. Much to my surprise, the chair was no longer firmly and safely embedded in the sand where it had survived many close calls with high tides and angry seas. Rather, it was standing upright, facing the water!

Upright Detrital Beach Chair

Who moved my detrital beach chair and sat in it? I'll have to go out today and plop by butt into the seat so that the chair, once again, becomes firmly embedded in the sand!

The Return of Calm

The storm has finally taken its leave. Just before darkness fell late yesterday afternoon, the heavy winds had subsided enough for Mr. Bale to brave the elements and roll up the storm shutters. This morning, after three days (Saturday, Sunday, and Monday) confined to our little gem by the bay, we awakened to a glorious view: a calm sea and what seemed like extra bright sunshine streaming from our planet's Great Star, which hangs today in a nearly cloudless, bright blue sky. 

After The Storm

The upright blades of sea grass signaled that the air was still and also suggested, in our optimism, that it was warm. I emerged from our cocoon just before 9 a.m. to go to an appointment. According to my cell phone, the temperature was only 29 degrees, but, when I opened the door, the air felt much warmer. I practically skipped from the bottom of our steps along the boardwalk leading to the top of the "Ski Mountain" ramp, which runs from the "summit" of the dune down to the street below. 

The Bottom of the Ramp Looking Up

As I stepped onto the ramp, I was quickly reminded of how still air, without a biting, nipping wind, can fool one into doubting science. Despite my Sperry 1-eye duck boots on my feet, as soon as my right foot hit the top of the ramp, I slipped on black ice that could only exist because, as my phone reported, it was 29 degrees outside. As I grabbed onto the railing of the ramp and saved myself from a nasty fall, I was reminded of the yellow diamond road signs that warn:

We supposedly got nearly an inch-and-a-half of snow here in East Sandwich, but I don't know where it fell. Maybe the snowflakes that were blown past our house landed where the snow is measured? Other parts of the Cape got more than three-and-a-half inches of the white stuff. Snow also accumulated a bit along the coast, including Boston. 

  

This report would not be complete without giving the status of my beloved detrital beach chair. I am pleased to announce that it is still there!

Still There

Life is good. It really is.

MidPoint Snow Storm

Today marks the midpoint of our lease here at the beach house. It seems that the sea, air, and sky are objecting vociferously to the notion that we'll be gone in three-and-a-half months. LOL!

A serious winter storm rolled in earnestly overnight. I'd have to say it's worse than Hurricane Ian, which greeted us on arrival last October. The bay is whipped up with waves that look like the waves at the Jersey Shore. Of course, we've seen this before, but the sight never gets old.

The Bay As It Should Be
So Calm One Can Paddle Board On It

The Bay Today

Waves Up Close

Our View From Inside

We're experiencing sustained winds of about 25 mph. This required TSO a/k/a Mr. Bale to brave the elements and pull down the storm shutters.

Mr. Bale In Action
One Down, Two To Go

The house is shaking, and the water in the toilet bowl sloshes around like it's a teetering fishbowl. We can't be anything but cooped inside in this kind of weather.

Although it has been snowing rather heavily, the poor little flakes have zero agency, as the strong winds just hurl them sideways -- either straight at, or past, our house. I don't know where they are landing, but it's not on the beach or around the grounds of our house. Just above the French doors, which are safely ensconced behind storm shutters, at the top of the cathedral ceiling in the beach house, are six windows that cannot be shuttered. It is there that snowflakes go to die.

D/O/A Snowflakes Smashed Into Cathedral Windows

Surprisingly, the howlers are not out. I'm not sure what's become of them. Perhaps, since we are at the midpoint, they're just calmly waiting us out, knowing that, eventually, we'll be gone. 

The storm is supposed to get worse -- overnight, of course -- before it wraps up sometime tomorrow afternoon. I hope the house is still standing, and we're still here to say good riddance!

Happy Anniversary, Mr. Bale!

Happy New Year! The Christmas holidays are a busy time for our family. Of course, there's Christmas and New Year's day, but there also is TSO's and my wedding anniversary on December 30th, as well as Christina's birthday on January 7th. With all of that now behind me, I can return to writing about life in Sandwich, as well as Massachusetts at large. 

I adore the Cape. With the passage of time, I like it more and more. As for Massachusetts at large, the passage of time has caused me to like it less and less. This has come as quite a shock for me. After all, I always believed there was so much to love about the Commonwealth. I now realize that what I really love about Massachusetts is its role in the formation of our country -- the Mayflower, Thanksgiving, that glorious 18th century hotbed of liberty (or sedition, depending on your point of view, of course) known as Boston, my dear John Adams, the oldest written state constitution still in effect, things of that nature. Twenty-first century day-to-day reality is a different story. This topic is for another post.

In the late 90s, I began watching a British sitcom on a Philadelphia PBS station. The program was called "As Time Goes By," and it starred Dame Judi Dench as Jean Pargetter and Geoffrey Palmer as Lionel Hardcastle, a couple somewhere between middle and early old age, who were reunited after a decades-long separation, which began when Lionel went off to fight in the Korean War. At some point, Jean and Lionel reunited in London and later wound up with a second home in the country that came with a housekeeper named Mrs. Bale, who had a "Plantagenet face" and was obsessed with the shipping and weather forecasts. Anyway, one of Mrs. Bale's quirks was to repeat the shipping and weather forecasts, as well as the times of high and low tides, when she entered the room. 

It seems that, I too, have someone in my life who is obsessed with the tides -- my spouse. Just like Mrs. Bale, TSO is prone to announcing, on a daily basis, the time of low tide and high tide. As high tide approaches, he walks down the street to Craven's Landing to check it out, and he walks along the beach during low tide. Hence, I call him Mr. Bale.

Craven's Landing at High Tide
(Mr. Bale Was Right There For It!)

 

Craven's Landing at Low Tide
(Mr. Bale Was Right There For It!)

As our wedding anniversary approached, I was hard-pressed to determine what kind of gift to give him. The Giants of Sandwich helped me out in that regard. When we rode around that night, looking at the Giants, we, of course, came across Old Man Winter. I looked at the storefront underneath it and saw a sign that read "The Weather Store." Aha! I decided to check out the shop when the time came. 

The Weather Store
Sandwich, Massachusetts

Sure enough, I was able to find a beautiful tide clock at the store! Perfecto mundo!!

The Tide Clock on our Wall

To celebrate our anniversary, Mr. Bale and I spent the weekend at the Dan'l Webster Inn & Spa in Sandwich. First things first, he LOVED his tide clock, which now hangs on the wall in our beach house.

Dan'l Webster Inn & Spa
Sandwich, Massachusetts

The inn was built more than 300 years ago. We stayed in a lovely room with a king size canopy bed, desk, sitting area, dressing room, and bathroom.

The Bed

TSO Sitting at the Desk

The Sitting Area

We first visited the Cape in 2015. Our first day here that year happened to be TSO's 50th birthday. In advance of our trip, I had researched restaurants and selected the Belfry Inn & Bistro in Sandwich where we had a lovely dinner with Christina, Lou, Penny, and Michael. The minute we rolled into Sandwich, I fell in love with the village. That was a very special evening, and Sandwich entered a very special place in my heart that evening where it has obviously remained ever since.

Belfry Inn & Bistro
Sandwich, Massachusetts

The Belfry is a former Catholic Church, which, in addition to the restaurant has a number of guest rooms. I don't know. There's just something about being in bed with TSO while, for example, Saint Gabriel the Archangel watches over us that's just too creepy -- perhaps even sacrilegious -- for me. Even if the room is nice! We haven't chosen to stay there yet.

Belfry Inn
Friday Room

During our weekend anniversary, we had our anniversary dinner at the Belfry Inn & Bistro, which was just around the corner. The mild temperature made for a lovely walk from the Dan'l Webster Inn to the restaurant, although the mist created a sense of other-worldliness to our travels. The conversion of the building from a church to a restaurant was tastefully done, if that's possible. The dining room is very warm and cozy due to all the beautiful wood that once comprised the inside of the church, as well as the fireplace that's been installed.  

Our anniversary dinner was delicious. TSO enjoyed Wild Shrimp Fra Diavolo, and I had Seared New Bedford Scallops. For dessert, we shared Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee. Yum!

On Saturday morning, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast in the Conservatory of the Dan'l Webster Inn.

Dan'l Webster Inn & Spa
Conservatory Dining Room
Sandwich, Massachusetts

The atmosphere was lovely, and I imagine that it's really delightful when the weather is warm, and the trees are green with leaves. 

We had massages in the afternoon, and then visited the Conservatory Dining Room, once again, for an early New Year's Eve dinner. I enjoyed Cape Cod lobster chowder and prime rib. TSO had Wok Fired Atlantic Salmon. For dessert, we went back to our room and consumed individual apple tarts that we had picked up earlier in the day at The Brown Jug, a gourmet food, wine, and pizza shop. It's a fascinating collection of various goodies, including beautiful French tea towels.

We understood that the adult First Night activities were canceled in Sandwich, so we spent the evening mostly watching my guys, Andy and Anderson, and even stayed awake long enough to watch the ball drop.

Happy New Year!