First Landing

After a week here on the Outer Cape, I finally feel I have some grasp on my feelings towards it.

First of all, it’s beautiful. The sea laps away at the soft sandy beaches, changing their shapes on an almost daily basis. Dunes rise from the beach, burying everything from fences to trees to houses. The trees vary from nonexistent to scraggly pines to deciduous forest packed with a dense understory. Everything is still bare here from the winter chill, but it has its own skeletal, delicate beauty.

It’s much different than other places I’ve been to and, in a sense, it’s a place I might usually avoid. The Cape is crowded with so many little buildings and summer homes, but these also lend a certain character and charm here. Most of them actually have style, unlike much of the development in places that were “settled” in later years, such as Texas’ KB homes and strip malls. One of the things I admire here is the amount of public/preserved lands. Slap a place like this off the coast of Texas, and it’d probably end up like South Padre- a mine field of chintzy chain souvenir shops with large hotels and resorts right on the beach. But here I can drive a few minutes or even walk a few feet from my house and be in a natural area. It’s wonderful! And even if there are a lot of people, they have all been very kind and friendly so far, so I don’t even mind. I am the outsider here, after all, so what can I say, anyway?

And speaking of tourists, I sure am glad I got here when I did cause pretty soon it’ll be packed. This time of year it’s cold and often rainy, with a big storm coming through just in the last few days. I’m grateful for the relative peace and quiet and cool weather while it’s here, and I hope I can keep my cool when the summer comes. The Piping Plover Protectors will definitely be needed then to guard the nests and hatchlings from sun-dazed tourists and their clumsy vehicles, which are allowed on some beaches.

Work is great- outside all day when it’s good weather, inside when it’s bad. We fix fences, put up exclosures around nests, and monitor the plover population here on the northern end of the Cape. It’s sometimes exhausting, but somehow I still manage to fill up my afternoons and evenings by biking and hiking around. I’ve already found what I think will become my favorite hang-outs, and I love meandering through the forests on the many unofficial paths in the area. Provincetown, a cultural and artistic centerpiece, is just a few minutes away by bike, yet I am far enough from town to not hear the hustle and bustle of the busy little city.

And lastly, the wildlife here is awesome- I’m learning so many animals I’ve never even heard of, and I’ve gotten to see so many neat marine creatures just one week. Today we came upon a harp seal (an Arctic native) on one of the beaches we were monitoring; it picked up its head with lazy effort and blinked its big black eyes at us for a moment, then rolled onto its back to warm its belly in the sun, completely unconcerned with our presence. There are lots of whales here, too, and of course plovers and plenty of birds and non-mammalian marine wildlife. I think I'll have plenty to keep myself occupied and satisfied for the next 2 1/2 months, with some of my favorite things- art, nature, and of course, exploring.

Harp Seal

(unfortunately, not my photo)