March to May!

Here's a picture from early March. First Encounter had broken ice pushed against the shore. When we went back later it was all gone! And you'll notice that the big rocks are gone, too. I have no idea what happened to them.

Later that visit, Paul helped Bob start up our latest toy. Dad's old shredder. After some playing around, they got it started and Bob has put it to good use grinding up piles of branches and yard debris to make great mulch for sandy spots and gardens! 

Notice there is still snow in early March. It has been a wet and cold spring. BUT Spring has finally sprung -

 The crabapple trees are in full bloom - Now it is mid May. The yellow tulips, purple iris, and white narcissus are in full bloom, the dogwood on the pond side is struggling to produce some white flowers and the lilacs will be out fully this coming week! I am trying again to get some hydrangea to grow along this garden. I transplanted yet another one from Glastonbury this trip.

Most of the visit this time was spent doing major spring cleaning inside, but when Bob arrived, he 'planted' some more pavers under the deck, power washed the deck, and pulled down some broken branches from the front yard tree. We mowed the whole yard, rain has made the grass look decent this spring. 

And the latest investment - a new dishwasher - the 'old' one broke. Bob installed the new one himself! -Including 'leveling' the counter so the dishwasher door would close... We discovered that several water valves don't turn off all the way, so we turned the whole house water off for the procedure. We've started a list for a plumber (for the future...) The joys of an old house!

January 2019 - a new year

The VW is gone! Sold to another VW lover in Orleans. The end of an era.

     

First Encounter Beach is changing as well. On a very cold blustery day, the slushy, icy water is spraying over new boulders at high tide. What will it look like next time?

And at the Pond, the water splashing and freezing on the shore has created a new landscape, complete with ice covered decoy duck.

Happy Spring!

The hydrangea are up, the daffodils are blooming, there are buds on the lilacs and the forsythia are done! And the grass needed mowing. Spring is officially here at Keewaydin!

Here is where I had dinner on the first night back. A balmy 75 degrees! I deserved a moment of quiet respite after finishing up (finally) the twin bed room. I think we'll call it the blue room from now on?

I also had a nice visit with Janet-across-the-pond. Even though we don't have a long personal history together, our parents and grandmothers had such wonderful times together that it seemed like we'd known each other forever.

When Bob arrived for the weekend, he went right to 'work' (after mowing the front yard of course) on the latest project. I'll be interested to hear the 'professional' opinion after Val and Dan visit for Ragnar Cape Cod weekend! It's still a work in progress, of course. The 'patio' under the deck needs to be totally re-graded and stone pavers reset. But that's Keewaydin for us - a continuous project! 

Oh, and we (Bob sawing, me hauling) major-ly trimmed several (large) branches from the pine tree overhanging the path to the pond, with the wooden extension ladder and hand saw.  And cut up a bit of the leaning Russian olive bush/tree. 

The pond water is still very high, so we didn't put in the dock yet.  It was a beautiful weekend to be outside. 

We've been out to Keewaydin twice in March, and there have been 4 Nor-easters. Bob and I went out  for the weekend between the first 2 storms. I went out for a few days this week during the latest storm, to make sure everything was still okay. A big (dead) tree from the front yard had fallen over the road and wires in the first storm (March 2-3). The town had cleaned it up and left the branches and trunks in the yard. If we lost power, it wasn't for long: the ice cream was still frozen solid in the freezer.
The Russian Olive tree/bush is now tilted, after the first storm. It was the worst storm of the four as far as wind and power outages I think.

There was snow from one of the storms before this week, that left snow on the deck. I brushed it off before I left. The deck had a thin layer of slick ice! Once the sun hits it, it will be gone.

The Kimballs were out for Kris's spring break in mid March, we walked on Nauset Beach in Orleans. That's Dave and Bob. The sand has washed way into the marsh. Iconic Liam's shack is now on the edge of the dune and will have to be taken down. Its septic system was all exposed in the sand. I think the paper said 45 feet eroded.

 I did the rounds of the beaches at low and high tides this latest visit. The waves on the Atlantic beaches were amazing. The storm brought wind rain and snow bursts. The force of Nature was very evident. The grass filled rope barriers put up in January are now falling off the cliff.  

 This used to be a walkway to the beach. The straight edge is where the wooden path or stairs was washed away. This is about 5 feet from the edge of the parking lot!!! There is a 'hurricane' fence blocking access to the beach all along the lot with warning signs not to go near the cliff edge.

If you zoom in on the center of this picture at Coast Guard Beach, you can see that the ocean has left sand where there used to be a dune. It is at the entrance to the drive up to the parking lot.

And then Friday morning at dawn, I am greeted with a serene pond (yes, the northwestern sky is pink)

and a calm First Encounter Beach on my morning walk.

On my way home, I stopped again at First Encounter at low tide (10:30 am). 

Our February visit was busy and fun. Saturday we spent the morning cleaning up the front, front yard (by the road):  hauling brush, raking, shoveling, and moving sand from the scar left by the installation of the water pipe to the house. We'll see if any grass comes up in the spring. There is literally only about 3 inches of topsoil before it's just sand that makes up Cape Cod soil!

But the weekend was not all 'work'! We started the Birthday puzzle (from Kathy and Chuck), complete with sorting trays!

And hung the finch feeder on a post on the new deck. We'll see if any birds find it before spring! 

We plan to hang more hooks for wind chimes and flowers.

Bob also worked in the basement - organizing and investigating 'new' tools from Paul's collection: thanks, I think. Paul and Vicky stayed overnight last weekend to see a production in Cotuit of a play Vicky will direct this spring. Jen and Matt also stopped by to see them, after a weekend at the Kimball's!

The weather was cloudy and not too cold on Saturday, but rainy on Sunday, so we stayed in and painted some more trim in the kitchen. Bob got the first coat on the window in the eating area. I'll have to get to work on finding or making curtains! 

The January thaw was wonderful, but short-lived. We arrived at Keewaydin in 55 degree weather, the pond ice was melting and there was a mild southerly breeze. Saturday morning we woke up to even less ice on the pond, balmy!
We did some errands and stopped by First Encounter Beach, Nauset Light beach, and Coast Guard Beach.

 The ice is halfway across the pond, the wind blowing away from us.

 First Encounter at a very high and wavy tide.

 Nauset Light Beach. The the stairs and the bath house are totally gone! They must have been removed late in the fall. The fencing is at the edge of the parking lot, and the dark line is a dirt barrier at the top of the cliff.

 Nauset Light beach looking across the parking lot to where the bath house and stairs used to be!

This is Coast Guard Beach. The wind is blowing to the east. Not the usual direction. It was kind of strange. As the day went on, the sun came out, the wind shifted and the temperature dropped.

The ice shimmered at the edge of the ice sheets like diamonds! And the wind shifted to the North, northwest. We spent an hour with Janet who stopped by on Saturday afternoon. It was a nice visit. We walked her home 'around the pond'. That was a short but cold and windy walk.

We also started painting the trim in the kitchen. Can you tell the difference?

On Sunday before we left, we went back to First Encounter to see if we could see any Snowy Owls. No owls, but we found ice floes instead! As the tide was coming in, it brought broken ice toward shore. It was actually moving up into the salt marsh. AND COLD! 26 degrees when we left.

Deep freeze and wind! pictures from Janet

Janet emailed and volunteered to check the house last week after the VERY windy storm on the Cape. She took these pictures. We're going out soon to see how the inside fared. Outside seems fine. The pond looks frozen over! It is in the 40's these next couple days, so I imagine the pond will open up before we get there.