Sunrise, sunset, first and last light of the day....

Stormy Weather - The different sides of Cape Cod

An old Cape Cod saying is: "If you don't like the weather, just wait a minute". It's very true, as I can attest to today... At 8:30 am the pictures below were taken at Long Beach and Sandy Neck Beach. The sun was shining, the wind whipping in from off-shore after last night's storm.... A balmy 80 degrees already!



At 10:00 am I came out from shopping at the Christmas Tree Shop,
and saw the storm clouds looming in the distance....
big thunderheads, black and menacing... so I figured I'd better hurry home to close the windows in the house! Fifteen minutes later, no clouds, no rain, sunshine again!? However, as I sit here typing at 1:50 pm, the thunder and lightning have passed through and the rain which poured for a moment or two, has become just a "pit pat" on the window glass pane.
My backyard is a bit damp....


What's even stranger about the weather on Cape Cod is you can travel from one side to the other and experience rain on the northside, while people are soaking up the sun on the southside!

Back To Work.... that little four letter word!

I'm back at it today... thought you'd get a kick out the photo's below... the first one is a picture of our early years as a county radio dispatch circa 1960's. I think they used old spare NASA parts to construct the radio equipment! The second picture is our old dispatch center as it was when we moved out a year ago. This is where I trained, and worked for two years. The last, is of course a picture of the current equipment we work with now. It is state of the art and although it seems intimidating, is very user friendly. I am very lucky to work here. If you would like a better look at the COMM Center, click here then on the right side of the page under "Whats New" click on "View Previous Update History" and look for "7-11-07 Otis Headquarters". Sorry, there's no direct link or I'd set it up here for you!
Hope everyone is doing well... I'll seizure later! (Bad EMS humor... sorry!)

Craigville Beach

Craigville Beach Yacht Club
A windy day at the beach
Two of the many cottages

She sells seashells...
Neatly Manicured

There is so much more to Craigville than just these few pictures can show. It is one of the most popular tourist spots on the Cape. I love to walk the beach in the early morning, before the sun-worshipers arrive. On the left, the waves; on the right, the cottages, estates, summer homes, all dressed up, beach grass for the front yard and a neatly manicured lawn in the back... Across the street from the beach, the smell of fried seafood will soon drift in the air from the little clam shack. It's been such a great summer so far... and even though I'm up to my eyeballs and hours at work, I can still find a few precious moments to spend here...

Deterred

I'm on a whole new shift for now.... No more midnights! (Unless of course they volunteer me for OT). However, that means working hours that are much busier and under much more scrutiny of my internet usage! I have to admit, I miss being able to check in with everyone daily, but I'm limited now, to doing it at home.... and there isn't alot of time at home these days. We are short two dispatchers and mandatory OT for all of us means working 16 hour shifts with just 8 hours off before we have to go back in. We still get our 2 days off, so that's when I'll be trying to post and keep up with everyone! We will probably be re-bidding shifts in another 3 months, once they've hired and trained 2 new dispatchers, so there is a light at the end of the tunnel! For now, well.... I'll do my best to keep up and hopefully provide all 5 of my readers some form of entertainment!

Hazy Summer Day

Sitting here with you,
looking out over the harbor,
we watch in silence....
The haze hangs low, just above the water.
It distorts distance, muffles noises.
Boats churn by us, children are playing on a sandbar
not far away.
The sun illuminates the haze, oh where are my
sunglasses? Brilliant! it hurts my blue eyes.
You are peering through the binoculars,
content to watch whalers, and clam diggers and
the little yellow finch that landed right in front of us!
I can see the dunes, shadows in the morning fog,
is the water warm enough to go swimming?
You make me smile, with your pant legs rolled up,
barefooted and wiggling your toes at me,
"Come on! Let's get our feet wet!"
The marsh is mucky and slick,
and it makes sucking noises as it squishes
between our toes....
but the cool ocean water washes them clean.
If I could make this moment last forever,
you and I
and the little yellow finch,
would play here today and always.

A real Dirtbag

Don't know if any of you have been following this story.....
A young girl from Vermont has been missing since June 25th. Police suspect her uncle and yesterday searched his property
It was heartbreaking to hear this:
Missing 12 year old girl's body found.

May he fry in hell.

Charlie the Contortionist

Provincetown Whale Watch

My best friend Kathy and I decided to spend a day on a whale watch out of Provincetown. She is the only friend I have who can and will take a day off in the middle of the week, to do something touristy like this! I made a lunch to bring with us; ham and cheese sandwiches, crackers, grapes, and le Oreos for dessert. Just a couple of hicks pretending to be tourists on the Cape. Even though she has lived on the Cape for more than 30 years, she had never been on a WW, so I , being the vetran of sorts (this was my third trip), led the way. We made the 12:30 boat (pictured above) and settled up near the bow of the boat on the port side. We had gorgeous weather, calm seas and this is some of what we saw...








Provincetown is a hub of activity.... fishing, cruises, art, shops, people watching, museums... the place bursts at the seams in the summer.
The Pilgrim Monument is one of the most recognizable structures on the Cape.



The Lobster Pot has some great seafood, and if you want to do carryout, they even have FROZEN Clam Chowder that you can take with you to heat and eat at another time.




On Tuesday, February 10th, 1998 this is what Provincetown looked like. Click here for the full story.




It was a great day, and we both decided we'd have to do it again before the season ends.