Edge of the Earth

H. and Figgy on the Cape [I think] in years gone by.

Dad and Figgy on his birthday....I miss you, Dad. [Punch's baby blanket over shoulder.]

I wish I had the energy to write a beautiful piece about nature on the Cape, but I'm tired, and selfishly eager to take a nice hot bath and read in bed. Those pleasures, like the fresh Cape air that rustles the curtains, are things that nurture me. It has also been nourishing to catch up with Anne and Nikki, talk about fashion, coffee, family, work, life, especially when idly pedaling on a smooth, endless path edged with fences and trees.

Anne, Nik, Sug and I had so much fun today:

• Breakfast @ The Wicked Oyster in Wellfleet. Short stack of blueberry pancakes, fluffy and flawless, with a little silvery pitcher of pure maple syrup. Pretty garden outside.
• Browsing in town--at chocolates, dresses [eating the first does not facilitate wriggling into the second], farmers market [they were making pesto, and I bought a sack of yummy Salty Oats Cookies, baked on the Cape and news to me] outdoor green where the Strawberry Festival would be later in the day.
• Walk over old-time Uncle Tim's Bridge in Wellfleet, looking down @ fiddler crabs, oyster and clam shells, reedy, marshy grass. Across the street, seeing wash hanging in the breeze.
• Tried to mow lawn, which is about 2 feet tall, but Anne and I couldn't get mower started. It seemed to have enough gas, but just in case, we got more tonight to pour into tomorrow and try again. House looks neglected with mile-high lawn.
• Short bike ride in neighborhood with Nik. Sug insisted on coming--she acts on the Cape like she's entitled to go everywhere I go, even into the bathroom, and looks indignant if she's left behind at the house--so I put her in the wicker basket, though I wouldn't do that anywhere else but on an empty, safe road. She could fall out. Also walk in neighborhood with Sug and Nik.
• Bike ride on Cape Cod Rail Trail!!! We pedaled 10.5 miles, from our house on Wonderstrand Way in North Eastham to the Hot Chocolate Sparrow in Orleans and back. We saw bunnies, a little dead yellow and black bird that we carefully moved off the trail, ponds with lily pads. The air felt so good. I had an iced decaf Mocha Sparrow, yum.
• Village Green General Store, North Eastham. I never tire of looking at the vacation essentials they stock: toiletries, donuts, marshmallows, matches, ice cream, magazines, postcards and much, much more. 
• Coast Guard Beach!!!!!!! We went about 8:30 P.M., cramming everything possible into our day. Nik and I stood in the wild and wavy surf, just over a mile away from where Henry Beston's famous Outermost House stood until it was washed out to sea. I love Coast Guard Beach, with its sweeping view from the bluff by the parking lot.

Also: Phone calls with H. and Figgy, who took a special hike on part of the Appalachian Trail in NY. They had a great day, and that meant I could have a light and happy heart, and the freedom to roam far from home.

Good night, sleep tight. The air is so delicious here. The storm windows are up, the screens are open. I want to greedily breathe it in, until my lungs are full, full, full of goodwill and hope.
 
TCOY
All of the above.