Summertime, summertime, sum sum sumertime.

 

Just some news from Provincetown, MA

Getting nostalgic for the Cape. 

We will likely be going to California this year as it is 1,000 miles closer and as we will be driving, as vacation time is limited. California is nice, beautiful seacoast but Cape Cod is my happy place.

  

 

The National Seashore is a Treasure.  

 

We always loved hiking the dunes and driving out to the beach oversand with our truck.

This summer has NOT been at all like the summers I used to love. They may be a thing of the past.

 

 

  

 

  

 

 

Scenes of Sand

 

Just a few items from the garden.

The single corn stalk must have been planted by a bird...I know I didn't plant corn!

 

The tomatoes seem to be late this summer. Lots of green ones but nothing ripening even though the weather has been HOTTT.

The ground squirrel ate all the beet greens, then the Swiss chard, then the kale and most recently the green bean foliage and the parsley. I’m hoping the beets and Swiss chard and Kale will “recover” by growing some new shoots. I’ve covered what I could with bird netting and that seems to work to discourage the little devil.

The work of hungry ground squirrel

Despite the squirrel, there was a good three pounds of green (and yellow) beans today (I froze half) and some Italian frying peppers.

 

So it seemed like a good day for what I call my version of Chicken alla Cacciatore or what Leon calls “You ruined perfectly good green beans by putting them in tomato sauce” or Chicken and Peppers and Green Beans in Tomato Sauce.

I would have added mushrooms if I had some.

It’s just after 2pm and I am hungry.

 Let's not forget the flowers.

Sunflower ... I also did not plant sunflowers

Another wild sunflower

More wild flowers

Russian Sage

Alium

Roses

4 O'clocks

Day Lily

P.S. I am having an awful time with "Blogger" and not sure why. Has been going on for quite some time. Difficult to move photos; long captions will not go to next line when I hit "return"; pasting text activates "Link" puts everything in blue type and centers it. Have to remove formatting and left justify; photos don't all load and return error message...the list goes on. I have tried the "new blogger" and it looks horrible on my "reading list" - but have not tried it for composing posts. Mitchell and others seem to have no problem...every post you guys put up looks great and you seem to do it with such ease.

Satisfied

In case anyone has noticed, I've not posted much lately. The combination of being a kind of "news junkie" and the COVID19 isolation and the extreme heat of June and July here in New Mexico has left me rather drained.

One of the main reasons we moved here to Cochiti Lake was THE LAKE. Cochiti Lake, like most lakes in New Mexico is a flood control lake...the Rio Grand waters behind an Army Corp of Engineers built dam. Most are not pretty lakes compared to those in green mountain settings as they are bodies of water surrounded by rock and desert terrain. Not many a tree in sight.

But Cochiti Lake is, at least, a lake with a swimming beach and boat ramps. It was adequate for my needs. Unfortunately the lake has been closed, off limits, since March 13 in response to COVID19.

The entire lake as well as our little town, the convenience store, the golf course and Kasha Katuwe/Tent Rocks National Monument are on tribal land. All were closed indefinitely (except, of course the town where we have our homes) per order of the Cochiti tribe. So there's been no access to the lake this long, hot summer.

Lakes are OK, but I have this longing, a need almost, to return to the salt water from whence I apparently emerged some long time ago.

We were "dreaming" about maybe going to the East Coast this September (to visit family and friends and go to Cape Cod/Provincetown) or if not there, back to California to Oceana/Pismo Dunes/Avila Beach.

Because no way are we traveling through Texas, Oklahoma or any other state during the ongoing pandemic. So, with the pandemic, it looks like I will forego salt, sand and sea this time around.

I was getting very depressed and angry and irritable seemingly for no apparent reason. Well, I guess the apparent reason is the result of months of isolation and seeing the summer, maybe the entire year as kind of deletion. Beach, Ocean, Travel: delete. June, delete; July, delete; August, delete; September, delete; October?

So, the next best thing - the next closest lake to us is Abiquiu - less than a two hour drive. So Leon and I and Benni took a ride up there this morning and had what was the most relaxing day I've had in many months. We got there early enough that it wasn't too hot and being by the water was cooler by 5 to 10 degrees than inland.

I have many friends who couldn't care less for a day at the beach or lake. I could never understand their indifference.

Shedding clothing as much as is allowed (swim suits required here but a nudist area is the absolute best) and being out in the sunshine and swimming and sitting with hubby and our dog, Benni, is so freeing.

Somehow I shed obsessions, thoughts, tensions, chores and preoccupations along with the clothing.

We stayed about four and a half hours and left around 2pm, just at the hottest part of the day.

I was completely satisfied, at least for today.

Benni and the Hubby

Relaxing in my Beach Chair

Georgia O'Keefe's favorite mountain

A Beach Trip

My inclination is to wax philosophical about our recent trip to the California coast and to ruminate about beaches past.

But the well of words is running dry...so is it possible to wane philosophical?

So will I wane.

We arrived at Pacific Dunes RV Resort ("resort" is a stretch) on Labor Day after driving our truck with RV attached the 1000+/- miles through New Mexico, Arizona and the hot, empty part of California. I am embarrassed to say that Leon did 90% of the driving on the trip.

I am not entirely comfortable towing a camper, but I do it... and my limit behind the wheel is about three hours. I don't know how truckers drive for hours...it is SO boring.

I am a fidgety passenger...looking at maps, googling on the phone, munching, replenishing Benni's water bowl.

So we arrived and parked the rig, then went for a hike over the dunes to the Pacific which is the several mile long section of Pismo Beach State Park.

Unfortunately it was a holiday (the last time we were here it was a week after Labor Day) and the mass of heterosexual Americans were out being toxically masculine. 

This fact struck me as there was recently a study suggesting that the "cause" of homosexual "behavior" is not completely genetically determined. Which I thought was based an a totally flawed supposition (behavior vs orientation) and it was never asked whether heterosexuality is genetically determined.

Well all the (presumably) heterosexuals were out behaving as if they were genetically programmed to race ATVs, trucks and RVs as recklessly as possible along the beach making as much noise as traffic on an Interstate highway.

Do these people know what a quiet walk on the beach is?

I wasn't about to let the commotion stop me from getting my salt water "fix" so I did get in the water for a brief baptism. 

The thing that seems different about the West coast beaches is that they are not really "swimmable"; whereas on Cape Cod there are places sheltered somewhat from the open ocean where one can swim fairly comfortably. Notwithstanding recent shark attacks.

One excellent thing about California are the numerous and easy access to the beach and the ocean. We checked out a few of those access points, but were often disappointed with what we found. Although not typical, this beach at the Air Force base gave one something to philosophize about.

Seems the punishment for disturbing the plovers is more severe than for some crimes of violence against a human being.

Just a note that as far as clothing optional beaches go, Pirates Cove is so not-gay and so not-friendly; not like the old Moonstone Beach in Rhode Island or Sandy Hook in New Jersey or Boys Beach in Provincetown.

Leon at Pirates Cove

We went out to eat a few times, basically fish and chips joints. But one "splurge" dinner at Rosa's Italian restaurant was ostensibly to celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary, or our 31st day-we-met anniversary or 31st time-we-first-did-it anniversary or 29th move-in-together anniversary. Anyhow, really enjoyed it.

Linguine Tutti Mare

Just a few photos

Benni in His (maybe) Prize-winning Portrait

Avila Beach - Best Dog-Friendly Beach Ever

Sand, Sun, Salt Water. Heaven.



 All content and photos (c) 2019 Frank DeFrancesco