The above postcard sent from Provincetown, Massachusetts to Woodbridge, Connecticut in August 1968, when it cost five cents to mail a postcard, doesn’t say when the Finback whale was stranded. Looking at the buildings, the location is the East End of town, not too far from Dyer and Washington Streets. It’s when you see all the people gathered around that you start to comprehend the immense size of the whale. It’s very sad. One of the largest baleen whales,
adult Finback whales can reach an average size of 60 feet and weigh close to 50 tons. Scientists estimate the Finback whale and other large baleen whales have life spans of about 60 to 70 years. Walking along the beach, one never knows what you will find. A clue to a mystery, perhaps or some insight into why whales beach themselves. If the newspaper in Remaining in Provincetown, The Provincetown Observer were real, it would have been a front page story. The publisher and editor Roze Silva, however, finds other things that will make headlines. What’s everyone talking about? Check it out by reading the book, available at local bookshops and online in trade paperback and as an ebook. Like us on Facebook and join the conversation.
Tag Archives: nature
Bicycling Provincetown trails to discover true Cape Cod
Built in the 1960’s the bicycle trails on National Park Service lands take you across the sand dunes to the Beech Forest, Province Lands Visitor Center, Race Point Beach Parking lot and Herring Cove Beach Parking lot. The loop trail is almost five and half miles in length. On your drive along the steep winding trails you will see beautiful vistas of sand dunes as well the native vegetation which includes wild roses and beach plums along with the grasses that have been intentionally planted to help retard the shifting sands that cause dunes to shift and change shape each season. If you are lucky, in the off-season you may encounter a fox. In summer there are small toads around Bennett Pond.
Don’t have a bicycle? You can rent one in Provincetown for a few hours or a day, to explore the trails. Bring a towel, bathing suit, and plenty of water as well as a picnic, if you’d like to enjoy a daylong adventure.
People of all ages enjoy using the bike trails. The Carreiro children, in the recently released novel Remaining in Provincetown, can’t wait to get a hold of their bicycles so they can go riding on the trails, even if it is early spring—way too early for swimming. Want to gain a better insight as to what it’s like to live in Provincetown because you are planning a visit? Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook makes a great beach read, or start reading it now in anticipation of your vacation. Now available at local bookstores, online and at Amazon.com. Like us on facebook. Show the big publishers you can make your own decisions on what to read. Join the conversation.
Provincetown Cape Cod Gardens to Admire
Provincetown, Cape Cod evokes thoughts of narrow winding streets and views of the water peeking out from between busy gift shops and art galleries, but there is another part of the town, not everyone discovers–the lovely gardens. Some are hidden behind tall thick hedges, but other gardens are readily visible for all to enjoy. Spring has arrived on Cape Cod and enthusiastic gardeners are planting their dahlias, petunias, and zinnias in the upcoming weeks while perennials that include Salvia, daisies, and roses seem to thrive in the sunny sea salt environment. And let us not forgot the Hollyhocks standing strong and tall in so many soft colors. Some of the best gardens in town are one the back side streets, off the beaten track. Sometimes you have to look a little harder beneath the surface to find what you’re really looking for, like unraveling a mystery in a book, and if you are looking for a book set in Provincetown you’ll want to read the new mystery novel Remaining in Provincetown, just released last month. Now available at local bookstores, online, and at Amazon in trade paperback and ebook. Like us on Facebook. Keep the conversation going. We love hearing from you.
Hollyhocks a Provincetown Cape Cod favorite flower
Admiring the gardens as you walk downtown is part of the summer experience when you visit Provincetown and hollyhocks are a favorite flower. Their height and various colors makes a nice contrast to other blossoms. According to English botantist Wedgewood, The name holly came from “holy” because the first of the plants brought to southern Europe came from the Holy Land, having been transplanted there from the orient. It does well in all climates and soils. During the Middle Ages, and it is mentioned as “holy-hoke”, an adaptation of the Welsh name, in a British horticultural treatise of 1548. Here is another lovely antique postcard.
If you enjoy reading about Provincetown, you should enjoy the murder mystery just published this month, Remaining in Provincetown by S.N. Cook, available online, at bookstores and at Amazon.Com. Like us on facebook.