On Saturday, Sven and I finally were able to get away to spend an hour on the beach, a first in a number of days. We walked up to Marconi, at low tide. The waves crested further out than usual and were still powerful, a reminder that Earl had moved out to sea. They charged way up the beach, sucking at our ankles. It was the type of day that makes you draw in breath and think, how lucky I am to

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The Gods of the Harvest were smiling down on the Second Annual Truro AgFair yesterday – perfect weather! Excitement filled the air as first-timers Lisa Brown, Sharyn Lindsay, and master gardener Victoria Pecoraro, prepared to sell flowers and vegetables alongside Truro veterans who had participated last year. Having attended the Truro AgFair in 2009 myself, I was able to tell the Wellfleetians

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These ladies are bringing pies to the Second Annual Truro AgFair. Huckleberry/raspberry, or blackberry/pear? Four more hours to go, so come on down! (Check back tomorrow for a full report...)

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A week ago Billingsgate Art & Antiques opened its doors in the IGA building at Cove Corner. The shop belongs to Antoinette Berger, who looks forward to sharing her knowledge of antique jewelry and art with folks on the Outer Cape. Furniture, linens and "objects of curiosity" will also be available for sale. "If it speaks to me, I buy it," she declares with a wink. "It's much easier to sell

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This week a guest was so eager to get here that she forgot her swim suit, a first-time-ever event at Chez Sven. The incident got the gears going in my head. Since I'm not an iPhone-user, I sought help from my son Paul in composing this post:Forgot your bathing suit? There’s an app for that. Switch on your iPhone and download the handy-dandy Where's My Bathing Suit? app to find a convenient

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Update on Earl: So far, Earl has not knocked out the power. Earl has not even made the leaves quiver. No waves to speak of at the ocean. Just fog. My daughter tried to get us to leave the Cape, but we decided to stay, and it's a good thing we did. Above, two other souls who braved the storm. On the left, Elspeth Macdonald. In the center, her husband, Nick. And, to the right, my husband

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The ocean at Cahoon Hollow was deceptively calm yesterday evening. No sign whatsoever of what's to come. We’re about to have a hurricane. Anyone who remembers Hurricane Bob knows that hurricanes are not to be taken lightly. Evacuation of Cape Cod, the Friday of Labor Day? Not going to happen. In the early nineties, with Bob, we had no power for days. I contacted three of the four couples

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This has been a particularly musical summer at Chez Sven. We had two fiddlers as guests in July, and now Ulf, a Swede with a viola, is staying in the cottage with his wife, Beth. No doubt they’ll want to attend at least one of the concerts this weekend to benefit Outer Cape Health Services (OCHS). What concerts? Glad you asked. Baroque violinist Monica Huggett will play in Provincetown

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My post "Imagine a Green Wellfleet" was chosen for the Healthy Child, Healthy World Blog Carnival about clean air and water solutions, an effort by Healthy Child, Healthy World to help inspire a movement to protect children from harmful chemicals. Woo-hoo! What a wonderful way to get out the word. I was just reading Beth Terry's Fake Plastic Fish post this afternoon about her disappointment when

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Sven stood in the doorway and burst into tears, his body shaking. “You try to go back but it doesn’t exist,” he spluttered.My husband has been feeling sad today. I think this emotion was due to having a Swede visit as a guest and being able to speak Swedish for a period of time. Both discovered they had worked as lumberjacks, in the forest. They both knew a lumberjack song and sang it together

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Summer is almost over for anyone with kids because kids are heading back to school, hopefully with green products in their book bags and healthy food in their eco-chic lunch carriers. Over the past three months, so many, many cars passed the new water tower on Long Pond Road to reach Long Pond or the Atlantic Ocean. I wonder what these drivers thought? No one, not one person, has said anything

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Roadside signs indicate there’s an election coming up. The primary is on September 14th. The race for the Massachusetts Senate will be close, so it’s important to take a hard look at both Democratic candidates. First, Dan Wolf.Ellen LeBow writes in the Cape Cod Times, “I can say from experience that Dan Wolf has more capacity for action when it comes to issues that can deeply affect our lives

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Two dozen Wellfleetians gathered at the library yesterday evening to watch Just Do It, a documentary by Emily James, actually more "a work in progress" than a finished film. I attended because of my interest in climate change. The subject turned out to be more climate-change protesters in Great Britain and what they have, or have not, achieved. Emily showed clips and provided brief commentary

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Above, the power lines near Dyer Pond, less than half a mile from here as the crow flies. Below, a video by Carl Freeman of the "pruning party" under the power lines near Duck Pond, organized by the Town of Wellfleet. Since Wednesday, I have spoken with half a dozen people who intended to come and for one reason or another did not make it. The message? There are alternatives to herbicides.

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How very much stuff people have these days! Every time I go to the beach, usually in late afternoon, I'm struck by what has been carried onto the beach. When we arrive, usually folks are trying to fit it all back into an SUV. The trunk is wide open. The owners stand in back of the car, as if confronting a giant jigsaw puzzle. The husband scratches his head. It all fit in before. Why

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“What’s it like to live here in winter?” I get this question a lot from B&B guests. They always have a quizzical expression on their face that says why would anyone intelligent choose to live in Wellfleet? Actually, the charm of winter in Wellfleet is a well-kept secret. And, those of us living here sure ain’t telling. Oh, no. We have no desire to share our little piece of paradise ... or,

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