another year!

Recap of my 27th birthday, because it's been a long, but happy, day:

Blizzard. All night. All morning.

No electricity.

Dog with cabin fever. I had to get creative.

Work in the afternoon, followed by much appreciated birthday chats with my family.

An impromptu four-course meal at an Italian restaurant followed by a birthday cake, inspired by my love of cornbread:

Polenta pound cake. 

And now, let spring officially begin!

film festival and feijoada

Last week I spent an evening in Boston to see the  Banff Mountain Film Festival, which is an annual event for me. I had two favorites this year. The Last Ice Merchant is about a man in Ecuador who harvests ice daily from nearby glaciers-- well worth watching. The film that won best feature-length film was Ready to Fly, the story of Lindsey Van and how she worked toward getting women's ski jumping into the Olympics. It just amazes me that it took until this year to make it happen, and it made watching the event in this year's games that much more important. There were a number of other great films, so many that I didn't make it home finally until about 1 am. So tired.

The next day was an all-day work day, and since I hadn't had time to make food the night before as I usually do, during my lunch break I was dreading having to find something decent at Dunkin Donuts or some other fast food chain. Then I noticed a small cafe, sign out front that read "Now Open". I thought it was Mexican by the name (my least favorite), but I decided to give it a try anyway. I was the only one in there, but was greeted by a very friendly couple who own the restaurant. I looked at the menu: Brazilian! Feijoada! The woman gave me a sample and was amazed I knew how to pronounce the name. I explained that my mom often made the dish growing up, and she was surprised again. (Thanks mom!)

I ordered and ate, and then she and I started chatting again. She and her husband had opened the cafe only a few weeks ago, and it was going pretty slow. I assured her the food was excellent and it was only a matter of time, because really, they are making true homemade food. It was delicious. Her husband is a trained chef, and she worked various jobs including teaching English to Brazilian children near Boston. They seemed so proud having finally started their own business. Then she told me that because she knows what it's like, [retail] employees get a discount. Just pay what you can, because they may not have much, but they have food. Of course I will always pay the fair price, but having someone show that sort of generosity is uncommon. It's not something you'll find at Dunkin Donuts.

marine biology

Last week I picked up this on the beach:

 

I had no idea what it was, but I knew it wasn't a part of any inner skeletal structure, even though that's what it looks like at first glance. It was later made known to me that it's actually an egg case of the knobbed whelk, which I often see on the beach. I picked up this one too, for reference.

We've been having a snow about once a week lately, and this past week's snow day I spent dissecting this egg case. This is what I found.

Miniscule sea creatures! The top is the tiny whelk, which I was expecting to find. But also within a few of the other egg cases I found a tiny sand flea, and then what looks like a tiny quahog or some similar bivalve, separated. This was the highlight of my day, obviously. Growing up inland, we didn't often get the chance to explore this area of the natural world-- except for my high school marine biology class, which I loved. 

In addition to my growing shell collection, another find on the beach has been a snowy owl that I can invariably locate at the end of our run near the water each morning. It blends in beautifully with the snow.

 The beach we frequent is home to piping plovers that the dog seems to herd down to the end of the beach and back as we go. They are fun to watch, and the owl is watching them as well. It's amazing to see it swoop down over the water and back to its perch on the dunes.

Anyway, I don't understand the people who make the mass migration to Florida to stay with the 70 degree weather. Cape Cod in the winter is just beautiful.

the kindness of strangers

It was a foggy morning this morning, but much warmer than it had been, in the 40s. I had even opened my living room window to let some fresh air in. The pup and I went out for our morning run as we always do, although since I had to work, we had to make it a quick run, doing one loop instead of three. It was all going well until Shahna decided she wasn’t ready to go home yet. She refused to be caught, so I ended up chasing her about a quarter of a mile back down the trail. I bribed her with a stick to fetch and eventually got her on leash, but quickly realized I had lost my car keys in the process.

So back and forth that section of trail we went. I had my eyes on the ground, scanning, and the next thing I knew, there was a large barking dog on top of Shahna, who had been knocked to the ground. She had slipped out of her collar, and this dog was dragging her. I was terrified but had my pepper spray ready in seconds. Just before I was about to open it up, the other dog bolted back to its owner who had appeared over the hill. She assured me he was friendly, just an alpha male type. So he was, and off he and Shahna went down the trail again.

I was rather distraught at this point and explained to the woman that I needed to get to work soon but had lost my car keys. She went off after the dogs and I for my keys. Only the dogs were retrieved and the woman offered to drive me home. Also a runner, she and I ran our respective dogs to her car and piled them in the back, windows down to enjoy the mild air. Shahna loves car rides, but on a car ride with her new friend, she could hardly contain herself. The two dogs began roughhousing in the back, and the next thing we heard was clunk, clunk.  We both looked back to see only Shahna in the backseat. The other dog had somehow exited the car via the open window-- I kid you not. He was just standing roadside, oblivious to what had happened. We all made it home, with me thanking the heavens I hadn't closed my living room window yet. I climbed through, got my spare car keys, and a short bike ride later, I was back to my car.

Later at work today, a woman came up to me, and said “It’s me! From this morning!” We had been chatting in the car on the way home, and I told her where I worked and she had showed up just to let me know she and her husband had searched for my car keys but had not found them. Nevertheless, I was incredibly grateful for her kindness.

Blizzard, take two

Our second winter storm of the year has passed, and we were able to enjoy some lovely mornings out in the snow. The Cape has slightly milder weather than the rest of the surrounding area, and as far as the northeast goes, this winter has been quite tolerable with temperatures are generally five degrees warmer than in Boston.

Ten degrees feels like summer with calm air and sunny skies. We set out one morning to try to retrieve a certain giant horseshoe crab shell that the puppy dug up the previous day during our snow romp. With me on skis, I wasn't able to easily transport it back, but the following day I had two partners in adventure.

 There was one to transport the horseshoe crab molt...

And another who wanted to toss it about...

Along a different trail, there was a new discovery! Another huge molt.

     We ended up taking only the original find back with us, and it is now drying out in front of the window.

There may not be a whole "going on" on the Cape during the winter, but the simpler life is enjoyable for the time being.

cabin fever

The weather lately up here in the Northeast has been alternating between frigid/snowy and moderate/rainy, and the puppy and I have been enjoying our morning runs-- either on cross-country skis or on foot. We are lucky that there are so few people out right now because that means the pup can get her sillies out off-leash. Her favorite activity is reaching the beach, where she darts back and forth across the sand, as fast and as happy as can be. I'm not sure what it is about the beach, but that's where she really gets excited!

After all that energy exertion, back in we go where that tired puppy sleeps for most of the rest of the day. That leaves the rest of the day free for me. There are not as many work hours at the stores now that the holidays are over, so I've been doing a lot of at-home projects and activities. However, a few days ago it hit me that I wanted to go out and do something. (I can state with confidence that there is really not much in the way of open businesses on Cape Cod in the winter, at least if you prefer something other than Starbucks or Wal-Mart.)

So, my friend and I grabbed a discount pass from the library and headed to the New Bedford Whaling Museum where we learned all about the history of whaling in the area. Who knew there was so much trade between New Bedford and places like the Azores, Cape Verde, and the northern Pacific? Of course it makes sense for island and coastal communities to form trade alliances leading to the exchange and movement of people. That always fascinates me, so in the spirit of these cross-cultural exchanges, we ended up eating at a Portuguese cafe for a late lunch. I chose a not-quite-American burger that included linguiça, a fried egg, sliced potatoes and some incredibly spicy chilies, which after one burning bite I promptly removed.

 Lots of scrimshaw...

 I recognized this from my graduate studies as a Loango carved whale tooth

 The largest model ship ever built

 grey day

 I spy... lots of fishing boats

think two-year-old

"Think two-year-old"

That was the advice given to my upon the departure of this puppy's humans, on their way to spend the winter in Florida. Shahna the dog...puppy... is a one-year-old Boxer, left in my care for the next few months, and so has our bonding begun! Luckily, we are both active (a BIG plus, and convenience), though Shahna being the young'n is constantly on the go. I can't keep up. She is still learning, and although a little stubbornness comes through periodically, she is generally very easygoing.

Born in Florida herself last year, Shahna had never seen snow until this winter. We had a standard winter blizzard going on the past 24 hours, which left a beautiful blanket of snow on Cape Cod about a foot deep. Puppy seemed slightly disoriented at first, but quickly realized how NEW everything was! And of course that set her off. We went down her favorite trail to the water, me on my cross-country skis, and Shahna with a friend on foot (read: runner who could keep up with her).

It was gorgeous out by the time we reached the water! The entire morning it had been flurrying, and by the time I scraped and defrosted the car and plowed the drive later in the afternoon, the sun was peeking through. It was about an hour before sunset when we reached the water. It was my first cross country ski of the season, and a beautiful one at that!