Like many others I’ve been doing a lot of planting this spring. I’ve always had gardens but to be honest, they’ve been as full of weeds as anything else because I just haven’t had the time or energy to maintain them. That and the fact that I not so secretly love the butter ‘n eggs, chicory and Queen Anne’s lace that all think they own the place. Throw in some red clover, thistle, evening primrose, dock and pokebe...

The show must go on at The Academy Playhouse in Orleans, where social distancing can’t stop the power of performance. Starting Friday, July 3 at 3 p.m. The Playhouse will present its first ever free virtual musical via Zoom, “The Big One-Oh!” directed by Kevin Quill and J Williams. Six performances will take place: on Friday, July 3 at 3 p.m.; Saturday, July 4 at 10 a.m.; Sunday, July 5 at 5 p.m.; Friday, J...

Women Now Make Up Half Of The Town's Famous Musical Group Women were given the right to vote in the United States in August 1920 with the passage of the 19 th Amendment, but they weren’t given the right to join the Chatham Band until January 1982. Today, over a full generation later, women playing in the beloved band don’t raise an eyebrow, and in fact half of the Chatham Band’s 40 full-time members are no...

HARWICH PORT — One morning last week, Nan Poor, a trustee of the Harwich Conservation Trust, looked out her window into her yard, where she has several bird feeding stations. Among the visitors to her yard, which is next to the HCT Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve’s wetlands and walking paths, there are often mourning doves eating seed on the ground or blue jays bouncing about. This particular morning, thou...

In spite of all sorts of signs to the contrary, summer has arrived. It’s not going to be our usual summer here on Cape Cod, but I think it’s going to be an interesting summer. No festivals, county fairs, concerts, parades, fireworks, plays, or sporting events are on our calendars this year. And yet, summer is making her appearance anyway. I can’t help but feel a little like the people of Dr. Seuss’s Whoville ...

Beethoven's 250th Birthday Will Be Running Theme It’s been a long few months of silent stages and empty performance venues across Cape Cod, but now it’s time to mark your calendar for a musical treat. In September the Cape Symphony, led by Artistic Director and Conductor Jung-Ho Pak, hopes to emerge from the pandemic shadows to take the stage at the Barnstable Performing Arts Center with an unforgettable comeb...

HARWICH – As a former educator, Dr. Donna Bender has always had a soft spot in her heart for young people, which is why, when she saw signs announcing the homes of seniors from Monomoy Regional High School, she was struck by all that the pandemic had taken from them. She decided to do something to lift their spirits. “I don’t want to sound like a Pollyanna, but I am most happy if I do something for someone oth...

When I sat down at the computer to write my column this week I found myself gazing out the window at nothing in particular in a sort of stupor. My brain had gone silent, my thoughts had vacated and even my eyes didn’t seem to be working right. I had the energy of a sloth and to be fair, that may be underestimating the poor sloth. This wasn’t the first time I’d experienced ennui in the last few months but w...

My walks in the woods are getting pretty buggy. This is usually what stops me from my weekly forays into the woods that I love so much, and it always happens right about now. I tend to walk in areas that have water nearby so mosquitoes, deer flies, gnats and other bugs I can’t identify swarm around me as if greeting a long lost friend. To be honest, some days it gets to be too much. I do use bug spray if I...

One of the fun annual events you’ve crossed out on your COVID-19 socially distanced summer social calendar may soon be possible once again. The folks at the Payomet Performing Arts Center are exploring options for a series of safe, drive-in style outdoor concerts which, though not exactly what we’re used to in a summer concert, is sure to hit the spot for audiences who have become a bit too familiar with the insi...

Recently I’ve been doing a lot of walking out in the woods or on the beach and I’ve discovered that no matter where I go, the sounds of cars, sirens, planes and boat motors are ever present. Even in this time of reduced traffic, a certain level of noise has continued unabated. There may be stretches of time where the natural sounds of nature alone can be heard but they are rare and short, if you really stop to li...

“ What did you miss the most during the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020?” Someday in the future, someone will ask you this question. For many Cape Codders, the answer will be easy. We missed warm, breezy evenings spent gathered with our friends, families and neighbors on blankets or in beach chairs. We missed the sound of laughter, the sight of suntanned children chasing each other across the green grass...