Cape Cod in September 2019
November 29, 2019
My friend Lynda invited me to visit her in Falmouth, Massachusetts, this September. We are both photographers, and she took me places where we could enjoy nature with our cameras. All but the last photograph in this post—which I took in Woods Hole—are from Falmouth and environs.
Update of December 4, 2019
A niece of a friend found the lichens shown in #18 on the Bigelow Building at 98 Water Street, just around the corner from the Aquarium. (I had not taken the time to note the exact location.) “Bigelow,” my friend says, “was constructed in 1930, the first building erected for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution that was established in the same year. There are older brick buildings (and walls and gravestones) in Woods Hole but the north side of Bigelow may be particularly favorable for growth because north walls do not receive direct sunlight nor most of the prevailing winds, which would dry them out.”
1 You may think you’ve seen this photo before. I just love the look of light at the end of a tunnel and have taken many similar photographs.
2
3 There are so many varieties of goldenrod. I don’t know which one this is, but it was growing in a wooded area.
4 This is another kind of goldenrod, punctuated by iron weed.
5 My resident botanist says this is a composite he’s not familiar with. He says it doesn’t grow in Ohio. (I thought it looked just like one of our Ohio wildflowers.)
6 Until I saw them growing wild on Cape Cod, I’d only ever seen porcelain berries as cultivated nursery plants.
7 These wild rose hips were the size of small apples. The wild rose hips I’ve seen in northern Ohio are no bigger than the size of peas.
8
9
10
11 These rocks are remnants of an old wall.
12 Here’s a new rock wall.
13
14
15 This and the rocks in the following photographs were beside the park trail, not part of a wall.
16
17
18 As other photos in this post also show, lichens like Cape Cod.
Romancing Reality 
What wonderful photos of a clearly wonderful walk – thank you 🙂
LikeLike
December 1, 2019 at 2:56 PM
Thank you, Alastair. I was almost always aware that I wasn’t in Ohio anymore—mostly because of the rocks and plants.
LikeLiked by 1 person
December 1, 2019 at 3:13 PM
So, I’m scrolling through and I’m saying beautiful, very nice. Nice, beautiful… Then I hit the last photograph and the sound of my jaw hitting the floor resounded through the house.
LikeLiked by 1 person
December 1, 2019 at 3:03 PM
Ah, about like mine did when it hit the pavement! This was one of those double-back moments. Wha??? (I saved it for last on purpose.)
LikeLiked by 1 person
December 1, 2019 at 3:15 PM
Good choice!
LikeLiked by 1 person
December 1, 2019 at 3:46 PM
I agree with Michael that #18 is jaw-dropping but I actually dropped my jaw at #8. Nice work, Linda.
LikeLiked by 1 person
December 1, 2019 at 3:14 PM
Thank you, Ken. About #8: I’ve seen this look—or one similar—driving through Florida and the Carolinas but have always been driving where I couldn’t pull over. I was thrilled to find it where I could walk right up to it.
LikeLike
December 1, 2019 at 3:21 PM
We’re getting ready to take a winter trip to the Cape. The interplay between your wall photographs is really interesting to me; slight variations which create a nice collective.
LikeLike
December 4, 2019 at 6:47 AM
You’ll see plenty of stone walls! Have a good time, and thanks for commenting, John.
LikeLiked by 1 person
December 4, 2019 at 1:28 PM
First and last, both are really quite nice, Linda. I also like woodland trail tunnels and those lichens on brick are gorgeous and I think the ivy is a nice addition to the whole..
LikeLike
December 1, 2019 at 4:22 PM
Thanks, Steve. The ivy and the brick make this a colorful scene, don’t they. I wonder if the lichen would be as noticeable on a rock in the woods. Probably, but maybe not as interesting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
December 1, 2019 at 4:31 PM
With that bright yellow? Yes, I think so. Like a beacon in the woods. 🙂 I agree, more interesting with everything else you have in your image.
LikeLiked by 1 person
December 1, 2019 at 7:04 PM
Regarding #18: I’ve never seen lichens on bricks. The way the lichen spills over onto some of the vine stalks makes the scene particularly unusual.
LikeLike
December 1, 2019 at 6:00 PM
I don’t know that I’ve ever before seen lichens on bricks either, Steve. They do grow on stone, though, so maybe it’s not unreasonable.
LikeLike
December 1, 2019 at 7:16 PM
The yellow flowers in 4 could be Royal Goldenrod, and the white composites in 5 could be Daisy Fleabane.
Your photos make me miss the Northeast.
Larry Porter
LikeLike
December 1, 2019 at 9:56 PM
Daisy Fleabane is what I thought #5 was also. Maybe I should ask David again. Can’t find Royal Goldenrod on line . . . Sorry to make you miss the Northeast, Larry.
LikeLike
December 2, 2019 at 8:06 PM
OK. I talked with David, who sent me Googling. Seems there are two (at least) plants called Daisy Fleabane. They are in the same genus. The one we have in Ohio is Erigeron annuus, and it blooms in the early summer. This one may be Erigeron strigosus. It was blooming in September. David says E. annuus has a different growth pattern and is “hairier.”
LikeLike
December 3, 2019 at 5:11 PM
Fine set, Linda. I like the rhythm in nr.4 and the colors in nr.18.
LikeLike
December 2, 2019 at 6:41 AM
Thank you, Harrie. The colors in #18 are amazing, aren’t they. I never think about rhythm as applied to photographs. Maybe I should; I see what you mean.
LikeLiked by 1 person
December 2, 2019 at 8:09 PM
Love the porcelain berries. I don’t even know that was a thing!
LikeLike
December 2, 2019 at 6:49 AM
Thanks, Clare. I only learned about porcelain berries 15 years ago or so. I sure didn’t grow up with them.
LikeLike
December 2, 2019 at 8:11 PM
Good pictures, Linda, especially 2, 4, 8 and >>>> 18!!!!!!!!! A 🙂
LikeLike
December 3, 2019 at 10:18 AM
Thanks, Adrian. That #18 seems to be a favorite. You might want to look at the update I added today.
LikeLiked by 1 person
December 4, 2019 at 1:48 PM
Oh, so many wonderful images here. The opening salvo is great – keep doing the light at the end of the tunnel, especially when it looks as mystical as this one does. The goldenrod is so delicate – beautifully seen, and the fern, too. Then the field with the ironweed, oh, heaven! I like the even, all-over look with all that detail. It makes me happy. I would have thought the aster-like or composite in #5 was the one that is frequently seen too, but OK. 🙂 Interesting that you usually see Porcelainberry as a nursery plant only. I used to see it in the wild in NY, can’t remember where. I think it was common. Such a fun plant for anyone who’s visually inclined, with all those colors. FAT rosehips indeed, wow. 🙂 The marsh is a very nice rest for the eyes here. Then bark and stone: texture time. Old stone walls, such a beloved feature of New England, NY, NJ, etc. Your studies show you’re paying real attention to those rocks. I took a class in dry-stone rock wall building once. Cool stuff. I think you’d love doing it. Well, so your interlude in Falmouth was good!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
December 3, 2019 at 9:37 PM
Yes, my time in Falmouth was good, and I hope to go back. But next time I’ll forego the airplane and bus transportation for a relaxing two-day car trip. (There must be a way to avoid Boston traffic.) So happy you found “many wonderful images” in this post. Your feedback makes me like my own images more, LOL. You’re right: I think I would enjoy dry-stone rock wall building. Did you ever build such a wall outside of class?
LikeLike
December 4, 2019 at 1:55 PM