aging in place : 53 project week 48

Imagine the lives lived

behind these doors,

footsteps up the stairway,

a rustling in the hayloft,

a glimpse from an upper window,

the stirring of wind through the eaves.

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

across the harbor : 53 project week 31

Last week I wandered the dunes of Sandy Neck; this week I visited the easternmost end of the barrier beach.  A few of us local historians went out the the cottage colony to visit one of the cottage owners there, and see her wonderful collection of photos and Sandy Neck historical materials.  It was a rainy, wet September morning, very gray with low clouds and fog.  I took a quick walk among the cottages before we left, but could have stayed all day, capturing the rustic beauty of the place.  Look:

the 53 project : week 8

I ventured "over the bridge" yesterday, off of Cape Cod and into the world of southeastern Massachusetts.  Before we moved to the Cape we lived in this area, and I was a Library Director in the little town of Rochester.  Southeastern Massachusetts is an interesting mix of small towns, old farmland giving way to urban sprawl, old manufacturing cities like New Bedford and Fall River, and a sort of urban/rural decay that exists in stark contract to lovely back roads and coastal beauty.  If you're never read the wonderful book Swimming at Suppertime: Seasons of Delight on the Wrong Side of Buzzards Bay, by Carol Wasserman, you should rush out to your local library or book shop and pick up a copy.  It is a poignant and compelling read.

I drove through the very villages that Wasserman writes about so intimately.  These roads were once the gateway to Cape Cod, where tourists traveled to get to the promised land.  Now they are run down and neglected, but beautiful to my photographer's eye.

The red Xs on the buildings are sad reminders that some of these buildings may soon be torn down.  I have a call in to the local Town Hall to see if I might be able to take some more photos of some of these buildings before they're gone forever.

Happy Valentine's Day, friends and family!  I hope your day was filled with love.