It was a gorgeous, warm day to take a hike from Doane Rock to Coast Guard Beach. One of my favorite parts of the hike is when you can go off the main trail and onto another one that takes you around Nauset Marsh, which is part of the National Seashore. The cattails are high and blowing in the wind as you cross the little boardwalk. You can see the abundance of red Winterberry berries on the side of the trail.
One of those “pinch me” moments!
Pretty, don’t you think?
I haven’t been able to get a really good photograph of a Swan since we moved to Cape Cod 2 years ago. They are usually too far away to get a good shot or the lighting isn’t right. When hiking a couple of weeks ago, there was a male, a female and a juvenile swan swimming in one of the little kettle ponds along our hike. I thought, “This is my lucky day!”
I clicked away and when I got home , it was the juvenile Swan who stole my heart. I just loved this photograph of the younger, not quite white Swan with similar coloring of the water.
What do you think?
The Atlantic White Cedar Swamp Trail is a beautiful hike through the scrub bushes, the pine forest, over White Cedar Swamp on a boardwalk and then back to the trailhead. It has so many different things to see.
I took this photograph as we were hiking through the woods. It’s a soft, pine needled trail which meanders up and down to the swamp. It’s perfect this time of the year because there are no mosquitoes!
It’s a great hike for the whole family and very diverse for the kids!
You can see these beautiful red berries all over Cape Cod this time of year. They are so pretty and remind me of the holidays that will soon be here.
I am not sure what kind of bush they grow on, as the berries seem to be in a line on the branch. Can anyone help me identify it?
Thank you for the identification of Winterberries!
As Phil and I were taking a walk down Coast Guard Beach a couple of weeks ago when the temps were in the lower 70s, we saw something lying on the sand. Hmmm….
As we got closer I could see that it was a Common Eider just relaxing in the sun and not bothered by anyone. We clicked away. After a little while, he got up and sauntered back down to the water.
A Common Eider has a white back and black undersides with a black crown. They have a very distinctive bill, as you can see. I’d only seen them a couple of times last year in the water, so this was a big treat!
Beautiful bird, don’t you think?
