Have you ever see Indian Rock at Fort Hill on Cape Cod?
For thousands of years before the Europeans landed, the Nauset Indians lived beside the marshes of Cape Cod. Among the evidences of their occupation is this grinding rock, one of four such boulders found in the Nauset Bay area.
The Nauset Indians used this rock to grind, polish and sharpen their implements made of stone and animal bones, as well as shape their fish hooks.
It is so cool to see things like this and give tribute to the Nauset Indains who thrived in this area.
We awoke this morning at dawn to the Crows squawking outside our bedroom window. I thought it must be the little Red-tailed Hawk nearby. The other morning it was in our birdbath at dawn, splashing away.
I went out on the deck and looked all around in the pine trees for the hawk, but could not find him. And then… I saw these golden eyes looking down at me. Wow!
There was a Great Horned Owl in the tree right outside our bedroom window. How cool is that?!
I ran in and got the binoculars while Phil clicked away with the camera. Unbelievable! I knew there are Great Horned Owls here on Cape Cod, but I had no idea we would ever see one in our backyard!
You can see why the boats can enter and exit Rock Harbor in Orleans on Cape Cod only before or after high tide. Otherwise, they could get stuck in Cape Cod Bay or in the harbor for many hours waiting for the tide to change.
You can see the “buoy trees” which mark the channel into the harbor sitting on top of the sand. It is dead low tide. No boats will be going in for quite a while.
And at low tide, you can walk out it seems for mile. Have you ever been to Cape Cod Bay at low tide?
The meadows at Fort Hill on Cape Cod are abundant with beautiful white Queen Anne’s Lace wildflowers. Last month was pink with Beach Pea wildflowers and all you can see now is Queen Anne’s Lace.
Queen Anne’s Lace reminds me of my Mom who showed me the wildflower when I was a little girl and told me that it got its name because it looked just like a delicate piece of lace.
Queen Anne’s Lace grows to about 4′ tall. It is a flat, lacy flower with 4″ clusters of tiny white flowers.
One thing I did not know is that it is poisonous and may irritate the skin. It blooms from June to September in fields and roadsides.
Pokeweed is a very distinctive, succulent plant here on Cape Cod. Its 1/4″ flowers are racemes with 5 white to pinkish round waxy sepals and green centers. Its leaves are large and egg-shaped. The stems turn red with age and the berries turn a dark blue.
It is a large plant which grows from 4-10 feet and blooms from July to September in open woods and fields. I saw these Pokeweeds at Fort Hill in Eastham along the side of the trail by the Nauset Marsh.
In the first photograph you can see the buds before they bloom to the left and as they bloom on the right. In the 2nd photograph you can see the dark blue berries that hang from the plant and look like grapes.
After reading one of the comments, I realized that Pokeweeds are very toxic plants, both the berries and the stem. Stay far away!
Cape Cod daily articles on the wonderful Cape Cod places to hike, experience and photograph. A Cape Cod Outdoor Adventure Series.
