I know Cape Cod pretty well having lived here most of my life. There are so many beautiful areas, from Chatham where I grew up to Wellfleet where I still have family. Ocean-side Wellfleet and Eastham anytime of year is just outstanding and can be wild and loud with surf. Bay side here is great too at low tide where you can walk out on the flats forever.
Woods Hole, so small and intimate, with the flurry of ferries and movement constant. The drawbridge is a big motif for me here.
Provincetown at the Cape tip, is just consistently wonderful and the real artist mecca of this region. Or Sandy neck where I go out in my Jeep whenever I can spend a day relaxing. Where I want to take my first swim of the season in the cold surf to feel alive.
So what is it about Buzzards Bay that keeps me so…enthralled?
It’s depressed. It’s run down. Even Jimmy Buffet sings about not wanting to be here. It is lacking in so many respects. But I miss it when I do not get here, and I do not get here often.
This is the gateway to the Cape. You can see ships from all over the world cutting under the bridges through the canal. It is where I go when I want to go antiquing. It is now where I go when I want to get Thai food. It is where many people go to spend the day fishing along the canal in a current so swift you would not want to fall into it. There is something about Buzzards Bay. What is it? I have a large night painting of tugs on the canal here that has been in progress for…years! I love it. It is a strong piece but I just can’t finish it. Can’t bring myself to put it on the easel.
Last night I chanced the heavy Sunday evening traffic to visit friends that are staying along the Scusset, and I was jealous as they talked about the different things they have discovered in this area. And how quiet and beautiful it looks at six o’clock in the morning.
How here you can see along the coastal paths men riding bikes all rigged up with fishing poles picking there spot, or later riding there bikes while balancing a 30″ striper.
This area called Buzzards Bay is the last stronghold of the OLD Cape. That is what attracks me. Progress has passed it by and I am glad.
Last night I brought my camera to take some shots there, but it never came out of my bag. Which is very unusal, but there is something about Buzzards Bay. But you can picture in your imagination; the swift tides, thick salty air and dingy small Capes selling second hand items under the towering bridges that carry the masses that no longer stop here.
I really like your blog and i respect your work. I’ll be a frequent visitor.
I added your blog to bookmarks. And i’ll read your articles more often!
Nice blog Loretta. You’re from Chatham originally?? How’d you wind up in Barnstable?
Tom
Thank you! You often write very interesting articles. You improved my mood.
Hello. My name is Chris. I’m from USA. I’m new to this forum, i was hoping you could maybe teach me some stuff.
Hi Chris, that link did not work. Try again.
Where do you live?
Great talking to you….thanks for sending me to this blog entry…it moved me…the Buzzards Bay I know and love…shared and cared about by an artist…in my mind’s eye I picture tugboats at night in the canal…and antique shops which I love poking through for treasures from days gone by…looking ahead …and looking back…hopeful in May as the Cape blossoms…talk to you soon…happy painting!