Sandwich Christmas Lights

Not to toot my own horn or anything, but Sandwich always has excellent individual-effort Christmas lighting.

I don't know who you call to order the 20 foot kid-with-a-triple-scoop Christmas light (I think there is someone on 6A), but the folks at Twin Acres Ice Cream do.

Reindeer are probably an easier score.

There was a guy in Sandwich who did his house up with 30000 lights. This isn't him, but he does have some pretty cool lights.

Unlike the snowman I built Wednesday, ones made of light don't melt.

Surf Check: Cape Cod

The Cape's first real snow of the year merits a surf check, even if coastal flooding was not expected. 

This is especially true if you go at low tide, like we did.

I work for a church in December, it lowers my availability, which is why we went to weaker-surf beaches at low tide rather than superheavyweights like Eastham or Duxbury at high tide.

We started at Town Neck Beach in Sandwich. We were also shooting from the Drunken Seal, because reasons.

Since we were in the neighborhood, we also checked out Sagamore Beach.

Nothing catastrophic, but a nice mini road trip.

Note the difference between Sagamore Beach, above, and Kalmus Beach in Hyannis, below.

Sunday Through Tuesday Nor'easter

A lengthy Nor'easter takes December in like a lion.

The fun should start about mid afternoon as snow. The Cape and the immediate coastlines of the South Shore and South Coast should change to rain rather quickly. This will wash away the snow.

Where it doesn't turn to rain, and this is the tricky part of the forecast, accumulation will be impressive.

New Bedford might have no snow at all by Monday, while Taunton may have 4 inches.

The rainy areas may get into the snow as the storm pulls away. We call this "aftersnow," although real meteorologists probably use a different term.

Power outages are a threat, as winds will be strong enough to down tree limbs.

Coastal flooding will be a concern, as we should have a long period of ENE winds. Tides are astronomically low, which will be a saving grace.

Here's what our local weather stations are saying:

WBZ

WCVB

WHDH

WFXT

NECN

Surf Check: Sandwich

Checking out high tide by The Drunken Seal in Sandwich. Our photographers love the Seal because you can shoot at the waves without exiting the vehicle.

There was a coastal flood advisory, but it wasn't that bad. 

They say it's rougher further east, past Barnstable.

Pariah Dog Farm

We visited Pariah Dog Farm in Falmouth recently.

Yes, we'll have wind chills in the single digits overnight, but we refuse to let go of Autumn.

All the cool kids make it to the P Dog.

We heartily recommend going to a farm for your pumpkin needs, rather than plucking one out of a bin at the Wal-Mart. The chicken and the bunny below both agree.

This was a big ol' bunny, maybe the size of a beagle.

Cock o' the walk...

I made it 51 years being completely unaware that chickens eat carrots and peppers.

...and pumpkins.

Apples are out of their vertical range.

They have peppers for humans, too.

I don't really like eggplants, but if a riot started at the farm stand, eggplants look like they'd be good to deck a sucker with.

A peck of peppers

I have no jokes about radishes.

Overnight Nor'easter

A storm with heavy rains and strong winds will move over eastern Massachusetts tonight.

The storm will form off the mid-Atlantic states. It will intensify as it approaches, and will barrel up Buzzards Bay at us. It will be a fast moving system, and the rain should be done by some point on Thursday morning.

This will be a regional storm, with all of Eastern Massachusetts getting a taste.

Heavy rains and strong winds will be with us overnight, with the winds staying intense even after the rain ends.

Coastal flooding shouldn't be a concern, as the storm is moving very quickly. The winds from the East will be too brief for much surf by the 2 AM high tide, and what surf there is by 2 PM will be dampened by a howling SW wind.

We'll still get a camera somewhere, maybe Westport.

There is a chance of power outages.

Cape Cod Light

Highland Light, aka Cape Cod Light, in Truro.

She went up in 1797. George Washington himself placed the order. She is Cape Cod's oldest lighthouse, although she was torn down and switched from wood to brick in 1857. She was moved 450 feet inland in 1996, as she was threatened with cliff erosion.

George Washington also ordered the North Truro Air Force Station. Oh, wait, he did not. It's decommissioned anyhow.

Last Lunch Of The Season At Moby Dick's

We had to dine here before Shoulder Season ended.

Many places on the Cape close after Labor Day, but some hang on until Columbus Day.

Moby Dick's Restaurant in Wellfleet was closing on Monday until next summer, so we had to shake a Clam Roll out of them.

Our boss went for The Moby Burger.

See you next summer!

Surf Check: Post Melissa Cape Cod

We hit the Outer Cape to check the surf on Sunday. 

Subtropical Storm Melissa had been stirring up waves since Wednesday, and the waves were still rolling in on Sunday afternoon.

Melissa is moving away from us, but the surf was the last thing to go. We're at Nauset Light Beach for these shots.

I generally don't shoot pics of random kids, but this one floored the Cuteometer.

Always helps to have actual surfers in the Surf Check articles.

Bigger storms move bigger pieces of driftwood.

My favorite surf is when the storm is far enough away that we get sunny weather, but close enough to send in Slow Rollers.

This is Day 5 of Melissa surf, although we were getting waves from her before she was named.

There's a pretty good crowd for a Saturdayyyy... Oh wait, we took these pics on Sunday. The manager did not give us a smile, which is fair because he knows it's Melissa that they're coming to see.

I think there's a surfer in there somewhere.

Babyfish

A very determined tree

Castles made of sand wash into the sea, eventually.

Pensive surfer, finally gets a bit of a ride, below...

I hung around in case the gull made a stronger claim on this guy's lunch, but he stayed polite.

A very enjoyable day of Surf Check.

Our hosts for the day were Nauset Light...

...and Highland Light.

The surf was notably weaker in Truro.

We still took a shot or two.