Don’t get excited, I’m talking about deer antlers.
And as I was filtering through my hundreds of shots of our buck the other day….
I thought some of you city people might get a kick out of this.
After the fall rut….. (read: deer orgy, where size does matter) ….. the buck will drop his then useless horns.
It’s a slow process that sometimes takes all winter. The blood supply is cut off and they slowly loosen. You often see bucks with one side hanging crookedly… and they’ll rub against trees, fence posts, picnic tables or whatever is around to knock them off.
Even with the milder winters we’re having, we still see our fair share of snow, ice, and sleet. But temperatures are warming and we’re not seeing those epic dumps of the white stuff like we used to.
This used to be a normal February.
Tunneling was a way of life.
Now? We get a few inches and it melts.
Then it freezes.
I am so done with ice.
Yes, it’s pretty.
But when walking to the mailbox means you might slip, fall and crack a rib?
You can have it.
Give me a foot of snow over pretty shining crystals any day.
And with all that snow, melting and ice?
This –
A leak in the roof.
And what looks like an expensive repair to the ceiling.
It’s the worst possible time of year for it.
So from now until spring, when we can get it fixed, I’m going to cringe every time it rains.
Home to the famous oceanographic institute… where you can visit, but can’t park your car.
Also home to a drawbridge….
And some wonderfully odd ships popping out of nowhere.
Our original plan was to visit the institute but when we realized we’d have to park downtown and walk ( in a 20 degree wind chill, after just hiking the Knob in a 20 degree wind chill) we opted for the aquarium instead.
I’d read it was small and didn’t get my hopes up…
But they actually had a large diversity of marine life….
As well as some fascinating exhibits.
No, not all the fish were pretty.
But it’s the weirdos I like best anyway.
Like this fellow….
And his large friend.
Pardon all the background noise, it was rather crowded the day we went.
Did anyone else realize loggerhead turtles were so freakin’ big?
Here’s someone you don’t want to step on accidentally.
This next guy looks my husband’s grumpy uncle.
Imagine having that stare at you across the Christmas dinner table every year.
Fish scales can be counted like tree rings?
Another thing I didn’t know.
I was beyond thrilled they had Lion Fish.
They’re my favorite!
Okay, yes.
They’re poisonous as hell and would just as soon kill you as look at you…
The Pilgrims Monument in Provincetown. We came, we saw, we climbed.
And climbed. And climbed. And climbed….
Photo of my husband wondering why we don’t take relaxing vacations on the beach like normal people.
Completed in 1910 to commemorate the Pilgrim’s fist landing in Provincetown on November 21, 1620…. the tower is 252 tall and rises 350 feet above sea level.
(Those are Christmas lights radiating down from the top, not support wires. Because hey, if your monument is held up by wires? Even I’m not climbing it.)
No alcohol allowed? They really know how to kill a girl’s spirit.
This is the tallest all granite structure in the United States, and every single massive piece of stone came from my beautiful state of Maine.
Stairs?
There were a few…
But thankfully there were ramps as well.
And on the day we visited?
It was so cold, windy and damp, the walls were sweating.
We climbed what seemed like forever…. and still had a long way to go.
But there were windows along the way which we opened to peak out.
At which point the wind practically knocked us down.
Granted, looking down was a little nerve wracking.
Good thing my vertigo didn’t kick in, I’d still be there.
Onward and ever upward… we neared the top.
Run my *ss.
Gimme a few more years and I’ll be crawling.
A few more flights….
Yay!
The top…
Where it was raining….
And blowing a friggin’ gale force.
Time for a quick wild haired selfie…
And a walk around the less windy sides with P’town spread out below…
A farewell to the gargoyles.
And we headed back down to collect my sticker.
I’d earned it!
Where there's only one step from the sublime to the ridiculous.