And if you take that walk with me...

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... and patiently humor me while we park in between the Dunkin Donuts and the auto parts store, and uncomplainingly walk the long path past salvage yards and the like - well, this will be your reward. And we will have it all to ourselves.

Walk with me

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Sometimes you need a change of scenery - to hit the reset button on your day and step onto a different path.

And that's just what we did this afternoon. I'm looking forward to sharing the photos over the next few days.

Today, more rain

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Even the spiderwebs are decked out in their raindrop finery.

Raindrops on clover

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Our weather has been all over the place lately - sunny and hot careening headlong into cloudy and cold, then back into humidity followed by today's crash into rain and mist.

But raindrops are like jewels - aren't they?

Parachute surfer

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You have my husband to thank for this bonus photo today - he decided he wanted to go for a post-dinner drive down to the water, where we came upon this parachute surfer skimming along the choppy waves at Minot Beach.

Cedar Point

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This little shed always makes me smile as I'm leaving the lighthouse.

Lunch?

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Mr. Jerimiah Cushing

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"Here lyes the body of Mr. Jerimiah Cushing Pastor of a Church of Christ at the Northerly part of Scittuate who departed this life March the 22nd 1705/6 in the 50 year of his age"

This grave in the Men of Kent Cemetery on Meeting House Lane isn't one of the oldest, but it's in excellent shape and has amazing detail on its face.

The Men of Kent Cemetery was established around 1624 and is the town's first burial site. The town's meetinghouse was built on this location in 1636; it no longer stands, but the graves remain.

Harvest Moon

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The moon rising over North Scituate tonight.

Farewell Summer

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Green leaves at sunset

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Some of the trees are already traded their green finery for leaves of red and gold, but this one on Lawson Common holds fast to its summer hues.

Soldier

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The Soldiers & Sailors monument stands on Lawson Common. This afternoon, the sunlight beckoned me in for a closer look at the soldier.

Summer memories

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Looking at these children I remember my own young summers when my feet were smaller and my days were longer and all the world was mine for the tasting and exploring...

Flower

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A stray seed must have somehow made its way into my side yard, for last week this little fellow unexpectedly poked its head up from the midst of my rhododendrons. Summer's last hurrah?

And now for something completely different...

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At first blush, this may seem like an odd choice for today's Scituate Daily Photo post. But allow me to explain...

This is Ivy. She is one year old and came to us from the Scituate Animal Shelter, where she was the tiniest kitten in her litter. When she first came to her forever home we called her "Itty Bitty Kitty" but as she grew older we decided a more dignified name was in order.

Ivy thinks the computer is fascinating. She takes special delight in supervising the downloading and uploading of photos. And over the past nine months, she has supervised every Scituate Daily Photo post.

So I thought she earned a place among those photos, seeing as how she's basically the mascot of this project.

Dribbles

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In the summer, this place is hopping. With picnic benches on the patio overlooking Front Street, it's a great place to sit and eat your ice and watch the world go by... but now it's September, and you can have a whole patio to yourself even on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

Hello Gorgeous

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This gorgeous fellow was hanging out on my front stoop, reminding me that a world of wonder is right outside the door.

When two fronts collide

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I stepped out my door to get the mail this afternoon and was confronted with a practically schizophrenic sky. Those dark clouds looked threatening but it was all bluster and no storm - the blue skies prevailed.

The seasons march on

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We were just at the beach last week - how is it possible that we're already seeing pumpkins? Yet there they were at the farm stand on Rt. 3A, plump and ready and waiting.

Watching the sun go down

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This man stood quietly outside Scituate Light, watching the last rays of sunlight playing on the waters of Scituate Harbor. It was too perfect a moment not to capture.

Laughter

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"The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter."
- Mark Twain

This picture is from September 3rd. Earl was approaching our coastline and the wind and the surf were howling... and this group of young men jumped into the wild waves and played football. They laughed as they were knocked over and found their feet again. They reveled in the storm.

If there is one thing I could wish for you all on today, it is laughter. It is joy. It is fiercely, willfully, gleefully embracing life even as the storm hovers on our shore.

Minot Light 1-4-3

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The sun sets over Minot Light off of Scituate's coast. Minot Light is fondly known as the "I Love You" lighthouse, as its light flashes in a 1-4-3 pattern.

Outward bound

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Tonight's sunset was astonishingly beautiful. And as day turned to night, this massive cruise ship headed out of the port of Boston. Where do you think they could be headed?

Footprints in the sand

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The morning of the first day of school on Egypt Beach - most of the footprints are pawprints.

First day of school!

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Today was the first day of school for students in Scituate. It was a beautiful day... and the beaches were very, very quiet.

Happy Labor Day!

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Scituate is for some people a summer town, where their families gather at their beach houses. It is certainly true that-- be you a year-rounder or one of the summer people -- the warm season is a special time in this town.

Every year the Scituate Beach Association throws a parade on Labor Day weekend to celebrate the season that was - and as the sign on the van says, "What happens in Sand Hills stays in Sand Hills."

Happy Labor Day everyone... I hope that this year's summer memories are wonderful ones.

A little lobster for Labor Day

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I went down to Sand Hills today... and saw all manner of unusual things... like a little lobster or two...

Calm after Earl

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Well, Earl didn't amount to much here in Scituate - just a lot of rain and wind. And today - well, today was just glorious.

The sun set gently across the harbor. All was light. And it was good.

Here he comes

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As Earl makes his progress up the Eastern seaboard he's losing strength. The latest forecast indicates that by the time he reaches Nantucket he'll be a hurricane no more, just an angry tropical storm throwing rain and wind our way.

If you look closely at this picture, you'll notice several young men in the water. They were laughing and shouting gleefully as they tossed a football in the surf. Waves and wind and defiant joy... laughing away a hurricane.

Waves, waves, waves

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A steamy hot summer night, with the air so thick with blown sea spray that it looks like a misty October morning... Earl is on his way.

Surf's up

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Another trip to Minot tonight and the surf is definitely up. All up and down the coast of Massachusetts, riptides and strong waves are closing beaches and making people nervous as Hurricane Earl approaches. The forecasts are still all over the place and the meteorologists are having quite a time trying to predict the storm's path.