Like a ship on a windswept sea

Like a ship on a windswept sea, a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

I love this house on Egypt Beach; raised on stilts, from a certain angle it looks like it's setting sail on a grassy sea...

Holding court

Holding court , a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

I knew f I hung around the edge of the pond with the ducks long enough that the resident royal would come over to investigate.

Swans are a familiar sight around this neck of the woods; nesting pairs tend to return to the same spots year after year. A word to the wise - admire from a safe distance, because they can get very territorial if they feel their nest is being threatened, and those beautiful white wings can pack quite a wallop!

Stop and read the signs...

Stop and read the signs..., a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

Don't you hate it when your day goes pear-shaped? Or your week, for that matter?

Stop and read the signs and remember where you are. Take a deep breath. And move on.

Side note for other City Daily Photo bloggers - April Theme Day is coming and the CDP portal is still down! Please visit this link - http://cdpbthemeday.blogspot.com.au/- for details on what's going on and how we can keep the Theme Day alive in the meantime. Pass it on!

Snowy morning

Snowy morning , a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

No, it didn't get quite that cold overnight... I'm dipping back into the archives to a January morning on the Driftway, when snow tickled the marsh grasses and then the morning light brushed it all away.

Wildflower Garden

Wildflower Garden , a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

One of my favorite places come springtime is the Wildflower Garden at the Mann House. Everything comes to life gradually and sweetly here...

Monochrome Monday: Elephants Under Cover

Monochrome Monday: Elephants Under Cover, a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

What with last week's record-breaking temperatures, the trips to the beach and the budding of the trees it was easy to get spring fever - but the elephant fountain on Lawson Common is still in its winter attire! This is, after all, New England - and it looks like we'll be spending most of our week in the forty degree range!

As a side note, traditionally Scituate Daily Photo has posted in the evening. For schedule reasons, I'm shifting to morning posts and hope that you will enjoy the change!

Remember last week?

Remember last week?, a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

You know, when it was sunny and close to eighty degrees and we all trotted off to the beach?

Sigh.

Spring in New England.

Fire in the Forest

DSC_0911a-wm, a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

The day that this new story appeared, warning of the high risk of fire on the South Shore, a fire broke out in the woods by the Ellis Estate. These woods stretch from Country Way to Route 3A and are filled with walking trails.



A homeowner heard what sounded like the crackling of a bonfire and turned to the woods to discover flames clawing their way up the trees behind his house.




Fortunately the Scituate Fire Department was able to contain and douse the fire before it got out of control. An area about the size of half a football field was scorched - quite a contrast from the blooms and buds that dominated this week.




A few young men I ran into told me that there was a teepee on this spot before the fire.



There's not much left now.


Many thanks to Michael Page of HinghamWeather.com for his tweet about the fire.

Spring, she has sprung!

Spring, she has sprung! , a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.


I'm still waiting on the baby praying mantises, though. 

Written in the sand

Written in the sand , a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

Special Olympic Park

Special Olympic Park, a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

Just over the bridge to First and Second Cliffs, where Edward Foster and Peggotty Beach Roads meet Bridge Ave, there is a little park with modest benches nestled. The Special Olympic Park was dedicated almost fourteen years ago and I thought that this was a fitting day to photograph it - because today is World Down Syndrome Day.

The stone plaque is engraved, "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me brave in the attempt." This is the Special Olympics athlete's oath, but really, they are words we should all take to heart.

The sounds of spring.

The sounds of spring. a video by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

I know, I know, it's Scituate Daily Photo, not Scituate Daily Video - but nevertheless...

Let's celebrate the first day of spring with a serenade.

Monochrome Monday: Last day of Winter

Monochrome Monday: Last day of Winter , a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

Catching hermit crabs at Minot Beach.

Now that's a big dog.

Now that's a big dog., a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

We had absolutely gorgeous weather for this year's St. Patrick's Day parade in Scituate! I marched with the Scituate Animal Shelter again this year and we had a wonderful group of volunteers and dogs, many of whom are shelter alumni.

These Irish Wolfhounds attracted a lot of attention along the parade route. While we were stopped and they decided to take a rest, this young man wandered up and I think the expression on his face says it all...!

For some great views of the parade, check out Kjeld Mahoney Photography's timelapse video , Danielle's photos over on Silver Pennies and the photo gallery on Boston.com!

Pionta Guinness

Pionta Guinness, a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh!

I can see in myself wings as I feel them

I can see in myself wings as I feel them, a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

A soft grey rainy day in Scituate that ended warmer than it started. Another day where everything went sideways and where a walk near the water, any water, reminded me of the immovable graces all around.

Tomorrow another leap towards spring as the temperatures rise and the sun emerges. Bring it on.



If I had wings no one would ask me should I fly
The bird sings, and no one asks her why.
I can see in myself wings as I feel them
If you see something else, keep your thoughts to yourself,
I'll fly free then.

Somewhere I have never traveled...

Somewhere I have never traveled..., a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

I love the possibilities of paths stretched out before you. Every step holds potential. Even the trails you've walked before can reveal something new on each outing. It's all there, just waiting- there are no secrets being kept from anyone with the patience to look and listen....

Everyone's Irish in Scituate come St. Patrick's Day...

Everyone's Irish in Scituate come St. Patrick's Day..., a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

...even the statuary.

This little dog outside the Scituate Animal Shelter is ready for this weekend - because St. Patrick's Day is a big deal in the most Irish town in America. I will be marching with my fellow Scituate Animal Shelter volunteers in this Sunday's St. Patrick's Day parade. Be sure to give us a big wave!

Go Lady Sailors!

Go Lady Sailors! , a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

This homemade banner stands proudly on the Driftway - and with good reason. The Lady Sailors beat out Natick this weekend to take the South Division 2 sectional title and tonight they are playing in the Division 2 semifinal at the Boston. Scituate will be facing Reading Memorial High School - and both teams are undefeated this season, so it's sure to be a great game. Good luck, ladies!

Monochrome Monday: No world without color

It's Monochrome Monday.

Monochrome Monday: Crocus, a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

But on a day like today, when windows everywhere were flung open and the sunlight pirouettes from blade of grass to bloom of flower, how can I believe in a world without color?

I now know the perfect cure for a Monday: lie down in a sunny field full of crocuses. If you rise to your feet feeling no better, then there's simply no helping you.

"They are more beautiful if they are few."

"They are more beautiful if they are few.", a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

There were small clumps of seaweed scattered along the beach at Humarock, like the trail a child leaves when coming into the house - here a shoe, there a jacket, here a lonely mitten - just dropped and forgotten along the tide line.

And a lonely starfish clung to this bit of seaweed, a tiny misplaced creature on a wide open expanse of sand.



"One cannot collect all the beautiful shells on the beach. One can collect only a few, and they are more beautiful if they are few." ~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh

St. Pat's Plunge

If you woke up on Saturday morning and this was the scene outside your door:


Snowfall, a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

... and then if you drove to Peggotty Beach when the ocean was a half hour shy of high tide and this is what you saw waiting for you:




... would you do this?



If you were participating in the 4th annual St. Pat's Plunge and running into the ocean in early March was raising money for one of the best St. Patrick's Day parades in the state, then yes, you would!

Congratulations to all you plungers!

What remains

What remains , a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

Four houses. Fifty mile per hour winds. Seven minutes. Six towns.

This is what remains of one of the houses in yesterday's fire in the Humarock section of Scituate. The blaze started in one home's kitchen, and the strong winds whipped it and fed it; within seven minutes three houses were fully engulfed. Firefighters from six towns came together to fight the blaze. Two houses have burned to their foundations and two are most likely total losses when all is said and done.


SANDS (Scituate Alliance for Natural Disaster Services) is collecting assistance for the families. Checks made payable to SANDS to PO Box 342, Scituate MA 02066. Gift cards are also welcome.

Mt. Hope

DSC_9217a-wm, a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

Humarock Reflections

Humarock Reflections, a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

"I remember..."

"I remember...", a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

"I remember
coming to the farm in March
in sugaring time, as a small boy."

-Donald Hall


March in New England... T.S. Eliot wrote that "April is the cruelest month" but he was living in England at the time. To my mind, here in New England it's March that is capricious and unkind - buds emerging, sap quickening, blue skies brightening, while all the while your heart is steeling itself for that vicious storm of snow to come along and kick all your dreamy spring towers into a pile of rubble. April puts foundations under those towers but in March they are tottering still.

But whatever March may bring, the sap is running and Maple Sugar Days are here. It's true and it's real.

Oh, how I treasure what is true and what is real.

Monochrome Monday: Mt. Hope Cemetery

Monochrome Monday: Mt. Hope Cemetery, a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

Arrr*

Arrr, a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

Spotted on a rooftop in Humarock**. He sees you when you're sleeping?




* Or something like that.

** Well, I was in Humarock when I spotted him. If you want to get technical, he's just over the river from Humarock.

Mermaid's Purse

Mermaid's Purse , a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

Every child who has spent time at the beach knows these - mermaid purses. I've also heard them called devil's purses, but I prefer the more fanciful name! These are actually the egg cases of skates and can be found scattered along the seashore. This one was on Humarock Beach.

Hmm. I seem to be on an egg case kick. Chalk it up to spring fever!

The children were nestled all snug in their beds

The children were nestled all snug in their beds, a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

Remember our friend the praying mantis egg case? I made certain to go check on it during our little snow stormlet - sure it enough it was weatherproof and unmoved. I wonder if the mild winter will mean more babies come the spring?

Theme Day: Electricity

Theme Day: Electricity, a photo by Ali Crehan on Flickr.

It's March 1st, and in the worldwide City Daily Photo community that means it's Theme Day! This month's theme is "Electricity."

I decided to dip back into the archives for today's photo, because it fit the theme so well. Every July the Knights of Columbus carnival comes to town and transforms Cole Parkway into a sea of whirling, flashing neon lights against the shore of a dark, warm summer sky.

Click here to view thumbnails for all participants around the world!