at this site off of new boston road in dennis, ma, as you can see above, the first english colonial fort in the area was built. it’s now restored to a cedar forest and salt marsh off of chase garden creek. a beautiful walk, quiet and smelling sweet of cedar. one of the great barefoot walks, with all that sand and pine needle duff.

one of my favorite aspects of cape cod is the intricate and heavy lichen forests that cling to the tree branches; impressive here as elsewhere. also, you can see the ditches dug in the salt marsh that earlier generations used to try to kill off mosquitoes by making them bait for minnows…i don’t know how well it worked. special thanks to my wife for taking time out of our vacation to go on this walk with me. 🙂

also, on a formal note, while not committing to it wholesale, i’m starting to use the “lune” form more in these posts, the so-called “american haiku” of 3 lines at 5 syllables-3 syllables-5 syllables.

a.

chlorophylled tendrils

and small ferns

cushion the swamp-floor

b.

graceful moss footfalls,

in the trail

a fungal watchman

c.

single goldenrod

quiet here—

the red cedar grove