The Blue Eyed Grass at Fort Hill is just beautiful. It is a member of the Iris family, and is not a grass at all. It is native to North America and forms clumps of slender long foliage, resembling grass, and is topped in spring with small pointed periwinkle flowers.
Have you ever seen Blue-Eyed Grass?
It looks like a lot of the sand has moved down on Coast Guard Beach close to Nauset Spit. You can see where it is roped off for the nesting of the Piping Plovers and Least Terns. There is enough elevation of the sand that it is not covered at high tide.
I took this photograph of Phil (the little speck in the middle in the distance) from Nauset Spit as he started to walk back down the beach. The beach looks massive, don’t you think?
Bearberries, native dwarf shrubs that grow to only 3-6,” are blooming all over the Cape. They have tiny white, with a tinge of pink, bell-shaped flowers that dangle beneath their shiny leaves. These flowers will become red berries in the fall.
The name “bearberry” for the plant derives from the edible fruit which is a favorite food of bears. The fruit, also called bearberries, are edible and are sometimes gathered as food for humans. The leaves of the plant are used in herbal medicine.
Nauset Beach in Orleans has changed dramatically since last summer. Liam’s Clam Shack is gone and replaced by 4 food trucks in the parking lot. They were not set up Friday when I was there. There are picnic tables to sit and eat. I’ll fill you in when I hear some feedback as to what kind of trucks etc.
Nauset Beach itself has gained a lot of sand back. I took this photograph about 2 hours before high tide. Truckloads of sand have been brought in to build up the dunes to protect the parking lot and restrooms, as you can see in the first photograph.
You can see the new ramp to the beach from where Liam’s once stood. It is fairly steep and has a railing down the center. It is made of a webbing that makes it easier to walk on than sand. There is also a nice new viewing platform at the top. The two paths to the beach at either end of the parking lot are less steep.
