My wife Sandy and I have visited Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA, almost every year since our first vacation there in 1998. Obviously, then, we love the Cape. We’re lucky as hell to have discovered it in the first place, as it never had occurred to either of us that there might exist a locale to which we would want to return again and again. Thus, it’s an understatement to say that Cape Cod has made our lives better. We feel at home there. We enjoy exploring its old villages and areas of natural beauty. We fill up on the Cape’s arts scene and at its eateries. And we engage in sweet old-school activities, such as mini golf and sunset-watching, that we almost never do back home in the suburbs of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Yeah, Cape Cod suits us to a T. We never will tire of this 65-mile-long peninsula.
Anyway, I’m now bringing up Cape Cod not just for the heck of it, but because Sandy and I spent 11 full (i.e. non-commuting) days there recently, and I sense some thoughts about the visit trying to coalesce. Away we go!
Last month’s Cape escape was, as each of its predecessors had been, damn fine. I could go on and on about the many highlights of the trip. But doing so would extend this piece to a mind-numbing length. I don’t know about you, but my mind already is numb enough as it is. That’s why I’ll limit the remainder of my commentary mainly to a specific topic. To wit, ponds nestled in woods.
Nature-wise, when most people think of Cape Cod they picture fine beaches and gorgeous open waters. For sure, the Cape has plenty of those. Less known are its ponds, of which there are hundreds. Most ponds, however, for one reason or another are difficult or near-impossible to access. For example, many are boxed in by housing that has sprouted up around them over the years. Not the case within Cape Cod’s several forests, though, which are protected from development. On back-to-back days we visited two of those woodlands, largely because ponds reside inside them. First up was Brewster township’s Nickerson State Park, a sizable forest, followed by Provincetown township’s Beech Forest, which is less spacious than Nickerson.
The trees in each forest — loads of pines and oaks, among others, in both, and plenty of beeches, appropriately, in Beech Forest — impressed the heck out of me and humbled me too, as trees always do. Hell, trees deserve deep respect. After all, they can trace their ancestry back 400 million years, give or take 50 million. That’s saying a lot.
But when you add ponds to the picture, you really have something. At Nickerson I got up close and personal with Cliff Pond and Little Cliff Pond, and did the same with Blackwater Pond at Beech Forest (both woodlands contain additional ponds, but I gazed at only three). Those lovely waters, in combination with the trees surrounding them, put me, who leans toward the tense side of the spectrum, at ease, for ponds and trees are a perfect match, gentle with one another and zen-like in the aura they project.
And that’s not all the scenes did. The longer I took them in, the more my inner smile widened and the more I went weak in the knees, because, to me, tree-rimmed ponds rank at the top of Nature’s cute and adorable scale. So, I became totally smitten, a state of affairs I wholly embrace, and which doesn’t happen to me often enough. Any way you look at it, I was fortunate to be at those sites.
Over the years, Sandy and I have passed way more time on Cape Cod’s beaches, admiring the Atlantic Ocean, Cape Cod Bay and Nantucket Sound, than we have at any of its other natural spots. The Atlantic coastline, raw and almost entirely undeveloped, is, in fact, my favorite aspect of Cape Cod. But, ponds within woods are special too. Very special. A trip to Cape Cod without visiting any of them is incomplete.
Yeah, Another Blogger 
No wonder that you and sandy return to Cape Cod so often. You have shown it to be a wonderful place to rest and reflect. Thank you.
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Hi. Right, and we keep active there too. We were out and about for about eight hours each day.
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The Cape Cod Kids
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Absolutely.
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When you didn’t post for several weeks, I thought, The man has gone to Cape Cod. Your readers know you LOL.
Seriously though, I totally empathized with: “Those lovely waters, in combination with the trees surrounding them, put me, who leans toward the tense side of the spectrum, at ease, for ponds and trees are a perfect match, gentle with one another and zen-like in the aura they project.”
In these times, especially,, we NEED nature’s overarching beauty and serenity.
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Evening, Amy. You’re not kidding. That’s why city parks are so important, for instance. They are oases of a sort, what with everything else having been built upon or paved over. Those parks put people in touch with Nature — a little bit anyway!
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Trees and water – it doesn’t get any better than that.
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They are an absolutely ideal pairing.
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Contemplating your beautiful photographs is almost as restorative as experiencing them firsthand. A nature walk (even figurative) always puts my mind in a better place 🙂
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Hi. When we are on good terms with Nature, our lives become better!
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Thanks for the lovely pics . I imagine places like this can only be experienced unhurriedly, patiently and with all senses wide open to revieve
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Hi. I agree with your analysis.
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I hiked around Nickerson on my first visit to the Cape, when my son first moved there. Scenic and peaceful. There are so many lovely places on that little patch land (Cape Cod).
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Hi, Ruth. Does your son still live on Cape Cod?
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His wife is still there in Falmouth. He’s with NOAA and worked at Woods Hole for a few years, now is on a ship in the Gulf. They keep moving him around, but he goes up there when he has time off!
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It’s always delightful to return to Cape Cod with you, Neil. I’m glad you keep exploring and have discovered ponds within woods. I love this most writerly phrase: “…for ponds and trees are a perfect match, gentle with one another and zen-like in the aura they project.”
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I’d like to be beside a Cape pond right now, soaking in Nature. But I’m home in the Philadelphia burbs instead, where Nature has been plowed under!
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They look like lovely spots!
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Hi Andrea. My blood pressure drops a lot when I’m on Cape Cod. It has many areas of beauty.
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When I read “ponds nestled in woods,” I thought, “Ooooohhhh….” That does sound lovely, and the pictures are grand. So great that you and your wife have found such a wonderful place that still brings you so much joy after all these visits. Congrats to you two. 🙂
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Hi. We always look forward to visiting the Cape. We don’t feel like tourists there, because we’ve gotten to know the Cape so well.
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I really enjoy reading about Cape Cod. Why don’t you move there?
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We’ve thought about it. But healthcare isn’t too good there. It’s much better where we live (the Philadelphia area of Pennsylvania).
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What a shame as it sounds as though it would be a wonderful place to retire to.
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Those are some big, beautiful ponds. I’m glad you and your wife have a place like that, that you can return to again and again.
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We lucked out, for sure.
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Glad you found something new and interesting about the place but I know you’ll keep returning to those beautiful long beaches time and time again.
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Hi Alyson. I usually try to visit at least one pond during vacations on Cape Cod. Ponds really connect with me.
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Hi Neil! What a great docent you are! You should definitely write for a travel-vacation magazine. Wishing you more enjoyment and play, and a sun-shiny season.☀️🫠
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Thanks. All the best to you and yours.
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Tress + water = Mother Nature at her best (in my opinion!) Great post, Linda xx
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Thanks very much.
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🥰
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Georgeus 💓
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Thanks a lot.
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I couldn’t put my finger on what was intriguing me about your pond photos, and I finally figured it out. It’s their size. When I think ‘pond,’ I think of something much smaller than what you’ve shown. These appear large enough to merit extended exploration, particularly with those surrounding woods. I was interested especially in your mention of Blackwater Pond at Beech Forest. One of the Big Thicket spots in east Texas I’ve yet to visit is the Beech Creek unit; we have a native orchid that prefers living under beech trees. Maybe I’ll find one!
You’ve reminded me of this wonderful Mary Oliver poem, as well:
“At Blackwater Pond the tossed waters have settled
after a night of rain.
I dip my cupped hands. I drink
a long time. It tastes
like stone, leaves, fire. It falls cold
into my body, waking the bones. I hear them
deep inside me, whispering
Oh – what is that beautiful thing
that just happened?”
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Evening, Linda. On Cape Cod, enclosed bodies of water are known as ponds, even though some are big enough to be called lakes. Whatever one calls them, they look great when nestled in woods. Scenes of that sort calm me down and put me in a relaxed state of awe.
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I love photographing beside the water. We don’t have quite as many opportunities here as back east however. These are awesome and I agree … trees and ponds go great together!
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Hi Denise. I have memories of ice skating on a pond on Long Island when I was young. If I tried to ice skate now, it would be an embarrassing situation.
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Hello Neil! An interesting commentary you have shared. Smart phones are smart, placing many conveniences at our fingertips. We are all in the dependency together. If it should suddenly go to a dead halt as a worldwide service, we would be devastated. Each day we should wean ourselves from the control freak. Wishing you the best.
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Smart phones have conquered the world!
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