Indian Summer

“After the dry-picking, when the tall plants and poison ivy bordering the pond next to the bog lose their bright red and orange hues, it is time to flood the bog for harvesting. The water is taken from the pond and pumped into the bogs from the pump house until the cranberries float. I was astounded the first time I saw the brightly colored berries floating atop the water, bathed in the bright sunlight, aflame in a sea of coral.”—Meredith d’Ambrosio

The Disappearing Land

By Meredith d’Ambrosio

DUXBURY Massachusetts—(Weekly Hubris)—10/27/2014—

Each year, in early autumn, the color change begins to happen within the first few days of Indian Summer, which usually occurs during the third week of October. It was right on schedule in 2013. After the dry-picking, when the tall plants and poison ivy bordering the pond next to the bog lose their bright red and orange hues, it is time to flood the bog for harvesting. The water is taken from the pond and pumped into the bogs from the pump house until the cranberries float. I was astounded the first time I saw the brightly colored berries floating atop the water, bathed in the bright sunlight, aflame in a sea of coral. At present, 2014, Indian Summer’s color change is even more spectacular than last year. After many years of being away from New England, I am reminded of how fortunate I am to have finally had my wish granted—to be allowed to enjoy New England once again during my most favorite season.

As I was making a study of this late September scene, the fog was hovering low, crawling along the shoreline of the salt marsh, as it often seemed to do in Barnstable Harbor from July to September. At first, I thought the fog was a low bank of clouds. I was often fooled by this. The salt meadow cordgrass (Spartina Patens) had finally begun its color change from a darker, velvety green in summer to a yellow-green with rust and gold hues. The blue-green box standing amongst the marsh grass is there to trap greenhead flies and deerflies in order to encourage tree swallows from leaving the marsh area. This is the north side of Cape Cod and, for me, the most historic and mysterious part of the Cape.

This house on the highest point of Daniels Island belonged to Tom Jones and his daughter, Wendy. They named their cottage “Cupcake.” My Chocolate Lab, Clifford Brown, and I would hike from my house to their house where their dog, Niki, and Clifford would romp together and play tug o’war with a stick in their teeth, never letting go. Viewed on the left is Popponesset Bay, where you can see part of Popponesset Island, adjacent to Daniels Island. Beyond those trees is Nantucket Sound. A Monkey Tree hovers over the corner of the house on the right, an unusual tree for that area of Cape Cod. Unfortunately, the house had to be sold. I was commissioned to paint it in watercolor. Upon completion of this painting, the house was demolished the very next day. Sadly, Cupcake was replaced by a mansion of monumental proportions. I feared that the new house might sink into the ground because it would be too heavy for Daniels Island to handle its weight. The cottage is no longer there, but my happy memories of it will always remain.