Thursday May 12th 2016

It was a beautiful day today. It got up to around 80 inland and about 10 degrees cooler here at the Cape Cod Canal.

I had to verify that this was indeed only Thursday. When I got back to the campground this evening the place was really hopping. Many of the seasonal residents had arrived for the weekend a day early. It’s probably the good weather that’s dragging them in early.

Keeping watch over the canal from a lamp post

I think spring has finally arrived in New England. The trees and bushes are now budded out and greening up to the level I experienced in Virginia a month ago. I’m surprised it has taken this long to get up here. It seems like it has been colder than normal since I got back here. So maybe the late spring is my fault. The test will be if the weather improves when I leave the area later in the year. There is no way I have that kind of power.

There were a lot of people out when I took my evening walk on the canal service road. The chatter was about seals, sharks and whales. Earlier in the afternoon some people had seen a harbor seal. People were speculating that sharks or whales were chasing it. While I suppose it’s possible, I think it is more likely that the seal is after herring. The annual herring run to the spawning grounds should be going on about now. Seals are not regular visitors to the canal, but I have seen them in the past.  I’ll have to keep my eyes out for seals or other larger sea life.