Sandy Neck in the spring...

looks like this on many days....

sort of gray and foggy. There's barely a line between sand and sea but those of us used to this horizon know it's there...

Cedar waxwings gather in a tree....looking sort of gray too. You'd never know these birds are beautifully and delicately marked looking at this picture....

The dunes are full of pitch pines, earth stars and reindeer lichen...

On a day like this they can look bleak and lifeless....

but in their midst are wild cranberry bogs ringed by high bush blueberries getting ready to bloom...palm warblers ply the branches, their bright yellow bellies and rusty caps shine against the dull silver color of the water beneath them. Watch for their bouncing tails and listen for their distinctive trilling songs...

Step carefully so you don't step on the tiny lichens known as British soldiers...

and watch for signs of trotting coyotes in the sand....

Enjoy the last of the pussy willows by vernal pools....

Soon summer will be here and all this lovely subtlety will be but a memory....

Sandy Neck is one of my favorite Cape Cod treasures....