The county courthouse was decorated with a flag and buntings for the Fourth.

Out in front of the stone wall are silver dollar plants. These seed pods will turn silver colored in the fall.

A nearby law office has a delightful garden.

The Barnstable Pottery Art Gallery is ready for the Fourth of July. The owner's bassett hound is there to greet you at the door.

The bright red door of this Cummaquid home provides a perfect backdrop for the flags and wreath.

We visited St. Mary's garden to discover that it is alive with color in the summertime.

The well in front of the old courthouse is surrounded with colorful daylilies.

Piles of pumpkins on the lawn of the Unitarian Church are a colorful sign of fall.

Tangled Up in Squid was one of the whales in the Barnstable pod of the 2006 Cape and Islands Whale Trail.

A sign out front proclaims that this is the Sturgis Homestead from 1690.

The owners are tending to the roses in the nursery in the back yard.

More roses adorn the front yard along with an assortment of bird feeders.

Daylilies bloom in front of this Cummaquid home which is decorated with a bunting for Independence Day.

After what seemed to be an interminable winter, it was wonderful to see these crocuses blooming along Route 6A.

Barnstable is the county seat for Barnstable County. Barnstable County Court House sits atop a hill in the village of Barnstable. Statues of James Otis and Mercy Otis Warren, poet, playwright, historian, and political pamphleteer, are on the lawn in front of the courthouse.

Barnstable Comedy Club is a place where local actors can perform.

This house with its colorful gardens of hollyhocks sits right in the center of Barnstable Village.

Here it is decorated for Christmas.

The Dolphin Restaurant has been serving dinner in the center of Barnstable for three generations.

Sturgis Library was opened in 1863 in the former home of the Reverend John Lothrop. The library is nationally renowned for its geneological resources.



Next door a stately beech tree graces the front lawn of the 1739 home of Daniel Davis and Mehitable Lothrop.

Crocker Tavern was built around 1754. It is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Spring comes to the north side of the Cape before it begins elsewhere. Several varieties of daffodils are lined up in front of this stone wall.

Along Route 6A are many lovely old homes with stone walls.

The door of this hip roofed colonial has forsythia that is the same color as the daffodils out front.

A primitive angel weathervane sits atop this house.

This lawn is a carpet of scilla.

This stone served as an altar for the early settlers of the town.

Naturalized purple and white crocuses look like confetti on this lawn.

The Old Colonial Courthouse was important prior to the American Revolution.

This gate welcomes you to the daffodil garden behind St. Mary's Episcopal Church.

My aunt once called this peaceful spot, "A little piece of Heaven on earth".

Cape Cod is known for beautiful roses in the summer.

Mattakeese Wharf Restaurant is suspended on pilings above Barnstable Harbor.

The dining room offers lovely views of the boats in the harbor.

It's a perfect place to enjoy a lobster dinner!

Sunset over Barnstable Harbor was lovely.

At the very end of summer vacation, we were treated to a sunset whale watch aboard the Hyannis Whale Watch boat, departing from Barnstable Harbor.

We had a wonderfully smooth ride and saw as many as four humpback whales at once, at times just a few yards from the boat. The naturalist aboard told us that each whale's dorsal fin and fluke is unique. Click on the whale tail to see a slideshow of our whale watch.

We had a chance to get a closer look at Sandy Neck Village as we sailed past it. This spit of land has actually built up due to deposits of sand that have eroded from other parts of the Cape. Sandy Neck Lighthouse was decomissioned because it became too far inland. It is the natural habitat of the the endangered Piping Plover.

Sandy Neck Beach is shared by residents of the towns of Barnstable and Sandwich.

A special permit is required for off-roading.

These kayaks are lined up on the beach near Barnstable Harbor.

Many of the Cape's most notable citizens have been laid to rest in the Cobbs Hill West Cemetery. Click for more of the stones.

The Trayser Museum is a former Customs House and Post Office. It houses displays of clothing and furnishings from the past.

Inmates from the Barnstable County Correctional Facility raise fruits and vegetables at the County Farm.

These sunflowers caught the sun along Route 6A.

The work of Cape Cod artists is displayed in the Talbot Gallery of the Cape Cod Art Association.

The nearby Barnstable Unitarian Church was dedicated in 1907.

Route 6A runs through the village of Barnstable and it is part of the Old Kings Highway Historical District with its many stately old homes.

This was once the barn for Bacon Farm.

The former Bacon Farm was turned into condominiums in recent years.

This tiny post office serves the Cummaquid area of Barnstable Village which borders with Yarmouthport.

At night you can see the brass post office boxes inside.

Across the street, this sign explains the origins of the name of the village of Hyannis.

Cummaquid Golf Club was established in 1895.

Due to mild winters, golf is a popular year-round sport on the Cape.

Harris Meadow is a side street that goes north of Route 6A.