Must be patrolled

“Island of Endangered Species” (oil, mixed media, fabric on panel), by Donald Saaf , his show “Peaceable Kingdom: The Art of Donald Saaf,’' at the Cahoon Museum of American Art, Cotuit, Mass., through Dec. 23. He lives in the Saxtons River section of Rockingham, Vt.

— Photo by Mr. Saaf

The museum says Mr. Saaf:

"{E{}xplores the subtle line between fine art and folk art in paintings that are heartwarming and approachable. His large-scale paintings and collages draw upon his memories of nature, family and community from his life in rural Vermont.’’

Dragons on the other side of the fog?

Foggy Cotuit Harbor, on Cape Cod, on this long, long July 4th weekend.

— Photo by Lydia Whitcomb

Close-up view of the dragons on the 1265 Psalter world map. Medieval mapmakers would often draw dragons to populate unexplored parts of the world.

Before the water rose higher

“What Was” (oil on canvas), by Cotuit, Mass-based Julie Gifford, at Alpers Fine Art, Andover, Mass. She writes:

“I’m interested in celebrating the spirit of land, sea and sky and the resilience of the creatures who inhabit it.  When painting, I’m working on an internal script…a bit of prose which reveals itself through marks on canvas – a personal conversation that comes from within and becomes clear only upon completion.’’

Cahoon Museum of American Art, in Cotuit

It’s about resilience

“Masai,’’ by Brenda Kingery, in her show “Weaving Villages,’’ at the Cahoon Museum of American Art, Cotuit, Mass. (on Cape Cod), through Dec. 19.

Ms. Kingery is a Chicksaw. “Each textile, dance, drum, and song is a living reminder of peoples’ resilience in the face of conflict,’’ she says.

The museum explain that this idea informed her artwork while “she traveled through the Ryukyuan Islands of Japan, Indigenous communities in Mexico and Central America, remote villages in Uganda, and Powwow celebrations in her native Oklahoma.”

Sunrise at Loop’s Beach, Cotuit

Beating the heat, if it ever comes

“The Swimmer” (oil on panel), by Lee Roscoe, at the Cahoon Museum of American Art, Cotuit, Mass. The painter is based on Cape Cod. When you think of swimming on Cape Cod, you think of beaches but there are many fine fresh-water kettle ponds to swim in on the peninsula, and the water is a lot warmer than the ocean and bay water.

Peddle faster

“Resistance” (encaustic on panel), by Hélène Farrar, of Manchester, Maine, from her “What We Carry’’ series. Her work will be shown in New England Wax’s (newenglandwax.com) show “Layering: The Art and Experience of Hot Wax,’’ at the Cotuit (Mass.) Center for the Arts June 26-Aug. 7.

Rope's Beach, in Cotuit, looking onto Cotuit Bay. Cotuit has drawn many artists to work and show there , mostly in the summer, since the late 19th Century.

Part of this long popular summer-cottage lake is in Manchester, where Ms. Farrer lives and works.

Cute, but is it warm?

From Salley Mavor’s show “Bedtime Stitches’’ (embroidery relief) at the Cahoon Museum of American Art., in Cotuit, Mass., on Cape Cod, through Dec. 22. The museum says that this is “a debut of the artist's original artwork for My Bed: Enchanting Ways to Fall Asleep around the World, her children's book about the different ways kids around the world go to bed every night. The book, and her art, highlight and celebrate cultural differences and the universal themes of sleep and safety. ‘‘

The very low-key Cahoon Museum

Drive-by whimsy on the Cape

Section of the “Garden Grove’’ installation by Alfred Glover, at the Cahoon Museum of American Art, in Cotuit, Mass. (on Cape Cod), through the end of the year.

The museum, which is still closed for in-person tours because of COVID-19,
explains that “Garden Grove,’’ part of the museum’s Streetside series, is a drive-by exhibition visible from the street along Route 28. It consists of “whimsical tree sculptures made of metal and wood, marked by giant ginkgo and philodendron leaves, beautiful flowers and strange yet endearing animals like nesting birds and spotted dogs.’’

Cape Sad

"The Perfect Tree,'' by MARIELUISE HUTCHINSON,  in the "Small Works'' show at the Cahoon Museum of American Art, in Cotuit, Mass. (on Cape Cod) through Dec. 22. Green and white work well together. But usually  it is brown and gray on the Cape in the winter, as the salt air and relatively mild temperatures assure that the ground is usually bare there in the winter, but with near-constant wind because of the presence or nearness of storms coming up from the southwest. Rather grim, except for the light traffic compared to the summer.