photography and words by Kate Sears
I photographed the Two Dawson linens in two places on the Cape. The hydrangea series was photographed at my parents' house in Falmouth. It's the home I grew up in and I return as often as I can (my parents still live there full time). It's harder now in these early months with June, but our two visits this summer were more meaningful in a way. I have never seen a shrub so content in such a dry, rocky patch of earth as this particular hydrangea. It towers over all other varieties in the yard. It was planted over a decade ago and pretty much left to fend for itself-- too far for the hose to reach. My father has been threatening to cut it back for years-- but the season to do so escapes him each year, and each year it grows taller and wider. He thinks it will one day claim the house. I obviously adore it. It is glorious. My parents brought bucket loads of cuttings to my wedding three years ago, so I'd sooner chain myself to its roots than watch him remove its limbs.
The second location is the bathhouses at Nobska beach in Woods Hole. It's actually a private beach that one needs a sticker for...unless it's after Labor Day. That's when I pretend to own the place. They are really just simple changing areas, weathered to perfection and defaced by locals to just the right degree. My husband, James, helped me pin up the linens, gather rocks, and form those loose stacks. We had one hour to get as much done as we could before June needed me back at the house.
