This year February has 29 days rather than the usual 28 because 2020 is a leap year. Every year divisible by four is a leap year (except those years divisible by 100, which are not leap years unless they are also divisible by 400, when they are again leap years. Confused? Read on.)

The purpose of a leap year is to keep the calendar year in sync with the astronomical year. You see it actually takes the earth 365 ¼ days to revolve around its sun. When the Romans realized this they implemented the first leap year in 46 B.C. Had they not, the calendar would be out of sync 28 days in every 100 years. That could mean that summer would eventually meld into fall and then winter and pretty soon we’d be shoveling snow in July rather than January.

However, adding ¼ day every four years is actually more than required for balance. Thus the need for the qualifier of being divisible by 400. At any rate, leap years being relatively rare deserve some special attention, and leap day itself is an opportunity to break all the rules. Rare = unique and breaking rules means non-conforming. Hence the uniquely original and non-conforming High Pointe Inn on Cape Cod has mandated that every day in February will be devoted to lovers, not just the predictable Valentine’s Day.

Check your Gregorian calendar for the best days for you and your honey to pack up the love train and head on down to Cape Cod for a romantic getaway at our beautiful inn by the sea. Book our “February is for Lovers” package and we’ll make sure all the essentials are in place for an unforgettable weekend (or weekday) of romance. The package includes:

• Two nights in a spacious ocean-view room or fireplace suite.
• Bottle of chilled champagne and chocolates in your room on arrival.
• One-hour side-by-side in-room couples massage.
• A 3-course gourmet dinner for two one night.
• Breakfast by candlelight each morning.
• Afternoon sweet treats.
• Complimentary after dinner drinks at the Inn.

Rates range from $675 to $799 complete. Call today for best availability. 888-362-4441.

I am watching the snow fall this morning from the kitchen window of our Inn here on Cape Cod. This will be the first appreciable snowstorm of the season on the Cape, a season that has thus far been unseasonably warm. We have enjoyed a significant number of days well above average temperature for this time of year and abundant sunshine that left our lawn green long past its typical winter dormancy.

This past week we hosted a couple from Virgina up to visit their daughter who was camping at Sandy Neck, the 8-mile barrier beach the Inn faces on Cape Cod Bay. On break from school, she and several classmates were studying ecology alongside faculty from Wheaton and Boston Colleges. Using Sandy Neck’s research cottage (historically known as the Halfway House) as a base camp, students collected, organized, and analyzed data on resident wildlife.

On one excursion they spotted and photographed a snowy owl on the large spit know as “Little Neck“ just past trail 6. Though we have often heard the distinctive cry of the snowy owl, we have never seen one up close. Apparently, although not a typical winter visitor to these parts, every year this is a spotting of one or two of them, most typically at Sandy Neck, though others have been seen in Yarmouth and Chatham, and at South Cape Beach and Nauset this year. Known to be highly nomadic, the owls are expected to remain on Sandy Neck for several more weeks.