Makin’ Beds & Turnin’ Heads…Our Newest Funky Front Lawn Creation

Any time you’re driving down Old King’s Highway (route 6A) in the heart of Cape Cod’s historic district it’s likely we’ll get you to crane your neck when you drive by the Lamb and Lion Inn.

For many years when the leaves started to change color we here at the Lamb and Lion would normally have a giant–and we mean GIANT, carved pumpkin down by our entrance under a spotlight. Some years it was smiling, other times jolly or goofy–once we even furnished one to breathe colored smoke bombs like the one below…

A purple smoke welcome bellows from the mouth

The pumpkin grower & artist was a farmer named Elliot who grew enormous pumpkins just over the bridge in Rhode Island. We used to have him deliver to our previous inn in New York’s Hudson Valley, and people got such a charge out of it we started calling upon Elliot every fall from there on in. Sometimes we’d get a 300 pounder, other years a 500 pounder.

Our very first Cape Cod Pumpkin

The year before we bought the Lamb and Lion we ran the Ship’s Inn on Nantucket (this is 16 years ago). We ordered our pumpkin from Elliot who happened to have a ripe, 550 pounder(!), carved it at his farm and drove it to Hyannis to get on the ferry to Nantucket only to be told by the Steamship Authority in Hyannis Harbor “Regulations require any vegetable in transit must be boxed.” HUH? Who’s got a box that big?! Who’s got ARMS big enough to lift it?? I asked them.

We did some fast thinking and called the good folks at the neighboring Hyline ferry who thought our vegetable was awesome, and no doubt catching the spirit of The Great Pumpkin, announced that “Rules are sometimes meant to be broken!” and shipped our giant, 550 pound veggie over to Straight Wharf on Nantucket where our new plump, orange friend was met by myself (innkeeper Tom), Ali, farmer Elliot and a couple of the Ship’s Inn waiters and chefs–as well as a reporter from the Nantucket paper, the Inquirer Mirror. Everyone gathered around (except the reporter who was clicking away on her camera) and lifted the prized pumpkin off the truck (see photo), onto another truck, and whisked it away to live, nestled in a bed of bright red, yellow and orange autumn flowers, in the large bay window of the beautiful subterranean Ship’s Inn restaurant.

A few years back we had a giant, painted whale swimming over the water at the bottom of our driveway. We had been approached by some folks who were putting together the “whale trail” on Cape Cod. Giant, painted whales were to be purchased by local businesses who would then have them painted in any theme they wanted for charity.

All summer locals and visitors alike could drive around Cape Cod spotting these painted, spouting beauties, take photos, pose with them, sometimes (if the whale said it was OK) climb atop them–it was load of fun. We smiled every time we would see a car swing into the bottom of our long driveway for a photo. Ali and I both swore our whale was enjoying it too. The whales were all auctioned off at the end of the season for anyone who wanted a whale of their own, and all proceeds when to the charity of the business’s choice. We chose the Cape Cod MSPCA and thus, in keeping with being a pet friendly inn and having a lamb and a lion as our “mascots”, went with an animal scene for our painted theme.

Our “All Creatures Great and Small” whale

The Whale Trail book

Our local artist, Bill, was a serious artist you is famous both on Cape and in Boston for painting large, detailed cityscapes, but Bill knew us and our inn and he wanted to paint something more fun and whimsical, so cartoon animals made a ring around our whale, who was watching over Main Street with large, red lipsticked lips, blue eyes and long lashes. Bill even painted our 2 Pomeranians, Miss Molly and G. Willikers, into the ring of animals. Ali fell in love with our whale–as we all did–and got so attached to her that she started out bidding the highest bidder at the auction, but I quickly reasoned with her and we let our whale go. PHEW!

Our beauty brought in a couple thousand dollars to the MSPCA and now lives outside the Optimist Cafe in Yarmouthport–a perfectly “optimistic” place for such a happy whale. We didn’t get to keep our whale, but we get to drive by, and wave, and see her greeting diners on their way in for lunch.

SO, a few weeks ago when we heard the Hyannis Whale Watcher in nearby Barnstable Harbor was signing on for a sand sculpture to be carved for them, we wanted in! The Town of Yarmouth has been turning heads the last couple of years creating sand sculptures in front of local businesses who wanted to participate as part of the Yarmouth Summer Celebration Kick-Off. This years celebration is spilling out into the town of Barnstable and the 42 sand sculptures can be scouted out online and on a printable map. When you check each sculpture out take a photo and submit it to the Yarmouth Summer Celebration Kick-off Facebook page. The winner for “best photo” will win a prize! Here’s what’s out in front of the Lamb and Lion Inn….

Why do we do such things? Hey, it’s nice to get the attention, and if it makes the paper all the better. We love to watch people slow down in front of the inn and smile, or pull in for a quick photo…but to be honest all that doesn’t always add up to room sales. To be honest, it’s really fun for Ali and I to do this stuff because the opposite of doing it is NOT doing it–and really, what fun is that??

Come by and see our Lamb and Lion! If you get a photo next to it please post it on OUR Facebook page and we’ll send you a gift certificate towards a future stay! Have a GREAT and FUN summer!