Lazy, As In Ne'er-Do-Well, Point

"It's called Lazy Point. I've been told the name derives from ne'er-do-well baymen who'd come to squat on worthless land. Whether or not that's true, I don't care; I like the name." 

                                                                                                                              Carl Safina, The View From Lazy Point

Swans on the two-lane road that passes for a "boulevard"  in Lazy Point

I discovered Lazy Point long before I read Safina's book, which is kind of a Walden for the East End. I recommend it. Just don't expect Moby Dick. 

Lazy Point's an idyllic community of summer cottages and beach shacks that has remained somewhat pristine in the face of East End development. If you've ever eaten at the Fish Farm on Cranberry Hole Rd., an actual fish farm, complete with wandering dogs, geese and chickens, you'll know what I mean. From the minute you leave Route 27, cross the railroad tracks and drive past the houses on stilts, through the Neapeague marshes, past osprey nests and egrets...well, to paraphrase Frank Baum: Toto, I don't think we're in the Hamptons anymore.

Over the course of a year spent in Lazy Point and on travels to the four points of the compass, Safina traces the comings and goings of arctic seals, terns, and other migrants. An ecologist and marine conservationist who founded the Blue Ocean Institute, his premise is that "the coast and its migrants bring to Lazy Point a much bigger picture than any map of the place suggests. I sometimes tell friends it's possible to see the whole world in the view from Lazy Point." 

With a H/t to Carl, a few of my favorite views from Lazy Point...

Hicks Island