CAPE ANN’S RARE AND BEAUTIFUL BLUE-EYED MR. SWAN

Ol’ Blue EyesBlue eyed male mute swan cygnus olor Polish -3 kimsmithdesigns.com

Recently, one of the very kind people who regularly feed our resident swan, Dominic Nesta, pointed out that Mr. Swan is unusual for his blue eyes. I was surprised by his comment because I’ve only ever filmed Mr. Swan, his deceased mate, and their offspring up close, and they all have (had) blue eyes. Aren’t all Mute Swans blue-eyed I wondered? After looking at hundreds of photos on Google images and reading dozens of descriptions, Mute Swans eyes appear as, and are always described as, black, whether they are the English Mute Swan or the Polish variant.

Blue eyed male mute swan cygnus olor pink feet Polish kimsmithdesigns.com

Mr. Swan is of the Polish kind. Polish Mute Swans are rarer, mostly pure white, and with pinkish gray feet, as opposed to the English sorts, which have black feet and legs. Hans Christian Anderson’s Ugly Duckling was perhaps logically written with the English Mute Swan cygnet in mind, which are typically dressed in a mottled gray downy coat. Polish Mute Swan cygnets are pure white. Until I learned the difference I wondered how there could ever be such a story as the Ugly Duckling because again, I had only ever seen Mr. Swan’s offspring, which have always been exceptionally beautiful perfect little balls of fluffy white down (gray cygnets aren’t ugly either, IMO).Cygnet mute swan cygnus olor Polish kimsmithdesigns.com

Cygnet, Polish morph

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Polish Mute Swans (Mrs. Swan and Cygnet, Henry’s Pond)

A pigment deficiency of a gene in the sex chromosomes is what causes the whiteness (leucism). Polish Mute Swans were given their name when in 1800 they were introduced to London from the Polish coast on the Baltic Sea. They were at first thought to be a new species because of their unchanging color form (Cygnus immutabilis).

Our Mr. Swan is extraordinary not only for his long-lived life of well over twenty years, but also for his sapphire blue eye color.

Help needed from our readers–do you have a pair of swans in your area? If so, please email me at kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com. Thank you very kindly.

Blue eyed male mute swan cygnus olor Polish -2 kimsmithdesigns.com

Money Management Workshop at Rose Baker Senior Center

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“Money Management: Financial Literacy on a Fixed Income” will be presented on Wednesday, March 16, 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Rose Baker Senior Center, located at 6 Manuel F. Lewis Street in downtown Gloucester. This program is jointly sponsored by SeniorCare Inc.money-management, the Massachusetts Money Management Program, and the Gloucester Council on Aging; and will be presented by SeniorCare’s Money Management Program Manager Sarah Wetzel.

Topics to be covered during the workshop include:

  • Develop a budget
  • Set reachable goals
  • Develop strategies to save
  • Worksheets for budgeting, tracking expenses
  • Take charge of credit card debt
  • List of resources available for benefits and services to help save and to protect against scams and frauds.

There is no charge for the workshop.  For information and to reserve your space, contact the Rose Baker Senior Center at 978-281-9765.

Printable flyer available at: http://www.seniorcareinc.org/documents/Money_Management_Glou_20160316a.pdf

About SeniorCare

SeniorCare Inc. serves an area that…

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From Here to Flustuania, a live show comes to The Rocky Neck Cultural Center

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From Here to Flustuania, a live show comes to The Rocky Neck Cultural Center this week for three days only, Fri 03/4, Sat 03/05, at 7:30 and Sun 03/06 at 6:00. It is the “true story” of Hooglio’s quest to find his long lost daughter, Hooglietta.  

Master of Ceremonies is Roman Gadbois, starring Sofia Gadbois as Hooglietta, Gordon Baird as Louie DeRoach, and Hooglio as Hooglio, this twelve song musical is packed with local references and historical ‘facts’ about Gloucester.

Fozzie Hill & Wolf Ginandes with special guest: David Bown ~ Acoustic Wednesdays @ Katrina’s 7-10pm 3.2.2016

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Tonight we start our Wednesday Night Acoustic Sessions.
We are excited to have two of Cape Ann’s favorites Fozzie Hill, Wolf Ginandes, and special guest guitar extraordinaire David Brown for the debut of this special evening.
Come join us for dinner, drinks and a magical night of music. We recommend reservations for these two favorites of the Cape Ann Music Scene. (978) 515-7817

Winter Surfing Coming to an End

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Keith from Twin Lights Glassing Company

Sista Felicia’s  St. Joseph Pasta Is Officially Dried & Ready for This Year’s Feast! 

  

Time to carfully take it off the drying racks and package it up for Sista Felicia’s 2016 St. Joseph Feast! 

   

   

  
A View from under St. Barry’s Drying Racks! 
   

   

“On the Waterfront” Series is Finalist for National Award

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Cape Ann Television’s original program On the Waterfront was selected as a Finalist in the Cynopsis Media Social Good Awards. Cynopsis Media is the publisher of five national trade publications for the television, media, digital, and sports TV industries. Other finalists include National Geographic, Discovery Channel, ESPN, Netflix, Sony Pictures, Time Warner, and Viacom. Cape Ann Television is the only community media center represented. The awards will be held at the Yale Club in New York City in April.

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Too Much Plaid?

I am a huge fan of plaid.  Gosh knows my boys have worn a ton of it…as have I.  Plaid shirts, plaid shorts, plaid pants, plaid blazers, plaid flip-flops, plaid skirts, plaid dress, plaid headbands….but, never too much plaid all together.  Never.

So, as a lover of plaid, am I missing something?  Isn’t this just a little bit too much?  Jacket, sure!  Pants, why not?  But, together…yikes.

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Gloucester Seafood Billboards Looking Fly As Hell

 

MORE ATLANTIC ROAD DEMOLISHED ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE STORM MAYHEM PHOTOS

Many thanks to Mary Tucker McLoud for sending a copy of the book from which these photos originally appeared. The book is titled Storming Ashore and was published by the Gloucester Daily Times after the October 30th, 1991 no-name storm. The focus of this batch of photos is to show the extensive property damage to homes along the Atlantic side of Cape Ann.Storm damage 1 Storm damage 2 Storm damage 3 Storm damage 4 Storm damage 5 Storm damage 6 Storm damage 7 Storm damage 8 Storm damage 11 See More Photos Here Continue reading “MORE ATLANTIC ROAD DEMOLISHED ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE STORM MAYHEM PHOTOS”

When I Visit The Docks At Night

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When I Visit The Docks at Night

 

When I visit the docks at night I enter a mystical realm;

what’s familiar in the daylight becomes a stage for a

pageant from another age –a reminder of what has been

and a plea from the past for us not to forget.

 

Work for the day has ended, the docks are empty.

The boats are all secured and the gulls are quiet.

It’s night and our vision is limited, but small sounds,

as from an unseen wind chime, render accompaniment.

 

The stage is set as the yellow glare from the tethered boats

is diffused in the mist that has descended across the harbor.

It offers a comforting aura to an audience of one

and a mellow atmosphere that softens the chill night air.

 

At night in the shadows cast by the pilings and the rigging

and the nearby buildings on the wharf, unseen and unheard,

I listen to the hubbub of the ancient crews as they gather

on these docks to lay in stores and ice and their very lives.

 

I see their dories nested on deck, the trawl tubs loaded

and the buoys and anchors assembled.

They await their voyage to the Banks and their

deployment at the proper time and place.

 

I see hope in those faces that their dories may

be filled with hundreds of thousands of pounds

of fish; that their payday is generous and their

return to this good port is swift and safe.

 

And, as I listen and watch this pageant unfold,

my wish is that all those whose voices I hear

and whose faces I see and whose hopes I feel, will return

to perform for me when I again visit the docks at night.

 

© Marty Luster 2012

Encore, first posted  June 3, 2012

Alicia Unleashed Episode 18 with special guests B-Side and Tyler DeWolfe

 

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Alicia Unleashed Episode 18 with special guests B-Side and Tyler DeWolfe

Topics Include:

Full House Intro, Alicia has never watched Netflix, Fuller House came out on Netflix, Fuller House review, Old characters Vs. New characters, Hunter Pence, AT&T Park in San Francisco, Props to Lamar Rollins at Half Time Show, Ashley Graham VS. Cheryl Tiegs, Bridget is short, Long Island Medium, Joey loves shoes, Live Musicals, Burst into song, 2chainz, Lip Sync Battle, O’Maley lip syncs back in the day, Cameras used to be allowed in school, No response to a text message, Ghosting, Has anyone ghosted on Kyle?, Weather has been amazing, Dogs and the sirens, Bridget gave up dating only to start dating, Natural progression of dating, Fat Bottomed Girl