My View of Life on the Dock
Artists-in-the-Kitchen Maria Cracchiolo, and her parents Domenic and Nina Damico, demonstrate how to create beautiful bread in shapes symbolic of Saint Joseph and inspired by nature. Watch as Maria, Nina, and Domenic artfully shape angels, a carpenter’s saw, San Giuseppe scroll, Saint Joseph sun, snails, flowers, butterflies, grapes, and more.
Saint Joseph altar bread is available by special order at Caffe Sicilia. Call to place your order at (978) 283-2345.
Fish-shaped St. Joseph altar bread
These little guys were playing near the Laurence Parsons Memorial Bridge.
March 5, 2019 Message from Iain Kerr – update on Ocean Alliance research trip off the coast of the Dominican Republic studying breeding humpback whales
“It gives me great pleasure to advise you that our last 3 days on the water have been fantastic, each day better than the previous. The weather has fallen into a typical trade wind scenario, calm in the early morning and picking up as the day goes on. We were on the boat this morning by 6:15 and had the pleasure of watching a sunrise at sea (with a whale of course).
Today we had our 1st sample by 7:15 am and had our 9th sample by 9:00 am, by 12:30 (when the winds picked up) we had collected a total of 14 samples bringing our expedition total to 54. Our goal was 50 samples, so we are now ahead of the game with 3 days to go. As the sun rose we were with a mother, calf and escort, we collected two Snot samples from each whale so we could have comparable samples, then we collected another sample from each whale flying at a higher altitude than the first set so that we can try to determine what effect height might have on the success/productivity of the biological data (snot) that gets onto the dish.
Angie Sremba is here from Dr. Scott Bakers lab at Oregon State, Angie has been focusing on the DNA analysis. She brought us some exciting information with regards to how our biological data capabilities have (successfully) evolved over time. It is important to remember here that part of this whole process is developing the collection tools and protocols and while Dr. Bakers lab is developing the preservation and analysis protocols. In summary in 2016 we had a 39% success rate with regards to sexing the animals from the DNA and a 55% success rate on the mitochondrial DNA. In 2018 we had a 92% success rate with regards to sexing the animals from the DNA and a 96% success rate with the mitochondrial DNA. This is clearly exciting as it demonstrates that we are learning and getting better on all fronts.
Another exciting data point today was the collection of some whale feces, the whales here are not feeding so it is unusual to find feces in this location. I think this is another amazing benefit of using drones for whale research, the drone saw the whale defecation (look very carefully for the brown stain in the last photo) and Britta and Andy were ready to collect it. This will prove invaluable in trying to put into context the hormone levels that we collect in the blow.
We had a number of fun whale moments today but one of the best ones was a mother and Calf lob tailing together (lifting their tails up and crashing them down onto the water). The mother would throw her tail down with an enormous crash and then the baby would do the same hardly making a splash. Andy caught one of these moments on camera (see attached photo).
Today we also did some sea trials with EarBot, after this expedition I will have four days at home and then Chris and I go to Cabo San Lucas with EarBot to work on a BBC special, so we need to make sure that EarBot is in tip top shape. Last but not least I am happy to report that this blog is supported by some amazing photos from Christian Miller and Andy Rogan.
I fly out on Thursday, so I plan to do one more blog tomorrow. I hope to report on some more EarBot and Hydrophone recordings so I can attach some Humpback whale songs from the DR, and attach a few more amazing photos.
Best Fishes from the DR.
Iain Kerr http://www.whale.org
courtesy photos for Ocean Alliance by Christian Miller:
Here are a couple of videos from the storm last weekend by Charlie Carroll.
I Am More at Gloucester High School
Amy Kerr’s I Am More portraits and essays are on display at Gloucester High School for the month of March, thanks to the time and planning of art teacher Lorrinda Cerrutti, and the support of Principal James Cook. The portraits, including Gloucester Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken, are on display downstairs in the main show case and on the third floor in the art wing thanks to the generosity of the Art Department. A special thank you to the ROTC for allowing their case to be used for this display.
Dinner Specials Each Week!
Wednesday, March 6 – 7pm
My Musical Guest: TONIANN!
March of 2019 marks my 28th year of weekly shows at the
Rhumb Line. Can you even imagine? Now, that’s a house
gig! Very fitting I should have one of my all-time favorite
music guests on this special night. The wonderful, soulful,
sweet and loving ToniAnn Enes. Let’s all show up and give
the girl the love she deserves. She is, after all, Gloucester’s
very own child… and treasure! It’s a 7pm start, of course. ~ Fly
Dinner with great music!
*Each week features a special, invited musical guest
The Rhumb Line Kitchen……features Morgan Forsythe! Dishes are better than ever before!
Plus a fine, affordable wine menu!
Upcoming…
3/13 – Johnny Carwash Reunion
3/20 – Quentin Callewaert (Bradley Hosts)
3/27 – John Rockwell Hosts
Visit: http://www.therhumbline.com/
Looking forward……to seeing you there 🙂
As you may know, Adventureman is scheduled to end his run around the continental United States right here in Gloucester on or near March 27 and we need some help to make him feel welcome.
Runners are invited to join Adventureman as he approaches Gloucester and escort him into town. Please comment or email GMG to be added to the list for updates.
Host families are needed for a few of Adventureman’s family and friends who will be visiting from his hometown in Gloucester England. This would be for just a couple of nights around March 27. There is one set of 3 people, and 2 sets of 2 people if you can help out, please show our visitors Gloucester spirit by volunteering. Also email or comment.
I love the background music of Gloucester. If you’re away and homesick, take a listen.
Good Harbor Beach was simply showing off its natural beauty on a recent sunny morning. I began to believe spring is around the corner.
Our first day we stayed closer to our apartment, using the On Off double decker bus and Uber to get around and see the Champs-Elysees, Arc De Triumph, Eiffel Tower. Today we planned to conquer the Metro.
FOB Joan Kimberley suggested we check out the Galeries Lafayette in the Opera neighborhood and we’re glad we did. It’s a six story rotunda of high end shopping. On the sixth floor there is a Skywalk made of clear glass that you can walk out for a few minutes to marvel at the beauty of the stained glass ceiling and gorgeous building. After that we went to the Ice Cube Bar atop the building for the incredible view and an adult beverage.
FOB Bradley Scheetz recommended the Metro app and I also downloaded Citmapper app which literally give you walking directions to every form of transportation available and tell you how many stops before your final destination. I HIGHLY recommend anyone that does a fair amount of travel to download the free app. It’s easy to use. The Metro is clean and we felt very safe. Purchased a booklet of ten tickets for 13.90 Euros. A ticket gets you one ride.
After our drink at the Ice Cub bar atop the Galaries Lafayette the plan was to walk up Haussmann to Hard Rock Paris so Kate could take her obligatory Hard Rock photo. She loves working for the company and likes to share the pics with her counterparts. We ate at a brassiere, Corner Haussmann, got a steak entrecôte and a burger. There’s a brassiere or cafe on every corner it seems and I don’t think you could go wrong in any of them.
Hard Rock Paris had a stop for the Hop On Hop Off double decker bus so we hopped on and checked out the neighborhood and got dropped off in Montmartre just after passing by Moulin Rouge. What I didn’t realize was that the street that Moulin Rouge was on had dozens of sex shops on each side of the street.
Montmartre if we’re talking neighborhoods is more bohemian than the buttoned down neighborhood we’re staying next to the Louvre. Twisty narrow streets lined with cute shops and restaurants. At the top Sacre-Coeur with outrageous views of Paris from up high. It’s not to miss and our favorite neighborhood so far. In fact we may go back. In a square behind Sacre-Coeur there are of course cafes and bistros surrounding the square where artists sketch portraits and sell street art. I wanted a portrait of Kate and after checking out a bunch of the different artists and having a beer while meeting a couple on holiday from London we found the artist we kept coming back to because of his simple realistic style. I’m really happy we had it done.
Time flew by and we were hoping to get back down to the Arc De Triumph before dusk to see the lights of the Champs-Elysees come on but by the time we made it back it was past so we freshened up at the room and made 8 PM dinner reservations at Comme Chai Toi.
Comme Chai Toi was a 25 minute walk down the Seine from our apartment and out the windows of the restaurant was a gorgeous view of Norte Dame.
On our way home we walked a bit and discovered this cool enclave of alleyways entirely made up of different bars and restaurants close to La Sorbonne.
What a day! What a trip! People have said not to try to jam everything in, to let Paris come to you. I wouldn’t do it any other way. We’ve just been going with the flow and enjoying every minute of it!
With two weeks left until the Priority Deadline closes, make sure to get your applications in to the Gloucester Biotechnology Academy program for classes beginning in September!
Starting March 16th, applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.
Please reach out to Elizabeth Brannon, Lead Teacher at elizabeth.brannon@gmgi.org with any questions.
Good Morning Gloucester 