Author: Kimsmithdesigns

Documentary filmmaker, photographer, landscape designer, author, and illustrator. "Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly" currently airing on PBS. Current film projects include Piping Plovers, Gloucester's Feast of St. Joseph, and Saint Peter's Fiesta. Visit my websites for more information about film and design projects at kimsmithdesigns.com, monarchbutterflyfilm.com, and pipingploverproject.org. Author/illustrator "Oh Garden of Fresh Possibilities! Notes from a Gloucester Garden."

CIVIL WAR COAT UPDATE FROM CHARLES AND GEORGE KING

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Charles and George King write:

Hi Civil War coat peeps

Today we piled into the car and drove to Museum Textile Services to meet Camille and see the coat. The mood was exciting because we’ve never actually seen it! The last time we wrote was almost a month ago to the day—you can read that Cape Ann Beacon update below our sign off. A business on Main Street asked us to stop by because of that article which we’ll update next.

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The coat is looking pretty good! It needs finishing touches but the conservator has done an excellent job. A lot of her work will be invisible but will keep it safe. We saw some cool things close up like the form, conservator sculpting tools, original patches and buttons. We inspected the back and saw some threads that give evidence that buttons were once there. She told us originally the coat fabric was a linsey-woolsey which means a linen and wool mix. Anyway we had a great time—see some photos here https://goo.gl/photos/K9ywkvRXLEMUFrFa7. The stand in the photo is not the final stand, but it is the same color/wood. unnamed

The newest Smithsonian museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture is opening September 24th. Black veterans of the Civil War had the idea for a museum in 1915. We wrote them last year and will be excited to see what the museum thinks about Gloucester’s Bacheler Civil War coat.

Sincerely

Charles and George

https://www.youcaring.com/the-gloucester-fund-467104

Posted on August 15, 2016 by Charge King

Reporter Alyse Diamantides met us on July 12 at the Gloucester High School. She was interested in writing an article about the coat for the Cape Ann Beacon. She was in Gloucester and next she was going to write about Pastaio. We talked about the poll (Sorry the poll expired. We didn’t realize it would only last three days. Please still e-mail any vote you have to gloucestercoatkids@gmail.com.) Alyse wrote a fantastic article about the coat display possibilities. Alyse sent us a link. The paper came out last Friday August 12 and you can pick it up around town. http://gloucester.wickedlocal.com/news/20160812/gloucester-twins-work-to-restore-civil-war-coat. We will continue to raise money here after we all make a decision on the display. 

RACE WITH THE SCHOONER ADVENTURE ON MARTHA’S VINEYARD!

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race-and-parade-win-2016-9070-586x315Join Schooner Adventure in Martha’s Vineyard September 16 & 17 for the 28th Annual Pat West Gaff Rig and Schooner Race on Saturday, September 17th! This annual race benefits the island non-profit program, Sail Martha’s Vineyard. Adventure will be docked at Tisbury Wharf in Vineyard Haven Harbor from Thursday through Sunday hosting several dockside and sailing events.

To purchase tickets and read more, visit the Adventure’s website here.schooner-adventure-sunset-gloucester-harbor-2-copyright-kim-smithschooner-adventure-sunset-gloucester-harbor-copyright-kim-smithRecent snapshots of the Schooner Adventure docked at the Jodrey State Fish Pier

SAVE THE DATE FOR BACKYARD GROWERS FIRST EVER GREAT GLOUCESTER GROWDOWN!!

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14263992_896421497128352_6394351660514559626_nJoin us for Backyard Growers’ very first annual fundraiser! We are coming together to celebrate Backyard Growers’ work in the community and to raise funds to support our school garden programs. Enjoy cocktails, a delicious pizza buffet, and get to know the other folks in your community who are passionate about kids, gardening, healthy eating, and delicious food!

WHEN: Thursday, October 13 from 6-9pm
WHERE: Short & Main, 36 Main Street, Gloucester
TICKET PRICE: $50

PROGRAM: Dinner served at 6:30. Program begins at 7:00.
6:00 – Appetizers & drinks
6:30 – Buffet dinner
7:00 – Program begins featuring:
–Lara Lepionka, Executive Director of Backyard Growers
–Dr. Richard Safier, Gloucester Public Schools Superintendent
–Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken
–J. Harrison, Executive Director of The Food Project
–Peggy Lyman, Backyard Growers program participant
7:30 – Program ends. Mingle until 9pm!

WARM OCEAN WATER ALERT!

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Live from Good Harbor Beach – the water temperature is delightfully warm and barely anyone here!good-harborbeach-panoramamcopyright-kim-smith

FALL SAILING ABOARD THE SCHOONER THOMAS E. LANNON

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schooner-thomas-e-lannon-sunset-paint-factory-gloucester-copyright-kim-smith

The beautiful (and wonderfully fun) Schooner Thomas Lannon continues to offer sailing excursions throughout autumn. Check out their website here for availability.

Kim’s Upcoming Lectures and Workshops September/October

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Dear Friends,

Please join me tonight at 7pm at the Sea Spray Garden Club where I will be giving my “Habitat Garden” workshop and screening several short films. This event is free and open to the public. I hope to see you there!

I am looking forward to presenting the “Pollinator Garden” program for the Winter Garden Club of Marblehead on the morning of October 4th. On October 17th. I am the guest speaker for the Sharon Garden Club and will be presenting the lecture “Beauty on the Wing; Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly.” For more information please visit the  Events Page of my website.

I am currently booking programs for 2016-2017-2018 and would be delighted to present to your club, library, school, and private or public event. See the Programs Page of my website and feel free to contact me at kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com with any questions.

Read what Mim Frost, the Program Chair for the Ipswich Town and Country Garden Club, had to say about the Life Story of the Black Swallowtail Butterfly film and program that I recently gave to her club:

Hi Kim.

How often does something you’ve looked forward to for a long time live up to your expectations? Not often. But last night at Ebsco your presentation, including your film, your comments and your Q&A were just about perfect in my book! I’ll smile as I remember the evening.

I liked having the trailer for the monarch film first. You gave the group something to look forward to. Jesse Cook’s music is an excellent choice, I think. I drum to his music often. I was pleased with the questions and with your answers. It’s obvious you’ve done a lot of research. The way you answered questions made the group comfortable. Very nice! And the film. What can I say. I’d seen clips, but seeing the whole thing was something I won’t forget. I especially liked your reference to other butterflies and your comparison of the swallowtail with the monarch. Liv’s voice was just right for the commentary!

I know from experience that the presenter is the harshest critic of the presentation. I hope you were feeling pleased with your work last night. I’d be happy to repeat the whole evening!

All the best to you,

Mim

WHY IS JOEY WEARING A METS RING??

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joey-mets-copyright-kim-smithJim Dalpiaz works with the Mets and let Joey try on his ring. Wow, does it ever weigh a ton! So nice to see Pat and Jim Dalpiaz at Sunday’s podcast. And thanking them too for bringing the supper yummy selection of Virgilio’s cookies!

SHORT FILM: EXACTLY WHAT TO DO IF YOU FIND A SEAL ON THE BEACH

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Over the past few weeks there have been reports of seals on our local beaches. This short film was created because several summers ago a Harbor Seal came ashore at Good Harbor Beach. It is in people’s nature to want to help an animal that appears to be in distress, and the little Good Harbor Beach seal was no exception, quickly becoming the object of many people’s attention.

Finding seals on the beach is natural. They may be injured, but more often than not, simply need to rest. After making the film, I learned an additional reason as to why seals haul out and that is because sharks may be present. Forcing the seal back into the water by getting too close may be driving the seal toward the very creature it is trying to escape, and to its death. The distance recommended is 150 feet, at the very least.

GSC “The Totalitarians” is alive, funny, passionate, and crazy. Representing the very best of live regional theatre…

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Tom Hauck reviews the Gloucester Stage Company’s current production, “The Totalitarians.”

In the New England premiere of “The Totalitarians,” the rollicking new play by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb now at the Gloucester Stage Company, we meet four hapless souls who have each latched onto a personal mission that they think will give their lives meaning.

Perky blonde Penelope Easter (Breean Julian) desperately wants to get elected to any high office in the state of Nebraska. In her Quixotic quest she is aided and abetted by Francine (Amanda Collins), a hack campaign manager who sees in Penny a potent vehicle for her own nationwide ambitions. Meanwhile, Francine’s physician husband, Jeffrey (Lewis D. Wheeler), wants his wife to set her sights on having children. He’s pulled into the election drama by his patient Ben (Alex Portenko), a mentally unstable cancer victim who’s convinced that Nebraska is being prepped for a dictatorship.

The result is a dark comedy in which the four characters expend tremendous energy—both emotional and physical—in pursuit of their objectives. The audience’s laughter is quickly followed by gasps of horror as the stakes get higher and the plot hurtles toward the inevitable collision of competing desires.

There are many good reasons to hurry to the Gloucester Stage Company before the show closes on September 24 and heads to New York. Cristina Todesco’s scenic design, a foreboding wall built of mysterious doors, is stunning. The four actors, ably directed by Jeff Zinn, hurl themselves into their parts with astonishing energy and passion. The message of the play is timely yet everlasting. But perhaps the best reason is that “The Totalitarians” is alive, funny, passionate, and crazy. Representing the very best of live regional theatre, what unfolds on the stage is an experience that you can’t get anywhere else at any price.

Now playing September 1st through September 24th. For more information and tickets, visit the Gloucester Stage Company website here.

Strong language – mature audiences only.

COME FROM AWAY IS A HEARTWARMING STORY OF HOPE AND COMPASSION FOR 9/11

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Come From Away tells the story of 6,579 travelers whose planes were grounded in the tiny town of Gander, Newfoundland after the attacks of 9/11. Locals from Gander and surrounding towns opened their hearts and homes for over a week, sharing what little they had. Read more about the musical here.

One of those helped by these kindhearted people was the passenger Shirley Brooks-Jones. Shirley and the other passengers tried to pay the townsfolk back, but they would not accept their money. While there she learned that many of the local children were too impoverished to attend school. Brooks-Jones had the idea to start a scholarship. This lasting legacy of the 9/11 attacks, the Lewisporte Area Flight 15 Scholarship Fund, has raised over a million dollars and sent 228 kids to college. Brooks-Jones recently gave an interview on NPR and you can read the transcript here.

HOLLAND AMERICA CRUISE SHIP ZUIDERDAM GLOUCESTER HARBOR SUNSET

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Len Burgess shares sunset from Niles Beach and a view of the Holland American Line cruise ship MS Zuiderdam departing Gloucester Harbor.glstrcruiseshiplvng_0279 sunsetnilestree_0294

WARM OCEAN WATER ALERT!

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Live from GHB, beautiful warm September night for a swim ❤

https://www.instagram.com/p/BKJzDAvjeRg/

A PLACE TO PAINT

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straitsmouth-island-lighthouse-2-copyright-kim-smithSnapshots from a foggy morning walk along Rockport’s public way. I am looking forward to photographing this scene when the light is prettier.a-place-to-paint-copyright-kim-smith

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MISSING STEPHEN SMITH

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Missing person Stephen Smith. If you have any information, please contact the Gloucester Police Department at 978-283-1212, Detective Matt Mizzoni. Thank you.14199427_1454189181274507_3435226935221713123_n 14199763_1454188094607949_5912753103593790632_n

CAPE ANN VERNAL POND TEAM BENEFIT CONCERT AND AUCTION TONIGHT AT MILE MARKER w/ Update

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Rick Roth writes,

We had a great time on Saturday at Maritime Gloucester.  Our snakes were a big hit and we were pretty much mobbed all day. Thanks to our courageous volunteers:  Kate, Diane and Jon Bevins, Nick Taormina, Marisa Neves, Colleen Anderson, Marion Healey, Keith Bertone, Wendy Antrim and Abby Cook.  Snakes were relatively well-behaved except for Ludwik who pooped in Marisa’s shoe.  Snakes today.

We got Charlie Farren and Satch Kerans to play at our benefit concert.  We got sponsorships, we booked a great venue.  We got a bunch of cool raffle/auction prizes.  Colleen printed tickets.  Cheryl made the event poster and we hung them up all over the place.  We got a hold of the Gloucester Daily Times and we posted on Facebook.  We are getting some airtime on 104.9 radio. But, we still need to fill the house to have a really successful fundraiser.  Please get the word out however you can. Show up and bring your friends.  We are most of the way there, but we need to bring this home.

Friday  September 9, 2016  7-11:30pm
CAVPT Benefit Concert/Auction with Charlie Farren all acoustic show. He’s really a talented musician, fun and dynamic performer.  Local musician, Satch Kerans will open the show.  Rick Roth, from Littleton MA will be there with some of his cool critters.  He’s the guy that was at our concert last year.  And Gloucester Rick Roth (that’s me) will be there with some critters as well.  There will be some auction/raffle action.  This is going to be a great show.
Its also a benefit for CAVPT so we need all of you to come out and support us and bring your friends.  I’m going to notice if you don’t show up, and I think you all know how I can torment people half to death for non-support of the Vernal Pond Team. Go to the Cape Ann Vernal Pond Team facebook page and check out the event poster.  Then share it with all your friends.  I’ll be watching.

We will also need lots of volunteers for this: ticket booth, auctio/raffle, critter management and more. Lots to do.

And… presale tickets are only $10.  So get them on line at http://www.tinyurl.com/cavpt-26 or at Toad Hall Bookstore on Main Street in Rockport or The Get Outside Center, 186 Main St., Gloucester.  $15 at the door.

In other news, speckled kingsnakes started hatching here yesterday.  Watch out… they may make their social debut at the concert.

Oh… and I still need redback salamanders.

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Images Cape Ann Vernal Pond Team website

HERMINE’S GIFTS!

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Tropical storm Hermine’s rain has breathed new life into Cape Ann’s drought depleted freshwater ponds and brackish marshes. Perhaps it was her winds that delivered a surprise visit from the Yellow-crowned Night Heron, a rarity for Massachusetts as we are at the tippy northern end of their breeding range. Towering waves accompanied by a tumbling undertow tossed from the deep sea gifts of nutrient rich seaweeds, mollusks, and tiny crustaceans, providing a feast for our feathered friends. See all that she brought!

Yellow Crowned Night Heron, juvenile

muskrat-massachusetts-copyright-kim-smithMuskrat! Eating tender shoots and going to and from his burrow, via refreshed canals along the wetland banks.

Wind and weather worn Red Admiral Butterfly, drinking salty rain water from the sand and warming its wings in the sun.

sanderling-eating-clam-copyright-kim-smithSanderling breakfast

great-blue-heron-immature-snowy-egret-great-egret-copyright-kim-smithImmature Great Blue Heron, Two Snowy Egrets, and Great Egret (far right)

snowy-egret-minnow-in-mouth-copyright-kim-smithA multidue of minnows for the herons and egrets

piping-plovers-hermine-eating-copyright-kim-smithThe Wingaersheek Piping Plover family has not yet begun their southward migration. Here they are foraging in the bits of shells, tiny clams, and seaweed brought to the shoreline by Hermine and not usually found in this location.

cormorant-injured-copyright-kim-smithinjured-gull-copyright-kim-smith3Injured Cormorant and Gull finding refuge and food at the pond bank.

pebble-beach-seaweed-foogy-morning-copyright-kim-smithSeaweed Swathed Pebble Beach in the lifting fog