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."

CAPE ANN VERNAL POND TEAM ANNUAL MEETING WEDNESDAY MARCH 9TH

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Rick Roth writes,

“We had two really cool Snakes of New England and the World presentations for The Westborough Community Land Trust last Saturday.  Great crowd  over 300 people.  Fabulous job by our volunteers: Ian, Dawn, Becca, John and Colleen.  Snakes were well-behaved except for the African house snake which pooped on Becca.

We will have some fundraising activities this year, so get in touch and let me know you’d like to join the Fundraising Committee.  We will have a yard sale on Saturday May28th.  And Charlie Farren will be performing a benefit show for us of his acoustic music.  We’re still working out the details for that show, but its going to be fantastic.

Big Giant Cape Ann Vernal Pond Team Annual Meeting-  Wednesday  March 9, 2016  6:30pm at The Get Outside Center, 186 Main St., Gloucester.  The public is invited.  This means you, especially if you’re hoping to volunteer or join a committee or something, but you don’t have to.  Please let us know if you plan to attend so we will can get the right amount of snacks.  Very important.

And… do you know of any vernal pools out there that need to be certified?  Or, even if you suspect its a vernal pool, but aren’t really sure.  Please let us know about it.  And let us know if you know who owns the property.
See you on Wednesday,  Rick

we only have one earth, save it”

 

Editor’s Note ~ Looking towards spring and the welcome sound of the Pinkletinks (spring peepers)!

Spring Peeper Pinkletink kimsmithdesigns 2009

DEBBIE CLARKE IS TEACHING DRAWING CLASSES AT THE CULTURAL CENTER AT ROCKY NECK!

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Debbie_Clarke_3.jpg.500x310_q85Drawing workshop with Debbie Clarke 9-11am Saturdays beginning March 5th.

The Cultural Center at Rocky Neck, Studio Gallery.

Learn how to see as an artist through the basics of observational drawing.

Space is limited, pre-registration encouraged.
$35 per class, pre-paid contact Debbie Clarke via phone 978-652-8273 or email at debbieclarkeart@gmail.com for material list and additional information.

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Debbie giving a workshop at the Cape Ann Museum

Images courtesy Google image search

 

TEN POUND ISLAND AT TWILIGHT

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Ten Pound Island just after sunset ~ As the sun was setting, hundreds of gulls poured onto the shoreline, along with Red-breasted Mergansers and Common Eiders. If there were other species, they were too far off to identify, nonetheless, it was fascinating to watch all the birds settling into the trees and rocky outcroppings for the evening.
Ten Pound Island Gloucester -3kimsmithdesigns.com

Male female Common Eider Ten Pound Island Gloucester kimsmithdesigns.comCommon Eiders swimming toward the Island

Ten Pound Island Gloucester -6kimsmithdesigns.com

Ten Pound Island Gloucester -8kimsmithdesigns.comThe gulls and sea ducks were conglomerating at the rocky beach on the (north?) end of the island

Ten Pound Island Gloucester kimsmithdesigns.comTen Pound Island Gloucester -2 kimsmithdesigns.comTen Pound Island’s little sandy beach, late afternoon

SUGAR MAGNOLIAS HAS REOPENED FOR THE SEASON! !

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FullSizeRender (34)Thank you to Jenn Cullen for posting to Instagram her photo of one of Sugar Magnolia’s new super salads. It looked so yummy, I just had to try it for myself. The roasted veggie, kale, almond, craisin, bulgur wheat, and goat cheese salad was fantastic. Crab cakes added to the order made an exquisite and filling lunch, so huge in fact, I brought half home for lunch tomorrow. My husband had one of Sugar Mag’s classic favorites, the corn chowder with jerk and honey grilled salmon. You’ll find an enticing array of new menu items and, not to worry, everyone’s old favorites, too. I can’t wait to try more ❤

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Sugar Magnolias is located at 112 Main Street and is open Tuesday through Friday from 7am to 11am, closed for half an hour and then again from 11:30am to 2:30pm. On Saturdays and Sundays, they are open for brunch from 7am to 1pm. Closed Mondays.

For more information visit their website here: Sugar Magnolias

Friends David Cox and Carol Roberts–you run into the nicest people when dining on Main Street!!

https://www.instagram.com/p/BCgbsgoDyo8/

Carol Roberts kimsmithdesigns.com

EXCITING NEWS FOR GLOUCESTER STAGE COMPANY!

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Best_Supporting _Actress_Nominee_Jennifer_Ellis_8933Best Actress Play Midsize Nominee Amanda Collins and Best Supporting Actress Play Midsize Nominee Jennifer Ellis for Out of Sterno

 

Boston Critics‏ Recognize Gloucester Stage Company’s 2015 Season

Non-Profit Theater Receives Nine IRNE Award Nominations

 

The Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) recently announced the nominees for the 20th Annual IRNE Awards. Gloucester Stage Company received a total of nine nominations for the 2015 season. The IRNE Awards honor the best of the previous year’s actors, directors, designers and companies across the full spectrum of large, midsize and fringe theater companies in the New England area.

The Gloucester Stage nominations include two for Deborah Zoe Laufer’sOut of Sterno: Best Actress-Play–Midsize: Amanda Collins; and Best Supporting Actress-Play-Midsize: Jennifer Ellis; two for Israel Horovitz’sGloucester Blue: Best New Play and Best Actor-Play-Midsize: Robert Walsh; one nomination for Enda Walsh’s The New Electric Ballroom:Best Supporting Actor-Play-Midsize: Derry Woodhouse and four nominations for Annie Baker’s The Flick: Best Play-Midsize; BestLighting Design: Russ Swift, Best Actor-Play-Midsize: Nael Nacer andBest Director-Play-Midsize: Bridget Kathleen O’Leary.

Continue reading “EXCITING NEWS FOR GLOUCESTER STAGE COMPANY!” →

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

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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

Blue eyed female mute swan cygnet cygnus olor Polish kimsmithdesigns.com copy

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

MORE ATLANTIC ROAD DEMOLISHED ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE STORM MAYHEM PHOTOS

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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” →

NEW SHORT FILM: BUFFLEHEAD KERFUFFLE

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Male female bufflehead courtship kimsmithdesigns.com 2016Bufflehead Kerfuffle

The smallest, and I think most would agree, among the cutest North American sea ducks, every autumn Buffleheads arrive on the shores of Cape Ann after having journeyed many thousands of miles from their summer breeding grounds in the Canadian boreal forests. They are seen in twos or in small groups and unlike most ducks, are monogamous. Some males begin courting very early in the season as demonstrated in the flock currently residing on Cape Ann however, the birds will not pair until spring.

When out for a walk along shore and pond, you may notice a great deal of bufflehead kerfuffling taking place. The male’s courtship displays are wonderfully exuberant, with much head pumping, chest thrusting, and aggressive flying. The male goes so far as to exaggerate the size of his head by puffing out his bushy crest. Occasionally, the males chase females, but most of the chasing is directed towards other males in territorial displays, which are accomplished by both flying and skidding across the water as well as via underwater chasing. The female encourages her suitor vocally and with a less animated head pumping motion.

Male female bufflehead Massachusetts kimsmithdesigns.com 2016

Female Bufflehead, left and male Bufflehead, right

Buffleheads are diving ducks, finding nourishment on Cape Ann on small sea creatures and pond grasses, as well as seed heads at the shoreline’s edge.

By the early twentieth century Buffleheads were nearing extinction due to over hunting. Their numbers have increased although now their greatest threat is loss of habitat stemming from deforestation in the boreal forests and aspen parklands of Canada.

The word bufflehead is a corruption of buffalo-head, called as such because of their disproportionately large and bulbous head. Buffleheads are a joy to watch and are seen all around Cape Ann throughout the fall, winter, and early spring. Their old-fashioned name, “Butterball,” aptly describes these handsome and welcome winter migrants!

https://vimeo.com/157176701

Listen for the Buffleheads mating vocalizations. The Bufflehead courtship scenes were filmed on Niles Pond. The end clip is of a flock of Buffleheads in flight and was shot at Pebble Beach, Rockport.

 

 

(EDITED) VISITOR ACCESSIBILITY TO TEN POUND ISLAND FOR THE BETTERMENT OF OUR COMMUNITY AND BELOVED WILDLIFE

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(EDITOR’S NOTE) Mayor Romeo Thekan has called a meeting in her office on March 24th, from 5pm to 6pm, to discuss Ten Pound Island. Everyone is welcome.

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Ten Pound Island with fish and lobster hatchery, air station, lighthouse, keeper’s house, and oil house. Photo submitted by Toby Pett.

Airfields_MA_NE_htm_48ed180aTen Pound presently

After reading the Gloucester Daily Times’s article about the city’s Recreational Boating Committee’s recommendations on how better to serve boaters, I have been looking at old photos and reading about Ten Pound Island. This tiny island located at the eastern end of Gloucester Harbor has a storied and fascinating history. The timeline (see below) was created to help give an overview.

The following is the part of the article that caught my attention:“Perhaps the most innovative idea in the report is to consider creating a community boat house — possibly similar to the house boats moored along the Annisquam River — and a dock upon Ten Pound Island that could host the Gloucester High School and YMCA community sailing and boating skills programs, as well as other public programs and access for rowing and kayaking.”

I am looking forward to learning more about the possibilities for Ten Pound Island and trust that our Mayor and community leaders will do a thoughtful study to create a comprehensive plan on how to co-exist with the birds that breed and nest on the Island. In our region, we have so many great examples to follow on ways to manage land for wildlife; two that come to mind immediately are the Plum Island Piping Plovers and the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge.

I think it important our community understand that more than likely, the vegetation found growing on Ten Pound is in a transitory state and that over time, if left to naturalize, will become a forest. The shrubs and brushy growth, so ideal for nesting birds, will eventually give way to hardwood trees, which may not be the best habitat for shore birds.

There is the hope that developing trails and managing the island flora will create an even better and more permanent sanctuary for our cherished wildlife. Today the Island is only accessible to private boaters. If a community dock were built at the site of the preexisting dock and trails were created and well maintained, just imagine the enjoyment and educational experiences Ten Pound Island could provide for all.

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8278392407_187a8b6139_bTen Pound Island Timeline

1644 Early settlers graze rams on the Island.

1817 Mariner Amos Story famously reports seeing a sea serpent (along with many others) near the Island. See account below.

1821 Ten Pound Island Lighthouse Station is established to safely guide mariners through Gloucester’s Inner Harbor.

1833-1849 Amos Story serves as Ten Pound Island Lighthouse Keeper.

1880 Winslow Homer stays with the lighthouse keeper during the summer creating over 50 watercolor paintings.

1881 Present conical cast iron tower, lined with brick, replaces original stone tower. Wooden keepers house is constructed.

1889 U.S. Fish and lobster hatchery is established.

1925 U.S. Coast Guard establishes first in the country air station, primarily to capture rumrunners during Prohibition.

1940 Lighthouse keeper’s wife Evelyn Hopkins honors Edward Snow, the Flying Santa who dropped Christmas presents from a plane for lighthouse keepers’ children, by nailing “Merry Christmas” boldly in newspaper, which could be read from the sky.

1954 Fish hatchery abandoned.

1956 Ten Pound island Light Station is decommissioned and replaced by a modern optic. The original fresnel lens is on display at the Maine Lighthouse Museum in Rockland.

1965 Keepers dwelling razed.

1988 The Lighthouse Preservation Society initiates restoration of Ten Pound Island Light.

1989 A modern optic was installed atop the tower and relit as a Federal aid to navigation.

1995 The oil house is restored.

1996 -1997 (*Possibly longer, checking dates) Shuttle to and from the Island is provided by the Gloucester Harbor Shuttle.

Currently, Ten Pound Island serves as an active aid to navigation.

TenPound_Christmas

“Merry Christmas” written with newspaper hammered to the ground

*    *     *

Amos Story sea serpent sighting account: “It was between the hours of twelve and one o’clock when I first saw him and he continued in sight for an hour and a half. I was setting on the shore, and was about twenty rods [330 feet] from him when he was nearest to me. His head appeared shaped much like that of the sea turtle, and he carried his head from ten to twelve inches above the surface of the water. His head at that distance appeared larger than the head of any dog I ever saw. From the back of his head to the next part of him that was visible, I should judge to be three or four feet. He moved very rapidly through the water. I should say a mile in two, or, at most, in three minutes. I saw no bunches on his back. On this day, I did not see more than ten or twelve feet of his body.”

In a separate sighting, Story’s wife, “a woman held in high esteem for her veracity” noted through a telescope what at first she believed to be a log that had washed ashore, until it moved, that is. Throughout the month, more and more witnesses told similar stories of a sleek brown serpent-like creature in Gloucester Harbor.

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TENPOUNDLinks:

http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/maritime/ten.htm

http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=478

http://www.newenglandlighthouses.net/ten-pound-island-light-history.html

http://www.uscg.mil/history/stations/airsta_tenpoundisland.asp

http://www.gloucestertimes.com/news/local_news/report-city-needs-to-better-serve-boaters/article_c2959522-c2de-5f05-8353-41766dcc7b5d.html

http://www.nelights.com/exploring/Massachusetts/ten_pound_light.html

http://fitzhenrylaneonline.org/catalog/entry.php?id=44

https://goodmorninggloucester.wordpress.com/2012/09/17/ten-pound-island-from-bill-hubbard/

More Photos Here Continue reading “(EDITED) VISITOR ACCESSIBILITY TO TEN POUND ISLAND FOR THE BETTERMENT OF OUR COMMUNITY AND BELOVED WILDLIFE” →

CAPE ANN SYMPHONY

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CAPE ANN SYMPHONY

THE 64th SEASON: A SEASON TO REMEMBER

 

Cape Ann Symphony Features Spain, Germany & Japan in

A Global Tour Concert on March 20

Concert Debuts World Premiere from Japanese Composer Koto

Cape Ann Symphony’s March Concert features a Global Musical Tour with music from Germany’s Beethoven, Spain’s Rodrigo and a world premiere work from Japan’s Koto on Sunday, March 20, 2016 at 2pm at the CAS performance venue at Manchester-Essex High School Auditorium on 36 Lincoln Street in Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA. The concert program includes Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 in C Minor plus guest artist renowned guitar virtuoso Grisha Goryachev in his Cape Ann Symphony debut playing the exotic Spanish guitar concerto, Rodrigo’s Concierto de Aranjuez and the world premiere of Araumi to Nagi (Stormy and Calm Seas)from Boston based Japanese composer Takashi Koto. Manchester-Essex High School Auditorium is handicapped accessible. Ticket prices are $40 for adults, $35 for senior citizens, $5 for Youth age 18 and under. For tickets and information, call978-281-0543 or visit www.capeannsymphony.org

Grisha_2015Guitar Virtuoso Grisha Goryachev

 

GOOD MORNING FROM NILES POND!

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Mr. Swan’s morning grooming session, keeping his feathers well oiled and in excellent flying condition.

Mexico documents big rebound in monarch butterflies

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Thank you to Hannah Kimberley for submitting the following story ~

mexicodocumeIn this Jan. 4, 2015 file photo, a kaleidoscope of Monarch butterflies cling to tree branches, in the Piedra Herrada sanctuary, near Valle de Bravo, Mexico. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File)

By Mark Stevenson, Associated Press

Monarch butterflies have made a big comeback in their wintering grounds in Mexico, after suffering serious declines, experts said Friday.

The area covered by the orange-and-black insects in the mountains west of Mexico City this season was more than three and a half times greater than last winter. The butterflies clump so densely in the pine and fir forests they are counted by the area they cover rather than by individual insects.

The number of monarchs making the 3,400-mile (5,500-kilometer) migration from the United States and Canada declined steadily in recent years before recovering in 2014. This winter was even better.

This December, the butterflies covered 10 acres (about 4 hectares), compared to 2.8 acres (1.13 hectares) in 2014 and a record low of 1.66 acres (0.67 hectares) in 2013.

While that’s positive, the monarchs still face problems: The butterflies covered as much as 44 acres (18 hectares) 20 years ago.

“The news is good, but at the same time we shouldn’t let our guard down,” said Omar Vidal, director of the World Wildlife Fund in Mexico. “Now more than ever, Mexico, the United States, and Canada should increase their conservation efforts to protect and restore the habitat of this butterfly along its migratory route.”

The United States is working to reintroduce milkweed, a plant key to the butterflies’ migration, on about 1,160 square miles (3 million hectares) within five years, both by planting and by designating pesticide-free areas. Milkweed is the plant the butterflies feed and lay their eggs on, but it has been attacked by herbicide use and loss of open land in the United States.

Dan Ashe, the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said that in the first year of that effort, the United States had managed to restore about 250,000 acres (100,000 hectares) of milkweed, and raised about $20 million for the program.

“It is time for celebration because we see the beginning of success,” Ashe said. “But our task now is to continue building on that success.”

The Washington, D.C.-based Center for Biological Diversity, which is pushing for endangered species status for the monarchs, noted that even with the rebound, the butterflies are still only at 68 percent of their 22-year average. It said in a statement that “the population was expected to be up this winter due to favorable summer weather conditions in the monarch’s U.S. breeding areas.”

Read full story here

OSCAR WEEKEND AT CAKE ANN

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Inga and Jeannie from Cake Ann write in ~

In celebration of the Oscars this weekend, we’ve created some tasty treats:

Malted milk bar chocolate cupcakes with a chocolate ganache filling and a Malted milk bar buttercream frosting (because people often buy malted milk bars when they go to the movies!)

Sweet potato scones with a maple glaze frosting in honor of the Martian (the main character survived on potatoes)

“Big” Cardamom short bread cookies in honor of the movie the Big Short.

Thanks so much Kim.
Jeannie

Cake Ann cupcakeCake Ann Photo of Malted Milk Bar Cupcakes

WHY I LOVE MY OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST, ADDISON GILBERT HOSPITAL’S FRANCINE ELLIOT

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After injuring my elbow this winter, the next step to recovery is working with an occupational therapist. From the long list of possible rehabilitation centers provided by the arm physician I wasn’t sure where to turn. Because my family has been very well cared for by the Addison Gilbert Hospital Emergency room staff, as well as the fact that it is so convenient, made deciding upon AGH easier. When making the initial appointment I stated one criteria and that was that whoever was assigned me had to be extremely gentle.

I liked Francine from the moment I met her and not just because she is super gentle, she is also smart, kind, compassionate, and truly knows her profession. If you are ever in need of an arm OT, Francine is the one. She has been treating patients for twenty years, seventeen of those years at AGH. Francine specializes in nerve and tendon injuries of the hand and arm, arthritis, trauma, and wound care. If you are ever injured, which I sincerely hope you are not, but if you are, ask for Francine; you will surely be in the best possible hands!

Francine Elliott kimsmithdesigns.com 2016.