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."
A Duckworth’s Valentine’s
Sweet Valentine’s inspired cappuccino made by Michelle
Thanks to the fabulous Chef Ken Duckworth, along with his wonderfully welcoming and hard working staff, for making a Valentine’s to remember. Duckworth’s was overflowing with guests last night–no one wanted to leave as it was so warm and cozy there–and Tom and I just had the best time catching up with neighborhood friends. We all relished in our good fortune to be seated at the Duckworth’s Table for Valentine’s Day. Thank you Chef Ken and Family for the Best Ever Valentine’s Day Dinner!
Dan, Colleen, and Michelle
Chef Ken’s Sublime Lobster Risotto ~ Tip: order the full serving and eat half (not to worry, the portions are hugely generous). Eat the other half for lunch the following day–doubly delish! Apologies please, my grainy phone photos don’t do this favorite dish justice.
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Live From East Gloucester ~ Hello Mr. Sunny!
The sun is beginning to peek through the clouds, our hill has been plowed(!), and we thankfully, still have power!
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Disappearing Backyard
Calm Before the Storm
Tugboat Smith’s Cove
Ayn Lobster Boat
Houseboat Rocky Neck
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Video: Heart is a Drum
I am so glad Beck won the Grammy award for Album of the Year 🙂
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
STORM UPDATE PARKING BAN 10PM TONIGHT (with a list of where to park)
Snowstorm update
Parking ban at 10 tonight
Dear Friends:
The mayor has issued the following emergency declaration concerning the snowstorm expected to arrive overnight and continue into tomorrow:
Effective at 10 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 14, the city has declared a snow emergency and parking ban on all city streets due to the impending snow storm.
From 10 o’clock tonight until 8 a.m. on Monday, Feb. 16, all vehicles are banned from parking on city streets.
Violators of this emergency declaration are subject to ticketing and towing at the owner’s expense. Towing and ticketing will begin immediately at 10 o’clock tonight. Residents may park in all municipal and school parking lots during the parking ban. Please be aware that due to the nature of this storm, adjustments to the snow emergency and parking ban may be made.
Traveling by vehicle or on foot will be treacherous during the duration of the storm. It is strongly suggested you do not travel during this time period.
Your cooperation during this parking ban is necessary for efficient and safe snow removal efforts.
Please make every effort to check on your elderly neighbors. The bitter cold associated with this storm may cause additional risks to individuals. Please take the proper precautions.
Trash collection
At this time, trash collection will be on a holiday schedule
Where can I park?
Off-street parking areas including:
- Harbor Parking Lot (near Gloucester House Restaurant)
- Main Street Parking Lot
- Manuel F. Lewis Parking Lot
- Pleasant Street Parking Lot
- St. Peter’s Square (Town Landing Parking Lot)
- Fitz Hugh Lane Lot (Roger’s St next to TD Bank)
- Boynton Way Lot (off Rogers St in between Pilot House lot and House of Mitch)
- School Parking Lots may also be used for off-street parking
Vehicles parked in parking lots must shovel their cars out of the space.
For more information
Updates will be forthcoming as the storm progresses. Please check the City of Gloucester website for further updates at www.gloucester-ma.gov
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
IMPORTANT STORM UPDATE FROM MAYOR SEFATIA
Good afternoon. This is Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken with an important message from the City of Gloucester’s Code Red Emergency Messaging System.
Effective at 10:00 pm tonight, Saturday, February 14, 2015, the city has declared a snow emergency and parking ban on all city streets due to the impending snow storm.
From 10:00 pm on Saturday, February 14th, until 8am on Monday, February 16th, all vehicles are banned from parking on city streets.
Violators of this emergency declaration are subject to ticketing and towing at the owners expense and will begin immediately at 10:00pm tonight. Residents may park in all municipal and school parking lots during the parking ban. Please be aware that due to the nature of this storm, adjustments to the snow emergency and parking ban may be made. Travelling by vehicle or on foot will be treacherous during the duration of the storm. It is strongly suggested you do not travel during this time period.
Your cooperation during this parking ban is necessary for efficient and safe snow removal efforts.
Please make every effort to check on your elderly neighbors. The bitter cold associated with this storm may cause additional risks to individuals. Please take the proper precautions.
At this time, trash collection will be on a holiday schedule.
To repeat, the City of Gloucester has issued a parking ban on all city streets as of 10:00 pm Saturday, February 14th. The ban will be in effect until 8am on Monday, February 16th.
Updates will be forthcoming as the storm progresses. Please check the City of Gloucester website for further updates at www.gloucester-ma.gov
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Chocolate Amaretto Truffles and Men Trying on Valentine’s Lingerie
Happy Valentine‘s Day!
A chocolate lover’s delight ~ handmade truffles, super simple and kid fun-favorite-to-make, too!
Making truffles for my friends and loved ones tonight and keeping my fingers crossed that despite the ominous forecast, we’ll still get together this weekend. Please stay warm and cozy and safe!
Reposted from 2011.
Ingredients
Mini baking cups
2 ounces Baker’s sweet German chocolate, broken into small bits
6 ounces Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips
¼ C. Disaronno Amaretto liqueur
2 Tbs. strong coffee
Few drops almond extract
2 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 Tbs. vanilla extract
½ C. pulverized Jules Destrooper almond thins (or Anna’s, or any super fine, thin cookie)
Confectioner’s sugar to taste (approx. ¼ cup)
½ C. Ghiradelli unsweetened cocoa powder for final powdering
Melt sweet chocolate bits and semi-sweet chocolate chips over a gently simmering double boiler.
Whisk in liqueur, coffee, almond extract, and vanilla. Whisk vigorously, over gentle heat, a few minutes more until mixture is shiny and smooth. Gradually add the butter by tablespoons. With a wooden spoon, beat in the pulverized cookies. Beat in sifted confectioner’s sugar, to taste. Remove the pan from the double boiler and place in a bowl of ice with water. Stir until well chilled and firm enough to form into balls.
By teaspoonful, gather up a gob and form into a rough, truffle-like shape. Roll in cocoa powder and drop into frilled paper cup.
Makes about 22, depending on size. Refrigerate in an airtight container. They will keep for several weeks or they may be frozen. Very loosely adapted from Julia Child’s Chocolate Amaretti Truffles The Way to Cook Page 485.
* * *
Hilarious Adendum!
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Savour Wine and Cheese Complimentary Valentine’s Wine Tasting
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Sunrise This Morning from My Bedroom Window
Red in the morning–with another blizzard on the way–we all take warning.
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Monarch Butterflies in the News
Monarch Butterflies Goleta Santa Barbara California
Thanks to the Dalpiaz Family and to Passages for forwarding several of the links!
U.S. Government Pledges 3.2 Million Dollars To Save Monarch
40 Years Ago the World ‘Discovered’ Mexico’s Monarch Habitat — Today Its Survival Is at Stake
More monarch butterflies in Mexico, but numbers still low
How Butterflies Self-Medicate
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Massive Snow Drift Removal at Americold Continues
http://instagram.com/p/zAVuF_jyjI
See yesterday’s Instagram to compare how high the roof’s snow drift was 24 hours earlier.
http://instagram.com/p/y9vGv1Dypn/
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Short Film: Snowy Day Robin and Starling Flock
If you are fortunate enough to have a flock of robins visiting your neighborhood, take a closer look and you may notice other species of birds mixed with the flock, most notably European Starlings. The starling’s winter plumage is shiny black, bespeckled with white dots and some iridescence to their feathers. During breeding season they gain an even greater degree of iridescence.
Native to Europe, the starling was introduced to the United States in the 1890s. They often join flocks with American Robins. Starlings eat many of the same fruits and berries (crabapples, sumac, holly, and winterberries) as do robins and they are very competitive. Starlings also compete with birds such as Eastern Bluebirds for nesting sites. In a recent mixed flock of robins and starlings I also noticed one gorgeous waxwing!
Several years back we posted this short video. I wish I still had the footage because I am a much better editor today however, at approximately 30 seconds, the starlings make their entrance.
Anne Malvaux inspired today’s post. This morning she very sweetly sent along photos of the flock of robins and starlings that were in her neighborhood on Rocky Neck. She writes,
“Hi Kim, thinking about you because I have at least 50 robin red breasts in my tree in front of my window. I hope all is well. – Anne Malvaux”
Thank you Anne!!!
Original post from 2012: Round Robin Redbreast Snowy Day
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Snow Drift Americold
http://instagram.com/p/y9vGv1Dypn/
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Paint Box Sky Tonight
Glorious to see the late day sun!
Smith’s Cove Rocky Neck
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Shout Out To Annisquam Landcare!
Alex Sands and his Annisquam Landcare Crew have done an outstanding job clearing the Smith’s Cove Landing – Pirate’s Lane parking area! Duckworth’s is ready for business!
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Snowville, USA
Do you have the feeling lately that you are living…
in an igloo?
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
IMPORTANT STORM UPDATE FROM MAYOR SEFATIA
Gloucester and Essex County have been hit particularly hard since the snows began a couple of weeks ago. In the past 17 days, we have received a record setting 70 inches of snow. Not only has there been a lot of snow but it has been cold which has not allowed the snow to melt. The streets are lined with mountains of snow which makes getting around dangerous. We urge residents to exercise caution and take your time when travelling around the City.
The City has committed significant resources towards ensuring snow removal. We have deployed 25 pieces of City equipment and up to 75 pieces of contracted equipment as well as over 100 operators rotating through in shifts to clear snow. Our snow clearing efforts are ongoing and operating around the clock. We ask for your patience while we continue this endeavor.
I would like to say a quick word about the Gloucester DPW. These past few weeks have not been easy; the Director and his team have been working extremely hard. I would like to thank him and everyone at DPW for their incredible work and dedication to this City. Day-in and day-out they continue to do a tremendous job.
Working with Lt. Governor Polito, Senator Tarr and Representative Ferrante, the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency has agreed to provide the City with additional equipment to help clear snow.
The City also has secured a waiver on a limited basis to dump snow in the ocean from Secretary of Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs Mark Beaton. Those efforts will be coordinated through our Department of Public Works.
If there is any doubt as to the historic nature of these storms, Governor Baker announced today that he has called in the National Guard to assist with snow removal. The City has forwarded an expansive list of needs to Governor’s office and continues to work with them to meet those needs.
In the coming days, we will continue to widen the City streets and dig out the school and municipal parking lots.
We continue to maintain an aggressive snow removal plan while keeping the police and fire stations working and clear of snow.
On behalf of the City, I ask once again for your patience and understanding. Public safety is of the utmost importance. We are a strong community and together will get through this. Keep helping each other, checking on your neighbors and keep an eye on our seniors.
Thank you.
Sefatia Romeo Theken
Mayor
Spread The GMG Love By Sharing With These Buttons:
Where Are All the Goldfinches?
GMG reader Anita writes with a question about goldfinches ~
Hi Kim, I hope you can help me with this. I used to have lots of goldfinches. Lately I have not seen a one. I have the feeders but still no goldfinches.
Hi Anita,
Their lower numbers have been reported up and down the east coast. I’ve seen a few, but not nearly as many as in previous years. Goldfinches are migratory and nomadic, following food sources. And their population numbers vary widely from year to year. I’ve read the theory that they may be finding all the food they need in the wild, but that hardly seems plausible these past few weeks.
In 2011, an irruption of pine siskins arrived on Cape Ann. They, along with the goldfinches, were at the nyjer seed feeder from morning until nightfall. I would continue to keep your nyger seed feeders filled for finches, grosbeaks, and traveling siskins. Goldfinches (and squirrels) also love black oil sunflower seeds.
The male’s plumage shows in much quieter tones at this time of year. You may, as do I, have a few goldfinches feeding alongside your sparrows but they are less noticeable because their brown and beige color blends with the flock.
Male Goldfinch in Breeding Plumage Eating Cosmos Seeds
* * *
Filled bird feeders equals happy birds!
Watch the Instagram with the volume on–you’ll love hearing birdsongs in the snow and it will remind you of spring.
http://instagram.com/p/y5NrDpDym0/
Good Morning Gloucester 