My View of Life on the Dock
After the chill of early morning filming, my favorite place to stop along the way home is Brothers Brew. The coffee is really, really good–smooth, flavorful, never bitter, and always super fresh (even the decaf). Their housemade doughnuts, TO-DIE-FOR!
Brothers Brew’s current seasonal selection of delicious donuts includes apple cider and pumpkin glaze.
Morning Mecca!
Laura, left, and Terry Brackett, Donut-Maker Extraordinaire!
Looks Beautiful Kathleen!
Kathleen Gerdon Archer’s show GEOLOGY opens with a reception at The Marblehead Arts Association, 8 Hooper Street, Marblehead, Ma. on Sunday, September 21 from 2-4pm.The show runs from September 20- November 2.
There have been many inquires in my inbox asking “where are the monarchs?” I’ve been checking in gardens and along the shoreline and haven’t seen any travelers as of yet however, we have reason to be hopeful that this year’s migration will be better than last year’s. Based on reports coming from the mid-west, the migration has begun and the numbers are higher than what was reported in September 2013 for that region.
Look for Monarchs in your garden, and also in fields, meadows, and along the shore nectaring at native wildflowers, such as different species of goldenrods and asters.
Reminder ~ Screening of my documentary Life Story of the Black Swallowtail Butterfly and Lecture is this coming Saturday, September 20th, at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield. I hope to see you there! For details see recent GMG Post here.
I am procrastinating in getting out the warm woollies in hopes that Indian Summer is just around the corner. Do you recall it ever feeling so fall-like, so early in September?
Seaside Goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens)
Last evening’s late summer sunset began quietly, in soft shades of coral rose and lavender blue. The sky’s light swiftly transformed to a riotous rainbow of super saturated hues.
Click image below to view larger panorama.
Niles Beach
With the unseasonable low temperatures, the hummingbird exodus from the north will soon follow. Keep your feeders full of sugar water to help sustain the southward migrants on their long journey to winter destinations.
Our resident female Ruby-throated Hummingbird was spotted yesterday, making her rounds nectaring at the Rose-of-Sharon, native honeysuckle, hibiscus, and jewelweed.
Hummingbird Feeder Recipe: 1 Cup water to 1/4 Cup pure granulated sugar. Do not add red food coloring or substitute honey for sugar. Replenish frequently, especially during warm weather.
GMG Readers, please help with ID–what type of boat is this beautiful sailboat that was in the harbor several days ago?
I adore my father-in-law, especially for his wit and sense of humor. He and my mother-in-law are here visiting for the week for my husband Tom’s 60th birthday. My father-in-law will be NINETY next May 5th. During dinner several nights ago he told us that he belongs to a club that meets every Friday for lunch. They call themselves the ROMEOs, an acronym for Really Old Men Eating Out. They go to each other’s clubs, drink a great deal, and eat fun appetizers such as water chestnuts wrapped in bacon and pigs-in-a-blanket, but then are usually too toasted to actually eat lunch. When I’m ninety I hope to have as much joie de vivre as does he!
In the dim light of daybreak at first glance I thought the diminutive duck was somehow related to the female mallard. Both were inconspicuous and camouflaged amongst the cattails. Mrs. Mallard was preening and standing on one leg, a thing birds do to regulate their body temperature, and Mystery Duck was actively diving all around her. As the light grew brighter with the rising sun it was easy to see that they weren’t at all akin; Mystery Duck’s bill was shorter and chunkier when compared to the Mallard’s bill, Mystery was half her size, and its perky cotton white tail feathers were unmissable. The Mallard flew off eventually and our Mystery then traveled away, deeply diving and then reemerging some distance further, staying close to the shoreline and always well hidden.
Side-by-side comparison: Pied-billed Grebe, left, female Mallard, right.
The Pied-billed Grebe is rarely seen breeding in Massachusetts any longer and is listed as endangered in nearly every New England state. Rhode Island considers the Pied-billed extirpated (locally extinct). The reason for their decline is low breeding numbers and wetland degradation. Their feathers are thick and soft and were used to make hats and earmuffs during the 19th century. Wantonly hunted to near extinction, Pied-billed Grebes never fully recovered in our region. As wetlands have given way to development, the Pied-billed Grebe’s numbers continue to decline dramatically. They are extremely sensitive to human disturbances, and, too, are less likely to be seen as it is a nocturnal bird, traveling mostly during the night.
Fluffy Cottontail
A fun fact about the marsh-nesting Pie-billed is that both male and female contribute to building what at first appears to be a floating nest in vegetation, near open water. The nest is actually a platform anchored to plant stalks.
I wonder if this Pied-billed is a fall migrant or if on Niles Pond, Pied-billed Grebes were nesting this season. Has anyone else documented or seen a Pied-billed Grebe at Niles Pond during the past few months?
Niles Pond is Ideal Pied-billed Grebe Habitat
See previous GMG post for more information about why birds stand on one leg.
See more photos and audio links here ~
Continue reading “Endangered Pied-billed Grebe Encounter”
See this short video of a train station in Utah incorporating Len Burgess gorgeous ice crystal images, illuminated by colored LED lights.
Crystal Light transforms the two level environment of the Transfer Station of the UTA linking the new line to the airport with the existing commuter line. The dramatic weather of Salt Lake City is suggested in images of water in its different states: ice crystals, clouds, a rushing stream, gentle waves of the lake. These are etched into the glass windscreens and elevator tower to catch the sunlight during the day and at night color flows through the station with programmed lighting.
Len writes, “Some of my ice crystal photos are etched in a Salt Lake City train station. This Salt Lake City train station has been designed using etched glass and changing colored lighting. Here’s a new video of the station. Well known architectural designer Catherine Widgery designed this structure using water in it’s many forms as the theme.”
Niles Pond Swans
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The Ukeladies are learning Harvest Moon–I’d forgotten about this beautiful song and the fairly recent video, released by Neil Young in 2012, is so very sweet.
[PITTSFIELD, MA] – The Berkshire Museum will present a workshop and documentary screening with landscape designer and filmmaker Kim Smith on Saturday, September 20, 2014. Both events are included with regular Museum admission. The slide-illustrated talk, Creating a Bee, Bird, and Butterfly Garden, begins at 10 a.m.and the screening of the film, Life Story of the Black Swallowtail, will follow the talk, beginning at 11:30 a.m. Both programs are part of the Museum’s BeMuse program series.
Saturday, September 20, 10 a.m.
Following the rhythm of the seasons, Kim Smith presents a stunning slide show and lecture demonstrating how to create a welcoming haven for bees, birds, butterflies, and other wildlife. Native plants and examples of organic and architectural features will be discussed based on their value to particular vertebrates and invertebrates. Pollinator plant list handout included with workshop.
Saturday, September 20, 11:30 a.m. (time approximate; screening follows workshop)
Life Story of the Black Swallowtail Butterfly is a 45-minute narrated film that takes place in a garden and at the sea’s edge. Every stage of the butterfly’s life cycle is experienced in vibrant close-up, from conception to pupation to metamorphosis. The film is suitable for all ages so all can gain a deeper understanding of the symbiotic relationship between wildflowers and pollinators and the vital role they play in our ecosystem. The film was shot in Gloucester, Massachusetts. A discussion and Q & A with Kim Smith, the filmmaker, will follow the screening. Life Story of the Black Swallowtail is the first film in a trilogy about butterflies and will be followed next year by Beauty on the Wing ~ Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly.
Kim Smith is a filmmaker, designer, author, illustrator, photographer, and naturalist who documents, in a variety of media, the world around her. She is the author and illustrator of Oh Garden of Fresh Possibilities! Notes from a Gloucester Garden (David R. Godine, publisher, 2009). Kim’s landscape and interior design firm, Kim Smith Designs, works with clientele to create highly individualized homes and gardens, and she specializes in creating butterfly and songbird habitat gardens in public spaces. Smith is a daily contributor to the stellar community blog Good Morning Gloucester.
MAP to BERKSHIRE MUSEUM, thanks to Cat Ryan!
Located in downtown Pittsfield, Massachusetts, at 39 South St., the Berkshire Museum, a Smithsonian Affiliate, is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $13 adult, $6 child; Museum members and children age 3 and under enjoy free admission. Admission to the Butterfly Pavilion is an additional $2 per person. For more information, visit Berkshire Museum or call 413.443.7171.
In association with the Smithsonian since 2013, Berkshire Museum is part of a select group of museums, cultural, educational, and arts organizations that share the Smithsonian’s resources with the nation.
Established by Zenas Crane in 1903, Berkshire Museum integrates art, history, and natural science in a wide range of programs and exhibitions that inspire educational connections between the disciplines. Butterflies is on view throughOctober 26, 2014. Objectify: A Look into the Permanent Collection is currently on view. Little Cinema is open year-round. Feigenbaum Hall of Innovation, Worlds in Miniature, Aquarium, and other exhibits are ongoing.
SEE PREVIOUS GMG POST ABOUT BUTTERFLIES! AT THE BERKSHIRE MUSEUM
Left to right, front: Nina Groppo and Kathy Pratl; back: Jane Beddus and Catherine Gunn
This past weekend filming continued on the Feast of Saint Joseph Community Film Project. Nina and Frank Groppo serve the most wonderful homemade limoncello during the Feast and we decided back in March to include limoncello-making in the story of how Saint Joseph’s special day is celebrated in Gloucester. Nina, Kathy, Catherine, and Jane not only graciously agreed to allow filming, but also included me in the preparations and you’ll see what fun we had in the forthcoming film!
While at the Groppo’s garden you can’t help but notice their amazing crop of cucuzza (pronounced ku-koz-za, also goo-gootz), hanging from their handmade arbor. Cucuzza is an Italian squash that from what I understand, in English, means something like “super long squash.” A single squash can grow ten inches in one day!
For our first of several limoncello-making days, Nina created a beautiful lunch. She served cucuzza soup, made from both the fruit and the leaves. It was fabulous and delicious and like no other soup I had sampled before. She also baked wonderfully fresh hake filets and prepared a lovely tomato salad, with heirloom tomatoes from her garden.
Nina described how she hand pollinates the fruit ~ Each plant produces male and female flowers. She explains that it is easy to identify the female flowers as they have a small swollen fruit (ovary) on the stem, just behind the flowers. She plucks the male flowers off the vine and gently brushes together the male’s anther and female’s stigma, the flower’s reproduction parts, which insures good pollination. By removing the male flowers from the vine, you are not eliminating any potential fruit because the male flowers don’t bear fruit.
I have been planning an arbor for my garden patio for sometime and after seeing and tasting the Groppo’s fabulous cucuzza, I am not waiting any longer to build one!
Thank you dear Nina, Kathy, Catherine, and Jane for your continuing help with the Saint Joseph Film Project!
Our adorable neighbor Esme and her friends Frances and Lyda keeping cool on a summer’s afternoon!
Good Morning Gloucester 