My View of Life on the Dock
Gloucester U is an exciting and engaging after school experience. Gloucester U has been made possible by the 21st Century Community Learning Center Federal Grant. It is a completely free program for students and includes courses such as cooking, technology, service learning, and more. 
This morning we continued filming for Gloucester’s Feast of Saint Joseph Film Project; today at Virgilio’s! So many thanks to Joe Virgilio for taking time from his busy, busy work day running the bakery.
We talked a bit about the history of Virgilio’s, founded in 1934, and at its current location since the 1950’s. At that time, Virgilios was not only a bakery, but a full grocery store as well (before there were supermarkets) and you could purchase goods such as whole chickens and sausages.
The Virgilios began making St. Joseph rolls in the early 1950s, specifically for the Feast of Saint Joseph and today, they make them year round. Back then, there were so many families that celebrated the Saint Joseph traditions that even as young kids, Joe and all his cousins had to hurry to the bakery after school to help their grandfather fill the St. Joseph roll orders. Now the bread is made with state of the art equipment but in his grandfather’s day it was all made by hand. Joe smiled thinking about how his grandfather would love today’s mixing and baking machines. I went home with a camera-full of stories and bag full of Joe’s bread, both generous, and much-appreciated gifts.
Virgilio’s Saint Joseph rolls are super yummy plain, with a touch of butter, or olive oil, and are even more super delicious made into one of their world-famous sandwiches!
In case you missed the Virgilio’s Phantom Gourmet episode, here it is:
As did Maria, Nina, and Domenic from Caffe Sicilia, Joe took time from his tremendously full work day to allow time for filming and sharing his stories. We’re so blessed to have these fabulous and welcoming bakeries/grocerias in our community. Next week, filming at Sclafani’s is scheduled!
Addendum ~ Al Bezanson writes in the comment section (see below):
“As a side note, did you know about the tradition of delivering donated fresh (sometimes warm) Virgilio’s bread to schooners as they arrive for the Labor Day Schooner Festival? When you get around schooner people you may hear them talking about the need to have extra butter aboard in Gloucester. This is a very big deal in fending off other ports that are vying for schooners that same weekend. Thanks Joe and the high speed Ramsey/Nesta delivery guys!”
THANK YOU AL for your always super helpful comments. This is information about Joe’s generosity that we would never have know without you sharing!
Preparing and baking the special San Guiseppe bread is a family endeavor at Caffe Sicilia. Within an hour’s time, Maria, Nina, and Domenic created dozens of loaves of bread in religiously significant shapes of St. Joseph’s staff, angels, and even a carpenter’s saw, as well as beautiful and whimsical flowers, sun, snails, and bunches of grapes. While they artfully and deftly shaped and baked, they shared their St. Joseph’s stories for our camera. Thank you Maria, Domenic, and Nina!
The Family began making the bread about four years ago, and word quickly spread. Maria credits Nina Groppo for spreading the good news.
Today was a joyful day and I am immensely appreciative. Many, many thanks to Maria, Nina, and Domenic from the bottom of my heart for their kindness and help with Gloucester’s St. Joseph film project.
Note the Carpenter’s Saw in the background
Below are just some of the posts honoring last year’s participants. If you have not been contacted, please, we do not want to leave anyone out. Contact me at kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com if you would like your family’s story included in Gloucester’s Feast of Saint Joseph film project. Thank you.
Tom Emmel, right
Our expedition to the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserves was led by Tom Emmel, Ph.D. Tom is the Director of the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, which is part of the University of Florida’s Museum of Natural History. He is also the university’s professor of zoology and entomology and the author of over 400 publications, including 35 books. Not only is Dr. Emmel a professor and director of the center, he leads expeditions to research biodiversity around the world, including recent trips to Bali to Komodo Island to study the Komodo Dragon (with a great story of how he and his fellow travelers very nearly almost became Komodo Dragon supper), the Galapagos Islands, and Madagascar.
This was Dr. Emmel’s fortieth trip to Angangueo to study the Monarch Butterfly migration. His first trip was in 1980 with Dr. Lincoln Brower who had, at the same time as Dr. Fred Urquhart, discovered the Monarch colonies in 1975. In those first early years of conducting research at the biospheres, Dr. Emmel and Dr. Brower traveled on old mining roads, rode horseback to the colonies, and camped in tents. Today, there are well-marked trails with options for either hiking or horseback riding.
On the second day of our expedition, I interviewed Dr. Emmel at the top of Sierra Chincua Monarch Colony. He was also interviewed by a Mexican television crew at the summit of the Sierra Chincua biosphere. I am in the process of editing the interview footage and will have that ready to post in the near future. Amongst the many aspects of the Monarch’s migration discussed during the interview, Dr. Emmel reveals exactly how one counts millions upon millions of Monarchs and offers several theories as to why the butterflies migrate to the very specific climate zone of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. We cover the subject of Monarch conservation and precisely how Monsanto’s GMO genetically modified Roundup Ready corn and sorghum, and Bt-corn, are indisputably deadly to the Monarchs. You’ll be surprised at the results of the research that was conducted on our journey in regard to the numbers of Monarchs counted in the biospheres.
This photo was taken early in the day, before the butterflies awaken in the sun. You can see that the limb of the Oyamel tree is so heavily laden with butterflies, it appears as though it will snap at any moment. And oftentimes, the limbs do break! The butterflies scatter and then regroup to another location.
Meeting Dr. Emmel and fellow expedition travelers was one of the most interesting and exciting aspects of the journey. You can’t imagine traveling with a more knowledgeable expert than Dr. Emmel. He is not only a world authority on all aspects of the Monarch’s migration, the history of the development of the biospheres, and the community of Angangueo, he also has extensive knowledge about a wide range of wildlife species and topics relative to biodiversity and the natural world. He shares the information generously and with a sense of humor, too.
Dr. Emmel’s assistants, brothers Ian and Craig Segebarth, are two of the brightest and most helpful young men you could hope to meet. Marie Emerson, who works in the development department at the museum was a joy and also super helpful, as was Josh Dickinson, who was traveling with his wonderfully fun granddaughter, 5th grader Zoie Dickinson. Josh Dickinson has spent a lifetime consulting on forestry management and he will be helping with forestry management at the Monarch biospheres. Josh also speaks Spanish very well and was tremendously helpful, especially when I locked myself out of my hotel room! Thanks again Josh for your kind assistance!
Zoie Dickinson
My friend, Briar Fandetti Forsythe, is a not only a fabulous baker, but also a movie buff. In April she is attending the Turner Film Festival, Los Angeles, where a huge celebration is scheduled for the 75th anniversary of The Wizard of Oz (1939). In anticipation of her upcoming trip she’s combined two of her passions, whipping up a batch of cookies for her friends, featuring Dorothy, from The Wizard of Oz!
Early Wizard of Oz Poster
As you’ve read here in previous posts, Briar is the proprietor of Willowdale Estate. Several times throughout the year, Willowdale holds fun family nights (free) with screenings of classic movies. It’s a great way to see the Estate, sample Briar’s exquisite cooking, and experience Willowdale’s welcoming hospitality!
Willowdale Estate, Topsfield
Note ~ My daughter Liv read, and reread, L. Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, and the novel’s many sequels. It’s a fabulously captivating series not to be overlooked for your young reader!
Briar Fandetti-Forsythe cookie photos; The Wizard of Oz promotion posters courtesy google image search.
See more The Wizard of Oz original posters, lobby cards, and info about the 75th anniversary screening here: Continue reading “We’re Off to See the Wizard!”
Reblogged from JoeAnn Hart’s Float ~
JoeAnn Hart writes:
“Last week at the AWP conference in Seattle, I participated in a panel called The Greening of Literature: Eco-Fiction and Poetry to Enlighten and Inspire. The discussion was led by John Yunker of Ashland Creek, an environmentally conscious press in Oregon, (and publisher of Float). I was joined by poet Gretchen Primack, and fiction writers Ann Pancake and Mindy Mejia. We had such a scintillating program, I am moved to share my short talk here, starting with a quote from Ian McEwan’s 2010 novel, Solar:
“Professor Beard would not have believed it possible that he would be in a room drinking with so many seized by the same particular assumption, that it was art in its highest forms – poetry, sculpture, dance, abstract music, conceptual art – that would lift climate change as a subject, gild it, palpate it, reveal all the horror and lost beauty and awesome threat and inspire the public to take thought, take action, or demand it of others.”
Professor Beard, with his Nobel prize in physics clutched to his chest, is offended by the idea that art might be a better tool for curing a sick planet than his analytical facts. But for all his scientific knowledge, he fails to understand that art has power. Images created by art by-pass the modern cerebral cortex and go straight to our ancient limbic brain which controls memory and emotion, the part of the brain where we process value judgments, judgments that exert a strong influence on our behavior.”
Kate Wilwerth from the Seaside Garden Club writes,
“Hi Kim – Great to follow your Monarch journey in Mexico. Beautiful photos and accompanying text! The Seaside Garden Club has a great program coming up next week. Fred is a dynamic speaker – should be a great turn out! Thanks for your continued support!”
The Seaside Garden club is thrilled to have the always entertaining Fred Rice present his new program entitled “The Well Decorated Garden” on Tuesday, March 11th at the Manchester Community Center. Doors open at 7:00 pm for social time; the program begins promptly at 7:30 pm. Light refreshments will be served. We are pleased to announce that this program is open to all at no charge, thanks to the generosity of the Manchester Cultural Council.
Fred describes his new program: An appealing garden is the result of the sum of it’s individual parts, and plant material is only a part of the horticultural equation. The “bones” of the garden provide the form, the plants provide color, texture, and fragrance, but there is another factor that provides a sort of garnish, a sort of human touch. The addition of sculpture, furniture, structures, and architecture help to make each garden unique to it’s creator and the possibilities are nearly endless! “The Well Decorated Garden” explores many of those possibilities.
Fred Rice, former Manchester resident (now residing in Rome, New York), is a well known garden designer, consultant and sought-after horticultural lecturer. He has nearly 30 years experience as a lecturer/public speaker throughout the Eastern United States and in the UK. His former home at 9 Friend Street in Manchester was open regularly for garden tours and has been featured in many publications, including Country Homes, Country Gardens, The English Garden and Dream Gardens Across America. In addition, Fred has many stage and screen credits to his name for wig and makeup design. His resume also includes floral design and consultation and teaching. Visit Fred’s website for more information: http://frederickrice.com/
Fred Rice Photo
This program is supported in part by a grant from the Manchester Cultural Council, a local agency which is supported by the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC), a state agency. Together, MCC and its advocates and partners across the state are working to restore funding for the arts, humanities, and sciences. We have a long way to go, and it remains crucial that we continue to demonstrate the value of arts and culture to the people of Massachusetts. The Manchester Cultural Council has been a generous supporter of the Seaside Garden Club programs.
About the Seaside Garden Club: We are a group of fun, active, civic-minded and hands-on gardeners. We welcome all types of gardeners from beginners to experienced… there is always something to learn and share. We invite you to become a member of our club ($25 annual membership) and enjoy our monthly programs which feature interesting guest speakers and creative workshops. The Seaside Garden Club meets the second Tuesday of every month (September through June) at 7:00 pm at the Community Center, Manchester-by-the-Sea. Visit our blog: http://seasidegardenclub.wordpress.com/
Opening Reception
Sunday, March 16, 2014, 2-4pm
Show runs through March 27, 2014
Artist Statement
“This show of works on paper consists of drawings in charcoal, pastel, and oil, as well as watercolor.
Some were done as sketches or studies for larger works, others as finished pieces in themselves.
The use of a variety of mediums helps me to take a fresh approach to familiar subjects””
Very much looking forward to this Writer’s Book Club event, presented by Eastern Point Lit House and Duckworth’s Bistrot! Chris Anderson, one of my favorite people and a GMG FOB, is going to be leading the event. This promises to be a great discussion, made especially enjoyable as it will be held at the always warm and welcoming Duckworth’s restaurant, accompanied by the sublime Ken Duckworth viands!! I hope to see you there!
Chris writes:
Hi Kim!
Glad you’re back. But with this snow, I bet you wish you were still in Mexico;
Can you help spread the word about these upcoming EPLH events? I’d really appreciate it. The reading this Sunday is going to be great–Joseph Riippi is a wonderful writer and person. And I’ll be leading the book club at Duckworth’s. We’re doing Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried, a modern classic, and one of my favorite books (I was lucky enough to attend workshops/hang with Tim in grad school back in Texas). I can’t wait!
Hope this finds you well (and warm).
Thank you!
Chris
On Thursday, March 6th, at 7:30pm I will be giving a slide presentation and lecture for the Holden Garden Club. The lecture is based on my book, Oh Garden of Fresh Possibilities!, which I both wrote and illustrated.
Now is the perfect time of year to read Oh Garden, as we dream of spring awakenings and all the garden’s possibilities!
See the Events page of my website for upcoming lectures and film screenings open to the public.
Addendum to the post ~
Brian M. O’Connor, “happy me” asks in the comment section, “what beach or dock is Holden near?”
My response:
Hi Brian,
How you you? How is your beautiful daughter Amelia?
I am so blessed that Oh Garden has sold all around the country, as well as in Canada and England, and continues to do so. It has legs for a reason. The information within its pages continues to have relevance and inform. My book is primarily about garden design, with a tremendous amount of information about habitat gardening; how to create a welcoming haven for people, butterflies, and songbirds; how to create a fragrant garden, and beautiful Gloucester gives it a sense of place. I wrote Oh Garden for my children, and primarily for young families just starting out with a garden, and for people who want a new look to their garden, to try something new and give them a fresh way of thinking about their existing garden.
One reason I chose my publisher, David R. Godine, is because he has a fabulous backlist catalogue; books don’t end up in the remand pile, which is the fate of most non-self published books today if they aren’t number one best sellers.
Thanks so much Brian for the question!
Best wishes to you and your family.
|
|
The following recipe was published in 2010 and is on my website; the post also includes a number of uses for vinegar and water formuals for use in your home and garden (including cleaning bird feeders and deterrent to Winter Moths). Click to read full post. Here’s a shortcut to the recipe:
After only a very little experimenting the following is a recipe with which I am quite satisfied:
4 parts canola oil (or olive oil)
2 parts fresh lemon juice
2 parts white distilled vinegar
Optional: a few drops of almond and/or lemon extract
Combine all ingredients and pour into a recycled squeeze-bottle container (a plastic mustard squirt bottle, for example). The almond and lemon oil extracts are optional and only added because they smell super delicious. Shake vigorously before each use. Pour a small amount onto a clean, soft cloth (thinly-worn pure cotton t-shirt). Apply in the direction of the grain of the wood. Let the mixture soak in for a few minutes, then wipe and polish with a dry, soft cloth. I have satisfactorily used this recipe on everything from hundred year-old burled walnut veneers to contemporary pieces of fruitwood and cherry wood. Make the polish in small batches and store any remaining for up to two weeks in the refrigerator. With caution, first try this formula in an inconspicuous area.
Winter Moth (Operophtera brumata)
After the four-hour drive from Mexico City, across a wide valley of rustic farmland and over and around volcanic mountains, we arrived in the early evening at the sleepy town of Angangueo. Pitched on a steep mountainside, the narrow streets and closely packed buildings with shared stucco walls immediately reminded me of southern European villages. Especially lovely were the modest and many handmade outdoor altars gracing townspeople’s homes and gardens.
Angangueo is located in the far eastern part of the state of Michoacán in the central region of Mexico within the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt. During the late 1700s minerals were discovered. Large deposits of silver, gold, copper, and iron ore brought a rush of people into the area. Today, Angangueo is noted as home to two of the most beautiful Monarch Butterfly Biospheres, El Rosario and Sierra Chincua.
Our guesthouse, the Hotel Don Bruno, was utterly charming. As with many of the buildings we passed on the way to Angangueo, a cheery row of glazed terra cotta pots brimming with red and pink geraniums lined the hotel entrance. Through the entryway door and past the front office, guests entered the beautiful inner courtyard garden. All the rooms faced into the courtyard and mine had a delightfully fragrant sunny yellow rose just outside the door. I quickly changed to meet my fellow travelers for dinner in the hotel’s second floor dining room. A long dining table arranged family style, running the length of the room, had been set up for our group, with a view onto the flowering courtyard below.
As he did that evening, and every dinner and breakfast, Chef Jean Gabriel Salazar López had prepared an elegant feast of many different entrees, mostly native Mexican dishes, and including and combining a fabulous array of local fruits and vegetables. The proprietors and hotel staff could not have been more friendly and accommodating.
Dinner was followed by a discussion led by Dr. Emmel. Tom Emmel is the Director of the McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity, which is part of the University of Florida’s Museum of Natural History. He is also a professor of zoology and entomology and the author of 35 books (more about Dr. Emmel in the next installment). I recorded several of Dr. Emmel’s lectures and an interview atop the Sierra Chincua Biosphere and will be posting all on youtube.
Mural in the center of town
At daybreak the following morning, I climbed the central outdoor stairwell to the top of the hotel to film the sleepy town awakening. Roosters crowed and the hotel’s freshly washed and drying sheets whipped to the wind in the crisp mountain air. The morning light did not disappoint. Kitty corner across from my rooftop vantage point was one of the small town’s several churches, with a walled courtyard and red and white banners fluttering in the breeze. The village’s main road leads up to the mountains and is lined with red tiled roofed-homes and sidewalks swept immaculately clean. The sun was just beginning to peek through the mountains when I had to leave to hurry down to breakfast.
Continue reading “Monarch Expedition: Part One ~ Angangueo Michoacán, Mexico”
Hi Kim,
Today I did. Dramatically and immediately. My neck and chest are still covered in red itchy hives. I had run out of our usual Ecover detergent and grabbed an old bottle of Dawn that was shoved deep in the far recesses of the kitchen cupboard. The reason we purchase the eco friendly soap is because the smell alone of most super market dish soaps gives me a terrible headache. I only needed to wash several dusty vases and hadn’t yet gone to the store this morning. I thought, what the heck, I could stand the sickly sweet odor of Dawn for a few vases. Within three minutes of washing the vases, I felt as though millions of itchy pins and needles were piercing my chest, neck, ears, and face–all areas that had been exposed to the steamy suds.
I jumped in the shower, which only helped a bit and have been putting ice on intermittently. After googling, this is what I have learned about Proctor and Gamble’s Dawn, which is one of the most toxic household products in our homes. Dawn contains Quaternium-15, which is a formaldehyde releaser*, and may cause severe dermatitis. Quaternium-15 can break down in the bottle or on the skin to release formaldehyde and its carcinogenicity is broadly accepted.
Dawn’s antibacterial dish soap label deceptively features baby seals and ducklings and the words, “1 Bottle = $1 Dollar to Save Wildlife.” Dawn donates soap to help clean up animals after oil spills, but the product itself contains the ingredient Triclosan, which is an antibacterial agent known to be harmful to animals. Triclosan has been officially declared to be toxic to aquatic life.
Have you had an allergic reaction to Dawn, or any hand dish washing soap for that matter? Please write and share your experiences with household cleaners. Thank you!
Environmental Working Group’s Hall of Shame
*Note: A formaldehyde releaser is a chemical compound that slowly releases formaldehyde.
Great Blue Heron photographed on a luxuriously warm late-October morning in the tide pool at Good Harbor Beach. Click image to view full size.
Oftentimes when I come upon a Great Blue Heron fishing in the marsh at dawn, they appear as though they have been there for some time, as though they are nearly finished feeding for the morning. That’s because they may very well be done. Great Blue Herons have specialized rod-type photoreceptors in their eyes which allows them to hunt both day and night!
Monarch Butterfly Explosion!
I am back from Mexico and, although there for less than a week, there was much to take in. My most sincerest thanks to all our readers for your safe-travels well-wishes and kind thoughts!
The butterflies were dazzling and beautiful beyond imagination, but also very sad. This wondrous migration of the Monarchs, which has taken place for over a million years, is in serious peril. If changes are not made very soon, the migration will end. I’ll write more about my trip and the extraordinary scientist that I traveled with, Doctor Tom Emmel, this weekend after I am all caught up with design work and photography projects. Additionally, I interviewed Dr. Emmel at the top of the Sierra Chincua Monarch Colony, located in Michoacán at 10,000 feet above sea level, and will be bringing GMG readers the full interview!
Good Morning Gloucester 