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."

GREAT EGRET OF THE GOOD HARBOR BEACH SALT MARSH

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A grand Great Egret has been hanging out at the Good Harbor Beach marsh. He has been dining on small fish mostly. The photos are from Sunday but I didn’t spot him either yesterday or today; perhaps he has moved on. 

The long breeding plumes are called aigrettes.

Cape Ann is part of the Great Egrets breeding range, particularly House Island. This Egret is in full breeding plumage, advertising to a potential mate how fit and desirable he is to other Great Egrets. These same beautiful feathers, and humanity’s indiscriminate killing of, are what caused the bird to become nearly extinct. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the long breeding plumes, called aigrettes, of many species of herons and egrets were prized as fashion accessories to adorn women’s hats. Thanks to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, it is illegal to hunt or harm in any way gorgeous birds such as the Great Egret, and egrets and herons are making a comeback.

Fine dining in the marsh
Dagger-like bill

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANN MARGARET!

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With thanks and gratitude to this beautiful lady for all that she does for our community.

Happy Birthday Ann Margaret!

Don’t you just love the adoring way this little girl is looking up at her Dad ❤

 

HAPPY TEN-DAY-OLD BIRTHDAY TO OUR PIPING PLOVER CHICKS!

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Today our little chicks, all three, turn ten-days-old. This is a milestone in that their chances of survival are greatly improved when they reach the age of ten-days-old.

The family of five spent the morning foraging, mostly in the protected area, and venturing to the shoreline only occasionally. A Mourning Dove made his way through the dune edge into the protected area and Mama was having none of it. She flew at the Dove, but it attacked back. Papa suddenly appeared out of nowhere and really gave the Dove the business, buzzing it several times. The Dove flew off and then returned. Both parents left the chicks briefly and both attacked the Dove simultaneously. It’s always dramatic when you see how these pint sized shorebirds go after the much larger birds, and usually win.

Our Papa and Mama will fight to the death for their chicks, and because of that the chicks have survived ten whole days. Additionally, the Piping Plover family could not have survived this long without the vigilance of tender hearted volunteer monitors. They are a tremendous bunch of people and if you would like to join our group, please contact Alicia Pensarosa and sign up for a shift. Everyone is welcome. Weekends, especially, volunteers are needed.

Thank you to all the volunteer monitors. Two volunteers deserve an extra huge shout out and they are Heather Hall and Laurie Sawin. These two daily spend hours upon hours monitoring the chicks. Thank you sweet ladies for all your time and devotion ❤

Bug Breakfast

Big Chair, Tiny Bird

Papa keeping a watchful eye on the family this morning.

MONARCH EGGS FREE FOR THE TAKING

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A friend with a lovely garden just loaded with milkweed would like help this summer raising Monarchs. She is located in the Annisquam area. Last year Jane had so many eggs and caterpillars, she had a real time of it trying to take care of all. This year promises to be as good as, if not better than, last year.

If you would like Monarch eggs and information on how to take care of the eggs and caterpillars, please comment in the comment section, and we will provide you with Monarch babies!

Raising Monarchs with kids is the best!

Quick snapshot of Jane’s garden

GLOUCESTER STAGE COMPANY OPENS 40TH SEASON WITH NEIL SIMON’S BAREFOOT IN THE PARK

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Gloucester Stage Company

40th ANNIVERSARY SEASON:

“The readiness is all”

Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park

Opens GSC 40th Anniversary Season

Hit Romantic Comedy Features TWO Real Life Married Couples:

Paula Plum & Richard Snee

McCaela Donovan & Joe Short 

Gloucester Stage Company kicks off its 40th Anniversary Season of professional theater with Neil Simon’s romantic comedy, Barefoot in the Park from June 7 through June 30 at Gloucester Stage Company, 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, MA. Performances are Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 pm and Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm. Neil Simon’s longest-running hit, and the tenth longest-running non-musical play in Broadway history, Barefoot in the Park opens as newlyweds Corie & Paul move into a sixth floor walk up off Third Avenue in the east 40’s of Manhattan and follows the young couple as they quickly discover there’s more to marriage than meets the eye.

Director Shana Gozansky makes her GSC debut directing two real life married couples in this Neil Simon classic: McCaela Donovan and Joe Short as newlyweds Corie and Paul, and Paula Plum and Richard Snee as Mrs. Ethel Banks and Victor Velasco. “We are so pleased to be able to honor the late Neil Simon during our 40th Anniversary Season”, points out GSC Artistic Director Robert Walsh, “as well as introduce GSC audiences to dynamic Boston-based director Shana Gozansky. And, of course it is such a treat to have 2 married couples (all GSC favorites) bringing this humorous look at marriage and all its ups and downs to life on the GSC stage.”

The newlyweds of Barefoot in the Park are McCaela Donovan  as the free-spirited, Corie, and Joe Short as her new husband uptight lawyer Paul. Off the stage Ms. Donovan and Mr. Short have been married for four years. Paula Plum is Mrs. Ethel Banks, Corie’s mother and Richard Snee is Victor Velasco, Corie and Paul’s neighbor. Ms. Plum and Mr. Snee will celebrate 40 years of marriage in 2020.

   

McCaela Donovan last appeared at GSC in 2012’s Crimes of the Heart. Her credits include Huntington Theatre Company, American Repertory Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Group, Reagle Music Theatre, Commonwealth Shakespeare Co, ArtsEmerson, New Repertory Theatre, Brandeis Theatre Company, Greater Boston Stage Company, Actor’s Shakespeare Project, The Lyric Stage, Bridge Rep of Boston, Fiddlehead Theatre Co and Company One. She earned a BFA in Musical Theatre from Ithaca College; an MA in Theatre Education from Emerson College; and an MFA in Acting from Brandeis University. Ms. Donovan serves as the Assistant Director of the School of Theatre at Boston University.

Joe Short appeared at GSC in 2017’s The Rainmaker, directed 2018’s True West and has been the theater’s Production Manager since 2013. He has performed in numerous theaters in Boston, New York, Rhode Island, and Washington DC. Mr. Short was a founding artistic associate of two successful New England theatre companies: Bridge Rep of Boston and The Wilbury Theater Group, in Providence, RI. He has been an instructor of acting, voice, and movement at the University of Rhode Island since 2010. Mr. Short is currently the Production Technician for  the newly created Theatre, Dance, and Media concentration at Harvard University. He earned his B.F.A. from the University of Rhode Island, and an M.F.A. from the Brown University/Trinity Rep Consortium.

Paula Plum and Richard Snee last worked together at GSC in 2015’s crucially acclaimed Out of Sterno directed by Ms. Plum and featuring Mr. Snee.  Paula Plum is the recipient of five IRNE Awards, the 1995 & 2007 Eliot Norton Award for Best Actress, the 2004 Eliot Norton Award for Sustained Excellence, and the 2003 Distinguished Alumni Award from Boston University. In 2009 she was one of five actors nation-wide to receive the Fox ActorFellowship in association with SpeakEasy Theatre Co. Ms. Plum is an actress, director, writer, and teacher and has created seven one-person shows for the Undadilla Theatre of Vermont, most notably, Plum Pudding. As a founding member of The Actors’ Shakespeare Project, she has directed Macbeth and School for Scandal. For 12 years she has been the Artistic Director of A Christmas Celtic Sojourn for WGBH, a concert of traditional Celtic music, dance and poetry that tours New England in December. Original work includes Wigged Out!, a comedy about her mother’s death, and What Lips My Lips Have Kissed, a dramatic biography of Edna St. Vincent Millay.

Richard Snee’s appearances at GSC include Table Manners, Living Together, Round and Round the Garden and Auld Lang Syne in which he appeared opposite his wife. Regionally his credits include: Othello at American Repertory Theatre; Present Laughter, and Sisters Rosensweig at Huntington Theatre Company; and Uncle Vanya, Boy Gets Girl, Something in the Air, and A Christmas Carol at Merrimack Repertory Theatre. He has been a member of the Boston Company of Shear Madness since 1987 and is a founding member of the Actors’ Shakespeare Project, appearing in several of their productions including Macbeth, Much Ado About Nothing, The Cherry Orchard, Richard III, and Comedy of Errors. Mr. Snee has also performed at the Lyric Stage Company of Boston, SpeakEasy Stage Company, the Nora Theatre Company, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, the Wilbur Theater, Hasty Pudding Theatricals and many other venues during his 30 plus year acting career.

GSC newcomer Shana Gozansky is a freelance director and teaching artist based in the Boston area. Her work has been produced at Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Boston Playwrights Theater, Central Square Theater, Trinity Repertory Company, The Hangar Theatre, The Kitchen Theatre, The Calderwood Arts Pavilion, as well as multiple venues throughout New York City. She has assisted on productions at Berkeley Rep, The Geffen, Manhattan Ensemble Theatre, Henry Miller’s Theater, and Trinity Repertory Company and has taught acting and directing at Brown University, College of the Holy Cross, Clark University, the Hangar Theatre, and Trinity Repertory Company.  Ms. Gozansky holds a MFA in Directing from the Brown University/Trinity Repertory Company MFA Programs and a BA in Theater from Bard College, was an Artistic Associate at The Hangar Theatre, an Artist-in-Residence at chashama and The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. She is a member of the Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab and is a Drama League Directing Fellow

Born on July 4, 1927, in New York City, Neil Simon began writing comedy for some of radio and television’s top talents in the 1940s. Turning to the stage, he enjoyed his first major hit with Barefoot in the Park in 1963, and later scored Tony Awards for The Odd Couple (1965), Biloxi Blues (1985) and Lost in Yonkers (1991). Mr. Simon was also a successful screenwriter, earning acclaim for both original and adapted works. In addition to his numerous Tony and Academy Award nominations, Simon in 1983 became the first living playwright to have a Broadway theater named in his honor. He passed away on August 26, 2018.

Neil Simon’s Barefoot in the Park runs from June 7 through June 30 at Gloucester Stage. Performances are Wednesday through Saturday at 7:30 pm; Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm. Following the 2 pm performances on Sunday, June 16 and Sunday, June 23, audiences are invited to free post-show discussions with the artists from Barefoot in the Park. Single ticket prices are $15 to $48 with discounts available for Preview Performances, Cape Ann Residents, Senior Citizens and Patrons 18 years old and under. Gloucester Stage is committed to inclusion and diversity, including socio-economic status. Pay What You Wish tickets are available for the Saturday, June 8 matinee at 2 pm allowing access to the arts for all. No one is turned away for lack of funds and donations can be made before or after the show. Pay What You Wish tickets can only be purchased day of show at the door. Enriching our local community is key to GSC’s mission impact. Residents of Cape Ann can purchase $25 tickets for Preview Performances, June 7 at 7:30 pm and June 8 at 2:00pm and 7:30 pm and every Wednesday performance of Barefoot in the Park. Limit of 2 (two) per household. All performances are held at 267 East Main Street, Gloucester, MA. For more information about Gloucester Stage, or to purchase tickets, call the Box Office at 978-281-4433 or visit http://www.gloucesterstage.com

CHICKS MADE THEIR FIRST FORAY DOWN TO THE CREEK TODAY!

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Our Good Harbor Beach PiPls made their first journey down to the creek this morning. They left the protected area about 11:00am, just as the soccer tournament was heating up. The family traveled along the dune fencing, crossed the back road, and spent the better part of the day foraging in the creek tidal flats and in the vegetation at the marsh edge.

For volunteers who have never seen this behavior before, in 2016 the chicks hatched over Fiesta weekend, when the beach was very busy. At only two days old, the PiPl family began making the epic journey to the creek from the protected area. This is harrowing for them and we lost a chick during the 2016 trek. Volunteers can best help the chicks by following along, from a safe distance that does not impede their movement. Keep an eye on stray balls and let folks in the vicinity know what is happening, if possible. They typically return as the tide is coming in or at dusk.

I believe easy access to the creek is one reason why our GHB PiPls choose to nest at the No. 3 boardwalk over the No. 1 boardwalk area. The creek is closer to No. 3 and gives the birds a secondary option for feeding when the main beach is super crowded.

The hatchlings are eight days old and are nearing the ten-day-old milestone. They are growing visibly stronger and increasingly more independent everyday. I have lots of photos to share and will provide a longer update after the weekend. 

Chicklet tracks

Creek tide flats

Mom calling for a chick, which is hiding in the vegetation at the edge of the marsh 🙂

Seven-day-old Piping Plover Chicks

SOME BEAUTIFUL CREATURES YOU’LL SEE ON OUR SHORES IN EARLY JUNE

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A random grouping of recently spotted birds. The Song Sparrow and Cooper’s Hawk were seen in the lot at Good Harbor beach. Beautiful creatures surround here on Cape Ann, even in parking lots 🙂

Sanderlings migrating north

 

PIPING PLOVER CHICKS FIVE-DAYS-OLD AND ALL PRESENT AND ACCOUNTED FOR :)

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Our little Good Harbor Beach Piping Plover family of five all appear to be doing well. The three chicks made the five-day-old milestone today. They are becoming increasingly independent, so much so that is is occasionally difficult for the PiPl volunteers to find. We monitors have had it relatively easy up to this point. With the cooler temperatures, the chicks have spent a great deal of time tucked under Mama and Papa. This first warm day of June, they were zooming from one length of the beach by the No. 3 boardwalk, all the way to the creek end, in and out of the cordoned off area, and to the shoreline. The chicks were also observed by monitor Laurie Sawin running up into the edge of the dunes and taking shelter from the heat and sun under the beautiful native flowering Beach Pea.

Ward One City Councilor Scott Memhard has provided laminated information about Piping Plovers, on a clipboard that any PiPl monitor can access via Cape Ann Coffees, which is around the corner from Good Harbor Beach at 86 Bass Avenue. The information can be picked up and dropped off by asking at the counter. Many, many thanks to Rick and Dorthe Noonan, proprietors of Cape Ann Coffees, for volunteering to keep the information at their wonderful coffee shop.

Gloucester Animal Advisory Committee chairperson Alicia Pensarosa reminds everyone to follow this link to sign up if you are interested in becoming a Piping Plover volunteer monitor: https://signup.com/client/invitation2/secure/2801244/true#/invitation

The weather prediction for the weekend is blue skies and seventies, so much help will be needed, especially during the mid-day when the beach is most congested. If you have any questions or comments, please email Alicia at gloucesterAAC@gmail.com.

 

Three-day-old PiPls waking up at sunrise, foraging in the wrack zone, and taking turns warming up under Mom and Dad

Looking for the well-camouflaged PiPl chicks makes my head spin!

Four-day-old chick

Five-day-old PiPl chick venturing into the dunes.

Great news from our PiPl friends at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge-as of May 31st, they have 39 pairs, 25 active nests, and their first chick is projected to hatch on June 6th! 

 

 

WE LOST A CHICK LAST NIGHT

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So sorry to have to post that we lost one of our little chicks last night. It’s impossible to know what happened; there were not tracks or signs of unusual activity. Could it be the chick became separated from the family in the heavy fog and last night’s thunderstorm? We’ve seen chicks survive on similar nights and we lost one in 2017 after a thunderstorm. They are only three days old today so I imagine the rough weather is rough on the chicks, too.

Three-day-old chicks this morning

SWEETEST ONE-DAY-OLD PIPING PLOVER CHICKS AND HOW TO SIGN UP TO VOLUNTEER

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We had a terrific informal Piping Plover informational gathering at Good Harbor Beach this afternoon. If you would like to sign up to volunteer, please follow this easy link. We would love to have you join us.

http://bit.ly/2Vsw2Wd  

If you have any questions, please feel free to email me at kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com or leave a comment in the comment section.

Today the chicks are two days old; the photos are from yesterday at daybreak. It was foggy and overcast and the chicks mostly wanted to warm up under Mama and Papa.

All four chicks are doing fantastically, feeding well and venturing further and further from the upper wrack zone. Because of the cool temperatures, the beach has been relatively quieter this past spring, which has been ideal not only for our GHB PiPl family, but for nesting and hatching PiPl families all around the state.

Pint-sized mountain climbing

GOOD MORNING GLOUCESTER’S ADORABLE NEW MASCOT “BEAU”

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Chris and Charlene McCarthy’s super sweet three-month-old French Bulldog puppy, Beau, joined us at the podcast this morning ❤

PIPING PLOVERS DAY TWO AND TINIEST OF WING BUDS

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Briefest update just to let everyone know the hatchlings are all doing beautifully. So many thanks to everyone who is volunteering ❤

One-day-old teeny tiny wing buds

We are having an informal get together at Good Harbor Beach Sunday afternoon at 4:00 for anyone interested in becoming a Piping Plover monitor and learning more about the PiPls. Meet at Boardwalk #3. We hope to see you there!

FIRST LOOK – OUR GOOD HARBOR BEACH PIPNG PLOVER CHICKS (ALL FOUR!) HATCHED!!!

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Only hours-old, our Good Harbor Beach Piping Plover chicks were learning to navigate the varied terrain–climbing mini hummocks, falling into divots, somersaulting, tripping over dried bits of beach grass and seaweed, running for short bits, and just generally stumbling and tumbling. In one photo you can even see a chick already eating a tiny ant. After an afternoon of exploring, all four seemed pretty tuckered out and were taking turns snuggling under both Mama and Papa. 

Weighing about as much as a nickel at the time of hatching, Piping Plover chicks are able to feed themselves but are unable to regulate their body temperature. They need to tuck under Mom and Dad to warm up.

BACKYARD GROWER’S GLOUCESTER GROW FEST SUNDAY JUNE 9TH!

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Join Backyard Growers at

the Gloucester Grow Fest on

Sunday, June 9!

The Gloucester Grow Fest is a FREE community event featuring tons of hands-on, family-friendly activities to celebrate healthy eating, green living and personal wellness!

Activities for the whole family include yoga, art projects, games, gardening and cooking demos, and garden tours, with awesome community members like:
Last year’s Grow Fest was an amazing community celebration and this year, we’re bringing DOUBLE THE FUN to Burnham’s Field in Gloucester. Check out these highlights from 2018 and GET EXCITED for a Grow Fest that’s even bigger and better in 2019!

BE CAREFUL WHERE YOU STEP

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This beautiful nest of Least Tern eggs was located outside a cordoned off area. I guess they didn’t get the 411; no one told the Terns they are supposed to lay their eggs within the protected area 🙂

Aren’t they so perfectly camouflaged. I nearly stepped on them.

There is just something so positive and optimistic, so life-affirming, about a nest of eggs.

Nesting Least Terns

 

Annisquam Village Church Rededication after Renovations

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JUNE 2, 2019
10:00 am
ANNISQUAM VILLAGE CHURCH
820 Washington Street, Gloucester, MA
 
All are Welcome!
The Annisquam Village Church has completed several month of extensive work in the sanctuary. The beautiful arched windows have been restored, the floor refinished and new carpet installed plus additional work on the pews, walls and other areas.

The first day back in the renovated sanctuary will be a festive day.

ó We welcome back Rev. Deirdre Greenwood-White as our preacher. Rev. Deirdre’s vision and leadership was instrumental in the success of the Preservation Campaign.
ó We will rededicate the sanctuary for it’s continued use as a gathering place for worship and life passages and as a center for community events and celebrations.
ó We will help celebrate the 65th wedding anniversary of one of our former pastors, Rev. John Elder and his wife Anne.
Please join the Church in this Celebration of its commitment to the Cape Ann  Community ans beyond.
Connecting a Spiritually Diverse Community to God and the World
 
978.281.0376

A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E HOURS OLD PIPING PLOVER CHICKS!

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These sweet Piping Plover chicks are only hours old. All four are healthy, vigorous, and already feeding themselves and stretching their wing buds. They sure were giving their Mom and Dad reason to panic as they ran hither and thither, not yet understanding the adults piping voice commands. A dog ran through the nesting area and a pair of Crows added to the parent’s stress. After both parents briefly left the chicks to distract the dog and give chase to the Crows, calmness was restored and three snuggled under Mom while the fourth kept dad on the run.

*Note–I have been following and filming half a dozen PiPl nests around the state and just to be clear in case of any confusion, these are not our Good Harbor Beach PiPls 🙂

 

There have been quite a few PiPl chicks hatching around New England beaches. The cool, overcast weather will benefit the hatchlings tremendously. The beaches are relatively quieter, with fewer people, dogs, and trash that attracts avian predators, which will help allow the babies to reach that critical one week old age.

Finding insects in the wrack zone

Tiny wing buds

Adorableness ❤