Author: Pat D

Whenever I wear my heated vest, I get comments (especially from women) who are intrigued by the heating element of the vest. It’s battery powered, provides heat front and back and I wear it throughout the spring and fall. However, I’d been wishing I had such a jacket and now Ororo offers a heated fleece jacket! Admittedly, this was Facebook clickbait that worked faster than anything else I had been mildly tempted by. I have ordered my heated fleece jacket (complete with battery…double check that if you are ordering) and will keep you posted but I am certain I will be thrilled.

Here’s a link to shop. There are also heated socks available, just FYI. This is just a recommendation, I am not receiving any benefit from sharing this info with you. I just love my heated outerwear and thought you might too.

It was our first brisk fall morning and Good Harbor Beach was beautiful at high tide. It seemed to be greeting autumn ! Maybe some of you are not able to be in Gloucester this fall and will appreciate seeing Good Harbor again. I know that I never tire of it.

A Vintage Car Climb event was held recently at the Crane Estate featuring pre-WWII vehicles in timed races. This sounded very interesting so we secured tickets and attended on a gorgeous fall afternoon. It was a celebration of the “roaring twenties” and “jazz” era complete with costumed staff, appropriated music accompanying the vintage vehicles. You really felt drawn back to a long lost era with the roar of the engines, lively music, dancing and costumed participants.

The event was very well organized with lots of volunteer help for the sold out crowd. Our friends at Lyon-Waugh Auto Group sponsored the event and we even got to say hello to FOB Cidalia ! The vintage vehicles were spotlessly maintained and it was so much fun to watch them race by, complete with the sounds and smells of pre-WWII automobiles!

Cake Ann has relocated to the 7 Seas Wharf in the former Gloucester House on Rogers Street. We stopped in and were impressed with the setup. There is much more room available with indoor and outdoor seating. There is a ribbon cutting scheduled for today Wed Oct 20 at 3 PM if you are interested. Check it out! Best wishes to our friends at Cake Ann.

I had ordered Adventureman Jamie MacDonald’s new book Running America as soon as it was released last spring but it hasn’t been available in the United States until this week. I had been looking forward to it but it was still a nice surprise to find it on my doorstep a few days ago. Of course, I immediately turned to the chapter regarding his time here in Gloucester in March 2019. And that brought up memories of that wonderful day on the boulevard. Congratulations Jamie! We still love you here across the pond in your sister city.Jamie thanks Good Morning Gloucester, Nichole Schrafft, Ray Johnson, Sheree Zizik, Mayor Romeo Theken, Cape Ann Motor Inn Loran Caputo and Brad Pierce, AND the Crow’s Nest crew!!! Obviously there were so many others instrumental in the success of this event for him and for the fund raising efforts on behalf of children’s hospitals and I am sorry I cannot name them all either but I hope you know we appreciate you all.

Who do you think your godfather is? I couldn’t help change up the title of a popular TV series when I heard that a Sicilian Diocese (Catania) put a 3 year ban on godparents due to the loss of spiritual significance of the role. Also at play apparently are concerns surrounding underworld influence. Here’s a link to some further information.

This makes a person go Hmmmmm…….! Did you know your godfather well? Were your godparents active in your life? Are you a godparent? What is the role of godparents today? Has this new ban played a role in your life today?

We are not Italian but my godfather was named George and I did not know him well. He was not active in my life except I do remember him visiting us once when I was young. I think he was a college chum of my father’s. He played no spiritual role in my life, but I would wish that children had other adults in their lives that they could turn to as needed. Quote from the movie “The Godfather”: “Italians have a little joke, that the world is so hard a man must have two fathers to look after him, that’s why they have godfathers.”

I’ll kind of miss scenes like this one if such a ban becomes effective closer to home:

I stumbled on the opportunity offered by The Trustees to cruise around Essex Bay in a pontoon boat at dusk and it sounded so intriguing that I signed right up! It is advertised as a sunset cruise, but the trip ends just a tad before that. Regardless, the trip is taken in the soft, beautiful light of late afternoon and I would high recommend it. Capt. Ted led the tour with a great deal of interesting tidbits about the wildlife and history of the immediate area, especially Choate Island (where the Daniel Day-Lewis version of “The Crucible” was filmed some years ago). you are instructed to meet in the parking lot for Crane Beach and then are shuttled across the road to the dock. There were 10 passenger, the captain and his mate which filled the pontoon to capacity. If you are interested, you should be aware that there is only one trip remaining this season for Oct 27. It was a lovely little ride and respite on a gorgeous fall afternoon so even if you can’t make it this season, let’s hope these trips are available next year as well.

Our drives along the Essex Coastal Scenic Byway usually take us north toward Rowley, but this time we decided to go in the opposite direction toward Beverly in search of barns along the byway. And we found this MAGNIFICENT example in Manchester. If barns were royalty, I think this might be a monarch. Very majestic while functional. It is lovely to look at.

This barn is so magnificent that I am going to alter my normal barn-post rules to include the Proctor Barn on Choate (Hog) Island as a “Barn Along the Waterway”. It’s very large and majestic especially when seen in the warm light of late afternoon from the water.

We had not been to Meadowbrook Farm in South Hamilton in a while and the pretty sight of all the pumpkins drew us in there a few days ago. There are pumpkins of all sizes available. We watched a young boy picking his own out under the guidance of his mom……classic! Of course, he could barely pick up the one he choose!

There are also meats, vegetables, fruits, breads, jams and all kinds of other treats available. I got our first gallon of cider! We had been leaf peeping and this was the perfect end to that ride.

I was hoping for some spectacular fall color the other day and we didn’t exactly get that yet, but we did enjoy the beauty and the quiet at Lily Pond. It was a little bit gray that day with the sun only peeking out here and there. We were surprised to see a train riding the rails though! Bonus shots. Always a good thing when you are seeking daily content!

We went looking for fall colors and found kingfishers instead. At 3 different locations recently, we watched the kingfishers doing their thing. It was almost like they were watching us instead of the other way around! I just love finding these guys.

The Great Essex Scarecrow Festival has returned this year and the participation levels are wonderfully fun to see! It’s a fundraiser for the Essex Council on Aging. Creativity is is full display all over Essex, as you can clearly see here. It’s a fun little display well worth the short ride up the road on one of these beautiful fall days.

The new parking kiosks appear to be installed and in working order. You might want to download the Flowbird app.

Continue reading “Parking Kiosks Installed and Working” →

There is always a story waiting for you when you stop by the Little River Landing. This time it was about the birds, mostly the herons camouflaging waterside. I was very impressed with how well they blended in. The cormorant seemed not to notice as he bathed and the kingfisher turned his back on the heron pair, but noisily.

We were riding around Essex recently and noticed the old police building is being demolished. This got us wondering about ClamFest status for this year. Although it had been scheduled for Oct 24, it has been cancelled for this year. This is apparently due to difficulties in the restaurant industry making it difficult to hold the chowder competition, which is the featured event for the ClamFest. We are sorry to hear this as it has been a favorite fall event prior to COVID but we will look forward to its return.

In the meantime, here are some pictures of the demolition along with the new station.

I was feeling a little out of sorts and prescribed myself some time outside enjoying the beautiful fall. Worked like a charm. I stopped at the Cox Reservation in Essex for these shots. I heard new-to-me bird and animal calls. One squirrel example here in the video. These vocals could be heard far and wide though I do not know what was going on for the squirrel (input welcome). It’s kind of amazing what you see and hear once you stop to look and listen!

Special wishes for a very happy birthday today for GMG Jim. You will find him at the Magtoberfest car show with his Mustang from 11- 5 today on Lexington Ave if you want to give him a shout out. As you may know, Jim has been visiting Gloucester since our honeymoon in 1985 and here are some photos from over the years before we were able to retire here. As you can see, the years have (mostly) been kind……..

There’s a big party planned in Magnolia tomorrow and they are calling it Magtoberfest (love that)! Pat D’s Photos will be there at the Cape Ann Makers Market in the Magnolia Library along with about 20 vendors including our friends at Cape Ann Sea Salt and Ardizzoni Photography. For this Magnolia show, I will be featuring a couple of items you might find interesting including this triptych canvas of the “old” Magnolia Pier just before the storm that destroyed the it in 2018. Also featured will be notecards of our “Magnolia Eagles”! We will also have gift baskets, prints, puzzles and other items available for your holiday considerations. No supply line issues at the Magtoberfest so stop by 11-5 on Sunday Oct 10.

Have you been wondering about these signs around town (like I have been)? I don’t know about you, but I found myself saying “who is this Buddy and why am I not familiar with the name?” Turns our they are advertisements for the current play “Think of Me Tuesday” running at Gloucester Stage until Oct 17.

The company has returned to the indoor stage for its last show this season. The play is especially for those of you who love Gloucester and contains many many inside references you will enjoy. Bonus: the new bathrooms have been completed! Call for reservations today and take note you will need a mask as well as proof of vaccination.