Author: Pat D

I stumbled onto this YouTube video which is not dated or verified but is supposed to be taken in Gloucester. I thought you might enjoy it anyhow. If you have any clues about this please feel free to reach out. I hope you are enjoying the return of Fiesta 2022!

Congratulations teams! I have run out of time to post photos, they will come tomorrow. Good luck in the finals!

Congratulations to all on a great race tonight. I look forward to tomorrow’s finals.

A few scenes from tonight’s Greasy Pole competition which was won in the second round by Anthony Novello, one of the early walkers. Congratulations! See you up there tomorrow!

The dedicated volunteers were out this morning attaching the new flag and re-greasing the pole in preparation for tonight’s Fiesta 2022 activities. Thanks guys!

After a race re-start, Gloucester Fire pulls in first to take bragging rights against the Gloucester PD and Coast Guard in Saturday’s Seine Boat competition. Great job by all on a beautiful Saturday morning!

A few more shots of some of the finest women seine rowers in our area from Friday’s race.

Good luck to all the seine boat race participants! Lots of hard work went into the races by everyone involved.

It was a great afteroon for the Friday night Greasy Pole walk yesterday. Sunny and mild for the men taking that long walk in an attempt to grab the flag. As we posted previously, Leo Cannavo was the Friday winner and here are some other memorable scenes, including one very near miss! Viva!

Special Happy Birthday celebration is in store for Fiesta 2022 Friday Greasy Pole Champion Leo Cannavo! More photos to come of this great event. Congratulations Leo!

Great job to all the racers and supporters of these teams. Special congratulations All Oar Nothing!

Congratulations to all the participants and especially Backlash. Great race!

There might be a lot of Fiesta activity going on, but that doesn’t stop the comings and goings on the harbor. Working boats of all kinds including Gannett, Siren Song II, Fat Tuna, Miss Sara, 4 C’s, Generations and Silver Lining.

The Fiesta 5K got a great start tonight from Stage Fort Park! Thank you to all the participants and organizers. VIVA!

Some of the activity in the area of St. Peter’s Square in preparation for the festivities this weekend. Looking good! So glad to see this back again.

Check your tickets if you bought lottery tickets at Richdale in Gloucester. Link and screenshot from Mass Live:

https://www.masslive.com/entertainment/2022/06/massachusetts-state-lottery-winner-a-ticket-bought-in-gloucester-made-someone-a-millionaire-over-the-weekend.html

When you are a caretaker for things that require tender care like children or camera lens, you aren’t supposed to have a “favorite”. Will you judge me too harshly if I say I have a favorite in my wide angle lens? It’s not the one I use the most but it is the one that most often seems to produce images that make me go “wow”. But it’s one that requires extra attention as it seems to be reckless in constantly escaping my camera bag and rolling off to find adventure and danger. Not long after I first got it, it jumped out of the car and rolled down the embankment by our driveway. It survived.

Recently I was on a photo tour and opened the cover to find shattered glass and my heart broke. But then I remembered the lens had extra protection in the form of a filter for just this kind of occasion. Whew, there was hope. Off to my favorite camera store Hunt’s in Melrose for some emergency care. They removed the shattered filter and replaced it. The lens is back in the rotation!! It has now survived 2 near-death experiences. How often is it that your “favorite” is the one that seems to require the most attention?!?!?

In this lens line up, Wide Angle seems to be standing proud along side the others despite being shattered. There’s a life lesson in there somewhere.

It was a GORGEOUS way to say farewell to the day at Lanes Cove recently.

I recently took a photo tour specifically to see nesting puffins at Machias Seal Island in Maine last week. It’s been on my bucket list and the trip was made with our puffin sightings along with many other interesting birds. It was a trip that included 3 lighthouses, 3 boat to tender transfers without getting wet, several dozen puffins and hundreds of other nesting birds. I was very worried about all the transferring between boats but I made it with all my equipment intact and mostly dry! It was a 2 hour ride to the boat launch, an hour out to the island with very restricted access and tightly held rules. Only half our group could go onto the island at a time to spend an hour in teeny tiny blinds. The other half waited on the moored boat. The nesting terns were brutal and required sticks for protection. But it was all worth it! Here are just a few of the photos. I highly recommend giving it a try even if you think you don’t especially like birds (Joey and Chris I am talking to you). Many additional details and photos can be found at Pat D’s Photos and Adventures on Facebook. This was definitely in the “adventure” category.

Father’s Day offers an opportunity for some reflection on the Gloucestermen who brought me back to the home of my ancestors. The Immigrant Timothy Ryan was the first Irishman who made his way to the shores of Gloucester to begin this story. His son, William is shown here in the black and white photo presumably taken in Gloucester with his wife Catherine (whose family was no slouch in the fishing story of Gloucester either). It was probably taken in the early 1930s. The other photo of a man holding a baby was probably also taken around 1930 is of my dad (the baby) and William’s son, his father. Also likely taken in Gloucester. The final picture is also my dad with his dad: Paul M. Ryan Sr. and Jr. taken in 1972 (not in Gloucester). These men led me directly here, to this blog, to this Father’s Day podcast, to this Gloucester life. And I could not be happier. I hope your story leads you to similar happiness.