Author: Pat D

We are surely blessed with beautiful skies and dramatic cloud formations. Sometimes the sky is the very star of the show! Or as Mark Twain said: “The air up there in the clouds is very pure and fine, bracing and delicious. And why shouldn’t it be?–it is the same the angels breathe.”

Scenes from the docks:

September 11 2001. Where were you when you heard the news?

I love the working vesssels and I especially love the opportunity to photograph them on the water from the water…….I took these during our recent sail aboard the Thomas E. Lannon:

CB (crystal ball) has been visiting the sights around town as summer comes to an unofficial close. Now that Labor Day has gone by once again, we can turn our attention to fall and back-to-school!

We were driving up the highway on our way to meet our newborn grandson when we saw a large nest in an unexpected place. It turned out to be an osprey nest with 2 birds in it, squawking away to beat the band.

I was so delighted to find these unexpected osprey that I decided the check the Essex Greenbelt Osprey Cam one more time to see if “Liz” was still hanging around and (to my surprise) yes! There is still an osprey in the Lobsta Land nest as you will see below, also seemingly squawking!

I found some roosting egrets in the trees near the marsh by Gloucester Cinema on Essex Ave recently as well as some additional ones near the river seemingly watching the Lori B head out. There’s something about these beautiful birds that makes it hard for me to drive by without taking some pictures. Surround by egrets on Essex is a pretty nice place to be!

The Cupboard of Gloucester located at Stage Fort Park has the following offer for this Tues and Wed (Sept 8-9) in support of the community food drive:

Bring one of the following items with you to The Cupboard on 9/8 and 9/9for the community food drive get a free kiddie cone!

🍦100% juice or juice boxes
🍦Cereal
🍦Tuna
🍦Peanut Butter

Image borrowed from The Cupboard of Gloucester Facebook page

We chose the holiday weekend to make our first COVID era trip to Cape Ann Brewing Co. I had been missing the fries and the friendly atmosphere so it seemed a perfect place to take visitors for lunch. We were glad we made reservations as it was hopping.

We ordered fish tacos, haddock sandwich, and a steak bomb but I guess I was so excited I forgot to take a picture of the food! Yummy as always. I had the Sundog cocktail and we ordered a flight for the table. GMG Jim likes the Reel Easy tall. We were not disappointed and our visitors thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

I hope everyone enjoys the holiday weekend. Stay safe.

Exciting news from the Cape Ann Museum Facebook page: BIG NEWS! We look forward to welcoming you back in person very soon! CAM Members may reserve timed tickets to visit the Museum Thursday–Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. starting September 24. Tickets will be available to the general public starting October 1. The new CAM Green campus and the Janet and William Ellery James Center located at 13 Poplar Street will be open for free to the public with timed tickets starting September 17.
All visitors are required to make a reservation for a specific arrival time; please note reservations cannot be made onsite.
Visit https://www.capeannmuseum.org/ for more information about reopening plans and new protocols for visitors.

I, for one, am very excited by this news……..Image borrowed from the Cape Ann Museum Facebook page.

CAM staff in the James Center at the CAM Green campus

See you all soon!

Maybe it’s my coronavirus-strained brain, but the sunflower field on School Street in Ipswich looked especially spectacular during our visit one afternoon earlier this week. If you need some extra sunshine, I suggest you purchase your timed entry tickets here. There are also ticket options for a season pass or for professional photographers. The field offers easy walking paths through the large field, along with occasional signs speaking to the theme of Transcendentalism. The timed entry guarantees control the the number of visitors and there’s plenty of room to distance yourself. The field is obviously well kept and lovingly planned. I may return for a sunset visit!

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Well worth the short ride, theFox Creek Tavern on High Street in Ipswich hit it out of the ballpark with dinner options during our recent visit. Alex T., the left handed server, was informative and efficient. We were seated safely distant from others after making online reservations.  We have had a number of wonderful takeout experiences here as well as 3-4 meals now. The Fox Creek Tavern has made it onto our list of go-tos for company.

We had the Irish Nachos for an “appetizer” but could easily be an entire meal.  You may know I am not really a fan of potatoes, but this dish is irresistible to me. I had blackened fish tacos, Jim had the seafood sliders (awesome) and my sister had the steak tips.  The desserts were tempting, but I ate too much appetizer for that! Thank you again Fox Creek Tavern and Alex for a wonderfully relaxed meal. 

The boulevard is glorious even when it’s dreary and wet. Thank you Generous Gardeners!  If you are so inclined, they accept donations……….

We took a quick walk down to the low tide shoreline at Good Harbor Beach recently on a gorgeous day. We took the crystal balls along for the ride.

From the City of Gloucester Clerk regarding today’s (Sept 1) Massachusetts State Primary Election. This was posted yesterday Aug 31. TODAY Sept 1 is State Primary Election Day:

We took FOB Paula Ryan O’Brien to Tonno for dinner over the weekend to celebrate her visit to our fair city. Online reservations are very easy through Resy on the Tonno website here. We sat inside as it was a little rainy and all tables are safely distanced. We had outstanding service as always. Paula ordered the pork chop and she loved it. Jim had the “Sunday Sauce and Meatballs” (always a favorite) and I had the Chicken Milanese, now a new favorite. We felt safe and well cared for. Thanks Tonno for facilitating our family dinner!

It was a lovely ending to another glorious day in our favorite city.

We finally booked a trip on the Schooner Thomas E. Lannon and boy, was it perfect! The weather was fantastic, the winds were friendly, the crew was skilled. On the sail we took, there were about 20 masked guests who were assigned seating in socially distant groups. We even saw an acquaintance onboard….good to see you again, Steve! Captain Zach offered safety instructions and introduced the mates Patrick and Casey and then we were underway in our beautiful harbor and vicinity. Snacks and drinks are available throughout the 90 minute excursion.  The winds had us leaning just enough to make it exciting without being scary. We all had big smiles on our faces. It was a great trip. I highly recommend it.  FANTASTIC job, crew! Can’t wait to go again. Check it out on their website: https://schooner.org/

Osprey Update: Liz is the last remaining Osprey chick still in the Lobsta Land nest. Here’s the Aug 27 update from the Essex Greenbelt Osprey Cam Website: 

Since late July, Liz, Vivi and Rusty have all fledged. During August, they remained on the nest, with fish being delivered by Squam. Annie took her leave (females typically depart south first) in early August and Squam has not been sighted at the nest for at least a week. And it appears that Vivi and Rusty have left the nest in the past week or so too. As of today, we are only seeing Liz, who was the smallest of the 3 chicks (probably a male as they are smaller than females), on the nest. Some viewers have expressed concern for Liz, but Liz has been seen bring fish back to the nest confirming hunting ability. Liz is just staying longer at a familiar pace before embarking on the long and arduous migration.

Do Osprey migrate together? That is a question I hear often and the answer is: they do not. Annie and Squam go their own way and could end up far apart by the time they reach their final winter destination. However, breeding pairs bond for life and reuse the same nest if they can year after year, so they will find each other again in Gloucester next spring (we hope), and start their 3rd breeding season in a row together.

Same with Liz, Vivi and Rusty – they will each chart their own course south. However, Osprey in general follow similar migration routes, so if you were “hawk watching” at a place like Cape May, NJ or Hawk Mtn, PA, you might see dozens or even hundreds of Osprey (and other raptors) soaring by overhead going south. But it is not a flock, it is a concentration.

Liz, Vivi and Rusty have a tough road ahead, as only about 40% of first year Osprey survive through year one. And remember, these three will stay for 18 mos where ever they end up – be it Cuba, or South America. If and when they return north successfully, and we sure hope they do, it will not be until the spring of 2022, and they will be about 20 months old at that point.

So, this is apparently Liz remaining at the nest. It is a little distressing  to see her/him alone but apparently all is as nature intended. Til “nest” year……

The Cape Ann Chamber officially opened their new building on the Harbor Loop on a beautiful afternoon yesterday. A small number of guests were allowed to attend in order to respect COVID protocols. Representatives from each Cape Ann community were on hand to celebrate and to place community related items into the time capsule. Proclamations were read, elbows bumped, ribbon cut……congratulations to the Chamber and its members.

You may have seen a partial video taken by yours truly after struggling with technology. I am very sorry it wasn’t better. I hope these pictures taken by GMG Jim help portray the event more fully.