Author: Pat D

I was delighted to see Fireflies thrift and consignment shop at 100 Main Open this week as I strolled downtown. We have new babies coming into our lives and I’ve been waiting on tenterhooks to get back in there! Mary nicely assisted me with my purchase and a Stacey agreed to let me share some pictures. I got a snowsuit on clearance and a sparkling onesie for less than $20. All protocols in place without feeling overwhelming. Win win.

The Studio announced on its Facebook page that they will be reopening Friday June 19 at 4 PM with HALF OFF FOOD all week. Limited seating so reservations highly recommended. 978-879-4896. Look out Rocky Neck, here we come!

They are also looking for help front of house and back of house. Check out the Facebook link for application information.

Image borrowed from Facebook page.

 

 

I was drawn in by the red, white and blue shirt hanging on the outside rack. I left with a cute child’s outfit, a new gaiter style neck scarf, and a new bandana for the dog in addition to the shirt! Stacey and Isabelle were very friendly and helpful. The place is packed with great ideas for this upcoming Father’s Day. Take a minute to stop by. They are open and following all protocols.

In case you missed feeding time on the Essex Greenbelt Osprey Cam, here’s a couple of screenshots. One parent brought food to the nest and you can see 3 little baby bobbing heads in there if you look carefully. If it were up to me, I might call them Larry, Darryl and Darryl. Check it out at http://www.ecga.org.

All three osprey chicks have very recently hatched in the nest behind LobstaLand! The osprey parents, known as Annie and Squam are tending to their newly hatched chicks and can be followed on the Essex Greenbelt Osprey Cam linked here.

There is also an article in the Boston Globe describing a little of the nest’s history and fascination.

Take a look and welcome the new chicks to the world. Screenshot taken just a few minutes ago:

We each needed a treat recently. GMG Jimmy went for the chocolate chip ice cream at Whte Farms and I opted for an apple cake from Cake Ann. Just what the doctor ordered.

Gov. Baker announced that 52 testing sites across Massachusetts will be available to those who have attended large gatherings in the last two weeks (think protests, among others). Testing will be available Wednesday and Thursday this week (June 17 and 18) FREE. You are strongly encouraged to get tested if you’ve been in a large gathering recently. Results will be provided to each participant and you will be encouraged to share those results with your doctor.

It is available to everyone and will be provided FREE of charge. You do not need to have symptoms. Although I do not see a Gloucester location, there are plenty nearby. List and further information from Mass.gov/covid-gettested. Some sites are appointment only, so check ahead.

If you’ve been wondering if you should be tested, this is your opportunity!

Organizers have decided to do their best to continue the tradition of the St. Peter’s Novena even in the absence of the traditional June festivities. It has been announced on a Facebook page devoted specifically to Novena 2020 (search St. Peter’s Novena Gloucester MA 2020)  that the novena will begin tonight, Monday June 15 at 7 PM and be available on YouTube.  Further details and information available at this link. 

From the Facebook page:

However, we would like to continue the tradition of the novena to coincide with the feast day of St. Peter. The first day of the novena will be available on YouTube Monday, June 15 at 7 PM. All are welcome to join us. Please go to YouTube and search St. Peters Novena Gloucester MA 2020.

Donations for upcoming Fiesta celebrations are welcome and can be sent to :

St. Peter’s Fiesta Committee
PO Box 3105
Gloucester, MA 01930

This year’s novena is devoted to praying for the eradication of COVID-19 and to pray for all that have been affected including families, victims, health care professionals and others. You are welcome to comment on the Facebook page with your own intentions.

Great news for those of us that love Eastern Point. Mass Audubon announced recently that it is now open for local visitors. A reminder to check local restrictions and guidelines before you visit any of the sanctuaries. Other sanctuaries have also opened. Mass Audubon provides additional information at this link.

This picture is kind of old, but, then again, it’s been awhile since I’ve been there!

As I have mentioned several times, we have lots of wildlife right in our backyard and we watch all sorts of critters throughout the days and seasons. Recently, we were treated to a short deer story develop in the marsh. These two appeared in the late afternoon sun out in the marsh acting a little bit like strangers cautiously checking one another out. The smaller one approached the bigger one and got a hoof-cuff for its trouble. I understand this is one way white tailed deer express dominance. Looked to me like it worked………

It’s Flag Day. Fly ‘em if you’ve got ‘em.

There are some very pretty spots along the byway in and near Essex including Cox Reservation and Main Street.

I have been experimenting with steel wool photography with GMG Jimmy as my ‘model’. It involves igniting encased fine grade steel wool  (we use a kitchen whisk); spinning it; then taking the pictures with a slow shutter speed in order to create the effects you see below.  We select a safe location: in these pictures Jim is standing on a wide area of  damp pavement. It’s not as “sparky” as it might appear due to the slow shutter speed. Although I still need practice, I thought the pictures are very interesting. And, yes, we come prepared with a bucket of water just in case….. also helpful is his Cape Pond Ice hoodie.

 

The Whoo(pie) Wagon of Topsfield announces it will be at Cruiseport ( 6 Rowe Sq. Gloucester) Sunday June 14 from 5-7 PM. Orders must be placed in advance and before noon on Sunday. This sounds like fun! We saw this food truck recently near Topsfield and were pretty intrigued. It’s like they heard us talking in the car about them………

From their Facebook page:

We are heading back to Cruiseport!

• Order before 12pm Sunday June 14th

• All orders must be placed in advance

• No contact transaction

• To ensure social distancing,
PICK UP WILL BE ALPHABETICAL BY LAST NAME
• 5:00-5:30 A-G
• 5:30-6:00 H-N
• 6:00-6:30 O-V
• 6:30-7:00 Q-Z

• Place order on the link below and ENJOY!

Whoopie Wagon Order link here.

Image borrowed from their Facebook Event sight because it looks so darn good!

As promised, the city playgrounds opened up this week. So nice to see children enjoying the playground at Stage Fort Park on Wednesday this week. Maybe we are getting back to something close to normal.

 

Second Glance has announced reopening plans for June 24 at 9 AM. This is welcome news. Hope to see you there. They are located at 2 Pond Road and you can keep up with their plans on Facebook.

From their Facebook page:

We’ve worked hard to clean, organize and reorient the space for your safety. Lots of new things including a NEW Donation Center by APPOINTMENT ONLY! Schedule your time now at FOODPANTRY.org.

Shopping hours: Wed-Sat | 9am-5pm
Donation Hours: Tue-Sat | 10am-4pm

All shoppers and donors must wear a mask, sanitize hands, and maintain a safe, 6 foot distance from others. We must limit occupancy to 40% capacity, so you may have to wait to be admitted.

We are so excited to see so many restaurants opening back up! Capt. Carlo’s deck is one of our favorite outdoor spots, so we made our lunch reservation online as requested to be among their first return customers of the season. We messaged them on Facebook so the online reservation and confirmation were easy and painless. Here’s the link.  Or you can call 978-283-6342.

You are requested to mask up enter by the back deck area and be ready to place your order prior to seating. I believe this is to limit contact and provide efficient service while obeying new protocols and procedures.  I suggest you think ahead about your seating location if you are given a choice since the weather can vary. You are not encouraged to change your seat due to sanitizing measures but you can be accommodated if needed.

Their system is to use table signs to signal the need for the server, again I believe to limit contact unless necessary.  That seemed to work well for us. In fact, we used the sign to hold down items blowing in the breeze and almost immediately a server appeared! Yikes. New procedures will take time for us all to get used to.

We ordered Lobster BLT and Buffalo Chicken Wrap which were delicious as always! So happy to sit with a drink and our meal as the deck filled up with families, couples, friends all eager for lunch and socialization. Thank you to all the restaurant staff working so hard to make these new rules work for the safety and enjoyment of us all.

 

Finally, some of the retail stores have been able to reopen; not necessarily for “business as usual”, but rather under changed procedures and protocols.  It was a wonderful feeling to stroll down Main Street today and see open doors. Some such as Mermaid Tales, New England Sweats, Design of Mine are open now. Others are planning to open soon: Larsen’s on Tuesday (today) and the Brass Monkey tomorrow (Wednesday). Store staff seemed genuinely pleased to see us and the stores felt safe for a little browsing. Welcome back all!

Yesterday Monday June 8,  the Mayor shared some details about Step One in Phase 2 which you can read in full here.  Here is a summary of some of the highlights:

Restaurants may offer outdoor seating; retails stores may open with restricted in-store capacity; golf pro shops and other onsite facilities may open; health care professionals may offer expanded services; lodging is now available; outdoor recreation facilities will be open.  All of these have certain required protocols and restrictions that must be followed.

The “big” news (in my opinion) is the following as copied from the Mayor’s announcement:

City playgrounds will be open to the public by the end of this week. Play structures are not cleaned or disinfected so although available residents should use at their own risk. Please remain diligent about hand washing and/or sanitizing before and after playground use.

Also copied from yesterday’s announcement:

Good Harbor and Wingaersheek Beaches are now both open to residents and a limited number of non-residents, at a reduced capacity. Stage Fort Park remains open to the public.

There will be a Step Two for Phase 2 which will roll out at an unspecified future date. This step will allow indoor restaurant seating as well as the opening of massage parlors, nail salons, tattoo parlors and tanning salons.  Stay tuned for further details on these advances in Phase 2.

It’s an exciting time to tip toe back into the world we once knew. But we do need to remember these new procedures are new to all of us, including servers, cashiers, sales staff, health care professionals…all of us….so extra patience and understanding is critical.

And now, a view from the Beauport Hotel deck yesterday taken during the podcast as the hotel staff was preparing to open the deck for dining. We stayed for lunch and it was fantastic!