Author: Pat D

Those rock piles you are seeing everywhere are commonly referred to as cairns, though technically they are not since they are usually not landmarks or memorials. I have mentioned before that I am ambivalent about them, although recently I’ve become less enamored every time I see one.

Anyhow, I was driving along the back shore recently and noticed a scene I thought might be “blog worthy”. A pair of rock piles, a pair of fishermen and a pair of lighthouses.

I was experimenting with getting the right angle when two boys wandered into view.

I am working out how I can make this work when one of the kids gives one of the rock piles a good kick. The artistic value of the scene went down faster than those rocks. I didn’t know whether to be disappointed or give the kid a pat on the back.

experimenting with getting the right angle

As our friend Kim Smith told us recently, sunflower fields are in full bloom and ready for visitors. I visited the Colby Farm Sunflower Field in Newbury recently and it was delightful. So, even though sunflowers have recently been featured here, they are so cheerful I thought everyone might enjoy another dose! There is a $10 cash only parking fee but sunflowers aren’t the only attraction. There’s a small enclosure with farm animals for children to enjoy, a farmstand, and antique tractors for photos.

There’s always that one……

I ran into Martha and Casey at the Enterprise rental agency this week. Her GMG shirt caught my eye and we had a nice chat. I guess you never know where you might see GMG represented! Great to meet you Martha!

It was a pretty quiet day at Good Harbor Beach on Labor Day at high tide. The key word here is that is was pretty, as always.

Here’s an update on the Daventry Lane units at Niles Beach: Beachcroft Residences at Niles Beach.

I hope you enjoyed the glorious weekend. It was our first School Festival and we were not disappointed. We had family time, outdoor time, podcast time and volunteer time. Some scenes from the busy boulevard Sunday morning:

We also went to Magnolia to see what we could see for the race Sunday morning:

I had the pleasure of volunteering for the public visitation at the Schooner Fest on Saturday morning. Gorgeous morning! It was wonderful to see so many interested visitors. Some scenes as I saw the morning unfold:

It takes a lot of work to keep Brilliant brilliant:

Visitors came from all directions:

The porpoises were an exciting find during my sail on the Ardelle, but there were many other sites to enjoy from the water.

Lunch from the Cupboard. Drink keep cold with my sharp new koozie! Thanks Joey!

I made a last minute decision to book a trip aboard the Ardelle yesterday to “Greet the Fleet”. It was a small group, but none the less fun as led by Harold and Amanda. About halfway through the sail, Harold pointed out a good-sized group of porpoises feeding right inside the harbor and fairly close to shore and other vessels. There seemed to be about 10 of them; they even approached the boat and seemed unimpressed by our presence. It was a great trip. As another rider noted, porpoises have been spotted in 100% of my Ardelle trips to date!

I think these photos demonstrate how close to shore and to the boat they were!

This just in from one of our correspondents……porpoises in the harbor today.

I took a ride to one of my favorite places, Parker River Wildlife Refuge last week. I just love showing my Senior Park Pass (check it out here) to the attendant and hearing “You’re good to go!”. On this visit, there were all kinds of swallows, a heron, egrets and an osprey. Parker River offers several free programs and tours every month that are well worth checking out. Today I went “Behind the Scenes at Great Bay Wildlife Reserve” in New Hampshire. Janet, the Parker River guide, drove us up there and all around the non-public areas of the park. We saw deer and turkeys, most of whom were more curious about us than we were! I recommend checking these programs out…did I mention FREE?

Egrets fly gracefully but land awkwardly.

An osprey with a Mohawk!

It was such a pretty afternoon, I thought it should be shared. Even my crystal ball (CB) posed!

I sailed on the Schooner Adventure for a sunset cruise sponsored by Mass Audubon over the weekend. It was my first experience on the Adventure. It was a lovely mild evening with just enough wind to fill the sails. Thanks Amy Weidensaul from Mass Audubon and Adventure staff and volunteers for a great evening!

Our check in for the cruise ….. not really, but this was too cute to pass by.

Our home in New York is in a very rural area and we are accustomed to seeing quite a variety of wildlife, but it does not compare at all to what we see in our Gloucester backyard on a daily basis.

Hawk dancing

Deer dinner time

Always thrilled to see the orioles

Mom cardinal feeding the youngster

It has come to my attention that not everyone knows about Russell Orchard on Argilla Road in Ipswich! While it’s especially delightful to visit in the fall, it’s also a wonderful place to stop in the summer months. There are baked goods, fresh fruits and vegetables, local wines and other goods. We just love stopping by to see what’s new. On our recent visit, we were looking for yellow tomatoes in order to try a new Bloody Mary recipe. Success! Sorry we didn’t bring back any fresh donuts for you Joey!

It was a lovely morning at Good Harbor Beach this week. Such a jewel!

Yesterday, the SeaPort Veterinary Hospital had a Northern Gannet that needed transport to Tufts Wildlife Clinic in North Grafton so I decided to take a bird for a ride. The staff at SeaPort Veterinary Hospital told me this feisty Gannet was found near Zeke’s earlier in the day.

I neglected to take the time of day into account so this ride occurred during rush hour and was longer than it should have been, but the Gannet didn’t seem to mind. I put NPR on to keep him calm 😁 for the ride. He was mostly pretty quiet, just occasionally making little noises in the back. He only squawked vigorously in each facility at both ends of the trip, and it was LOUD! I decided to call him GMG Gannet.

I felt like a story circle was closing in that the Northern Gannet I reported a couple of weeks ago may or may not have survived…..I didn’t know how that Gannet made out, but this one is now safe and in good hands. Thank you staff at Zeke’s, SeaPort Veterinary Hospital and Tufts Wildlife Clinic!

Everything old is new again. Some of you may have experienced the congested traffic near Stage Fort Park and Blynman Bridge last weekend and muttered to yourself that  you’ve never seen it worse. Here’s an article from the Gloucester Daily Times Aug 22 1938 saying pretty much the same thing. I find it interesting that we can easily see history repeating itself. Get ready though because Riverfest is coming up this weekend!

Magnolia kayak garden in full bloom.