Author: Pat D

All members Team Pat please stop to the shop at 44 Main St for your very own Joey button. Big enough to cover up the Blame Pat button that may have been forced on you.

The James Pub recently opened in the former location of the Village restaurant in Essex. We stopped by to have dinner and check things out and were very happy we did. First, if you are expecting to go in and be reminded of the former restaurant, you’ll be disappointed. The inside has been remodeled and looks great. Even the entry door has changed location (we saw many people approaching the old entryway) but the flow works nicely.

We were seated in a front room and Donna was our attentive server. It was pretty busy for a weekday evening, though, as usual, we were there on the early side for dinner. There a very nice bar area we look forward to checking out when we return. We easily found menu items of interest: Irish Nachos, fish sandwich, steak frites (done to perfection), and strawberry pavlova for dessert. Naturally I also tried the Irish Coffee. *I recommend the sangria* Things seemed to be running very smoothly for a newly opened restaurant. There’s another location in Needham as well, so make sure you are checking the right location for hours and such.

One of the owners came over to say hello and informed us they will be expanding their hours eventually to include Mondays and lunch hours. It was a very enjoyable atmosphere and dining experience. The pricing is on par with most area restaurants and we look forward to returning.

We went on our first whale watch of the season with Cape Ann Whale Watch this week on a beautiful morning for a ride. Normally I would have gone earlier in the season but schedules preventing our going any sooner than this. I LOVE going in the spring when the whales have returned and are actively feeding. We headed south to the Stellwagon Bank and the trip out took quite a bit longer than it usually does, so I wasn’t feeling too optimistic about our chances.

Boy, was I proved wrong. Naturalist Tina, Captain Johnny and the crew found areas FULL of interesting whale activity including feeding, breaching and calf play. We saw Dross, Wigwam and her calf and Milkweed (who breached a number of times in our presence). We also saw Atlantic White Sided dolphins and a HUGE basking shark. The seas were a bit rough so there was a lot of rocking and rolling (tough for photographers), but what a trip for the memory banks!

If you haven’t gone in a while, I strongly urge you to go!

I am pretty well addicted to the Essex Greenbelt Osprey Cam to follow the development of the nest for the osprey nicknamed Annie and Squam. They return to the LobstaLand nest each year and provide insight to bird life through the web cam provided. David Rimmer provides occasional updates on their progress. This year it appears there are two eggs and we might expect to see the hatchlings in early June (if my math is correct). In the meantime, I watch the osprey cam. This time I got to observe a “changing of the guard”. If you look very carefully inside the nest, you can see one of the eggs. Thank you David, Essex Greenbelt and the army of volunteers!

Special shout out to Linda and Sage Floral on Main St. for helping GMG Jim get just the right arrangement to celebrate Mother’s Day! It’s beautiful and I appreciate the personal touch Linda put on the project. The colors are gorgeous and it’s such a treat to have a fresh arrangement in the house.

We decided to take a ride to watch the sun setting at Lane’s Cove recently. Although it wasn’t a spectacular sunset, there were plenty of opportunities for some decent photos. And sunset was at 7:55PM!! Woot Woot.

Two cannons have been restored and returned to Stage Fort Park. A recent project enhanced that portion of Stage Fort Park to ease access and it’s nice to see the cannons back in place. I understand David Dow was instrumental in this project, so thanks David!

Great job paving Main St! The work crews were very impressive in their task completion and were able to finish a day or so ahead of time. Lines will be painted Sunday evening, so heads up on the Main St parking restrictions.

Our backyard has been popping with familiar colors and sounds this week. Welcome back my friends! When I took these photos, it appeared that Mr. Oriole was still awaiting his mate, but she’s made an appearance as well. Looking forward to a fruitful spring and summer in the bird world!

As many of you know, we recently travelled to Ireland with my sister and her husband. I appreciate so many of you being interested in our adventures, so here’s just a few photos and some observations.

First and foremost, the Irish people are very friendly and helpful (though that seemed to come to a dead stop at with airport personnel). It was a joy to talk with the locals and get insights and advice….which came in very handy when we blew a tire and needed to have a repair done! Other random observations: bike lanes there make so much more sense. The tipping culture is a whole new animal there–there isn’t the feeling of “demand for tip” everywhere and tipping feels much more optional. They offer pizza crust dippers as side options with pizza (genius)! Most establishments we went to offered soft drinks in reasonable sizes (less than a quart like we are used to). Salad is routinely served with breakfast. And so much more! But we are glad to be back on our home turf and hope to see you around town soon. If you are interested in additional photos and details of our adventure, feel free to check out Pat D’s Photos and Adventures on Facebook.

I got a tip that the Ardelle was hauled out at the Railways so we went down to take a look. She seems to be getting a bit of a spit and polish in preparation for the upcoming season. There are several other familiar vessels down there as well. It was like greeting old friends. Speaking of which, special Happy Birthday wishes to Liza R today!

Sharing news from the Annisquam Village Players:

Join the Cast & Crew

Complete audition and crew details available at this link: https://annisquamvillageplayers.com/join-the-cast-amp-crew

Despite showers on a cloudy afternoon, I made my annual trip to Felix’s Family Farm in Ipswich to visit the tulips. I have made this trip a number of times over the years, but this time I was totally floored by how impressive the fields looked, especially on a dreary day. The beds have been moved around a bit and the result is very satisfying! This year’s theme is TIME but you are running out of time to see those tulips at peak so you might want to get yourself there by Mother’s Day weekend. It’s well worth the ride. The tulips are plentiful, healthy and GORGEOUS. It’s a little bit of a replacement for the tulips we lost along the boulevard this year.

Mondays are made for Detroit style pizza at Bravo by the Sea in Manchester. We ordered ahead by phone and ate it there in the dining area. Win Win. That “Great Wall of Cheese” is everything it’s cracked up to be. This is DELICIOUS pizza. And today’s Monday……so….

We came across a fox feasting on the beach rocks in the vicinity of Black Beach recently. the photo id suggests this might be a red fox, though it appears to have seen better days. When done foraging, it hopped onto the road and trotted close enough to us to make me prepare to get back in the car. But then it hopped back over to the beach and continued trotting along the beachfront. It seemed to be oblivious of the traffic going by so perhaps it’s become used to populated areas.

Maybe you’re thinking about sprucing up your yard now that spring is upon us. These garden flags from Pat D’s Photos (available at 44 Main St as well) might be just the ticket. Several different images are available, these are just a few. Many are local images (such as our very own Back Shore Snowy) and these make a lovely addition to your yard or porch. They are sturdy vinyl about 12″ x 18″ and printed on both sides. They are ready to hang (I even have some extra yard flag holders if you need them) and would also make an easy to travel or mail gift! Reach out in comments with questions or feel free to reach me on Messenger. Prices are plus shipping but we always offer free delivery to Cape Ann area. We also have larger porch banners available so maybe you prefer to stop in at 44 Main St. My current hours are Thurs-Fri-Sat 11-5 and Sundays 11-3. Hope to see you soon!

So many sweet canines prance past our window at the shop at 44 Main St that I thought it would be fun to capture just a few of them: Ronan, Bodie, Freya (so cute and enthusiastic that there are 2 photos) and Jelly of interstate media fame. Gloucester is indeed a Dog Town.

I mentioned recently that we went to Cogswell’s Grant on Spring St in Essex to observe Kite Day. We got there plenty early and had time to wander the grounds a bit. It’s been quite a while since I’ve been there and a spring day seemed like a perfect excuse for a walk around. The grounds are free access, the folk art museum has an admission charge if you are not a member of Historic New England (it’s worth seeing the exhibits if you care to). Anyhow, there’s something special about farms in the springtime.

There was an event happening behind me, but this fog seemed to dampen the noises and create extra peace as nighttime approached.

A short walk around Rocky Neck allowed me a closer peak at these sheds and shacks. They each exude their own character and that’s what drew my attention to them.