Author: patmorss

Hank, our resident Great Blue Heron, has returned for the fall, and is putting up with this week’s bad weather.

I read in the Gloucester Times this morning that there was a Chinese yacht hauled out for repairs at Gloucester Marine Railways on Rocky Neck. She hit an iceberg north of Greenland on her attempted cicumnavigation of the Arctic Ocean. She apparently was denied passage through Canadian waters due to the COVID close-down, and was headed toward the Panama Canal on her return to China. She pulled into Gloucester for repairs.

A beautiful Saturday afternoon down at the harbor on Stacy Boulevard. I thought the spring tulips were pretty impressive, but the dahlias and their daylily cousins are amazing. Congratulations to the volunteer ‘Generous Gardeners.’

After a year off for COVID, it was great to have the Cape Ann Plein Air Festival back this past week. It is now sought after by artists nation-wide. This year 200 applicants were judged for their work and the limit of 35 were accepted. The final event today, after the Gala, is fun because it gets all the artists together in one area to produce a painting in just 2 hours for the “Quick Draw.”

I posted this on GMG Saturday afternoon. It was followed by a very large posting that slid it and others down the page, and shortly off the recent postings on the live website. Joey approved a re-posting, but apologies if this is a repeat.

Woolly Bear Folklore:

“The longer the woolly bear’s black bands, the longer, colder, snowier, and more severe the winter will be. … If the head end of the caterpillar is dark, the beginning of winter will be severe. If the tail end is dark, the end of winter will be cold.”

You be the judge.  Also, I always wondered if they turned into beautiful moths or butterflies (see first two photos).

Woolly Bear Folklore:

“The longer the woolly bear’s black bands, the longer, colder, snowier, and more severe the winter will be. … If the head end of the caterpillar is dark, the beginning of winter will be severe. If the tail end is dark, the end of winter will be cold.” You be the judge.  I always wondered if they turned into moths or butterflies.  See first two photos.

We are just back from a week in the Southwest, with family in the small town of Ridgway, Colorado, and a side trip to Santa Fe, New Mexico. My sister and family moved west in the 1970s and became successful ranchers, as well as advocates for local culture and preservation. I post these photographs here, because I see connections with our values on Cape Ann.

We had a stressful weekend following a Gannet that landed on the Audubon Sanctuary next to our house. Seabirds come ashore just to rookeries to nest, so it must have had a health issue. Professional help was delayed due to multiple emergencies, and it wasn’t confirmed until this morning that it died, apparently without a predator encounter.

It was wonderful to have the Schooner Festival back in Gloucester this Labor Day weekend, after last year’s cancellation due to COVID.

Other parts of the country have it hotter, but we have the humidity too.

Donna posted a picure and question Tuesday evening as to who her “cute little bird” is. I questioned our ornithologist daughter and son-in-law, and Derek wrote back:

“That’s a juvenile House Finch that is suffering from (and probably blinded by) a disease that is most likely conjunctivitis. 

So not cute.

Unfortunately.”

We’ve been dodging hurricanes, so outdoor activities continue.

Seems like mostly birds around this week, and the animals are out of sight.

Activity over the weekend, and a few earlier encounters.

Last Saturday was the annual 20-mile “around Cape Ann” Howard Blackburn race for anything you can row or paddle. Also, more water and wildlife this week.

Similar weekly routine, but variations on themes.

Surprisingly inquisitive. We have been hearing them yapping often in the bushes

And, of course, these young deer are everywhere!

It started out as a Beautiful weekend, but deteriorated on Sunday. Is this training going on for the ‘Around Cape Ann’ Blackburn Cup? I sure commend the fortitude.

More see-saw weather over the last week, and noteworthy for record July rainfall – already.

After being appropriately preoccupied with visiting family, there were a few photo-ops the last couple of days.

We walk every day, but this was specifically on the Fourth of July.