Thanksgiving afternoon — pat morss

A Thanksgiving family lunch followed by a late afternoon walk around Niles Pond and a classic Eastern Point Lighthouse sunset.

Family Thanksgiving lunch
Ring-necked ducks at Niles Pond
Mallards at Niles Pond
Family dog with interest (leashed)
Niles Pond’s young resident swans
Eastern Point Lighthouse sunset

Norwegian lobsters correction — pat morss

Correcting a typo from my recent posting about checking the traps in Norway: The allowable size for lobsters is 25-32 cm, not a tiny 25-32 mm. That is about 10″ from nose to tip of tail for the small “chicken” lobster. Also, any female lobster with roe must be thrown back.

Checking the traps in Norway — pat morss

We are in Tjome, Norway visiting Anne-Lise’s sister Berit and her husband Jan. This morning we followed him out in his boat checking his lobster traps. His private license allows him up to 10 individual traps and the commercial lobster season only lasts 2 months from October 1st to December 1st. Allowable size is between 25 and 32mm from tip of nose to end of tail.

Flying in over the Norwegian west coast mountains and fjords
Boat viewed from house, looking like Cape Ann
Jan getting suited up
Pat ready to go
Our daughter Jeannette along for birding
Pulling a single trap with an electric winch
Crabs this time
Lobsters in this one
Will be covered to avoid shock in winter air
Confirming legal length
Elastic bands on the claws
Ready for the pot

Russia trip – Pat Morss

Anne-Lise and I are back from a trip to Moscow and St Petersburg with a stop on the way home for family and shrimp (just like ours but with no quota) in Norway.

Moscow, pedestrian street
Moscow, GUM shopping center
Moscow, Red Square, St Basil
Suzdal, Golden Circle east of Moscow
Suzdal, Golden Circle east of Moscow
St Petersburg, Catherine Palace
St Petersburg, Catherine Palace
St Petersburg, Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood
St Petersburg, St Isaac’s Cathedral
St Petersburg, Russian Museum
St Petersburg, Hermitage, Winter Palace chapel
St Petersburg, Peterhof Palace
St Petersburg, concert at Grand Duke Vladimir Palace
St Petersburg, concert at Grand Duke Vladimir Palace
Norway; shrimp with avocado, on the way home

Sunday afternoon on the Annisquam river — Pat morss

Anne-Lise and I had a great trip up the Annisquam River from Gloucester Marina to Ipswich Bay on a questionable Sunday afternoon that turned out to be very comfortable, with our friends Beth and Mike Knicely.

View from the Deck — Pat Morss

Always something to look at from the deck. In the last couple of days: One of a family of deer in the Audubon land at Eastern Point; USCG barque Eagle back and forth, here in the haze headed back into Salem for weekend festivities; sunset with Great Britain floating over the lighthouse.

Stage Fort Park cannons — Pat Morss

I recently saw an aerial drone photograph of Stage fort Park showing cannons in the “fort.” That was a surprise. This afternoon commuting home (by bus around the Gloucester commuter rail draw bridge replacement), I stopped at Stage Fort to look for the cannons, in nice evening light. Here are a few photos. As a bonus, I hit closing time of the farmers market and secured a large jar of fresh guacamole.

Do you remember Zeus? –Pat Morss–

Zeus is a “Texas Tower” rig that was involved with extension of Gloucester’s sewer outfall pipe offshore around 1990. Before that, the treatment plant dumped directly into harbor, through the notorious “bubbler.” Here are a few of my photos from 1989-1991.

Research vessel Fugro departs

— Pat Morss —

The research vessel Fugro, which which attracted attention passed Cape Ann mid-day Wednesday heading in the Boston direction, returned this evening heading Down East from Eastern Point.

Schooner Adventure’ Return

And here are two slides I just scanned of Adventure’s triumphant return to Gloucester in 1988 from her second life as a windjammer on the Maine coast – Pat Morss

Adventure Escorted past Eastern Point Light
Adventure returning home in 1988