Stella, our dog, small brain, but good memory of scary experiences. For example, four years after stepping in a puddle on the first granite step of the porch she still refuses to step on it. Pauses, then leaps over the steps. THERE ARE ALLIGATORS IN PUDDLES AND THEY WILL EAT ME!
Last spring Stella looking out front window making sure the dogs and dog walkers are leaving her yard. (When they enter she hides but as soon as they are moving away our super hero might even bark once.)
She is doing this one night and a cat who has been on the porch sticks her head up right in Stella’s face. Stella has a doggy heart attack but does get off a bark once the cat has split. Then for several weeks she is parked at that window waiting for the return of the demon cat. Bored one night, I whip off a cat silhouette on the band saw, sneak out on the porch and stick it in Stella’s face. Endless amusement. After a half hour I stopped figuring Stella might have a stroke if I kept it up.
Stuck the silhouette in the shop window which has no heat and this morning thought I might try a Len and shoot some ice crystals.
But I may have learned something. We had an insane cat bird who would slam into our windows in the spring. I think he was attacking the interloper he saw as a reflection. I think when he comes back this spring the window he hits is the one I put the cat in. Or Rubber Ducks. Not the Rubber Duck but I have enough ducks to put in every window. Shoot, I could put an LED light in each and be ready for Festivus.
Let it be known that on this day, December Seventh, 2013 that Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, Saint Nicholas, or simply, as the chorus of small children who lined the jetties and docks of Rockport, Massachusetts exclaimed, “Santa!, It’s Santa Claus!” , came to town.
This jaded reporter who has been numbed by the commercialization of Christmas, the War on Christmas, the War on the War on Christmas, the Black Friday mobs rushing the Best Buys and Walmarts to claw at presents that are supposed to assure the winner a gob of Christmas cheer, finds himself on Tuna Wharf in Rockport recharging his Christmas cheer batteries with the true meaning of Christmas. Little kids screaming their heads off as Santa rides the Freemantle Doctor into the harbor.
And here he is, Santa Claus:
And not to take anything away from Santa as his job on Christmas is a huge one but this year I would like to point out the Rockport Santa production would be nothing if it wasn’t for all the elves who do all the hard work getting Santa in the right spot at the right time. Who would light the tree in Dock Square if Santa were still sitting out on a buoy off Jefferys Basin? So without further ado, just a few of the elves who made the Rockport Santa production possible:
The Rockport Harbormaster had a boatful of Elves:
The Coast Guard Elves were scurrying about but here are a few:
And last but not least, the Freemantle Doctor Elves:
Santa pays these elves squat but they all went home with something more important than presents or money or even the hot cider and doughnuts and everything else that people were enjoying over in Dock Square as they were hard at work in the cold and wind making sure that Santa made it to ride the fire truck into the Square. They boated home in the dark with the warm feeling in their hearts that only a cheering throng of children can bestow, Christmas Cheer. Even the Rubber Duck got a little emotional but I promised her I would post no photos of her blubbering.
-Paul Morrison and Rubber Duck
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Rubber Dock got this whole Lobster Trap Christmas Tree done in ten minutes this weekend. Spent three minutes on Saturday and seven minutes on Sunday. Hard work and still made it to the Patriots kick off.
Saturday: I think this tree is a little short. Need a few more traps. Over here on the right. Chop Chop.And some more over here on the left! Anyone? Hello?David, I’m thinking maybe you should put a star here on top?Look ! Right here! This star!David, pay attention and stop looking at that camera! The star! Right where I’m sitting!Here are some more elves who spent the entire weekend putting up this tree while the elves who blew out their knee stayed home. Ten minutes are up and Rubber Duck has to go watch a football game.
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Well I don’t know why I came here tonight, I got the feeling that something ain’t right, I’m so scared in case I fall off my chair, And I’m wondering how I’ll get down the stairs, Ed’s to the left of me, Joey to the right, here I am, Stuck in the middle with you.
RD:”I am pretty sure this is not how you make Turduckin.”
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Edible? I guess so. Sure, why not? Ed. Edible. More or less. If anyone posts the ancient joke please use the one involving Queen Elizabeth guessing the correct answer on “What’s My Line?”. Leave out the Canadians, eh? Thank you.
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Eastern Point Lighthouse, current structure built 1890Thacher Island Twin Lights, current structures built 1861
nb. Click photos to embiggen. The Twin Lights show the flaw of shooting with a tiny lens in the iPhone 5. I can straighten the horizon but the towers are leaning towards each other. Larger cameras, more glass in the lens, and shooting with the camera straight on and not pointing up can eliminate most of this convergence. Last ditch there is always Photoshop to straighten out structures leaning in.
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Someone is twisting Rubber Duck’s little rubber wing to post a story about bringing her boat up from Woods Hole to Gloucester.
Woods Hole Yacht Club. Flares, horn, fire extinguisher, PFDs, VHF radio, Sudafed, check check check.Up Buzzard’s Bay to the Cape Cod Canal, Wind 7 knots from the west. Familiar territory.Cape Cod Canal Railroad bridge. Still a train a week. Last time through the canal was 1972. Looks bigger. That bridge is way the hell up there.Bourne or the Sagamore Bridge, always mix them up. FYI: if you have a head cold and you just took a football sized antihistamine cocktail do not look up at an eighteen wheeler crossing the bridge as your boat squirrels around in the current.The wind freshened from the WSW to 25 knots so too wet to take photos of Plymouth, Duxbury, Scituate, Cohasset, the Graves lighthouse. From the Graves, aimed at the Salem powerplant stack then picked up the windmills of Gloucester.
Arrived 11:30 AM, 93 miles, four hour trip. Take home: This is an easy trip if you can pick your day. It’s all about the wind. Having VHF and a paid up SeaTow membership (the triple A of the water) helped too. The boat is faded blue. Rubber Duck is christening it “Blue Duck”.
“Blue Duck request opening Blynman Bridge.” Went out for a spin on Saturday up the Annisquam then over to Rockport and Straitsmouth Island. Flat calm tried out the 225HP Suzuki topped out at 30.9 knots, 35 mph. Dialed back to 22 knots, a nice cruising speed.
Photo of Navionics Track
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Rolling rally Saturday. Wake up on Sunday with a hangover. Day of rest. Now what do you do? By Monday there are 108 days left until pitchers and catchers report to spring training. What is it about that number? It happens to be the number of Red Sox wins in 2013. So.
NESN, please play in sequence each winning game at midnight (maybe even the shortened Sox in 2) each night for 108 days. Then the next day, winter is over and Salty is welcoming the pitchers into camp.
Works for Rubber Duck. Rubber Duck hates surprise endings. She loves watching the Sox when she knows they are going to win. Even those 21 walk offs. It will warm your heart in the midst of a cold and dark winter.
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Bobby Valentine is the only person who picked the Red Sox to go all the way and win the World Series. (He may have forgotten to write down that prediction.) Thanks Bobby, they couldn’t have done it without you. 🙂
THEYREVERSEDTHECALL!!! HELETTHEBALLDROP!!! OMG OMG OMG!!! Go Sox.
That Rubber Duck is too small. To get a gigantic Rubber Duck to our shores please “like” the Facebook Page, “Bring the Rubber Duck to Gloucester Harbor“. We need that page liked at least one hundred more times before we can submit a gigantic rubber duck request.
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Rolling rally Saturday. Wake up on Sunday with a hangover. Day of rest. Now what do you do? By Monday there are 108 days left until pitchers and catchers report to spring training. What is it about that number? It happens to be the number of Red Sox wins in 2013. So.
Good Morning Gloucester 