Author: Bridgette Mathews

One of my favorite places for night photography is Boston.   These shots are from the Christian Science Plaza with the reflecting pool in front.   There are lots of people walking through the scene but they become invisible with a long exposure.   Boston is a great place to explore on a warm summer’s night! 

Yesterday cousin Wendy and I got up at 3:30 am to drive out to Quabbin Reservoir in Belchertown, MA out near Amherst.   With our camera’s in hand we were blessed with the company of this Loon family who were happy just to hang out, fish and be adorable!  I’ve never seen a Loon this close and never realized how large they were.  This particular family had 2 babies who were 4-5 weeks old and starting to learn how to fish for themselves. (FYI these were taken with a 600 mm lens so that we could stay a respectable distance from the family.  Enjoy nature, but be respectful!)  Have a Sunday Funday!

 

Willow Rest is back on the grid today!  Show them some love, swing by over the next week and grab some yumminess!

The folks at Willow Rest are shooting for a Saturday re-opening…I’ll keep you posted! 😀

I’ve alway said that the best part about photography is what I learn about what I’m shooting and the people I meet along the way.   Last night I was out, so I thought I would try to catch the moon since I missed the actual full moon the night before.   I headed over to GHB and grabbed my gear out of the car, but there is just something about a camera with a big lens that makes people want to sidle up to you and chat.   Little do they realize that I had about a 10 minute window to get what I was after, and alas I did not get the shot I was going for, but I did however chat with a family whose young son told me that this was a “Full Buck Moon” which represents the time of the year when the male deer start to grow antlers (hmmm….didn’t know that!).   Then I ran into my niece (or she ran into me while she was out running and she then proceeded to photobomb my moon pic (which she thought she ruined, but I thought it will be a fun memory of “that summer night when…”) and finally I met Ed Comer who runs the Blue Shutters Inn across the street and was out admiring the moon with his guests the rest of us!   So no…I didn’t get a NatGeo quality photo, but I still had a GOOD night of photography!!

Pier + water + great light = lovely abstract!  Happy Hump Day!

I first saw this display at the White-Ellery House in Gloucester last month and most recently saw it again at Walker-Creek in Essex.   This is collaborative installation called “CURRENT” created by Tim Ferguson Sauder, a design professor at Olin College and resident of Lanesville and Rob Alexander, a creative director of Office a firm based in San Francisco.   It’s a sculpture created to explore issues related to Cape Ann’s Fishing industry.   

Insights On Site has sponsored this display at the White-Ellery House (1710), owned and operated by the Cape Ann Museum, which has served as the backdrop for a series of one-day contemporary art installations since 2010. The House is located at 245 Washington Street in Gloucester and is free and open to the public on select Saturdays from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. each month from May through October as part of Escapes North 17th Century Saturdays.

Next series of art-installations at the White-Ellery house include:

August 13
Kathleen Williams
In the Heart of Place: Image and Expression
Combining photography with the written word, Williams invites visitors to consider their sense of place, as well as their emotional connections to it. Kathleen resides in Magnolia.

September 3
Bobbi Gibb
26.2 Expressions
A selection of paintings, sculpture, murals and mixed media works by Gibb, the first woman to run and complete the Boston Marathon in 1966; the installation coincides with the 50th anniversary of her historic run. Bobbi is a Rockport resident.

October 1
Leslie Lyman and Karen Battles
Here – Long Ago
A collaborative mixed media installation intended to spark visitors’ imaginations about the stories held within objects and dwellings. Leslie creates art at her home in Beverly Farms; Karen is a graphic designer living in Newburyport.

About the White-Ellery House

The White-Ellery House, located at 245 Washington Street in Gloucester at the Route 128 Grant Circle Rotary, was built in 1710 and is one of just a handful of First Period houses in Eastern Massachusetts that survives to this day. Unlike other structures of this period, the largely unfurnished house has had very few interior alterations over the years. Stepping inside today, visitors enter much the same house they would have 300 years ago. Parking is available off Poplar Street in the field behind the house.

FOB Emily Matthews wrote in to let us know that Willow Rest’s refrigeration unit went kaput Friday and It was super awesome that Melissa (the owner) was able to donate everything to the “Open Door” in time.  Dave Tucker said they had trouble getting in touch with Open Door because it was after hours but he drove down to see if there was a number that he could call to receive this food before it spoiled he passed a lady walking down by the boat ramp and tennis courts and stopped and asked her if she worked at the open door and she said yes so she waited an hour or so till he came back with all the goods from the walk in at Willow rest. So a Big Thanks to that nice lady who stayed and waited for him to get back on a Friday night! Dave said that they hope to get the new compressor on Monday or Tuesday maybe a day to prep to reopen for Wednesday or Thursday.

In Emily’s words…”They will need, and so totally deserve, our very best help and devoted patronage once they’re back up and running. Hight of their season; huge expense hit; and all those hard working folks outta work for a critical period of time”.

I can’t imagine how hard of a hit it is to have to replace it all and start up again as well as fix the unit!  So….if you haven’t been by to try their awesome breakfast sandwiches, focaccia’s (my fav is the sausage and apple!), grabbed some fresh produce for the day or you need an event catered… make it a point to stop down after they reopen and give them some love to get them back up to speed!  ❤

I always try to shop local whenever I can and last week I stopped by to see Georgeanne at Sea Meadow Gifts to poke around and see what’s new!  She always has great garden gifts, jewelry, kids toys and some amazing smelling soaps/bath items.  Follow them on Instagram @seameadowgiftsandgardens.

When I was down at the Little River Little Free Library opening the other day I couldn’t help take some shots of the river view.   What a perfect spot to sit and read for a bit!

Spending a few days “off the island” this week,  heading way up in Maine to the eastern most point of Lubec.  We made an overnight pitstop to Pemaquid Point Lighthouse (1827) in Bristol, Maine.   It’s the most photographed lighthouse in Maine mostly because of its exposed bedrock that descends from the lighthouse to the ocean creating a unique, scenic landscape. The geological history of these formations dates back hundreds of millions of years!   Enjoy!

I’ve always loved this wagon and how it invites you to look beyond it into the Essex Marsh!

After a weekend of rain and clouds, the sun made a very brief appearance sunday through all the billows of clouds. It was a quick glow!

Little River has a new Little Free Library at the Stubby Knowles Landing.   Jen Holmgren, her husband Terry and daughter Lizzie hosted the grand opening of the Little River Little Free Library yesterday. This has been a project Jen started this spring in honor and memory of her mother who was an active Librarian her whole life and who shared her love for children and literacy within her community of Fairhaven, MA and with her own children as they grew. Lucky for us that Jen has inherited that same enthusiasm and is sharing it with our local community!

The LittleFreeLibrary.org is a unique personal community exchange of books where you can “Take a book – Return a Book”. You don’t have to return the book you took, you are just asked to bring back a book to replace the one you took.  On their website there is an awesome world map where you can find one of 36000 LittleFreeLibraries worldwide!  The mission of each Little Free Library is to promote literacy and the love of reading by building free book exchanges worldwide and to build a sense of community as we share skills, creativity and wisdom across generations.” The Little River Little Free Library should be on the LFL Map pretty soon!

Jen started her journey with permission from the Gloucester Waterways Board and with the encouragement of our Ward 5 Councilor, Sean Nolan. From there she enlisted the help from the Gloucester High School Carpentry students and Dana Griffin, who built the structure. Materials were generously donated by The Building Center in downtown Gloucester. This LFL’s design was taken directly from the Little Free Library website. (If you are interested in building your own, you can find the plans here.)

Jen gives the BIGGEST THANKS to the Awesome Gloucester trustees for their generosity in awarding the Little River LFL with an Awesome Gloucester micro-grant. The grant will be put toward maintaining the landscape at the landing, keeping the LFL stocked with books from the Second Glance Thrift Store (benefiting the Open Door Food Pantry), and to help 6 other Gloucester Little Free Libraries with the registration fee and a special stamp.  Three entities have expressed interest in opening up their own LFL’s in town. If you are interested, please contact Jen at littleriversteward@gmail.com.

Last nights view and sunset from Dun Fudgin boat ramp was a beauty!

I’ve owned kayaks for a few years now and it honestly never occurred to me to put my contact information on them until the article in the GDT yesterday.    They hang in my garage, I take them out to use them and I hang them back up.   After reading the article about two kayaks found unexplainably adrift in Salem with no identifying information and how it cost the Coast Guard and tax payers over $14,000 to search for any person who may, or may not, have been in the kayaks, I think I will get my $1.99 sharpie out and write my name and phone number on ours!

 

Heading home from work and just had to stop and grab some pics of the cool fog on the Blvd.   The SUP’ers just added to the beauty!

I think I got everything I possibly could out of this weekend!  Beach, Dinner dates, Parade, Fireworks, Cookouts and my favorite relaxing thing to do…Kayaking.   It was an awesome day yesterday and the seas were calmer than they were the last couple so we put in at The Mills and headed up to Lobster Cove.   Such a peaceful paddle.   After supper we put in again at Pavilion and ventured over to 10 Pd Island for some solitude and different views.   Now to recover at work!  Have a great week!

Peaceful Mill River and Lobster Cove.   Lots of Egrets just enjoying the marsh.

Views from 10 Pound Island below