Author: Bridgette Mathews

Stealing a few quiet, early morning, moments.   Just me and the mosquitos lol! 

Summer may be over but walks on the beach are so much more enjoyable on our quiet beaches!

In remembrance of 9/11.  16 years ago but the fears and feelings of that day are still very raw. 

If you get a chance to go to NYC you must to go to the 9/11 Memorial and take a moment to absorb the enormity and reality of how our country and the lives of thousands changed in just one morning.

For anyone needing a mood lift, make a little trip over to Colby Farm in Newbury and check out their beautiful sunflower field which has just started to bloom! As always show Colby Farm some love by putting a few bucks in the donation box or visiting the farm stand next door…and be respectful so everyone can enjoy!! (no picking the flowers!). Here are some of my past favorite pics. Enjoy!

Just a couple night views from our trip to St. Louis.  Downtown St. Louis has some great green spaces with fountains, sculptures and gardens!

It was an absolutely perfect day for the Parade of Sail yesterday after it’s delay from Sunday!  Here are a handful from my 800+ shots.  Enjoy!

The Schooner Roseway has arrived for this weekend’s Schooner Festival and is hanging out in the harbor.   Hoping the weather cooperates this weekend so we can have a great Parade of Sails.   Check out the Gloucester Schooner Festival site for up to date schedules and a list of participating schooners!

The American Constellation out of Connecticut is gracing our harbor this morning as it makes its way up the coast to Maine.

After our visit to Kansas City and Kaufman Stadium we took the 3 1/2 hour drive over to St. Louis to check ballpark #13 off our list.   Our hotel right across the street had a great view of the Stadium so Neil got to watch the Friday night game against Tampa from the comfort of our room!   Busch Stadium is a great stadium right in downtown St. Louis with great views and great vibe.   I’d put it on the top of the list of the fields we visited so far (behind Fenway, Camden Yards and Wrigley..so far!).   The specialty food of this park is “Dinger Donuts” which are 50 donuts in a plastic hat with choice of vanilla or chocolate glaze.   Yum!   We have had a busy, but super memorable few days….next up we are tossing around a Tampa, Miami and Georgia road trip!

We are enjoying a beautiful few days in Kansas City and especially some Baseball in our annual field tour!  We are hitting our 12th ballpark here at Kaufman Field.

One thing we try to do each year while we enjoy the game and tour the fields is fund what delicacy each park is infamous for.   Kaufman Field boasts the “pulled pork patty melt” which is a funnel cake, with pulled pork, cheddar and Monterey cheese, jalapeño, onion straws and coleslaw sprinkled with powdered sugar.   Sounds unappetizing but surprisingly it was pretty good!  The second item was a sunrise dog which was a hot dog with sausage gravy, bacon, cheese and fried egg on top.  That one was not so appetizing lol!

Good Harbor is enjoyed from morning until late in the evening during these last few weeks of summer!

I think it was more fun to watch everyone in Facebook land watching the eclipse then the eclipse itself!  It was so awesome to see everyone united in just having some fun!   Thanks to everyone who shared their pics with me!

Hazel Orlando’s first eclipse, Kentucky

Even the pups need lids!

Wendy Murrin

Stephanie Deltorchio

Tammy Frontiero – Seattle WA

Noble Clan

Zak Noble

Dee and Laine Noble

Val Duntz – Nebraska

Sista Felicia

Janelle McCarthy

Sefatia and gals

Frontiero’s in Seattle WA

Sean Nolan

Chamber of Commerce

Paul Needham – So. Carolina

Photo from Alma Smith

photo from Paul Morrissey

Photo from Paul Morrissey

Photo from Brittany Orlando – Galveston, TX

Photo from Ravae Maesk – Nebraska

Photo from Kristen Coughlin

AND…in case you didn’t get the award winning shots of the eclipse..I share with you these stunners from NASA and Andrew Studer

The American Red Cross is hanging out behind The Sawyer Free Library until 2 today and is accepting walk ins for blood donations. Blood Donors get a $20 gift card to Jalapenos while they last so swing down and give a pint!

There’s always something yummy to find at Willow Rest!  We might have to have some fresh strawberry shortcake tonight…just sayin’!

We were honored to spend last night celebrating Roy Spittles 90th Birthday.  Roy is a man with many stories to tell and my husband and he shared memories of their days at Gloucester High School when Roy was the Electrical theory teacher in the Vocational school and Neil was his student for 4 years.   He helped educate numerous Electrical contractors who are in business today.   You can tell by talking to all his family and friends how beloved he is as a true patriarch and mentor.  Mayor Sefatia Romeo Thekin presented him with a proclamation from the City.   Happiest of Birthdays Roy!

I drive by these gorgeous flowers every morning or, as most mornings go, I sit “stuck at the bridge” staring at them.   This time of year I get a little panicky about looking and appreciating all the gardens knowing that in just a few short months it will be stick season again!!  So as the weekend approaches, and as the saying goes…make sure you stop and smell the roses!

This morning I got to shoot with my good friend Helen for the last time (for a while anyway) as she is heading out to Chicago to start a new life with her grandkids and it could not have been a more perfect send off.   The skies that had started out a little bald, filled in with some beautifully reflective clouds and then the biggest sun just loomed up from the horizon behind the lights.   Helen has been my shooting partner over the years and I will miss her dearly and although you don’t know her you might miss her too as she’s the one who drags my butt out at 4 am in the morning…so you might not see another sunrise photo from me for a while lol!!  Here’s wishing you many great things ahead Helen!! 

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