My View of Life on the Dock
Yesterday, during a miraculous 30 minute session of sitting still at the beach, I fired off this short little post about Beach Pros and Cons….as I was contemplating which beach is “best” for my boys (ummm….and me).
https://goodmorninggloucester.wordpress.com/2014/07/22/does-size-really-matter/
So, today, I invite you to participate in this little summer poll
Please comment with additional answers if you’d like as it is impossible to adequately include all kinds of beach experiences!
Angry Brian writes-
it’s not always happy rainbows, sometimes they are sad and gray..
Joey,
My family & I are enjoying a gorgeous evening on Cape Ann Brewing’s deck enjoying Kate Barry Trio …
Regards,
Eric Schwartz
Click for video with Cape Ann Museum Director Ronda Faloon-
Cat Ryan writes-
RE-OPENING THE CAPE ANN MUSEUM with Director RONDA FALOON
Part 2 of 3: illuminating the world’s largest collection of America’s master luminist Fitz Henry Lane
In part 2 of touring the Cape Ann Museum, Director Ronda Faloon shares some of the NEW as we follow along with her. GET READY TO SEE THINGS YOU’VE NEVER SEEN BEFORE.
The Cape Ann Museum’s focus on art and artists is everywhere.
The dramatically redesigned welcome area and exhibition galleries enhance access and connections. There are new windows bringing the outside in. New amenities (welcome desk! coat room! lockers! bathroom!) on the ground floor orient and encourage us to get ready to take a breath, stop and look.
Hundreds of legacy pottery shards with transferred text from the museum’s archives are tucked along four new walls in Diane KW’s new installation, At World’s End- The Story of a Shipwreck.
When the Cape Ann Museum re-opens in August, the world’s largest repository of Gloucester’s very own Fitz Henry Lane collection will be 10x brighter thanks to new installation and lighting design. There’s more to Lane still to be revealed. Thanks to higher resolution images and powerful new media, the museum is producing a state of the art catalogue raissone and research tool, The Complete Works of Fitz Henry Lane, that will glow with close ups, archives, artifacts and stories. Nothing though can take the place of standing close and viewing these beauties in person. As Joey insists, “You have to come see these!”
It’s a GMG mission to make sure everyone understands how amazing this museum is and how fortunate it’s here in Gloucester.
SAVE THE DATES
August 16 – Cape Ann Museum Reopening Gala
August 19- Museum reopens to the public
August 21 – Members’ Reception
Cape Ann Museum website: www.capeannmuseum.org
More on Diane Chen http://www.dianekw.com/ and here Cape Ann Ceramics Festival’s 2nd ambitious promotion of the medium is coming up August 7 –September 1 www.capeannceramicsfestival.org
Snapshots from a sunset picnic dinner at Lighthouse Beach
HOLY CANNOLI and WOW–look how fantastically the Pathway’s Staff is taking care of their brand new one-month old butterfly garden–every plant looks well-loved!!!
Spring 2014 Before Photo
Same View After Photo ~Â Â July 18, 2014
Toads Welcome!
My sincerest thanks to Caroline Haines for her vision to create a butterfly garden for the children at Pathways.Â
Thank you to the many donors who have made the butterfly gardens at Pathways possible.Â
Thank you to the Manchester Garden Club for their tremendous assisitance in planting the garden.
Thank you to the volunteers from Liberty Mutual for tearing out the old plantings.
And special thanks to Bernie Romanowski, Pathways for Children facilities director, for all his hard work and his extraordinary care and attention to detail, from the project’s inception through its continued maintenance. 
Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) ~ Notice the pretty moth nectaring from the milkweed in the upper right. The gardens are alive with pollinators of every species imaginable, including butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, songbirds, moths, and sundry insects!
 Bernie Romanowski
Manchester Garden Club
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Antennae for Design ~
The architectural details of the trellis and picnic table were designed to be a coordinated focal point in the garden and planned to be stained a classic seaside blue. Why would we want to paint or stain the trellis and not simply allow it to gain a weathered patina? From an aesthetic point of view, the wood used for both the picnic table and trellis are two different types and will age very differently from each other. If this were a very large garden, it wouldn’t matter so much, but in a cozy garden room such as this, the difference will become quite noticeable and unappealing over time. Additionally, the blue will offset the flowers and foliage handsomely and is a cheery choice with children in mind.
From a very practical standpoint, untreated wood will quickly degrade in our salty sea air and neither piece will last more than ten years without protection. An opaque stain is the best solution because as the trellis and picnic table age, the obvious differences in wood will be disguised. An opaque stain also requires the least amount of effort to maintain over time.
The above is a photo of untreated trellis, allowed to weather, and was installed approximately ten years ago.
Just in case you’re one of those people who thinks blues is a bunch of old folks singing sad songs, you’ve got to check out young rising star, Victor Wainwright, who will have you dancin’ on the grass at Stage Fort Park on August 9.  Just 2 weeks left to save $12 on your Gloucester Blues Festival Tickets (get them here).
My daughter Liv is home visiting for a few days. What does she request for her birthday dinner?
Why Captain Joe and Sons fresh caught local straight-off-the-boat melt-in-your-mouth fabulously sweet lobsters, of course!
From Cape Ann TV’s Lisa Smith:
On the Waterfront is a brand new, original production from Cape Ann TV. The show takes an in-depth look at the Cape Ann ecosystem, highlighting the people and businesses that rely on the ocean for survival. The premiere episode features the lifecycle of the clam. Shep Means, a clammer from Essex and Gloucester hosts the show. Join Shep as he goes digging on the clam flats and the beach, stops by Essex Shellfish to weigh them up, then visits Intershell to see them shucked and packaged, and finally to Woodman’s to fry them and eat them.
Air times on TV are:
Tuesday, July 22 at 7:30 pm
Wednesday, July 23 at 9:00 am and 8:00 pm
Friday., July 25 at 11:30 am and 8:30 pm
Saturday, July 26 at 9:00 pm
Sunday, July 27 at 9:30 am and 11:00 pm
Thanks so much to Joe and Meg for Tom’s reading at Toad Hall Bookstore!
Lisa Smith kindly writes that Cape Ann TV will be airing Tom’s reading during the week of July 28th. The following are the times and dates. Thanks so much Lisa and Steven!
Tues, July 29 at 9 pm
Thurs., July 31 at 9 am
Fri, Aug. 1 at 8 pm
Sat., Aug. 2 at 9 am and 9:30 pm
Sun., Aug 3 at 11 pm
Cape Ann TV’s Steven Essery
Following her trend of interviewing local and national rock stars, Aurelia Nelson is hosting Chelsea Berry on her “Curtain Up” show tomorrow (Sunday) at 9am on North Shore 104.9FM.
Chelsea is back from a her national tour and will be performing Friday (7/25) at Cape Ann Marina’s Waterfront Pavilion (the BIGÂ tent). Â There are still seats available and you can get tickets here.
We know we live in a very special music community when someone who made her name in Gloucester comes back from a national tour and remembers where she got her start by appearing on local radio and performing in local venues.
Aren’t you glad you live here?
Just in case you don’t know who Chelsea Berry is, check out this video of her at Shalin Liu:
Groove Therapy ( Mark Pelosi, Jeff Arnold, Brian O’Connor, Vinny Briguglio and Leo Francis) opened the evening. Many high energy songs. Lots of hoola hooping and dancing going on. Mari Martin and The Lucky Boys (Mari Martin, Vinny Briguglio, Mark Retallack Bob Enik Roger Brockelbank closed out the evening. Jazz, rock and roll filled the air for hours. It was a perfect night for a concert and so much fun!
BREAKING NEWS: We just announced the Celebrate Gloucester Benefit Concert Series — three great concerts for three great causes, beginning with Rock n Roll Hall Of Fame Inductee John Sebastian on August 15th, the 45th anniversary of his performance at Woodstock.  Get tickets here.
Continue reading “Big Block Party Birthday Bash — Be There @ 6pm Tonight (SAT)”
Getting ready for next Friday night
A one-night-only summer homecoming concert in Gloucester, Massachusetts
Chelsea Berry
Waterfront Pavilion
Next to Mile Marker One
75 Essex Ave.
July 25th
In the big event tent on the water
Renee & Joe will be opening
There will be a solo act by Chelsea and also Chelsea and a full band with Renee Dupuis, Joe Cardoza, Brendan Burns and Dennis Monagle.
This line up is great and you know it’s going to be a most excellent time!
You can get your tickets here before the show > http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/709321
On August 16th at the Berkshire Museum they’ll be showing a double header of sorts. Earlier in the afternoon at 2:00pm is a presentation of my program on how to attract butterflies and pollinators to your garden, titled “The Pollinator Garden,” followed by a showing of my film Life Story of the Black Swallowtail Butterfly, followed by a Q & A. The event is part of the “Butterflies” exhibit currently on display at the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield. I hope you can come join me!
In the above photo, the orange horn-like structure at the top of the caterpillar’s head is called an osmeterium. When the caterpillar is distressed, it everts the osmeterium. The osmeterium is thought to be a mimic of a snake’s tongue and is a defense against would-be predators such as birds. Additionally, a horrible smelly odor is released from the osmeterium, which can be smelled from a distance of up to ten feet away, and is yet another defense mechanism!
 Butterflies at the Berkshire
Museum Map to Berkshire Museum Provided by GMG FOB Catherine Ryan
Exciting New Film Assignment for the Berkshire Museum 
Good Morning Gloucester 