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That the Garter (also known as Garden) snake is the most common of all snakes and was designated as the official reptile of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 2007.   The garter snake got its name from the garters that men used to wear to hold up their socks, and the fact that it has a garterlike pattern running the length of its body.  Garter snakes are harmless, and even if you corner one and he bites you, he can’t do you any harm.  This one startled me when I almost stepped on him while on a walk this morning. 

E.J. Lefavour

Through the Trees at Good Harbor 11/07/2011

Tune into Cape Ann Television Channel 12 for election results and commentary
live from City Hall on Tuesday, November 8 at 8 p.m.

Don Maier writes-

Joey:
I hope you can put this in GMG to help us publicize our benefit dinner at Jalapenos this Wednesday:
The North Shore Health Project, which has been helping local residents with HIV/AIDS and Hepatitis C for 22 years, is having a benefit dinner at Jalapenos this Wednesday, 11/9. 10% of the food bill for either dining in or taking out will be kindly donated to the Health Project by Jalapenos. We hope you can join us for an evening of great food to benefit an important Gloucester organization.
I’m also attaching a flyer for the event.
While I have your attention, I’d also like to mention that the Health Project just received a $44,000 grant from Vertex Pharmaceuticals to continue and expand our work with Hepatitis C. This is money that will directly impact our community as it helps us improve the lives of our community residents by providing them with nursing, nutritional and peer support, counseling, holistic treatments, and housing assistance.
Thanks for all you do for the community!
Don Maier
Board Member

That Vaseline Glass, a/k/a Uranium Glass is glass which has had uranium, usually in oxide diuranate form, added to a glass mix prior to melting?  The proportion usually varies from trace levels to about 2% by weight uranium, although some 19th-century pieces were made with up to 25% uranium.

Uranium glass was once made into tableware and household items, but fell out of widespread use when the availability of uranium to most industries was sharply curtailed during the Cold War. Most such objects are now considered antiques or retro-era collectibles, although there has been a minor revival in art glassware. Otherwise, modern uranium glass is now mainly limited to small objects like beads or marbles as scientific or decorative novelties.

The normal color of uranium glass ranges from yellow to green depending on the oxidation state and concentration of the metal ions, although this may be altered by the addition of other elements as glass colorants. Uranium glass also fluoresces bright green under ultraviolet light and can register above background radiation on a sufficiently sensitive geiger counter, although most pieces of uranium glass are considered to be harmless and only negligibly radioactive.

The most typical color of uranium glass is pale yellowish-green, which in the 1920s led to the nickname vaseline glass based on a perceived resemblance to the appearance of petroleum jelly as formulated and commercially sold at that time. Specialized collectors still define vaseline glass as transparent or semitransparent uranium glass in this specific color.

Vaseline glass is now frequently used as a synonym for any uranium glass, especially in the United States, but this usage is not universal. The term is sometimes carelessly applied to other types of glass based on certain aspects of their superficial appearance in normal light, regardless of actual uranium content which requires a blacklight test to verify the characteristic green fluorescence. (Wikipedia)

R. Duck has a nice collection of vaseline glass, and of course Paul has a geiger counter and an ultraviolet light to register the uranium content of each piece. 

E.J. Lefavour

The “Mug Ups” are just getting Started, 

Down at The State Fish Pier!

Hmmm.

All clear on this side.

OK, let’s go for it! Uh Oh, that guy has a camera.

BOTH OF US, ALONE

I thought I was alone, having wandered for about an hour

before the man and his dog slowly, but surprisingly,

came out from behind the large boulders at the eastern end

of the beach that looks over the Annisquam and that in summer

provides a good post for parents watching  their children .

 

As the dog loped off along the path in the dunes that leads

to the parking  lot, the man and I became the sole occupants

of this lovely, but in the cool autumn air, lonely place.

He didn’t notice me, or, in any event, acknowledge me.

I took his photograph as if to prove  I wasn’t alone.

http://www.goodmorninggloucester.com