Good Morning Gloucester

Brief details on how establishments and services will be allowed to operate in Phase 2 in Massachusetts starting tomorrow Monday June 8.  Further details available in this Boston Globe article

Retail stores can open for browsing! (with restrictions in place)

Restaurants can open with outdoor dining! (with restrictions in place)

Organized sport can resume! (with restrictions in place)

Car dealerships, funeral homes, child care, health care, lodgings and home improvements can resume their work (and you know what I’m going to say here, right?….with restrictions in place)

Everyone will take the steps back to normal to their individual comfort levels…..hoping to see you all soon. Full details here from Mass.gov.

I’m not embarrassed to admit I am somewhat addicted to eagles so I actively seek them out. It’s hard not to love those majestic birds and often I am asked where and how do I find them.  I am sharing the secret with you here today.  A great place to go for watching birds is Mystic Lake State Park in Medford. From Gloucester it’s about a 50 minute ride. Yes, I realize that’s off-island but if you want to see eagles, most of the time you have to go to them…..they aren’t coming to you…….

It’s a lovely area at the lower part of the lake near the dam and there’s plenty of free parking.  Although it seems to be popular for fishing, boating and other water activities it’s been very manageable in terms of crowds so I highly recommend a trip if you want to bird watch, especially for eagles. The eagles have nested lakeside so you are almost guaranteed a sighting. We have also seen swans, blue herons, ospreys, black crowned herons. Here’s a sample of what we have seen recently:

And the harbor

Thanks to Cape Ann Whale Watch for the charter trip aboard the Lady D with Captain Nick and Laura today under threatening skies and choppy seas to seek whales. We had a hugely successful (although a bit wet) trip and felt completely safe with the crew taking appropriate precautions to protect all of us against the virus.  Our masked family group of only 5 (the limit) enjoyed every minute.  The weather wasn’t perfect and the captain was careful to temper our expectations and make sure we were comfortable aboard choppy waters. He was even wonderful enough to turn back to the dock when one of us forgot their camera………good thing he went back, or there wouldn’t be this post today! (thanks Capt Jim for the hand there)

We enjoyed 2 separate sightings with a pair of whales in one area and 3 playful whales in the other area. There was even a full breach!!!! None of us was quick enough to get it on camera, but we got to see that as well as another “nose” breach.  It was a private 4 hour trip which cost a bit more than 4 tickets for the Hurricane II, BUT the experience of being close to the water made it an entirely different trip and totally worthwhile……PLUS we got 5 tickets for a future whale watch. So I feel it was worth the extra cost for the experience we had. I will be booking another. 

As you can see here, the skies were a bit grey so some of these photos almost appear to be black and white, but I hope they tell the story of a great day of sighting whales.

2010:

GloucesterCast With Gloucester Daily Times Editor Ray Lamont and Host Joey Ciaramitaro Taped 4/23/14

Topics Include: Gloucester MA, 01930, Gloucester Daily Times Going To A Subscription Based Model For Online Access, What You Get From Local Newspapers That you Don’t Get Anywhere Else, Why A Subscription Based Model For Content Is Necessary

Subscribe to The Gloucester Daily Times- http://www.gloucestertimes.com/subscriptions

The GloucesterCast Has Been Been Invited To Be A Station On Stitcher Radio On Demand To Listen To Past GloucesterCasts Click The Stitcher Link! 

Check It!!!

Subscribe to The GloucesterCast Podcast by Email Free

Photo from Diane Britton