Beautiful day on Tuesday

Posted on by Donna Ardizzoni

Had to get outside to get some vitamin D and fresh air with of course social distancing.  The ocean seems to telling us everything will be ok.

Messages from Main Street

Posted on by Catherine

Signs of the times-

Main Street/downtown: Passports, Mark Adrian Shoes, ToodeLoos!, Design of Mine
Further out: Cape Ann Motor Inn

 

The Opening Day That Wasn’t

Posted on by Nichole S.

While this pales in comparison to all that is crashing down around us, it’s still a sad day nonetheless. Today would have marked the Red Sox Home Opener…against the Chicago White Sox. A day that, to me, has always marked the start of spring, longer and carefree days, and new beginnings. Some feel anew on New Year’s Day….for me, it has always been the beginning of baseball season. Funny, coming from someone who isn’t actually a huge baseball fan per se….but, more someone who LOVES all that baseball stands for.

My wish is that there will be a day soon when we all feel anew. Be it at a backyard BBQ, the beach, back at our jobs, in our classrooms, sharing a drink at our favorite restaurant…or at Fenway Park. These empty seats (some of my favorite Fenway photos from my seat fetish days…and some fav opening days pics) will be waiting for us….and the stands…and our hearts…will be full again. #oneteam #theopeningdaythatwasnt 

Dr. Charles A. Steinberg, President of the Pawtucket Red Sox, said something that gave me goosebumps earlier this month in a letter to fans

For now, we sit by our windows and wait for spring. We listen to our leaders, and we take each step to protect the health and safety of ourselves and our loved ones. When this fog clears and the sun shines once again, we seek to welcome you with open arms, as we sing, “Take Me Out to the Ballgame,” and most poignantly, “Take me out with the crowd.”

Here’s to dreams of happy, healthy, cheering crowds.

 

 

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Plum Cove Beach in Quarantine

Posted on by Pat D

We made a quick stop at Plum Cove Beach this week and found a curious “structure” made of branches and forsythia.  It was quite intriguing and beautiful. Clearly a fair amount of care and planning went into building it. It was a lovely surprise to see bright yellow blooms on the beach, so thank you to whomever left it for the rest of us to enjoy.

Mask ideas

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

If any Cape Ann boat yards, marinas and yacht yards have any masks and tyvex suits they would like to donate let us know and we will find a way to get them to hospitals.

Gerry Gallant wrote in with this idea

GLOUCESTER’S TREASURED CONSERVATIONIST JOE ORANGE PASSES

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Warden of Gloucester watersheds dies

By Michael Cronin

Staff Writer

Joe Orange, Gloucester’s long-time watershed constable, died on Tuesday at the age of 97.

Orange’s passion was preserving Gloucester’s water supply and woods. He made it his duty to clear out squatter camps erected around Babson and Goose Cove Reservoirs. In 2008, Orange told the Gloucester Daily Times he had evicted around 1,000 people from 60 camps at that point in his career. All the while, Orange made sure to keep an eye out for teenagers hosting illicit parties in the woods.

“The watershed is a huge area; you’d need about 50 people to control it,” he said at the time. “But we can control the shore of the water itself, and that is where we have to focus.”

From 1994 until this year, Orange would conduct nightly patrols around Dogtown. Usually, he would takes these walks all by himself.

READ MORE HERE

Gloucester resident Joe Orange wore his trademark shorts for this portrait by Jason Grow made for a series on the city’s World War II veterans. Orange died Tuesday; he was 97.

THANK YOU KRAFT FAMILY AND GOV BAKER! A Million N-95 Masks Are Coming From China—on Board the New England Patriots’ Plane

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

WSJ

The Massachusetts governor struck a deal for supplies but needed a way to transport them. The result was a tense saga and a shipment on the NFL team’s 767.

By

Andrew Beaton

At 3:38 a.m. Wednesday morning, the New England Patriots’ team plane departed from an unusual locale: Shenzhen, China. On board the Boeing 767, in the cargo hold that used to be home to Tom Brady’s duffel bags, were 1.2 million N95 masks bound for the U.S.

READ MORE HERE

CALL OUT FROM LOCAL MIDWIFE FOR N-95 MASKS

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Urgent text from friend Mandy Davis -We need N-95 masks. I will pick them up if they put them in a plastic bag in their mailbox or on their door knob or something. We desperately need them at the Brigham. Thank you!

Church Bells ringing in unison Easter Sunday at 10AM – please share

Posted on by Catherine

A lovely message and clarion request from Dierdre Savage, a Gloucester resident who grew up in New York City:

“Sitting in my too quiet home in Gloucester at 10AM last Sunday morning I was struck and comforted by the sound of church bells coming from up the street. Sure, there would be no usual gathering, but the bells rang. I felt an eerie sense of calm, as if it was a regular Sunday. 

Later the same morning, I live-streamed Mass being held in a small chapel at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in NYC. 

The endless sound of sirens coming from outside could not be missed. It was utterly heartbreaking.

Here’s a thought – lets get all the church bells in Gloucester – and beyond – ringing in unison on Easter Sunday morning. If you agree — please share this request far and wide.” – Dierdre Savage, Gloucester, Ma

 

Please consider asking your churches to participate. People across the country have already responded saying their churches are in on the idea — bells will ring across the country on Easter Sunday at 10AM!

 

  • various places of worship, Gloucester, MA — and City Hall bell tower 🙂 – click individual photos twice to enlarge to full size (or pinch-zoom)
  • Manny photographed the bells CLOSE UP at Our Lady here
  • Our Lady 1924 photo Fred Bodin here

 

NEW SHORT FILM: DO YOU REMEMBER CAPE ANN’S SNOWY OWL HEDWIG?

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Dear Friends and Snowy Owl Lovers,

Not last winter but the winter before, an exquisite Snowy Owl arrived on Cape Ann. I think it was sometime in December we first began seeing her perched on Bass Rocks. Many of us followed her escapades daily and we took lots of photos. I was also filming her. Like many Snowies, she was tolerant of people, but I think she was especially unperturbed by humans. I also filmed other Snowies that irruptive winter, a stunning nearly all white male nicknamed Diablo at Salisbury Beach, a pretty female at Plum Island, and a pair of males that were located at a beach just north of Logan Airport. And while filming one morning in the dunes at Crane Beach, two were having an epic battle. I was sitting super still and one of the combatants landed within several feet of where I was perched, startling us both!

About two months ago my computer crashed and I lost my film editing program and also became sick with what I thought was a cold. I had been mostly self-quarantining for a month prior to the mandated quarantine because I didn’t want any elderly friends to catch my cold. It turns out it is pneumonia. So between quarantining and learning my brand new film editing program I have made a series of short 3-5 minute films, mostly for the parents and kids in our neighborhood, and also for all our owl lovers. Hopefully, these shorts will help a bit to pass the time.

A Snowy Owl Comes to Cape Ann is part one in the first of five episodes. Next to come is Snowy Owl Hunting. Stay tuned 🙂

Please share with your neighbors and Moms and Dads home with the kids. I think you will love seeing the Snowy and how beautiful, too, Cape Ann looks in wintertime. And we’ll also learn some fun facts about Snowies!

Thank you for watching and please be well ❤

 

Good Harbor Beach

Posted on by Donna Ardizzoni

Keeping social distancing saw this surfer on Good Harbor Beach.  Everyone walking the beach were polite and kept there distance.  Love the surfers, perfect wave and then wipe out.

Pretty day