George Schlichte
THANKS TO A CANADIAN CHEMICAL ENGINEER, A VERMONT ACADEMIC AGRONOMIST, RISK-TAKING FARMERS, AND VISIONARY CLOTHING COMPANY FOR A FABULOUS NEW USE FOR MILKWEED
What’s old is new again!
Common Milkweed (Ascleipias syriaca) is the essential food plant for populations of the Northeastern and Atlantic coast Monarchs. During Colonial times, the silky floss found in the dried seed heads was used to stuff quilts and pillows. In the 1860s, in Salem Massachusetts, Common Milkweed silk was used as a mattress filling.
During WWII, Common Milkweed became the substitute for kapok, a soft cottony material from the kapok tree that was the preferred filling for life vests. Japan cut off the supply of kapok from Java, the main source of the material, and part of the wartime effort included children sent to fields to gather millions of pounds of Milkweed seed heads for the armed services.
“What is a weed? A plant whose virtues have not been discovered.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
An innovative Canadian clothing manufacturer, the Quartz Company and Altitude Sports, has created the first modern insulated jacket using milkweed silk. Hundreds of acres of Common Milkweed have been planted in Vermont and Quebec. Particularly noteworthy is that the fields of Milkweed are not harvested until after the Monarchs have left.
Milkweed Silk and Monarch Butterfly Chrysalis
WWII Common Milkweed photos courtesy Google image search.
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Nothing Like A Brisk Walk
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Another Fun Christmas Parade
What a great time on Sunday for the Gloucester Christmas Parade. Thank you to the committee for all your hard work.
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Magnolia Library Annual Tree Lighting
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Give the gift of a Life Bloom Massage!
I know it is something my body always appreciates. The facility is beautiful and peaceful and they treat you with great care always!
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#GivingTuesday Contest
Promoting Optimal Wellness for Mind, Body and Spirit
#Giving Tuesday Contest – Name your favorite Cape Ann Charitable Organization. (one mention per person person here or on FB.) The charity with the most mentions will receive a donation.
“When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.” ― Maya Angelou
Monthly Reiki Shares for Community Service – ‘By Donation’. Monthly Reiki Shares are held at the Manchester Community Center. 5:15 – 8:15 pm. 1st Tuesdays of the month.
Next Reiki Share – December 5th. Practitioners and non-practitioners enjoy the ‘comfort and calm’ a reiki session has to offer. *Come for the whole evening, or schedule a session in advance to guarantee your space.
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GHS football vs Danvers
The Fishermen play great game to end season defeating Danvers 40-28 !!!
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Twinkling Kent Circle
It was too chilly to stay out very long, but I just had to stop on the way home and grab a couple night shots of Kent Circle all dolled up for Christmas! 
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Lobster Cove
I’ve been fortunate that Paul Horovitz has shared several beautiful photos of his beloved Annisquam with me….and this is one of my favorites. It has been neat to see the village and the river through his eyes.
This is Lobster Cove at sunset taken this past weekend.
The colors are striking…and as I played with it a bit, it took on an eerie layered feeling
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Essex in the Afternoon
After the podcast, we took a ride to Essex and did a little antique hunting. Always on the lookout. It turned into a lovely day and it was the perfect activity to lead up to the Gloucester Christmas Tree lighting and parade.
I stumbled on to a nautical map of Gloucester and Rockport that I love! Who knows what I might do with it. It’s so interesting I can’t stop looking at it. I even brought it into lunch at the Blue Marlin so I could study it during the Pats game (I can admit that, right? I’m among friends, right?) Another great day on Cape Ann!
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Happy Birthday To Our Buddy Ed Collard!
Here’s an oldie I thought appropriate, pretty much sums up our Ed. Donating his time to make every thing around him better, even in shitty windy cold rainy conditions.
Our ed weathers the storms to brighten the darkest days!
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Stop by Backyard Growers’ Holiday Pop-up Shop!
Visit our holiday pop-up shop at our Main Street office and find all your gardening, gift-giving needs like kids watering cans, kitchen tools, Backyard Growers T-shirts, gardening books, and veggie socks! All proceeds benefit Backyard Growers programs. See below for a sneak peak at some of the items and our special events!
Open Monday-Friday
9 am – 5 pm
271 Main Street
Also join us for…
Ladies Night! Dec 7, 5-10 pm
Men’s Night! Dec 21, 5-10 pm
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Give the Gift of Cape Ann this Holiday Season!
This holiday season support local businesses and show your love for the Cape Ann Community! Cape Ann Gift Certificates are a great way give a gift with options – perfect for anyone on your list. They can be used at over 150 businesses on Cape Ann and can be purchased at the Chamber Office, both Shaws locations and at Tuck’s Candy & Gifts. CLICK HERE for the full list of participating businesses.
Another unique gift (and fun stocking stuffer!) is a Cape Ann License Plate. These plates can be ordered online and mailed right to the home of someone you love. See below for details. And remember… proceeds from the plates come back to the community – a great way to give back this holiday season!
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2018 GMG Gloucester Calendars Are Sold Out!
A couple of people have asked for more GMG Caps so I’m ordering a dozen more. The first batch sold out in 4 days. the Calendars sold out in a week. If you want one of the last dozen caps, order here- www.gmg.storenvy.com They’re in! Local order people can come pick them up at the dock tomorrow morning and people from out of town I’ll be shipping this week!
Unboxing the 2018 GMG #GloucesterMA Calendars!
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#GloucesterMA #commercialfishingfleet At the State Fish Pier #beautifulindustry
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#GIVINGTUESDAY MONARCH BUTTERFLY FILM
DONATE HERE for #GivingTuesday
#GivingTuesday is a global day of giving. Everyone, anywhere can participate! By supporting the documentary Beauty on the Wing, your fully tax deductible gift directly enables us to create a final cut, contributes to the music and map rights, to the cost of festival submissions, promotion, and publicity. It’s easy to make a donation, just click the link above, which will take you to the Filmmakers Collaborative, my film’s fiscal sponsor.
Why does a documentary need a fiscal sponsor? A fiscal sponsor, in this case, the Filmmakers Collaborative, is a non-profit entity that enables a documentary filmmaker to raise funds and operate through an exempt sponsor. The sponsor manages the project’s money and reports to funders and tax agencies. Most importantly, contributors to the film can see how their gifts are being utilized towards the creation of the film.
Your voice is powerful. If you are unable to give this Giving Tuesday, please help support Beauty on the Wing by spreading the word through a Facebook share or a retweet.
For more information, visit the film’s website here: Monarch Butterfly Film
For an overview of the film’s budget, please go here: Budget
Thank you!
With gratitude,
Kim
Heart-shaped Monarch Butterfly #UNselfie
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COMING DECEMBER 4TH AND 5TH “JANE” AT THE CABOT THEATRE!
“Drawing from over 100 hours of never-before-seen footage that has been tucked away in the National Geographic archives for over 50 years, award-winning director Brett Morgen (Cobain: Montage of Heck and The Kid Stays in the Picture) tells the story of Jane a woman whose chimpanzee research challenged the male-dominated scientific consensus of her time and revolutionized our understanding of the natural world. Set to a rich orchestral score from legendary composer Philip Glass, the film offers an unprecedented, intimate portrait of Jane Goodall – a trailblazer who defied the odds to become one of the world’s most admired conservationists.”
New York Times – Jane will delight those familiar with Ms. Goodall and provide a vibrant introduction for newcomers.”
Boston Globe – “The film confronts not just the expected issue of environmentalism but also explores themes of survival, separation, loss, and death.”
Los Angeles Times – “Meeting a chimpanzee’s gaze, the pioneering researcher says she encountered ‘a thinking, reasoning personality.’ With Jane we see what she saw.”
AV Club – “A scripted biopic may still happen someday, but Jane’s candid portrait of her Gombe years arguably makes such a project redundant.”
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Family Shot
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Magnolia Pier as the sunsets
My obsession with sunsets over Magnolia Pier.
Good Morning Gloucester 