ONLY ONE CHICK SEEN THIS MORNING (*EDITED RE DOGS ON THE BEACH)

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Our one remaining Piping Plover chick spent the early morning in the vegetation at the edge of the dune.

Perhaps we lost the third chick to the tremendous deluge late yesterday that happened not once, but twice. Or perhaps to the crows. When I arrived at the sanctuary this morning there was a tremendous kerfuffle underway between two crows and both adults. As the crows were departing, after being vigorously chased away by the PiPl parents, I couldn’t see clearly whether or not they were carrying off a chick. Or perhaps, none of the above. There was an unleashed puppy on the beach, but after speaking with the woman, she and her dog departed. The PiPl were up by the sanctuary at that time so I am sure it wasn’t because of the puppy. I hope with all my heart we can don’t loose the one remaining chick.

*Comment added from my Facebook friend Susanne: Thank you to all for your kindness re the baby plovers. Yesterday after the downpour, I went to Good Harbor. No life guards and it was relatively quiet. There were three groups of people with dogs and two dogs were unleashed, One unleashed dog was near the piping plovers and too far from me to catch easily. I talked to two of the other dog owners. One said they didn’t know the rules and thanked me. The other said her dog is very old and this may be the last time she ever gets to walk on a beach. I love dogs and hope people have a lovely time on our beautiful beaches. I also wish they cared more about following our beach rules, which are common sense and about caring for others

The adults and chick were acting oddly this morning, not wanting to venture too far from the symbolically roped off area. Papa Plover spent a great deal of time perched on the party rock and surveying the family’s territory (not usual behavior), and got into several times with the Interloper.

Thank you so much to all our volunteers who are trying their best to help keep these beautiful protected birds safe.

Today’s Good Harbor Beach sunrise

WARNING! NO SWIMMING IN THE CREEK AT GOOD HARBOR BEACH

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

SWIMMING IN THE GOOD HARBOR BEACH CREEK MAY CAUSE ILLNESS FROM ELEVATED BACTERIA LEVELS

Cafe Brew & Spirits 3 Main Street opening in former Caffe Dolce space

Posted on by Catherine

From Caffe to Cafe

Cafe Brew & Spirits “Opening Soon” and “New Owner” signs have been displayed (for a while) at the former Caffe Dolce space on the corner of Main and Washington Streets, across from Tonno.

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Laura Harrington’s new novel A Catalog of Birds to be released in 2 days |Gloucester book launches at The Bookstore and goodlinens

Posted on by Catherine

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Laura Harrington’s New Novel, A Catalog of Birds, will be released on July 11 by Europa Editions.  Two back to back special book launches in Gloucester:

book launch Thursday July 13th @ 7PM The Bookstore of Gloucester – 61 Main Street

“Harrington’s ‘Alice Bliss’ was a big hit, and you won’t want to miss out on this one either!”

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book launch Friday July 14th @ 7PM  at goodlinens / studio 133 Main Street UPDATE goodlinens RSVP at capacity

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Laura Harrington Book Tour Dates for A Catalog of Birds

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Laura Harrington is an award-winning playwright, lyricist, librettist and author.  She teaches at MIT and lives in Gloucester, MA.  And she sings! Alice Bliss, her first novel, grew out of Harrington’s one-woman musical Alice Unwrapped, which ran off-Broadway in New York and in the Minneapolis Fringe Festival in 2009. Her novel Alice Bliss (Viking/Penguin) won the 2012 Massachusetts Book Award in Fiction.  Playwrights Horizons has commissioned her to create Alice Bliss the musical which is in production 2017. 

Read the great press release issued by MIT

The theatrical event of the season — an amazing one-man show about Vincent Van Gogh — is fast approaching.

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

The theatrical event of the season — an amazing one-man show about Vincent Van Gogh — is fast approaching.

The first time Doug Brendel did this show, the entire run sold out.

The last show he was in, the entire run sold out.

PEOPLE ARE STILL CRYING because THEY WAITED TOO LONG to try to get tickets.

Go to Outsidah.com RIGHT NOW and get your tickets for this incredible theatre experience.

You’ll meet the crazy genius Van Gogh, who started out as a preacher — fell in love with a hooker — cut off his own ear — and ended up shooting himself.

You’ll see one actor play Van Gogh, Van Gogh’s brother, father, girlfriend, uncle, doctor, and more.

And along the way, on a huge screen behind the action, you’ll see Van Gogh’s phenomenal masterpieces — whatever he was painting at that point in the story.

People are KNOCKED OUT by this fantastic play (written and originally performed by Leonard Nimoy, of “Spock” fame).

Vincent, a funny, heartbreaking, fast-paced two-act play performed by just one actor, opens July 13. It runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday at 4 p.m.

Questions? Contact director Kristina Brendel via KristinaBrendel9@gmail.com or 978 238 8848.

Where: Community House, 284 Bay Rd., Hamilton, MA.

Tickets are only $15 but THEY WILL GO. Get them online at Outsidah.com. Do not delay!

Vincent-Doug

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OUR LITTLE PIPING PLOVER CHICK PASSED AWAY LAST NIGHT

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Avery from the Tufts Wildlife Clinic at the Cummings Veterinary Medical Center phoned this morning to let us know that our Piping Plover chick passed away in the night. Although he was showing some positive signs yesterday, after a traumatic brain injury such as his, bleeding on the brain and other complications can occur. Know that he was well cared for by the incredible team at Tufts and that they did their very utmost best to save him.

I spoke with Avery about what would have happened had he survived. Little chick would have been re-habituated with other Piping Plovers. As Piping Plovers are a protected species, U.S. Fish and Wildlife dictate where his recovery were to take place.

Although it was very unusual for the clinic to have a Piping Plover, they have helped even smaller animals recover from injury. Most recently, a wounded hummingbird in their care was healed and released back in the wild.

Thank you to everyone for your kind concern.

Thank you to Jodi Swenson from Cape Ann Wildlife for meeting us at the beach at nine in the evening and caring for our little injured chick until the following morning when Catherine, George, and Charles delivered him to Tufts veterinary school. We should all thank our volunteers, Catherine, Caroline Haines, Hazel Hewitt, George King, Charles King, Paul Korn, Cliff King, Chris Martin, Diana Peck, Lucy Merrill-Hills, Cristina Hildebrand, Carol Ferrant, Jeanine Harris, Ruth Peron, Karen Shah, Annie Spike, and conservation agent Ken Whittaker for their diligent and continued monitoring of our two remaining chicks.

Please let’s everyone be mindful of the chicks afoot, help keep the beach clean, and please, please dog owners, please leave your sweet pooches off Good Harbor Beach. Thank you.

If you find orphaned or injured wildlife, the clinic has pages to guide you in appropriate procedures for birds, squirrels, mammals, and more, as well as a list of links to wildlife organizations. Go here for more information: Useful Links from the Tufts Wildlife Clinic

Two sixteen-day-old chicks snuggling under Papa Plover this morning at daybreak.

This Week in Rockport – Art in Bloom

Posted on by James Eves

Hello friends,

Summer arts and culture activities are in full swing!

This year for the first time, the annual Garden Tour on Friday and Saturday will include artists painting en plein air, including Rockport gallery owners Dan DeLouise, Kathleen Miller, Heidi Zander, John Caggiano, and others. You can see and purchase their work at a reception on Saturday from 4-8:30 p.m. at the Community House, 58 Broadway. Tickets for the Garden Tour may be purchased at Toad Hall.

The Library’s “Meet the Author” series also begins this week with Hallie Ephron. Children’s activities abound at the library as well. For more information about library events, click here.

Enjoy these glorious days!

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“July 8, 1856 Rockport Women Smash Liquor Barrels” today’s Mass Moments

Posted on by Catherine

july 8 1856 rockport mass momentsFrom Mass Moments (http://www.massmoments.org):

“On this day in 1856, 200 women, some of them wielding hatchets and ranging in age from 37 to 75, rampaged through the town of Rockport destroying every container of alcohol they could find. One eyewitness recorded in his journal: “There has been exciting times a-going on here today.” Weeks of planning preceded the five-hour raid. When it was over, the women had spilled hundreds of gallons of liquor. Over the next decade, alcohol sales in the town steadily declined. Rockport became one of several dozen Massachusetts towns where one could not buy liquor. Not until April 2005 would residents vote to permit inns, hotels, and restaurants to serve alcohol with meals. Twelve towns in the Commonwealth are still dry today, down from 17 in 2004.”

Listen to the Mass Moments Rockport story:

or Click here to read the rest of the story…