Want something fun to do tomorrow at 9:00 am? We will be transporting the Lobster Traps from the police station to their rightful owners. It is always a good time. See you there.
OK Kim, What is this Monster Moth?
This sucker has a wingspan of about 7 inches. Found on Long Key, Fla.
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Lobster Trap Christmas Tree is gone!
But it looks like they might need some help Sunday morning.
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Pick up game at Niles Pond
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Beautiful Black and White Kitty Lost from Old Penzance Road Neighborhood
My friend Michele writes that her kitty escaped last night and has not returned. She lives on Old Penzance Road in Rockport. If you have seen this sweet little black and white kitty, please comment in the comment section or email me at kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com. Her family is very worried. Thank you.
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Ocean Alliance Looking For Some Dough
Hey Joey!
We’re back in the Ocean Alliance office at the Paint Factory, working on raising money to start work on the second brick building this year. Anyone is welcome to stop by and have a look at the work so far, the offices are generally open 9-5. Lots of exciting projects and local partnerships coming up this year.
Here’s a shot Iain took yesterday of the Paint Factory in the fog.
Thanks!
Amy Kerr
Ocean Alliance
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A Gentle Snow
Silence this morning, from gently falling snow.
No howling wind or grinding plow blades,
Nor threatening wind blasts and snow banks.
Outside, I can hear a train in the distance,
A good two miles away, and nothing else.
I love the silence, and this gentle snow.
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Anyone want to help this morning
If anyone would like to help take down our beautiful Lobsta Trap Tree, please come by at 9:00 this morning. It is actually fun to do this and most important to help out.
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This campaign is raising money for “Bailee’s Pink Lemonade: Have a Heart “
This campaign is raising money for “Bailee’s Pink Lemonade: Have a Heart ”
http://www.gofundme.com/5zihu4
This is the gofundme we set up….which also included Erica’s Story we are also planning the benefit
Brieana
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Sprocket The Dog Digging The Latest Storm
This is Sprocket the dog during the last snow storm we had. Thought
you’d get a kick out of it.
Ev.
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Chickity Check It! The Mayor’s Desk: Charting city’s goals for a new year At The GDT
The Mayor’s Desk: Charting city’s goals for a new year
http://m.gloucestertimes.com/GDT/db_269217/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=HDbOC7HU
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Great Things Coming From the Waterways Board Read About It At The Gloucester Daily Times
Waterways panel eyes changes, more moorings
http://m.gloucestertimes.com/GDT/db_324754/contentdetail.htm?contentguid=81YhJ2Dl
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Community Stuff 1/11/14
Docksiders Winter Holiday Breakfast Concert: Saturday, January 25th, 9am to 11am – pancake breakfast concert with Disney characters – bring your cameras! Gloucester High School Cafeteria. $10 per person. $25 for family of four (add $5 for each additional family member).
COLD WEATHER REQUEST TO RESIDENTS
THE ROCKPORT POLICE DEPARTMENT AND ROCKPORT COUNCIL ON AGING ARE ASKING RESIDENTS TO REGULARLY CHECK IN WITH THEIR ELDERLY FAMILY MEMBERS, FRIENDS, AND NEIGHBORS.
THE WINTER MONTHS BRING ADDITIONAL HAZARDS TO SENIOR CITIZENS , WHICH INCLUDE SNOW AND ICE, HYPOTHERMIA, AND POWER OUTAGES.
CONTACT THE ROCKPORT POLICE DEPARTMENT ( 978-546-1212), EMERGENCIES 911, AND THE COUNCIL ON AGING (978-546-2573) FOR ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE AND REFERRALS TO THER AGENCIES.
Ocean View Private Spiritual and Intuitive Readings @ Good Harbor Beach (1/24 – 1/26)
The Blue Shutters Beachside Inn , Gloucester, MA is hosting private Individual and Group Spiritual Sessions with Julie Ann on Friday January 24, 2014 from 2:00 PM – 8:00 PM , Saturday January 25, 2014 from 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM and Sunday January 26, 2014 from 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM. This tranquil and most beautiful location is beloved by many all over the country. Have a refreshment and snack, enjoy the gorgeous view and walk the beach before and after your session(s). Gloucester’s wonderful Restaurants are close by as well.
To schedule your appointment with Julie Ann call 978-387-5306 or email NHMetaphysical@Gmail.com. You may choose to stay over at The Blue Shutter’s Beachside Inn for the weekend as well. To check out rates and room availability visit http://www.blueshuttersbeachside.com/. Mention that you are coming for a reading and receive a discount! Innkeepers Ann Marie & Eddie Comer , Patty & Anthony Sapienza encourage all to stop by, relax, and enjoy the view.
Julie Ann:
Julie Ann is a gifted Psychic Medium, Trance Channel and Healer. She holds sessions at the Blue Shutters Inn on a regular basis, is one of the Core Readers atCircles of Wisdom in Andover MA and holds sessions regularly at her Londonderry NH office: New Hampshire Metaphysical. When scheduling your session you can choose to spend your time in one or a blend of the following four areas: Mediumship, Psychic/Intuitive, Trance Channel or Healing. All sessions can be recorded on a CD that you leave with. For more information on Julie Ann check out her website: www.HooksettMetaphysical.com or visit her page on The Circles of Wisdom website www.goo.gl/47jnR,
Prices: 15 minutes- $35, 30 minutes- $65, 45 minutes- $100, 60 minutes $125.
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Today! The Eastern Coyote in New England Sponsored by Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary Sat, Jan 11, 2014
I hope Kim Or Paul or both go to this and get some interesting info to share.
This is what I know about coyotes:
If there was a child attacked by a coyote the news media would blast it all over the place but you don’t hear about those incidents so that gives me a little comfort.
On the other hand if you have a pulse and can see then you have most definitely seen an uptick from no coyote sightings 10 years ago to weekly sightings today.
I understand there are people who would rather see people’s pets eaten rather than take some type of action. I just hope that the current trends of seeing them more and more during the day and seeing them more often doesn’t end up turn into something where people can’t even go for a walk.
Maybe the answer is to walk around with a tazer? “Don’t taze me bro!”
The Eastern Coyote in New England
Sponsored by Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary
Sat, Jan 11, 2014 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Location:
Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary, Topsfield
Instructor:
Christine Schadler – Wild Canid Ecologist and New England representative for Project Coyote, a national group promoting coexistence with coyotes.
Audience:
Adult
Members:
Adult $8.00
Nonmembers:
Adult $10.00
The howling in New England has returned! Since 1900, when the eastern wolf retreated into southern Ontario, our woods have not known a top predator. Since the 1940s, however, the bark and howl of the eastern coyote has resonated from pasture to mountain. Today, thousands of coyotes occupy New England, but unlike their smaller western cousin, our coyotes are part wolf, can hunt in packs to take deer, and are filling the niche of the wolf. Come learn about the natural history of this adaptable mammal and get answers to any questions or concerns you may have from an expert. How we rethink our woods as a domain to be shared will ultimately determine our success in adapting to life with this amazing predator.
Make it a day – bring a bag lunch and sign up for Tracking Predators with Bob Metcalfe in the afternoon from 12:30-4:30 pm.
Instructions and Directions:
Meets in the Barn.
Registration is required.
Call to register 978-887-9264.
Register by mail: program registration form (PDF 66K)
For your own security, DO NOT send credit card information via email.
For more information, contact:
Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary
87 Perkins Row
Topsfield, MA 01983
ipswichriver@massaudubon.org
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Quit Whining About The Cold
Hi Joey,
I was at Sawyer Free Library the other day looking of historic photos and flipped open a book that landed on this page. It struck me as funny because I realized immediately that these kids were skating on the harbor. I asked myself “How cold does it have to be, for what period of time, to freeze Gloucester Harbor (salt water mind you) to a thickness hard enough to skate on?”
A little research led me to a volcanic eruption in Alaska in during June of 1912 that formed a new volcano called Novarupta, lasted 60 hours and spewed 3.6 cubic miles of magma and 4.7 cubic miles of ash into the atmosphere. This eruption was 30 times more powerful than the eruption at Mount St. Helens and may have caused a mini-ice age that lasted a few years due to the ash cloud covering the planet in a fine layer of dust that reflected more sunlight back into space.
What really put a smile on my face was that these kids are smiling! It must have been pretty darn cold for a while, but they were happy to be outside enjoying the cold.
If you want to see this photo, head to the library! Show this photo to one of the librarians, and you’ll be shocked at how quickly they’ll be able to find it. While you’re there, get a library card and think about making a small donation to help make this wonderful resource even better!
Enjoy,
Bill O’Connor
North Shore Kid
Where North Shore Parents and Resources Connect
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My Archnemesis- Popcorn
When did it all go so wrong for me and popcorn? I used to be able to pound down buckets of popcorn in my youth but now that I’m old as a mofo it seems I can’t eat two handfuls without getting fifteen kernels all stuck under my tongue, in between my teeth, all over the damn place.
Damn you popcorn.
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Birds of Cape Ann: Divers or Dabblers and the Green-winged Teal
Female Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca)
While filming at Henry’s Pond in Rockport I at first thought I was seeing a pair of pint-sized, or immature female Mallards amongst a mixed flock of full grown Mallards and American Black Ducks. But no, upon closer examination, their behavior was different from that of the much larger Mallards. They stayed together, the two females, foraging for food along the pond’s edge. When one flashed her brilliant emerald green wing, I realized it was no Mallard but the beautiful Green-winged Teal.
Like the chubby little Bufflehead, the Green-winged Teal is similar in size, about 13-15 inches in length.
I find it interesting that, based on their style of foraging, ecologists assemble waterfowl into several groups.“Dabbler” ducks skim food from the surface, or feed in shallow water by tipping forward to submerge their heads (which is exactly what I had observed while filming the petite Green-winged Teal). “Diving” ducks propel themselves underwater with large feet. A few dabblers may dive, but for the most part, dabblers skim.
Dabblers that we see in our region include Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Mottled Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Gadwall, and Northern Shoveler. Diving ducks are the Canvasback, Redhead, Ring-necked Duck, Greater Scaup, Ruddy Duck, Masked Duck, and American Wigeon.
A third category, which includes Buffleheads are called “seaducks.” American Black Duck, Eiders, Scooters, Harlequin Duck, Oldsquaw, Goldeneyes, and Mergansers are encompassed in the seaduck group. Read more about Dabblers vs. Divers here.
In the above photo of a male and female Mallard in the foreground, and Green-winged teal in the background, you can see how close in color are the feathers of the females of the two species. The wing pattern is subtly different and you can also see the difference in size between the two species.
* * *
I have been organizing research and lots of photos for our Birds of Cape Ann series. Upcoming stories will feature songbirds, including Mourning Doves, American Robins, and Northern Cardinals, shorebirds of every size and shape including dabblers, divers, and seaducks, and I’ve planned a post just on bird food to grow in your gardens to attract our fine-feathered friends. As I often remind my readers, “When you plant, they will come!”
Male Green-winged Teal image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Birds of Cape Ann: Buffleheads
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Coyote Capture
Today was the third day in a row that I have spotted a coyote at high noon. Three different North Shore towns, three sightings. This time I had my camera with me and it was easily accessible. In the new literature on living with coyotes that I have been reading, there is a great deal of misinformation. The first myth that should be dispelled is that they are nocturnal!
If you spot a coyote and manage to capture a photo of it, send in the snapshot and we will post it here. Email to kimsmithdesigns@hotmail.com
Coyote (Canis latrans)
The three locations are: Tregony Bow, Rockport; Grapevine Road, Hamilton; and Mt. Pleasant Street, Gloucester.
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St. Johns Prep Students Lend a Helping Hand at The Open Door
From Left to right~ BJ Mohan, Aidan Breen, Daniel Powers
The Open-Door staff greeted the students and I with open arms today. This truly is an amazing place. Everyone who walks through the door, patrons and volunteers, are greeted and cared for with respect and love. They have an amazing team of dedicated people working year round to keep things running smoothly. Upon our arrival, a short list of jobs awaited the boys and an apron for me!
The boys quickly began working together unloading shipments of food and restocking shelves. As I prepared a light afternoon snack for school children and assisted patrons at today’s open market. It was such a pleasure to have the opportunity to share a few quick recipes using todays market ingredients with shoppers! Thank you, Sarah Grow, Julie Hazen Lafontaine, and Beth Klinefelter for the last minute arrangements. It was nice to SJP students working together as a team helping others on a day they and their school community felt helpless themselves. I highly recommend volunteering some time to The Open Door. At this pantry there can never to many hands in the kitchen!
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Fish on Fridays
The Fish on Fridays series is a collaboration between Gloucester photographers Kathy Chapman and Marty Luster. Look for various aspects of Gloucester’s centuries-old fishing industry highlighted here on Fridays.
Rods and reels in off-season waiting for warmer weather.
Photos © Kathy Chapman 2013
Good Morning Gloucester 