
Big Sky

My View of Life on the Dock


Adieu ’22…



I remember when we were younger Bowl games meant something. So diluted now. Sad.


2023 is upon us and therefore let the 400th anniversary celebrations officially begin! As the calendar year ends and an exciting New Year is before us, it seems like a good time to reflect on the past. We have talked about the Library of Congress Memories Collection before and I go back and check it out every so often (always learn something new). This You Tube video by Ken Hendrickson compiles some of those images for you in video format. If you haven’t seen it yet or haven’t seen it recently, I recommend getting a hot drink and sitting down to enjoy and reflect. Don’t overlook the comments.
If you have even more time to spare, check out Ron Gilson’s Golden Age of Fishing on YouTube. Here’s Part 2 that some of you might recall as your own memories.
A behind-the-scenes sneak peek of G400+ Events Manager, Isabel Pett, making the ball for the ‘Countdown to 2023’ ball drop! Join the Gloucester 400+ tomorrow evening (Saturday Dec 31) at City Hall at 6:30pm!
More on this at the Gloucester Daily Times: https://www.gloucestertimes.com/news/gloucester-gets-set-to-drop-the-zorb-to-ring-in-its-400-year/article_f48b9a9a-87c9-11ed-817d-33e5e4b997d7.html



Just outside the window, my neighbor encountered a hawk which had been there all morning. Here’s the expressive Juv. Cooper’s Hawk. Dec. 30, 2022 that took breaks digesting and feasting on a branch in a tree, on a downed branch, and the ground during a four hour window that was long after its feast began.














Opted for a downed branch, then ground.


Back up to 2nd perch, more digesting. Head turn in response to distant train whistle.
This is all normal digestive process for the bird. It takes hours depending upon the size of the prey (birds, small mammals). Prey is ripped apart and swallowed down the esophagus into an ingenious multi compartment stomach sorter –a hopper (the “crop”), the acid bath proventiculus, and gizzard– then on through intestines till it poops. The pellet is coughed up long after.
Lonesome Duck…



While the comment is to me I’d like to recognize all the contributors who have added in their part and the people that have been a part of the conversation all these years. I hear it all the time, someone stumbled across a GMG post, dug a little deeper, subscribed, got hooked and made it their mission to make this place home. So great. Strip everything away from the blog and the friendships I’ve forged because of it is the
on top!