
Good Harbor Beach early Spring

My View of Life on the Dock


My first post to GMG had me wondering what on earth I could possibly contribute to an already amazingly talented group of contributors. My daughter Abbey made it pretty simple for me by saying just start with what you know…photography! I picked up a camera about 7 years ago after my kids went to college thinking it would be something to pass the time and an outlet for my creativity, but as it turns out, the camera is evil! It makes you do evil things! It makes you learn stuff about what you are photographing. Like when the sun rises and sets (seriously…I had no idea that the best part of sunrise was actually before the sun rose!) So since this is a new beginning for me, and spring is in the air I thought I’d start this day off with a sunrise! You can visit lots of areas and see many sunrises, but I honestly can say that Cape Ann has THE MOST spectacular sunrises and sunsets. No…I’m not a morning person, in fact, I love sleep, but remember I told you the camera is evil? It makes you do evil things?? Well it makes you get up early too! So here you go….pick a day….get up early… bring your camera or just bring a blanket and a cup of coffee and treat yourself with the peacefulness and beauty of the early morning! My favorite place to go is Good Harbor Beach and on any given day there are a half dozen cars parked there and a handful of people on the beach walking and waiting. This morning’s sunrise was hindered by the clouds, so I’m sharing one of my favorites from GHB. I’d love to hear where everyone’s favorite places for sunrises are (on or off Cape Ann)!
(Nikon D610, 1/15 sec, F8, ISO 200 – shot in Raw with Lightroom edits)
Keith from Twin Lights Glassing Company
Niles Pond Birch Tree in the Rising Snow Moon

And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon. – Edward Lear
See more Moon Glow photos here Continue reading “FEBRUARY SNOW MOON”
While freezing, it was too pretty to not stop at Good Harbor Beach last night to snap this photo. There was something about the juxtaposition of the snow and the sand at sunset that made us sit for a longer while than planned.
I’d rather it be July, but pretty nonetheless.

Towering waves and beautiful spindrifts all along the back shore today.
SEE MORE PHOTOS HERE Continue reading “GOOD HARBOR BEACH AND BACKSHORE AFTER JONAS”


Another Snowy Owl sighting, this submitted by Kim Bertolino in East Gloucester. Thanks so much to Kim for sharing her beautiful photo!
We were talking about Snowy Owls and lemmings in Sunday’s podcast when questions about where lemmings live and what do they look like came up. Lemmings are a small rodent that comprise the bulk of the Snowy Owl’s diet in their northern breeding grounds, the Arctic tundra. They are about 3 to 6 inches long with silky fur and short tales, and are closely related to voles and muskrats. The Snowy eats between three to five lemmings per day in the tundra! Read more about lemmings here.
Although we can’t offer the Snowies a diet of lemmings, we do have lots of mice and rats readily available to hunt during the winter months. Cape Ann’s open shoreline, of beaches, dunes, and rocky outcroppings, are a somewhat similar terrain to that of the tree-less tundra. Snowies are diurnal; they have evolved to hunt during the day and night because in the tundra during their breeding season the hours of daylight are continuous. A Snowy couldn’t survive in the Arctic if it could only hunt during night time like most other species of owls.
The following BBC article about lemmings is super interesting and well worth reading: The Truth About Norwegian Lemmings

Photo Credit: Nature Picture Library / Alamy
Adult male Snowy Owl delivering a lemming to a female on the nest. The female is feeding a chick. Bathurst Island, Nunavut, Canada. JuneGerrit Vyn Photography
