Tag: Mary Weissblum

Wonderful Essex County islands IBA #ornithology talk by Chris Leahy | Straightsmouth keeper’s house gets love from Thacher Island Assoc & looks like a scene from Edward Hopper!

Posted on by Catherine

Esteemed conservationist and bird and insect authority, Chris Leahy discussed recent multi-year surveys of Essex County islands for Mass Audubon and Mass Fish & Wildlife with humor and depth as only he can having resided on the North Shore, in Gloucester, and championed this Important Bird Area for some 50 years.

The islands range in size and offer different kinds of nesting habitat. There are great shoals for fishing. Islands include familiar names like Tinkers, Straitsmouth, Thacher, Children’s, Kettle, House, Eagle, Ram, Cormorant and Ten Pound. Leahy recalled visiting some in the 1960s-70s for the first ever field counts with Dorothy “Dottie” Addams Brown, Sarah Fraser Robbins & others, and readily compares data then and now.

Some of the bird species making the count: gulls, egrets, herons, cormorants, harlequin duck, geese, loon, coots, purple arctic sandpiper, common eiders, and snowy owls. There are not a lot of songbirds due to restricted habitat although so many song sparrows he quips, “it almost feels like they’re going to attack.” Predators do and did. Gulls and rats stuck in my mind, and our ruinous plume hat trade. At that time “Snowy egrets– in FLA and elsewhere south– were slaughtered for plumage developed solely at breeding time, leaving any young to die and rot.”

Climate is partly a factor and population dispersement in the birds they find. Sometimes there are great “fallout” of migratories which are unpredicatable and awesome. Various species are easier to count especially those perched amid low tree shrubs. Guess which ones? Forgot the burrowers! Forecasts are exciting. He predicts we might see Manx shearwters maybe nesting here in the coming years.

Kindness of organizations and people with boats helps make this happen. And one steel hulled sailboat that makes access to these rocky isles a bit more possible.

Chris Leahy presented Treasure Islands for Gloucester Lyceum & Sawyer Free Public Library. Mary Weissblum has endeavored to host evenings for Leahy’s numerous publications and projects, so many that she’s lost count. “Always a treat to be educated and charmed by his incredible store of knowledge,” she writes. Look for Chris Leahy’s next talk.

Learn more about Thacher Island Association (Paul St Germain) here 

Learn more about Birdlife International here

photos below ©Linda Bosselman Sawyer Free Library- thanks for sharing Linda!

Before Dogtown was Dogtown: Archaeological Survey project to be presented at City Hall November 29! Maybe hello blueberries bye bye Lyme Disease

Posted on by Catherine

Old tree Rockport Road ca.1892

Dogtown is eligible for the National Register! Will Gloucester earn another major district designation?

Nov 29th, 7PM, Public Meeting

Come to a special public presentation November 29th in Kyrouz Auditorium in Gloucester City Hall, 9 Dale Avenue, at 7pm.

Read excerpts from the press release shared by Bill Remsen, local project coordinator, and Mary Ellen Lepionka, co-chair Gloucester Historical Commission, and some Dogtown maps and memorabilia 1633-1961:

Continue reading “Before Dogtown was Dogtown: Archaeological Survey project to be presented at City Hall November 29! Maybe hello blueberries bye bye Lyme Disease” →

What if…a section of Dogtown brush was cleared away? If you missed Chris Leahy at Sawyer Free Library last week come to a summit by Essex County Greenbelt & Mass Audubon at Cape Ann Museum March 4

Posted on by Catherine

“This Saturday morning forum is offered in collaboration with Essex County Greenbelt, Friends of Dogtown, Lanesville Community Center and Mass Audubon and held at Cape Ann Museum. The forum will be moderated by Ed Becker, President of the Essex County Greenbelt Association.”

Register here

UPDATE: Cape Ann TV is scheduled to film the event!

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Edward Hopper Cape Ann Pasture watercolor drawing (ca.1928) was gifted to Yale University in 1930
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East Gloucester Atwood’s Gallery on the Moors as seen on the left in 1921–open vistas at that time

 

Chris Leahy gave a presentation at Gloucester Lyceum & Sawyer Free Library on February 23, 2017: Dogtown- the Biography of a Landscape: 750 Million Years Ago to the Present
A photographic history through slides presented by the Gloucester Lyceum and the Friends of the Library. Mary Weissblum opened the program.

Chris broadly covered the history of the local landscape from an ecological bent with a bias to birds and blueberry picking, naturally. New England is a patchwork of forested landscapes. He stressed the evolution of bio diversity and succession phenomenon when the earth and climate change. “Nature takes a lot of courses.” He focused on Dogtown, “a very special place”, and possible merits of land stewardship geared at fostering greater biodiversity. Perhaps some of the core acres could be coaxed to grasslands as when parts of Gloucester were described as moors? Characteristic wildlife, butterflies, and birds no longer present may swing back.  There were many philosophical takeaways and tips: he recommends visiting the dioramas “Changes in New England Landscape” display at Harvard Forest HQ in Petersham.

“Isolation of islands is a main driver of evolution”

“Broad Meadow Brook Wildlife Sanctuary in Worcester has the highest concentration* of native butterflies in all of Massachusetts because of secondary habitats.”  *of Mass Audubon’s c.40,000 acres of wildlife sanctuaries statewide. “The fact that Brook Meadow Brook is in greater Worcester, rather than a forested wilderness, underscores the value of secondary habitats.”

“1830– roughly the time of Thoreau (1817-1862)– was the maximum period of clearing thus the heyday for grasslands…As farmsteads were abandoned, stages of forests return.”

Below are photos from February 23, 2017. I added some images of art inspired by Dogtown. I also pulled out a photograph by Frank L Cox, David Cox’s father, of Gallery on the Moors  (then) compared with a photo of mine from 2011 to illustrate how the picturesque description wasn’t isolated to Dogtown.

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Edward Hopper, Cape Ann Granite, 1928, oil on canvas can we get this painting into the Cape Ann Museum collection?

dogtown-cape-ann-massachuestts-by-louise-upton-brumback-o-c-vose-galleryLouise Upton Brumback (1867-1929), Dogtown- Cape Ann, 1920 oil on canvas

atwood-cox-gallery-on-the-moors-photo-1921

DOGTOWN DAYS A TREMENDOUS SUCCESS!

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Dylan L'Abbe-Lindquist Dier Beer ©Kim Smith 2015

Dylan L’Abbe-Lindquist serving Cape Ann Brew Pub Dier Beer

Although it sounded so interesting, I very unfortunately missed the Dogtown Days lecture program held at the Cape Ann Museum as I was covering the Rockport Harvestfest (we oftentimes say on GMG that we are incredibly blessed that here on Cape Ann we have an embarrassment of riches in wonderful and worthwhile things to do and see). I did however attend the reception held afterward at the Sawyer Free. This is the second annual Dogtown Days event sponsored by the group of citizens Friends of Dogtown, a relatively newly formed outfit dedicated to restoring, protecting, and celebrating Dogtown, along with the far reaching goals to construct a visitor’s center and to help mitigate the ongoing misuse of the landscape.

Mary Weissblum ©Kim Smith 2015 jpg

Mary Weissblum’s Swamp Cake

Two of the highlights of the reception were Mary Weissblum’s Swamp Cake and Cape Ann Brew Pub’s colonial Dier Beer, both made with ingredients mentioned in historical accounts of Dogtown. Mary is going to provide GMG readers with the Swamp Cake recipe, spiced with ginger and nutmeg, and super delicious. Dylan L’Abbe-Lindquist’s Dier beer was outstanding and is going to be available at the Brew Pub in about a week. The brew was richly dark, made chocolatey in color almost, from the molasses and special carmelized flavored hops. Most amazingly, Dylan and his wife, along with their little baby, scoured Dogtown trails for authentic ingredients, which include Staghorn Sumac, winterberries, cranberries, and beach plums–it truly is a wonderfully flavorful brew. Ask for it at the Brew Pub, you won’t be disappointed.

To learn more about Friends of Dogtown, visit their website here.

Kit Cox Dylan Lindquist ©Kim Smith 2015

Kit Cox and Dylan

A Beautiful and Moving Tribute to Carol Gray, Retiring Sawyer Free Library Director

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

Carol Gray Bruce Tarr Mary Weissblum John Ronan©Kim Smith 2014John Ronan and Company (Senator Bruce Tarr, Paul McGeary, Mary Weissblum, and Scott Memhard) Reading John’s Very Humorous Poem About Carol

Carol Gray husband ©Kim Smith 2014.

The library was packed with Carol’s colleagues, friends, and well-wishers, all with hearts full of thanks and gratitude for her guiding hand throughout the library’s recent years of growth and development. Everyone spoke of Carol’s extraordinary dedication, tireless work ethic, and positive spirit during this period of great change and challenges.

Sawyer free Library ©Kim Smith 2014

Bruce Tarr Scott Memhard ©Kim Smith 2014

Carol Gray Bruce tarr ©Kim Smith 2014.JPGSenator Bruce Tarr Gave a Beautiful Heartfelt Speech

Thank you Carol ~ we are all going to miss you in your role as the Sawyer Free Library Director, but are so happy for you that you will be able to spend more time with your  growing family!Carol Gray ©Kim Smith 2014

mary weissblum catherine ryan ©Kim Smith 2014JPGMary Weissblum and Catherine Ryan

John and Sandy Ronan ©Kim Smith 2014Sandy and John Ronan

Linda Bossleman Shelia ©Kim Smith 2014

Mary Weissblum © Kim Smith 2014Shelia and Floria ©Kim Smith 2014Shelia Blake and Floria Crowell

I’ve shared this story with friends, but thought our GMG community would like to know how Carol’s positive can-do spirit has touched a life. My Carol Gray story is just one example of thousands!

Continue reading “A Beautiful and Moving Tribute to Carol Gray, Retiring Sawyer Free Library Director” →