Congratulations to seine boat crew ZFG and Coach Paul Giacalone for a hard fought victory!
ZFG crew Gilbert Brown, Jerry Ciaramitaro, Mike Harmon, Pete Mondello, Jared Morris, Kellen O’Maley, JJ Palazzola, Alex Rodolosi, Peter Taormina, Sam Taormina, and Vincenzo Terranova
Steve LeBlanc returns to the Greasy Pole for a stellar walk!
Catherine Frontiero, first time Greasy Pole Walker, had a great walk across the pole in the first round of competition. Congratulations Catherine!
Despite the cold and windy rain, the Walkers persevered. Tyler Parisi, 20th in line, gave a fantastic walk in the fourth round. Congratulations to Tyler! 
Congratulations to Max Allen! He is the third generation in his family to win the flag, following in the footsteps of his uncle and grandfather.
Caffe Sicilia’s wonderfully delicious cake is much beloved 🙂
The best part of Fiesta is many generations sharing traditions and having a joyful time together <3
Buona Festa!
The June/July issue of Northshore Magazine features an article about Fiesta. Written by Gloucester author Sarah Shemkus, extensive background information is provided by Laura Ventimiglia, Joe Novello, and Tom Favazza, with photos provided by Joel Laino, Tom Favazza, and myself.
Northshore Magazine is available to purchase at most CVS and Walgreens on the North Shore. In Gloucester, the current stock is as follows –
• Shaw’s Supermarket at 127 Eastern Ave, Gloucester, MA 01930 with 18 copies available
• Stop & Shop at 6 Thatcher Rd, Gloucester, MA 01930 with 26 copies available
• Walgreens at 201 Main St, Gloucester, MA 01930 with 5 copies available
• Walgreens at 127-135 Eastern Ave, Gloucester, MA 01930 with 6 copies available
You can also subscribe and purchase single copies at the link here.
Earlier in the week Charlotte and I stopped by Cedar Rock Gardens for their ongoing 25% off all plants sale. We paused near the fennel plants when Charlottes asked, “is that a Monarch caterpillar on the fennel?” A teeny, tiny yellow, green, and black caterpillar was tucked in, sleeping in the foliage. She found two more so we purchased all three plants. Little did she know, that question is similar to one of the most frequently viewed posts on my website “No, that is not a Monarch Caterpillar on Your Parsley Plant!”
Black Swallowtail caterpillar recently molted with discarded skin
Black Swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) caterpillars, especially in their early instars, are easily mistaken for the yellow, white, and black caterpillars of the Monarch butterfly. Butterflies oviposit their eggs on specific plants to their specific species. These plants are called larval host plants, in other words, caterpillar food plants. Monarchs only deposit eggs on plants in the milkweed family ( Asclepiadoideae) while Black Swallowtail females only deposit eggs on members of the carrot family (Apiaceae). Plants in the carrot family include dill, parsley, fennel, carrots, parsnips, and Queen Anne’s Lace. In days gone by, the Black Swallowtail was commonly referred to as the Parsnip Butterfly.
You will never see a Monarch caterpillar on fennel or parsley. Conversely, you will never see a Black Swallowtail caterpillar on your milkweed plants 🙂
Yellow, white, and black striped Monarch Caterpillar on Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
Yellow, green, and black striped and dotted Black Swallowtail caterpillar on fennel plant
Cedar Rock Gardens is located at 299 Concord Street in West Gloucester. For more information, visit their website here.
With a wingspan of five and a half to six and a half feet, the Great Blue Heron is an extraordinarily fascinating creature to observe in flight.
This past week, Monarchs have been spotted at my friend Patti’s garden in East Gloucester, at Wolf Hill Garden Center, and in our garden. I was overjoyed to see she was a female, depositing eggs on the tender new foliage of Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca).
Please write and let us know when you see your first Monarch. Thank you!
Wolf Hill is carrying a fabulous array of native plants, including both A. syriaca and Butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa).
Monarch egg – a miniature golden dome, the size of a pinhead
We were very, very sad to see this long, slender dead snake on our street however, it gave us the opportunity to learn more about the snakes in our neighborhood. We have here a beautiful Eastern Milksnake. Reading more, it appears to be one of two of the 14 species of snakes found in Massachusetts that is a constrictor, the other being the more rarely seen and declining Northern American Racer (a species listed as ‘of Special Concern’).
Fun facts – Milksnakes are generally nocturnal; they don’t bask in the sun and usually hide throughout the day. Milksnakes don’t actually squeeze their prey to death but suffocate it. Milksnakes will vibrate their tail when disturbed.
Don’t you love the patterning in the scales, both the checkerboard underside and the upper surface? Unfortunately, Milksnakes look similar to the venomous Eastern Copperhead, and they are often needlessly killed because of the resemblance.
How to tell the difference between the non-poisonous Milksnake and the Copperhead: They can be distinguished by a few basic characteristics. “The head of a Copperhead is copper-colored and never marked, while the Milksnake’s head has the light “V-” or “Y-shaped” mark.
Note the “Y” mark on the Milksnake’s head
The Copperhead has a wide triangle-shaped head joined to a narrow neck; the Milksnake’s head is narrow. The Copperhead has only one row of crossbands down its heavy body in contrast to the Milksnake’s 3 to 5 rows of blotches down a slender body. The Milksnake has smooth scales while the copperhead has keeled scales (raised ridge along the center of each scale).” From the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
May is the magical month for migration through Massachusetts (along with many other states and regions) and this year seems extra magnificent. The past several weeks have brought an abundance of exquisite creatures passing through, on their way to northern breeding grounds, along with familiar favorites arriving here to breed in our backyards, local woods, ponds, and fields.
I created this short video for all of we who are “warbler challenged,” that is, struggle to identify these tiny choristers warbling and darting through the treetops. Each spring and autumn migrations I turn my camera’s eye to try to capture what charmer is flitting about in hopes of capturing even a fleeting moment, deciding to try to id when I return home and can have a longer look.
The clips that were chosen are meant to show the birds from all angles – belly, butt, front view, side view, wings in flight, and male and female when captured. The warblers/kinglets/vireos are organized by color to better help make side-by-side comparisons, i.e. all the yellow together, etc. I’ve done my best to give the proper name and will eventually add the audio recordings.
A few notes – a recent tip I learned for discerning whether a Palm Warbler or Yellow-rumped Warbler: The PW has yellow feathers under it’s tail, while the YRWarbler has a patch of yellow on top of it’s tail. Another distinguishing characteristic of the Palm Warbler is that it continually wags it’s tail and you can see the tail wag in the PW clips. The first shot of the Magnolia Warbler, the feathers are so strongly orange -hued I wasn’t sure what I was looking. The second shot shows the more characteristic yellow.
To my songbird friends, please write and let me know if I have made an error; this is a work in progress and we can change anything 🙂
The last clip is a mystery bird, possibly a female Blackburnian Warbler??
What’s all the fuss about? The males are establishing their territories. The last clip shows the more subtly feathered female.
This past week we have had a mini entourage of three male Ruby-throated Hummingbirds vying for the affections of one female. We think the boys have moved on but she has stayed. This is not unusual behavior. If she mated with one, which I think I saw but it was so fast I am not really certain, she will then build a nest and raise the youngsters all on her own.
In one clip, the hummingbird is cleaning it’s bill, in another, the female is going pooh. As you may or may not know, the male Ruby-throated Hummingbirds are easy to spot as they have the red gorget (pronounced GOR-jit) throat feathers. When light hits the iridescent feathers, the gorget lights up a brilliant red, otherwise, the gorget looks like a deep brown throat patch. The female’s throat is the same color as her breast feathers. You can see the female at 1:05. All the other clips are of the boys.
A huge shout out today to the volunteers from Happy Valley for the Good Harbor Beach clean-up Saturday morning! The photo below shows Richard and Donna setting up a tent of provisions for the volunteers.
Happy Valley is the fourth group of volunteers to tackle Good Harbor Beach this spring. You may ask, does the beach need so many clean-ups? The answer is a resounding yes!
This past week was Senior Skip Day with, at one point, reportedly, approximately one thousand kids at GHB. The teens came from high schools all around Massachusetts including Brookline, Stoneham, Wakefield, and Marlborough (these are the names of the schools provided by the kids). Beginning around 9am, the kids began pouring onto GHB, and drinking right from the get-go. Fortunately, the portable bathrooms this year are open in May (thank you City!) But they ran out of toilet paper so the dunes soon became the place of choice to relieve themselves. The kids were asked repeatedly to keep out of the dunes and to clean up their trash.
By early afternoon, there was an alcohol related fender bender in the parking lot. I don’t know if this is what prompted the Gloucester Police to come but at around 3:00 pm, there were two officers on the beach breaking up the party and carrying six-packs off the beach.
Thank you to whoever called the police! The weather was lovely and warm and there were a number of families on the beach that appeared very uncomfortable around the large groups of drunk and belligerent teens.
The above photos are of how the kids left the beach, and this is after the trash had been collected into piles by volunteers and the DPW. The gulls got into some and many pieces were blown into the dunes, along the shoreline, the marsh, and all around the parking lot.
We citizens who love and treasure Good Harbor Beach do not mind sharing the beach with teens skipping school, we just don’t think they should leave their mountains of trash behind, and also relieve themselves in the dunes. We are grateful to the DPW for cleaning up the garbage and grateful to all the volunteer groups that have been coming this past spring however, we really need to manage out trash better. Allowing it to blow into the ocean and beach habitat is simply not acceptable!
Two suggestions, and if you think of any, please share-
Hand out trash bags to beachgoers, especially large groups.
Assign an officer on the beach to give out tickets for littering. Word would get out soon enough if the fines were steep enough.
When you hear Baltimore Orioles, but a Rose-breasted Grosbeak flies by instead- what fabulous underwing color!!.
Our valiant Super Mom has adapted extraordinarily well despite her missing right foot. This is her ninth year nesting at Good Harbor Beach, her third summer after losing her toes!
Happy Mom’s Day to all the Mom Superstars. We Love YOU!
Tip Top Tulips is at it’s peak beauty, just in time for Mother’s Day!
Tip Top Tulips is located at 20 Lowes Lane in Ipswich (Rt. 133), behind the Dairy Queen.
For more information visit the Felix Family Farm website here.
Good morning PiPl Friends,
Just a quick note to let you all know that the Mass Audubon team will be on Gloucester beaches monitoring the Plovers. I saw someone there yesterday at GHB from the roadside but Charlotte and I were on our way to an appointment and I couldn’t stop to say hello,. We did confirm though that the contract was signed yesterday. Mass Audubon did a great job last year and the Plover Ambassadors are looking forward to working with the Audubon team again this summer.
I am flat out with film finishing and planning client’s gardens and tried my best to keep the two from happening simultaneously but as the saying goes – the best laid plans… Things should ease up a bit soon and I will hopefully be providing you with more frequent updates about our Good Harbor Beach PiPls <3
Happy May!
Warmest wishes,
xoxoKim
Super Dad floofing after a bath
A huge shoutout to Rebecca Spencer, Colleen Meister Murdock, and all the volunteers with Seaside Sustainability for their tremendous clean up efforts at Good Harbor Beach.
This is the third week in a row that clean ups have been taking place at GHB, beginning with Cape Ann Climate Coalition Interfaith Group, followed by Applied Materials, and then Seaside Sustainability on Saturday. Each group of volunteers has come away with bags and bags of trash.
We are all so very grateful for these extraordinary good works by all the volunteers!
We would also like to give a ginormous shout out to USMC veteran Chris Cefalo. I have seen Chris often at GHB cleaning up trash but I didn’t realize until after speaking with him this morning that one of his main focusses is small pieces of plastics, roping, and monofilaments that you see entwined in the seaweed and debris at the wrack line. These bits of plastic are ubiquitous. They break down into micro plastics. We breathe them and they are now in our lungs and hearts. The bits of plastic are consumed by sea creatures of every imaginable shape and size. And it was monofilament wrapped around Super Mom’s foot that caused her to lose her toes.
Chris’s bucket this morning was overflowing and he had only traveled half the distance he had planned. Several years ago, Jill Ortiz, one of our Plover ambassadors, had been lobbying to get a (free) micro plastic bin set up at GHB. This would have helped volunteers like Chris dispose of the plastics. Unfortunately, the City showed zero interest and nothing came of her efforts. Perhaps now is the right time to revisit the topic. Just saying!
Many, many thanks again to all the super volunteers working so hard to keep Good Harbor Beach clean and safe for people and for wild creatures <3
Photos of just some of our incredible community members who make the annual Empty Bowl Circus a tremendous success. Thank you Open Door for the invitation to photograph; it was my joy <3
