There was a tremendous turnout today for the peaceful No Kings rally. I especially loved seeing the sea of MELT the ICE red anti-fascism hats, including one worn by protest organizer Laura Harrington!
NO KINGS GLOUCESTER!
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Category Archives: Gloucester
Viva San Giuseppe <3
These are joyful, blessed days, preparing for the feast and celebrating Saint Joseph! Thank you dear friends. <3 <3 <3
The first clip is of some of the helpers from pasta-making day. People stop in throughout the day to lend a hand and some are at their own homes preparing food to bring to the feast. As much as I would like to, it is impossible to get all in one photo! The second batch of clips shows Franco and friends cooking the vast pots of bubbling pasta that is served with both the Feast of Saint Joseph special fava bean sauce and Nina’s marinara, and the last clips are from pasta-making day.
With love and gratitude to Nina and Frank Groppo. Viva San Giuseppe!
Joyous Saint Joseph Pasta-making Day!
Each year Nina and Franco Groppo open their hearts and home to the community to honor Saint Joseph, the patron Saint of workers, fathers, and families. The house is full of family and friends coming together to attend the nine day Novena and prepare for the feast to celebrate Saint Joseph, which is always on March 19th, a Thursday this year.
Felicia Sciortino and Nina dedicated the altar to honor the crew of the Fishing Vessel Lily Jean that sank on January 30th. Captain Gus Sanfilippo and six crew members were lost at sea. There is a beautiful model of the ship, made by Felicia’s brother Domenic Di Maio, and the altar is decorated with lovely symbols and handmade artifacts (made by Felicia) representing the hardworking men and women who fish the sea.
It is such a joyous day making pasta with these wonderful friends and I so love photographing and filming the event. A video is coming and in the meantime, here are a few snapshots. It’s baby Julian’s first Saint Joseph and Nina and Franco’s first great-grandchild so there are tons of photos of this adorable little nugget. Julian is the son of Steve and Mikaela LeBlanc, the grandson of Maria Groppo, and Steve and Melanie LeBlanc, and the great-grandson of Nina and Franco.
Happy Valentine’s Day!, ¡Feliz San Valentin!, Bonne Saint-Valentin!
This morning while at a local shop I was greeted in the most lovely manner, with ¡Feliz San Valentin! So here is my annual Plover Valentines but this year in English, Spanish, and French. Thank you Elizabeth for the Spanish Valentine’s wishes!
Piping Plovers (like a great many shorebirds) are a link that binds the Americas, especially in our shared goals of protecting this very vulnerable species. Piping Plovers winter over in the Caribbean and along both the Gulf of Mexico and lower Atlantic United States. They breed in the mid- and northern Atlantic states and maritime provinces of Canada, as well as the Great Plains and Great Lakes regions.
The photos are of the sweetest Plover family that miraculously hatched from a nest smack dab midway in the sand of a popular urban beach, with absolutely no camouflaging vegetation, stones, shells, no nothing! This very vulnerable nest of three made it through to hatch day and all three chicks went on to thrive and eventually fledge. Miracles do happen <3
Plover chicks begin walking within hours after hatching but they are adorably klutzy for the first day or so, with many face plants, tumbles, and stumbles as they are learning to navigate the varied terrain. The chicks hatched on a boiling hot day and the very excellent Dad you see here was protectively trying to help the chick up on its feet and push back under his wing to shield from the midday sun.
Happy Valentine’s Day from Nichols Candies!
Valentine’s Day would not be Valentine’s without delicious treats for my family from Nichols Candies. Nichols is celebrating it’s 95th year in business, if you can even imagine that! And today when I stopped by the founders Margaret and Walter Nichols daughter-in-law, Barbara, mentioned she celebrated her 89th birthday recently! So many congratulations to Barbara <3
Maggie Whitman, Barbara Nichols, Theresa Whitman
True to its rich legacy, Nichols continues to be a family business.The photo is of Barbara and her great-granddaughter Maggie and granddaughter Theresa. And there are more generations working behind the scenes 🙂 To read more about the history of Nichols Ocean House Candies, go here.
Nichols Candies is located at 1 Crafts Road/Route 128, Exit 55 Gloucester, MA 01930
978-283-9850
You can also shop online at info@nicholscandies.com
Open: Mon. Wed. Fri . Sat. 9-3 Sunday 10-3
A Great Day for Gloucester!
City Hall was packed this afternoon with well-wishers for the newly elected Mayor Paul Lundberg, City Council, and School Committee members. Emcee Bob Gillis did an excellent job conducting the ceremony while Alessandro Schoc gave a pitch perfect and stunning rendition of the national anthem. In between the administration of oaths of office, Chris Langathianos and Joe Wilkins provided musical interludes. Gloucester’s co-poet laureates, Jay Featherstone and Heidi Wakeman, along with Anne Babson Carter, read original poems. Governor Maura Healey addressed the audience via video and Senator Bruce Tarr gave an uplifting key note address.
Mayor Lundberg’s inaugural address was inspiring and I thought also very unifying. It was a great day for our fair City, welcoming all these newly minted, and incumbent, public servants who so generously give of their time. Thank you!
Alessandro Schoc sang the national anthem – truly a magnificent voice!
Heidi Wakeman’s inauguration poem “Abecedarium: 26 Lines for 2026” was so on point and the audience loved it!
Mayor Lundberg, Jack Clarke, Jim Cantwell from Senator Markey’s office, and former Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken
Good Morning Cape Ann!
Gloucester’s beautiful Lobster Trap Tree and FV Ramblin’ Rose
Gloucester Firefighters Rigging the Star to the Lobster Trap Tree!
Many, many thanks to Gloucester’s awesome firefighters for each year braving the cold and wind to attach the Christmas star atop the Lobster Trap Tree.
900 LOBSTER TRAP TREE BUOYS!!
Cape Ann kids have painted an astounding 900 plus buoys for the 2025 most grand of all 25th Anniversary Lobster Trap Tree.
Director Traci and program manager Darcie are adding the finishing elements of ropes and hooks to attach the buoys to the tree, then lugging all 900 to Gloucester Maritime.
The Lobster Trap Tree lighting takes place after the Middle Street Walk on Saturday, December 13th, at 4:30pm, at Solomon Jacobs landing (adjacent to Maritime Gloucester).
Loving Tribute to Ann Margaret Ferrante
Several thousand people were in attendance at Ann’s funeral mass this afternoon. Friends and colleagues, including Governor Maura Healy, State Senator Bruce Tarr, and Ann’s chief of staff Dru Tarr, spoke in loving memory, with Reverend Jim leading the mass. Ann’s profoundly positive impact on the life of so many in our community will be felt for generations to come The service was live streamed by Streamography and you can watch here. The mass starts at about 21 minutes into the video.
Bruce Tarr ended his tribute to Ann with these transcendent words from Emily Dickinson –
Unable are the Loved to die
For Love is Immortality,
Nay, it is Deity—
Unable they that love—to die
For Love reforms Vitality
Into Divinity.
The photo of the Snow Moon setting behind Saint Ann’s steeple is for Ann. Despite her wonderfully full life, every now and then she would write to say how much she liked a photo I had shared, usually a harbor scene with a fishing boat or some beautiful Cape Ann building. She loved this photo, and another Moon one with Our Lady of Good Voyage, and I will try to locate that one too.
On the back of Ann’s program was the poem “On Children,” written by Kahlil Gibran –
Ann lived by the following. She was, and will continue to be, an inspiration to us all.
Matthew 25:31-46
The Sheep and the Goats
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
“They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
“He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
“Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
The Halls of Gloucester High School Are Alive with The Sound of Music!!
Gloucester High School Drama Club Presents the Timeless Classic
THE SOUND OF MUSIC
Music and Lyrics by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II
Book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse
on November 20, November 21 and November 22
At Gloucester High School
The Gloucester High School Drama Club proudly presents one of the most famous musicals of all time: The Sound of Music Youth Edition on Thursday, November 20 at 7:00pm; Friday, November 21 at 7:00pm; and Saturday, November 22 at 2:00pm and 7:00pm at Gloucester High School on 32 Leslie O’Johnson Rd, Gloucester, MA. Advance tickets are discounted. Tickets at the door are $15 for adults and $10 for Students and Senior Citizens. Tickets purchased in advance are discounted. To purchase tickets go to http://gloucesterhighdrama.
ludus.com Show Sponsorships, Program ad space and Messages to the Cast in the Program are available for purchase. Contact Heidi Dallin, GHS Director and interim Drama Teacher at hdallin@gloucesterschools.com Directed by GHS and Harvard University magna cum laude graduate professional actress Heidi Dallin with Music Direction by Cape Ann Symphony’s Wendy Betts, the production features GHS students playing some of the most beloved characters in theatre history. The Sound of Music was the final collaboration between Rodgers & Hammerstein and features many cherished songs, including “Climb Ev’ry Mountain,” “My Favorite Things,” “Do-Re-Mi,” “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” and the title number, The Sound of Music. The book of the musical was written by the Pulitzer Prize winning writing duo of Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. A Broadway legend, Crouse spent his summers living in the Annisquam neighborhood of Gloucester. The Sound of Music won the hearts of audiences worldwide, earning five Tony Awards and five Oscars. 2025 marks the 60th anniversary of the 1965 film adaptation of The Sound of Music. The film won 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Film Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Scoring of Music
Set in 1938 Austria, before the Nazi occupation, this inspirational story based on the memoir of Maria Augusta von Trapp, follows Maria Reiner, an ebullient postulate who serves as governess to the seven children of the imperious Captain von Trapp, bringing music and joy to the household. Director Dallin who appeared in the show as Sister Sophia while a GHS freshman is eager to revisit the show,” Sound of Music is a classic! I am so excited to share it with a new generation of theatre artists at GHS. It is especially thrilling to perform the show here in Gloucester knowing the special relationship The Crouse family has with Cape Ann. Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Sound of Music Russel Crouse and his family spent summers in Annisquam. His daughter Lindsay Ann Crouse rode Rolf’s bicycle from the Broadway production of Sound of Music through the streets of Annisquam! It seems fitting to pay tribute to this beautiful and uplifting story during this anniversary year.”
GHS Seniors Niava Friday and Sean Buckley playing Maria Reiner and Captain von Trapp lead the cast of GHS actors. Director Heidi Dallin is joined by Cape Ann Symphony’s Wendy Betts as Music Director. The Student Production Staff includes Choreography: Anaya Briguglio; Scenic Design : Amos Telep; Costume Design: Annette Lane; Prop Design:Nathan Gorman-Melo and Kathyrn Wall; Stage Manager: Kassidy Klopotoski.
The Gloucester High School production of The Sound of Music Youth Edition will be presented at Gloucester High School on 32 Leslie O’Johnson Road, in Gloucester, MA on on Thursday, November 20 at 7:00pm; Friday, November 21 at 7:00pm; and Saturday, November 22 at 2:00pm and 7:00pm. Tickets can be purchased by using the qr code below or by visiting https://gloucesterhighdrama.
ludus.com/200502487
Best Director at the London Vision Film Festival!
Dear Friends,
I hope you are doing well. What a lovely weekend weather wise for we in southern New England although we’re getting ready for the big cold snap coming. Right after Dia de Muertos, we plant paperwhites and amaryllis bulbs to force indoors. We switch up the colors of the soft furnishings in the music living room from warm weather blues and greens to white, rose, red, and greens. It’s a cozy (and gradual) way to get in the holiday spirit.
I am so very delighted to write that we received the Best Director Feature Film award at the London Vision Film Festival. It’s a wonderful honor and my first ‘Best Director’ award. I thank all of you everyday. Both Beauty on the Wing and The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay would not have been made possible without your generosity and I am so very grateful for your interest and kind support.
If you have a chance, there’s a very fun new film about the vibrant music scene in Boston during the 70s and 80s, Life on the Other Planet. Beautifully produced and directed by Vincent Straggas, we went to the premiere at the Regent Theatre in Arlington several weeks ago and it is again playing at the Regent on Thursday, November 19th. Along with a great many Boston musicians, my husband Tom Hauck and Fred Pineau from The Atlantics are featured, as well as local Gloucester musicians Willie Alexander and Jon Butcher. There is talk of Life on the Other Planet coming to The Cut!
The Rat
Here’s a link to a short video and photos of the amazing Pectoral Sandpiper that stopped over for a day on its arduous migration to southern South America. I mentioned the pair last time I wrote and wanted to make the video before too much time had passed. I wonder what the predicted whoosh of arctic weather will bring to our shores next!
Sending you kind thoughts and much gratitude,
xxKim
Spinach Salad for Autumn – Thank You Cedar Rock Gardens!
WE Love, Love the weekly selection of fresh veggies from Cedar Rock Gardens. Online produce ordering is available every week, closing on Wednesday at 7pm for Thursday afternoon pick-up. This week I made creamed spinach and a spinach salad, both big hits with my family every time I make them, and a great way to include dark greens in a child’s diet. For the spinach salad we added chopped celery, walnuts, perfectly ripened pears from Russell Orchards, and blue cheese from Common Crow, and all tossed with a simple shallot vinaigrette. Yummm!!
Beautiful (and Super Delicious) Fresh Produce from Cedar Rock Gardens
Order your farm fresh organic produce ONLINE today, through Wednesday at 7pm. Pick-up is Thursday from 2pm to 6pm.
I promise, you will be in veggie heaven!
Frost-sweetened Carrots, Watermelon Radishes, and Spaghetti Squash
Photogenic Watermelon Radishes
Where Do Garter Snakes Go In Winter?
As we watched the Garter Snake slide along the edge of our kitchen foundation I wondered, where is it going? He sure looked like he was searching for an opening.
I read yes, he very well could be looking for an opening in our foundation. When temperatures begin to drop, Garter Snakes seek an underground shelter called a hibernaculum, which could be a natural underground feature such as a rocky crevice, an abandoned animal burrow, or man-made structure like our basement. They enter a state of inactivity, called brumation when their metabolism slows significantly. From October through April the Garter Snake will live in its hibernaculum, only leaving if there is not snow cover enough and it needs to go deeper below the frost line. As spring temperatures warm, the male is the first to come out of brumation.
Garter Snakes are nearsighted. They use their highly developed sense of smell to detect predators and prey, flicking their tongues to draw in scent particles. When they flick their tongues towards something specific, it can mean they sense danger. The snake was also lunging towards us however, you may have noticed, it has no teeth 🙂
Excellent New Short Film – Wingaersheek: Habitat Lost
See this beautifully done new short film created by Cape Ann’s Lisa Smith and featuring marine biologist and habitat restoration expert Eric Hutchins in which they describe how the salt marsh at Wingaersheek was filled in. We learn what can be done to restore the estuary to vibrant thriving pools for fish, mudflats for clams, and a nursery for eels. Restoring the salt marsh will put Wingaersheek’s dune system back in equilibrium with nature and is our best defense against rising sea level.
Harvest Moon Over Gloucester
October’s Harvest Moon, the first of three 2025 Super Moons, descending over Gloucester City Hall, along with one of moonrise over Niles Pond.
The Fabulous Four Plants for Monarchs (and Bees)!
Plant goldenrods, asters, and milkweeds to provide Monarchs (and as you can see, many other pollinators) all the sustenance they will need during their breeding season and southward migration.
Wildflowers in order of appearance:
Seaside Goldenrod (Solidago sempervirens)
Smooth Aster (Symphyotrichum laeve)
New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae)
Common Milkweed (Asclepias syriaca)
Homegrown National Parks Coming to Cape Ann!
What are Homegrown National Parks? HNP is an exciting movement that raises awareness and urgently inspires EVERYONE to address the biodiversity crisis. How can we as individuals and organizations do this? By adding native plants and removing invasives where we live, work, learn, pray, and play.
We all know that wildlife populations are crashing the world over. The statistics are staggering, with approximately one-third of our breeding birds lost since 1970, or about 3 billion birds, and 40 percent of our insects (bird food!) in the past 40 years. HNP is showing people how we can address this crisis, backyard by backyard.
Sunday evening, Doug Tallamy, the esteemed entomologist, author, and co-founder of Homegrown National Parks, presented “The Power of Plants.” The event was hosted by 400 Trees and the Annisquam Village Church, and was followed the next morning by an informal idea-sharing discussion at our newly renovated gorgeous library. The presentation was rich with imagery and case studies of what can be accomplished in our own backyards, from teeny urban lots to suburban homes to substantial acreage. The group discussion was especially thoughtful and interesting, providing a wonderful opportunity to meet people in our community with similar interests, missions, and goals, Many, many thanks to Peter Lawrence and Sara Remsen for organizing the Tallamy talk and discussion.
Visit the Homegrown National Parks website. It is overflowing with super helpful information to get you started on your native plants journey. You can also listen to several of his excellent talks right there on the website. I have been teaching people how to grow pollinator gardens and documenting the wildlife supported by native trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and ground covers for over twenty years now. Not a day goes by where I don’t observe and learn some new, vital and fascinating information about the beautiful ecosystems created in a native plant’s habitat. When you plant native they will come!
Join the Movement Now!
1. Plant Native
2. Remove Invasives
3. Get on the Map
Where Shall We Start?
Images courtesy Doug Tallamy “The Power of Plants”
Identify the most productive plants. How to find native plants keystone species –
Native Plant Finder from the National Wildlife Federation: go to the following website and type in your zip code for an extensive list of highly valuable native trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and ground covers specifically beneficial to wildlife in your region. https://nativeplantfinder.nwf.org/
I was listening to Doug’s talk via Zoom in my office, which is also Charlotte’s art room. Charlotte is illustrating a book she is working on, all about the history of Gloucester’s monsters. It’s very imaginative and even includes mini side bars of illustrations of the eggs unique to each monster, along with the monster’s baby pictures (Nessie is well-represented). She was also enjoying glancing over at all the fascinating caterpillar images in Doug’s slideshow, when she overheard the expression ‘keystone species.’ She commented, “just like oysters are a keystone species for the ocean.” We had been to the Seacoast Science Center a week earlier where she had learned about the importance of keystone species in an ecosystem. I just thought how wonderful for her to connect the two and how much like mental sponges are these beautiful curious-minded children of the up and coming generation. I surely never learned at eight years old what a keystone species is, but how easy it was for her to understand the concept. If for no other reason, our beautiful children, and our children’s children, are why we simply can not leave to them a barren, diversity-less world.
Beautiful, Beautiful Migration
Dear Friends,
The much needed rainy weather is giving me time to catch up with you. During this past month the days have been lovely and the early mornings filled with documenting the beautiful migration occurring along our shores. We have had two waves of migrating Monarchs, one very modest at the beginning of September and one recent, quite robust movement, when a large population flew in off the water. The Monarchs didn’t stay though despite that the meadows are rife with Seaside Goldenrod in full glorious bloom. Wind conditions were just right to carry them further along and they only stopped briefly to nectar before attempting to fly over the bay toward Westport.
Autumn Meadowhawk
Saturday was spectacular weather for observing migrating creatures. Warblers were out in full force, which usually means a Merlin is not too far away. Sure enough, he/she was perched at the tip of a tall dead tree, intently scoping out its next meal. That same morning, an American Pipit was spotted wagging its tail feathers while foraging atop a pile of seaweed. A large mixed flock of Semipalmated Plovers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, and Sanderlings were devouring the invertebrates in the surf and seaweed and were joined by three Yellowlegs. An abundance of Autumn Meadowhawk Dragonflies were mating during the warmth of mid-day and I filmed a dragonfly landing on a Little Blue Heron’s leg. Not a good place to perch as it instantly became a heron snack. That beautiful day ended with a last sighting of the Whimbrel pair while three American Oystercatchers flew overhead.
The following morning I eagerly returned to find only our ubiquitous Song Sparrows and Catbirds. It’s interesting and mysterious how migration patterns unfold. There is still a bounty of nectar-rich wildflowers, ripe berries, and fruit for more traveling warblers and what nots. I imagine additional waves of winged wonders will be passing through. Please write and let me know what you are seeing in your neighborhood. I have posted several posts, and more posts are planned, featuring these beautiful creatures so please check in with my website for all the photos and short videos, more than I can send in emails.
Two events/activities for local friends that you may be interested in – Saturday, the 27th, from 2 to 4pm, historian Maria Millefoglie will be at the stunning newly renovated Sawyer Free Library to discuss some little known history about Gloucester, which she uncovered when working on a project for Gloucester’s 400th anniversary celebration. “Branded: Enemy Aliens in Gloucester” chronicles the discrimination towards Italian Americans during WWII. And through the weekend, my friend Paul’s sunflower and dahlia fields are still open. His farm is wonderfully family friendly with adorable pet-able bunnies and goats and you can also pick your own flowers.
Have a lovely week and please again let me know what creatures you are seeing in your neighborhoods. Thank you 🙂
xxKim
P.S. Please keep in mind Lights out for Birds! during these weeks of peak migration. Thank you again <3
Winged Wonders Migration – Yellowlegs Coming Ashore
We see Yellowlegs at our local waterways during both the spring and summer migration. Yellowlegs are fairly easy to identify when foraging, with their purposeful gait and bright yellow legs however, are these Greater or Lesser Yellowlegs? I think Greater because I heard their penetrating call from overhead but if you know differently, please write 🙂
Mackerel Fishing in Gloucester
Wanting to know more about Mackerel fishing in Gloucester because of the striking new public art mural created by Josh Falk, these bits of info, and painting by the Luminism master Fitz Henry Lane, came right up in my search –
Mackerel Fishing Expanded on Georges Bank
“Prior to 1820, mackerel were primarily used for bait, when Gloucester’s catch rarely exceeded 100,000 pounds or 500 barrels. With the introduction of salt mackerel, this fishery quickly expanded up and down the East Coast. In 1822, the Gloucester fleet found large schools of mackerel on Georges Bank, to the east and south of Cape Cod. This summer fishery landed 1.3 million pounds in 1821 and 6.8 million pounds in 1828. By the 1860s, the annual Gloucester catch was more than 30 million pounds. But mackerel could also prove elusive, with dramatic shifts in fish landings from year to year. For example, the enormous schools that predictably migrated each spring from off the Carolinas would nearly disappear in the 1830s, only to suddenly reappear by the early 1840s. Gloucester fishermen pursued mackerel up and down the Eastern seaboard and as far north as the Gulf of St. Lawrence.”
“At the Fishing Grounds” 1851 by Fitz Henry Lane
“This is one of a very few paintings by Lane that depict vessels at work on the fishing grounds. It was initially presumed to illustrate hand-lining for cod, but in fact shows schooners jigging for mackerel. Close inspection will show the fish to have mackerel stripes and the schooners are fitted with chum (bait) boxes on their sides from which the bait is scattered in a way called “tolling.”
In spring, mackerel form large schools off the mid-Atlantic coast and migrate northward with small groups going off to their local spawning grounds as the main school heads northward. When Georges Bank is reached, the school pauses to take advantage of this rich feeding ground; it thereafter breaks up into regional schools which swim off to smaller grounds in Cape Cod Bay, the Gulf of Maine, Canadian coastal waters, and particularly the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
The significance of this scene is that it shows the last great gathering of mackerel schooners before the fleet breaks up to follow the smaller schools to their spawning grounds. The 1850s marked a peak period in this fishery when the catching of mackerel by hooks was to give way to capture using the purse seine and subsequent rises and falls in the fortunes of this fishery.”
–Erik Ronnberg, Cape Ann Museum
Mackerel fishing today in Gloucester – Atlantic Mackerel fishing varies moderately throughout the year. High season is May to September. Low season is January to March and November to December. There is no closed season.
Mackerel image courtesy wik commons media
Holy Mackerel!
Love Gloucester’s newest public art, brought to you by artist Josh Falk and Awesome Gloucester –
Sal Zerilli writes, “Awesome Gloucester trustees proudly present the latest addition to our maritime mural series: The Holy Mackerel Mural!
Milestone moment: With this award, Awesome Gloucester has now distributed $218,000 in community support!
The project: Created by local artist Josh Falk! A companion to our beloved “Sacred Cod” mural, honoring the fish that have profoundly shaped Gloucester as America’s oldest seaport. This new piece will grace Americold’s prominent Rogers Street wall – one of our city’s most visible and iconic locations.
Community collaboration: Americold has been generous and truly community-oriented throughout this partnership. Additional support comes from the Rotary Club of Gloucester and Institution for Savings. Our dedicated trustees Rick Doucette, Stefan Edick, Bonnie Fendrock, Shawn Henry, Julie La Fontaine, Sue Salem, and Sal Zerilli made additional personal contributions to make this vision reality.
The impact: Our 9th mural continues Gloucester’s tradition of accessible public art that celebrates our maritime heritage and enriches daily life for residents and visitors alike.
Learn more about this outstanding project:
http://www.awesomefoundation.org/…/363927-the-holy…
Congratulations to all our community partners making public art possible”
Just Me and My Shadow
Happy Bday to our 45-day-old Piping Plover fledgling! He/she is the last of the Good Harbor Beach flyers. The photo/video was taken on Thursday when the little one was 42 days, or six weeks old. This is the age when we typically see them head out for their southbound migration. He’s still here as of Saturday but we are hoping to not see him any day now 🙂
I am very sorry to share that the rescue Plover did not survive. Tufts wrote that the chick had multiple chronic healed fractures and that the wing was held in a permanently drooped position. He would never be able to fly. I was at first feeling extremely low about this but both our partners at Audubon and Lis from DCR wrote that if left on the beach its demise would have been very traumatic and, if not eaten by a predator, would slowly starve to death.
Thank you so very much to everyone who wrote with well-wishes for the injured Plover.
Waves of Impact making a Big Splash at Good Harbor Beach! #gloucester
A special Waves of Impact event is happening right now at Good Harbor Beach. They were setting up for the day when I was there earlier this morning with Liv to check on Plovers. When I drove past just now the beach is full of families having a wonderful time and learning how to surf!
Waves of Impact is a surf camp, with branches in California, Texas, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. Their mission statement reads, “Waves of Impact is dedicated to providing access to the healing and therapeutic power of the ocean to individuals with exceptional challenges. Our mission is to foster growth, self-esteem, and wellness through adaptive surfing. We strive to create an inclusive and safe space for our participants, and to provide the highest quality of surf and ocean-based therapy to those in need.”
Gloucester lifeguard volunteers John Dalone, Kansas Ricci-Munn, and Charlotte Morris
Every year volunteers are needed on the beach and to help with the kids in the water. I’d love to learn more about the camp and help next year. Read more about Waves of Impact here.
