Last night’s full Strawberry Moon, at Brace Cove.
Beautiful Strawberry Moon Over Gloucester
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Category Archives: moon
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.”
#lunareclipse
Beautiful Eclipse last night! Video shot from our front porch at around 3:30 – 4:00am
PLover and Monarch News, Full Wolf Moon, and Barred Owl in the Snow
Dear PiPl Friends,
I hope you are doing well. We are keeping our family and friends in our hearts as they struggle to return to a normal way of life after the tragic LA firestorms. I hope the winds die down soon so recovery can begin in earnest. Our daughter shares that she and her boyfriend are bringing supplies to firehouse donation centers and she is keeping her hummingbird feeders well-filled as there are more birds than ever in her garden.
Thursday night I am giving a screening and Q and A of our Monarch film, Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly for the Carlisle Conservation Foundation at the Gleason Public Library. We have super good news to share regarding the Monarch film – the contract has been renewed with American Public Television, which means our documentary will be airing on PBS for another three years! We will have two nature documentaries simultaneously airing on public television 🙂 Our film about the magnificent migrating Monarchs provides a wealth of information not only about the life story of the butterfly, but also suggestions on what to plant to support the Monarchs throughout their time spent in their northern breeding range.
We had a beautiful snowfall this past weekend. Snow storms and snowfalls have become so few and far between over the past few years in our area that I hopped in my car before sunrise and headed north to film what I could, hopefully before the snow stopped. There was hardly a soul about. A wonderful variety of songbirds was foraging in the falling snow and also a very hungry Barred Owl was zooming from tree to tree surrounding an adjacent field. I pulled myself away before she caught her prey because I didn’t want to have any part in preventing her from capturing her breakfast. Fortuitously, the very next day, a friend shared a post on how to tell the difference between a male and female Barred Owl. You can read the post here. I concluded the BO flying to and from her tree perches was a female. It was magical watching her in the falling snow. Link to video of her flying –https://vimeo.com/1047197766 or you can watch it on Facebook or Instagram.
The deadline is fast approaching for underwriting opportunities for our documentary, The Piping Plovers of Moonlight Bay. We need to have all the names of underwriters in by January 20th to fulfill our contract with American Public Television. If you would like to join our underwriting pod with a contribution to our film and have your name or your organization’s name included in our underwriting credit pod please email me asap. An example of an underwriting pod – This film was brought to you by the Apple Tree Foundation, The Shorebird Conservation Fund, Lark and Phoenix Bird, …, and viewers like you (these are just sample names). Please note that every time the film airs and streams on PBS over the next three years, possibly six years, the name of your organization will be acknowledged. Of course, we gratefully accept all contributions to our documentary at any time, but if you would like to be recognized in this way, please let me know. 
Common Grackle Eating Plover eggs
I can’t believe that in only two short months Plovers and shorebirds will be returning to our beaches. Please contact me if you would like to join our Plover Ambassador team. Research from scientists in the Michigan Great Lakes region made Plover news this past week. Common Grackles were documented foraging on Piping Plover eggs. This is very noteworthy but not too surprising to our Cape Ann Plover Ambassadors as we have seen our Plovers defending their nests from Grackles. There is a very large roost of Common Grackles on Nautilus Road, opposite Good Harbor Beach. The Plovers distract the Grackles with their broken wing display and tag-team attack behavior. We wondered, were the Grackles posing a real threat or did the Plovers behave this way because Common Crows and Grackles look somewhat similar? Crows notoriously eat Plover eggs at every stage of development, from newly laid to near hatch date. We now know definitively the answer as to why our Good Harbor Beach Plovers are on high alert around Grackles!
Stay safe and warm and cozy,
xxKim
Wolf Moon Over Lobster Trap Tree
Gorgeous Moon set this morning! I almost missed it as I was planning to be back home at 7am sharp to make pancakes and my various lookout places were not aligned correctly. Luckily and just in the nick of time, I found a new spot 🙂 Tonight the full Wolf Moon Eats Mars and rises at 4:06pm. Happy Moon Viewing!
Full Flower Moon Over Boston
Gentle hazy light at 5:15 this morning. A beautiful start to the long weekend with the Flower Moonset over Boston.
Happy Memorial Day!
April Full Pink Moon Over Eastern Point
April’s full Pink Moon over Brace Rock
Mini Moon!
Full Mini Snow Moon rising over the dunes.
Also called Hunger Moon, the full Moon of February 2024 is at apogee, when the moon is at the furthest distance from the Earth during this orbit. Because it is further away, the Moon appears smaller and why this month’s full Moon is called a Mini Moon or Micro Moon.
The Moon shot above, with Saint Ann’s steeple, was taken during the full Snow Moon of February 2021.
OCTOBER MOONRISE OVER CAPE HEDGE
Beautiful glowing pink Hunter’s Moonrise over Cape Hedge, Pebble Beach, and the Twin Lights. Happy Halloween!
DECEMBER FULL COLD MOONRISE BETWEEN TWIN LIGHTHOUSES
Love also the Native American name Long Night’s Moon for December’s Full Moon as it is so near the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, which this year is December 21st. Here are some additional interesting names for December’s Moon:
Abenaki – Winter Maker
Algonquin – Much White Frost on Grass
Anishnaabe – Small Spirits
Cherokee – Snow Moon
Cheyenne – When Wolves Run Together
Cree – Young Fellow Spreads the Brush
Haida – Ripe Berries
Hopi – Moon of Respect
Lakota and Sioux – When Deer Shed Their Antlers
Passamaquoddy – Frost Fish Moon
Tlingit – Unborn Seals are Getting Hair
Winnebago – Big Bear’s Moon
Zuni – Sun Has Traveled Home to Rest
From the Farmer’s Almanac – “The term Long Night’s Moon is a doubly appropriate name because the midwinter night is indeed long, and because the Moon is above the horizon for a long time. The midwinter full Moon has a high trajectory across the sky because it is opposite a low Sun.”
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Happy Halloween on this gorgeous, balmy All Hallows’ Eve.
How different New England weather is from year to year. The photos of the full Blue Moon that a friend recently shared were taken two Halloween’s ago. I recall how cold it was when taking the photos and you can see in the images that the rooftops are dusted with snow.
Beautiful golden Blue Moon set over Gloucester Harbor. The photos were taken from East Main Street, looking towards City Hall. Blue Moons occur about every 2.5 years while the next Halloween Full Moon won’t take place for another 16 – 17 years.
Happy Halloween everyone!
SEALS IN THE RISING HUNTER’S FULL MOON
Late day Sunday, Charlotte and I took a walk to Niles Pond hoping to see the Harbor Seals in the rising Hunter’s Moon. We were not disappointed! We also saw a mini flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers and a Merlin on the hunt.
#lunareclipse BEAVER FROST NOVEMBER FULL MOON
The rain put the kibosh on viewing the full lunar eclipse, but happily the skies cleared fairly quickly to catch what I think is the tail end. You can see in the photo below that the Earth is casting a reddish shadow on the lower right side of the moon. The Moon had a lovely overall golden rusty-reddish hue as it was descending over the Harbor and behind Our Lady of Good Voyage.
I took a bunch of photos of the beautiful Beaver Moon over the past few days, the skies have been so cooperative!, and will try to find the time to post this weekend.
VENUS AND THE WAXING CRESCENT MOON
Beautiful sky, Moon, and Venus Sunday night.
HUNTERS MOON FROM THE BACKSHORE
October’s full Hunter Moon
MOONSET, MOONRISE – DECEMBER’S FULL WOLF MOON
A full day of beautiful skies allowed for wonderful moon views of the setting and rising full December Wolf Moon. Also called the Long Night Moon, Ice Moon, Cold Moon, and the Moon After Yule, December’s full moon marks the 13th full moon of 2020.
Several of the photos are from the night before and several from this morning. The two Eastern Point Lighthouse photos are double exposures. All were taken around our East Gloucester neighborhood, from Good Harbor Beach to the EPLighthouse.
STUNNING FROST BEAVER FULL MOON RISE WITH HARBOR SEALS AND EVENING SUNSET!
Sunday night was simply wonderful for sky watching. Looking eastward, the nearly full Beaver Moon (also called Frost Moon) rose over Brace Cove while the seals were still lolling about on the rocks.
Passing Niles Beach on the way home the last lingering red rays of light were illuminating the Boston skyline and the Dogbar Breakwater light.
Called the Beaver Moon because according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, November is when Beavers head into their lodges for the winter.
Full Beaver Moon rising
RARE GOLDEN BLUE MOON HALLOWEEN FULL MOON OVER GLOUCESTER HARBOR
Beautiful golden Blue Moon set over Gloucester Harbor. The photos were taken from East Main Street, looking towards City Hall. Capturing the flag from across the Harbor on the eve of this historic election, Blue Moons occur about every 2.5 years while the next Halloween Full Moon won’t take place for another 18 – 19 years.
Happy Halloween everyone!
STUNNING THUNDER MOON OVER GOOD HARBOR BEACH AND SHERMAN POINT
Beautiful, beautiful night, with the added imagery of the rising Thunder Moon. Also called the Buck Moon because this is the time of year male deer antlers begin to regrow. And, too, another name is the Hay Moon, after the July hay harvest.
MAY’S MAGNOLIA MOON
May’s full Moon is most often called the Flower Moon. Other names include the Corn Planting Moon, and Milk Moon. How beautiful the Flower Moon looked last night rising through our Magnolia blossoms! 
SUPER STUNNING SUPER MOON! #GLOUCESTERMA -SCHOONER ADVENTURE, GOOD HARBOR BEACH, GLOUCESTER HARBOR, BACKSHORE
Called the Worm Moon because the ground begins to soften and earthworms reappear, inviting Robins to our gardens. Among many names, March’s Full Moon is also called the Sleepy Moon, Sap Moon, Crust Moon, Lenten Moon, and Crow Moon.
Photos of the full Super Worm Moon rising and setting.
Gloucester Harbor
Between the twin masts of the Schooner Adventure
Good Harbor Beach
Backshore
Winter Moon Nights
Moonlit scenes from this winter
Moonlight Lane
Moonlight Lane
OCTOBER FULL HUNTER’S MOON RISING
Last night’s Hunter’s Moon rising through the clouds.
A MAGICAL MIRAGE CALLED AN ‘OMEGA’ MOONRISE
February’s Super Snow Moon was magical in more ways than simply beautiful. The unusual mirage captured during the Moon’s rise was seen by other Cape Ann photographers as well as myself. Lisa Freed from Rockport photographed the omega shape, rising adjacent to Motif No.1.
The effect has several names including Omega Moonrise, Etruscan Vase Moonrise, and Inferior Mirage Moonrise. The omega shape is seen more often during a sunrise, so it is quite exciting that we were witness to an Omega Moonrise on Cape Ann!
From my reading, this is how I understand why it occurs:
During cold weather, when the seawater is warmer than the air, the lowermost air layer is warmed up by the water and produces a temperature difference.
This omega shape is a type of inferior mirage. The refracted (inverted) image is actually below the object’s true position. When the Moon protrudes above the horizon at Moonrise, its inferior mirage can sometimes be seen below it, where it joins the true Moon, creating an omega shape. For this mirage to occur, a layer of very warm air must lie just above the sea surface.
Omega Moonrise
A few minutes later