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.”
Dive into history of one of the most popular soft drinks around the Cape Ann area Twin Lights Tonic. This carefully researched story of one of the last family bottlers still in operation. Paul St.Germain and Devlin Sherlock bring you through the history and development of carbonated soft drinks as they trace the narrative of the 115-year-old Twin Lights Bottling Company (originally Thomas Wilson Bottling Company). Woven throughout is the story of one Rockport, MA family of Portuguese immigrants who began producing the tonic in the back of a small town grocer store in 1907.
With over 70 photographs included, this lovingly assembled book is sure to delight.
For a limited time, you will also receive a commemorative postcard and magnet with your purchase!
Click here to order !
Proceeds of sale go to Thacher Island Association
Limited Supply Remains, Order Today!!
Paperback edition of Twin Lights Tonic: Cape Ann’s Timeless Soda Pop
Limited edition Twin Lights Beverages magnet
Limited edition Twin Lights Sparkling Water postcard
Dive into history with this carefully researched story of one of the last family bottlers still in operation. Paul St. Germain and Devlin Sherlock bring you through the history and development of carbonated soft drinks as they trace the narrative of 115-year-old Twin Lights Bottling Company (originally Thomas Wilson Bottling Company). Woven throughout is the narrative of one Rockport, MA family of Portuguese immigrants who began producing the tonic in the back of a small-town grocery store in 1907.
With over 70 photographs included, this lovingly assembled book is sure to delight. For a limited time, you will also receive a commemorative postcard and magnet with your purchase!
Proceeds will benefit the Thacher Island Association for their restoration and maintenance efforts of the island.
Gloucester’s February 2nd Nor’easter brought rain, high winds, and area flooding. Both Nautilus Road and Atlantic Road were temporarily closed at high tide due to over wash. The waves along the back shore were tremendous!!
Notice in the above photos of Good Harbor Beach the water that surrounds the dune. When the parking lot is flooded and the water comes right up to the base of the dune, you can see how the dune is really just a very narrow slip of land. One super powerful storm could reclaim Good Harbor Beach and turn the entire area into a marsh.
Look what the storm brought in its wake – great waves, marsh flooding, and dreamy atmospheric skies, along with Sanderlings, Gulls, and an American Pipit feeding at the shoreline.
That’s Rick and Roman Gadbois enjoying the scene in several of the Back Shore photos.
Very sadly though, another dead baby Harbor Seal was washed ashore, this one at Niles Beach.
Wishing you peace, love and the best of health in 2021 – Happy New Year dear Friends. I am so grateful for blog, Facebook, and Instagram friendships, new and old. Thank you for your kind comments throughout the year.
I wish to especially thank you for your support of my documentary, Beauty on the Wing. Although completed in March at the beginning of the pandemic. The virtual support has been phenomenal and has made a world of difference knowing of people’s unwavering love for the butterflies.
Please stay safe and healthy in the coming year. Wishing all your dreams come true. To peace, love, and great health in 2021. <3
These photos were taken several days ago. I haven’t had time to sort through photos from today, but I think this morning’s sunrise was even more beautiful 🙂
Thank you so very much to Scott Weidensaul from Project SNOWStorm for his thoughtful suggestions and kind assistance while writing the script for the film A Snowy Owl Comes to Cape Ann. Not only that, but he has shared the project with the Project SNOWStorm community and people are making very kind comments. Means much coming from knowledgeable owl-lovers <3
Scott writes,
Wherever you are during this pandemic lockdown, here’s a special treat to ease the passing of time.
Kim Smith, a naturalist and filmmaker on the North Shore of Massachusetts, spent the winter of 2018 shadowing a young female snowy owl on windy, stormy Cape Ann. The result was five short films about the owl, which Kim was kind enough to share with our team during production, and is generous enough to share with the whole Project SNOWstorm community now that they’re finished. They’re simply beautiful.
You can find all five of Kim’s films here — enjoy!
I started following Project SNOWStorm several years ago and love their posts.. You can sign up here: Subscribe by email, on the right side of the page, or on any of the blog post pages. I promise, you will enjoy reading the fascinating information provided and will look forward to their arrival in your inbox. You can also make a donation here, too, if so inclined 🙂
Thank you to everyone for your very kind comments for this series. It has been a joy creating for such an enthusiastic audience <3
Thank you to Jennifer Davis and her adorable daughters Ellie and Isla. They stopped by one morning to see if they could find Snowy Owl. The girls and Mom were being so good at watching her from a safe distance. I asked Jenny if she minded if I took a photo and some footage, too. Jenny very graciously said yes!
Some good news-
In the two years that have passed since our Snowy visited Cape Ann’s Back Shore, all of Boston’s North Shore has not seen the same tremendous numbers of that winter of 2018. I read though on ProjectSNOWstorm’s website of the possibility of an exciting upcoming winter of 2020-2021 because there has been a good population of lemmings in the eastern portions of the Snowies breeding grounds. Let’s hope for more visits by beautiful Snowies <3
A Snowy Owl Comes to Cape Annwas created for the kids in the Cape Ann community during this at-home school time. Please share with young people you know who may be interested.
Thank you again for watching!
To see all five episodes together, please go to the Snowy Owl Film Project page on my website.
Again, thank you to Scott Weidensaul from ProjectSNOWstorm for script advice.
A Snowy Owl Comes to Cape Ann
Part Five: Snowy Owl Returns to the Arctic
Friends of Snowy Owl wondered how long she would stay before heading north on her return migration to the Arctic. Typically, Snowies leave New England by March or April, but some have stayed as late as July.
Why do people find Snowy Owls so captivating?
Owls symbolize wisdom and intelligence, and the characters they are given in popular culture and literature strengthen our associations.
We are provided a wonderful window into the world of owls through Snowies because they are crepuscular creatures, which means they are most active at dawn and at dusk.
There are only about 30,000 Snowy Owls in the wild. No one knows if their numbers are stable or decreasing.
Snowies face many threats, especially when they come south to us, including vehicles, planes, and toxic chemicals.
Research analysis shows that most carry some degree of rat poison, pesticides, and/or mercury in their bodies.
We can all be conscientious stewards of Snowies by not using poisonous chemicals and by keeping a safe distance when observing.
In early March, Snowy Owl began to appear restless. Migration is the most dangerous period in an owl’s life, but hormonal changes triggered by longer days were urging her northward.
Snowy Owl survived the fierce winds and waves of powerful nor’easters along with constant heckling by gulls and crows.
She ate well during her winter stay on Cape Ann.
Snowy Owl was strong and healthy when she departed, increasing the likelihood of a safe journey and return to her breeding habitat of Arctic tundra and grasslands.
Hello Friends on this rainy, windy day. People’s holiday weekend ran the gamut from joyful to tragic and I so hope yours was not too difficult and you were able to find some light. It was such a beautiful day weather-wise yesterday and if there is one thing about the coronavirus is how wonderful it is to see so many families enjoying each other’s company while out in the fresh air.
Part four, Snowy Owl Takes a Bath, was filmed early one morning. I stopped by to check on Snowy Owl (her nickname at the time was Hedwig) and noticed her face was stained red from breakfast. I only planned to take a few snapshots when she hopped over to a rocky tide pool and began to wash her face. I ran back to the car to get my movie camera and am so glad I did! For the next 40 – 45 minutes she bathed, preened, and fluffed.
I am calling this rare footage because I can’t find anything else like it. Unlike most owls, which are nocturnal (active at night) Snowy Owls are active during the day (diurnal), providing a rare glimpse into the world of owls in the wild.
To see all four episodes together, please go to the Snowy Owl Film Project page on my website. These shorts were created for the kids in the Cape Ann community during this at-home schooling time. The last segment, part five, Snowy Owl Returns to the Arctic, is almost completed and will be posted later this week.
Thank you for watching!
Again, thank you to Scott Weidensaul from ProjectSNOWstorm for script advice.
A Snowy Owl Comes to Cape Ann
Part Four: Snowy Owl Takes a Bath
After a snow squall and as the sun was beginning to appear, a Snowy Owl came out to take a bath. She found a watery icy pool tucked out of sight from dive bombing crows and gulls.
Snowy Owls, like most non-aquatic birds, take baths to clean their feathers.
First washing her face, she tip-dipped and then dunked. After bathing, Snowy fluff dried her feathers, pooped, and preened. During preening, oil from the preen gland, which is located at the base of the tail, is distributed through the feathers to help maintain waterproofing.
Washing, fluffing, and preening took about forty-five minutes from head to talon.
Casting a pellet is a totally normal thing that Snowy Owls, and all owls do. You may even have dissected a pellet in biology class. I just had no idea until seeing Snowy do this that they could be so large!
You can view the first three episodes here: Snowy Owl Film Project. All five will eventually be found on this page. Almost finished with Part Four: Snowy Owl Takes a Bath 🙂
A Snowy Owl Comes to Cape Ann
Part Three: Snowy Owl Casts a Pellet
Once or twice a day an owl casts, or regurgitates, a pellet, which is a mass of undigested parts of the bird’s food. Pellets form after an owl has fed. The owl often casts a pellet, and goes poop, shortly before heading out to hunt.
Pellets contain sharp-edged bones and teeth that could damage the bird’s lower digestive tract. Its presence prevents the owl from swallowing fresh prey.
Snowy Owl MightY Hunter is part two of the series A Snowy Owl Comes to Cape Ann. The segment where Snowy is eating her prey may be too graphic for very young children, so parents please preview.
Please share with friends and your young naturalists. Thank you for watching and take care <3
A Snowy Owl Comes to Cape Ann Part One
Dear Friends,
Not last winter but the winter before, an exquisite Snowy Owl arrived on Cape Ann. I think it was sometime in December we first began seeing her perched on Bass Rocks. Many of us followed her escapades daily and we took lots of photos. I was also filming her. Like many Snowies, she was tolerant of people, but I think she was especially unperturbed by humans. I also filmed other Snowies that irruptive winter, a stunning nearly all white male nicknamed Diablo at Salisbury Beach, a pretty female at Plum Island, and several males that were located at a beach just north of Logan Airport. And while filming one morning in the dunes at Crane Beach, two were having an epic battle. I was sitting super still and one of the combatants landed within several feet of where I was perched, startling us both!
About two months ago my computer crashed and I lost my film editing program and also became sick with what I thought was a cold. I had been mostly self-quarantining for a month prior to the mandated quarantine because I didn’t want any elderly friends to catch my cold. It turns out it is pneumonia. So between quarantining and learning my brand new film editing program I have made a series of short 3-5 minute films, mostly for the parents and kids in our neighborhood, and also for all our owl lovers. Hopefully, these shorts will help a bit to pass the time.
A Snowy Owl Comes to Cape Ann is part one in the first of five episodes. Next to come is Snowy Owl Mighty Hunter.
Please share with your neighbors and Moms and Dads home with the kids. I think you will love seeing the Snowy and how beautiful, too, Cape Ann looks in wintertime. And we’ll also learn some fun facts about Snowies!
Not last winter but the winter before, an exquisite Snowy Owl arrived on Cape Ann. I think it was sometime in December we first began seeing her perched on Bass Rocks. Many of us followed her escapades daily and we took lots of photos. I was also filming her. Like many Snowies, she was tolerant of people, but I think she was especially unperturbed by humans. I also filmed other Snowies that irruptive winter, a stunning nearly all white male nicknamed Diablo at Salisbury Beach, a pretty female at Plum Island, and several males that were located at a beach just north of Logan Airport. And while filming one morning in the dunes at Crane Beach, two were having an epic battle. I was sitting super still and one of the combatants landed within several feet of where I was perched, startling us both!
About two months ago my computer crashed and I lost my film editing program and also became sick with what I thought was a cold. I had been mostly self-quarantining for a month prior to the mandated quarantine because I didn’t want any elderly friends to catch my cold. It turns out it is pneumonia. So between quarantining and learning my brand new film editing program I have made a series of short 3-5 minute films, mostly for the parents and kids in our neighborhood, and also for all our owl lovers. Hopefully, these shorts will help a bit to pass the time.
A Snowy Owl Comes to Cape Ann is part one in the first of five episodes. Next to come is Snowy Owl Hunting.
Please share with your neighbors and Moms and Dads home with the kids. I think you will love seeing the Snowy and how beautiful, too, Cape Ann looks in wintertime. And we’ll also learn some fun facts about Snowies!
Daily I have been checking and this afternoon we were overjoyed to see two foraging at low tide at Good Harbor Beach. They were super hungry, looking for food non-stop at the sand bar and in the water.
The PiPls are three days ahead of last year. Each spring they have been arriving earlier and earlier.
The Piping Plovers annual return is an event that I and many others have come to look forward to. Especially this year, not only because they are a sign of hope and renewal during the extremely challenging times we are experiencing but because of the hurricane that destroyed much of their Bahamian habitat last autumn.
Thanks to our amazing crew of volunteers, Essex Greenbelt’s Dave Rimmer, Gloucester’s DPW, Gloucester City Council, and to all our Piping Plover friends, three chicks successfully fledged at Good Harbor Beach last summer. Let’s stay positive for another fantastic year with our PiPl family!
Spectacular wildy waves after the March 6th storm. And stunning sunrise this am. Photos from around the back shore of Cape Ann, from Gloucester to Rockport, taken Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.
At sunset this evening, the skies cleared for a bit and one could see the snowstorm departing in an easterly direction, while more squalls were beginning to blow ashore from the west. The nearly half-Moon was rising over the marsh through the clouds. Swells along the backshore were larger than average, but nothing nearly as dramatic as the waves during a nor’easter. Perhaps the waves were bigger on the other side of the Island.
Although I didn’t get a snapshot, the small flock of Wild Turkeys was leaping about at the base of a bird feeder, hungrily looking for food. Which was actually pretty funny because grace is decidedly not a characteristic shared with these large-bottom birds. I wished I had a handful to give them.
Frost Moon rising between the Twin Lights. The Frost Moon is also known as the Beaver Moon and Mourning Moon. Oh how I wish I had my tripod with me tonight, but this image is fun anyway. I think it would make a better painting.
