More of the Snow

This shot is of my sweet front yard in yesterday's snow aftermath. I put up the arch so it would make the patio seem a bit more like a secret garden. The arch has my non-blooming trumpet vine growing over it. Should it ever bloom it will be lovely.

I won't be here to see it though. I signed the Purchase & Sales Agreement on my house today. Now I can start moving small belongings to Ayer. The bigger stuff will go once the buyer gets her funding approved by the bank who already reports to my broker that the buyer is "squeaky clean" financially. I can't believe the changes will now start and I must leave my sweet little home.

After The Snow

This is the snow in my backyard on the iron garden divider and the honeysuckle vine. The storm was long and dramatic yet in the end I probably had only a foot, not the 20" predicted. My new hip stood the test of snow shoveling! I wonder if this is my last storm on Lake Rd. before I move to the snow belt of Ayer.

Before the SNOW

The snow has started in earnest and it looks pretty nasty out there. I just got my firewood in when it became an instant blizzard. I took this picture when my friends and I walked in the dunes at Crane's Beach the day before Christmas. We all felt we needed fresh air. The dunes are another world. They certainly are going to be a much different world once this storm of the century ends on Monday.

It's a Beauty

This tree goes right to the heart - beauty, peace, and elegance. I took this picture of a store window decoration just for you all. My wish for this holiday season is peace for us all. Merry Christmas, dear friends.

Bethlehem

This is Bethlehem in Magnolia. A shop window has a display of Bethlehem. I've never seen a nativity like this one before. This side of the windows are the Wise Men heading towards the manager scene which is in the other window (and not nearly as able to be photographed because of window glare). My wish for the new year is we all find ways to be wise and give to others.

Snow Clouds

This shot is of winter clouds gathering over the ocean the day before the snow. Now I know why the clouds were so heavy and dark! We didn't get a lot of snow but, boy, was it dangerous driving. The stories of commutes are already legendary. My 1 hr drive lasted 4 and a half hours with a graceful slide into a guard rail at the finish. Liberty Mutual is now telling me the car may be a total loss because the hood is bent! Good heavens.

Christmas Magic

This is the kind of sparkling window decoration that makes us all believe in the magic of the season. To my eye, it looked all silver and white. I was surprised the camera caught golds too. This shop is one that sells Christmas decorations year round so it knows how to dazzle passersby. It put me in the spirit. And, now the "Messiah" is on the radio as I am writing. Time to put a fire in the wood stove and look out on the ice on my pond.

Drive Up

Living by the ocean especially in a seafaring community like Gloucester means boats, boats, and more boats. The variety of shapes, sizes and vintages is endlessly fascinating. I get a big kick out how many people can park their boats right by their front door. At this owner must be a hardcore boater to have his dinghy at the ready at this time of year.

Reflections on LIfe

Cape Ann is a great place to reflect on life. The tides slow down time while we heal from stress or whatever life gives us to contemplate. People walk the beaches for solitude. The activity of watching the world go by is one we hold dear and always find space and time for personal reflection.

Artistic Touches

The count down to moving away from Gloucester is starting if only in my head. My buyer is dealing with her financing and it looks as if I will pack up and move in January. I am looking at Cape Ann with an eye to what I love most. This is one of the blessings of living here - artistry. Cape Ann has a long, rich history of attracting artists, famous and not-so-famous. With artists come small artistic touches everywhere. This one caught my attention on a walk yesterday. The little shop is closed for the winter, but someone thought to make it cheerful with just the right touch of flowers. The view of the harbor through the window adds to the charm of Rocky Neck.

Nature's View

I was thinking recently how much of my holiday spirit comes from Nature's seasonal displays. For me this dark time of year always puts me in the mood for cozy fires in my wood stove and the smell of baking cookies. I'm not baking cookies, but I sure am keeping the fire stoked. It's COLD here today.

Red berries pop against the gray, leafless branches. This year the berries are plentiful everywhere and bright red. They almost sparkle in bright sun and give me holiday cheer.

Seeing Stars

I found the stars are out in Rockport in a big way.

Driftwood Tree

Someone got the bright idea to make "Christmas Trees" out of driftwood. I found them in many of the store windows over in Rockport yesterday. This one was the best of them all. I want one for my little cottage - a gift from the sea.

Life's Surprises

I took a drive after lunch around Cape Ann to poke into the nooks and crannies of my beloved peninsula. Stopped for a cold, windy walk along Rockport streets and was the only one out there when I heard horse hoof beats. So I turned around to see this wagon from Whale Cove Farm clopping down Main Street! You just never know what's going to come along and surprise you!

Local Nuts

I co-opted someone's photo image from Good Morning Gloucester, our local daily blog. These hardy folks are celebrating Thanksgiving. Running into the ocean off Wheeler's Point is an annual tradition that I intend never to celebrate. This year the air temperature was in the 50's. I am here to tell you the ocean is freezing even in the middle of summer so these daring people are nuts.

High Tide

Sometimes a really high tide can startle you. What was once a marsh is a lake and it lasts for only about 6 hrs or less. I happened on this sight as I went for drive last Sunday. I know I have posted photos of this marsh side cottage before, but it bears repeating. You just want to hang out on the that porch however no one ever does so there is an element of sadness about this wonderful, unloved cottage.

A Little Stroll

I still enjoy the wonders of Cape Ann. One is never certain what they are going to find on the streets. I took this one of a mother and daughter strolling with their family of ponies down the main street of Essex passing the antique shops along the route. No one seemed to mind having their picture taken.

Holiday Bounty

Every fall I take pleasure in pumpkins arrays and configurations. The combination of shapes, sizes and color cheer me and I want to take their pictures. This time I actually had a camera with me. Enjoy the sights and colors of the season. Happy Thanksgiving.

Autumn in the Marsh

I drove past this marsh when the sunlight was just right. This is the time of year the reeds go to seed and look like dancing heads in the sun. They always catch my eye as part of the joy of this season. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Russell's Orchard

All roads lead to Russell's this week. They have boxes and boxes of homemade pies waiting to go to good homes for Thanksgiving dinner. I stopped in for their orchard made Blueberry wine to take as gift to my Thanksgiving hostess. I walked around the big open barn with the massive fireplace and bins of apples enjoying all the produce and colors of the season. Of course, I HAD to buy hot apple cider doughnuts. They really are the best. I also tried a lemon-rosemary scone with my afternoon tea. What a warm, luscious treat on a cold, cold fall day.

Showdown at Midnight

This cat and mouse game went on for 3hrs. Either this is a smart mouse or my cats are in it for the kill. The mouse was in Harry's mouth around hour one and lived. I got a big laugh out of watching Harry chase the mouse towards William and the mouse stopped in the middle of the floor, sat down on his hind legs and paused to look at Harry who really didn't know what to make of the whole thing. The mouse then turned and ran into William's plume tail for cover. All three animals are still alive!

Soulful Pumpkin

This little one tops my list of pumpkins with personality for this year. He/she was sitting sweetly all my his/her self on a post outside a house. I found the face captivating and had to brake for a photo! Happy Halloween all.

Part of the Art Scene

This Halloween decoration graces the lawn of the Rockport Art Association. The lights for eyes didn't exactly come out when I took the photo in the day time. I like the easel in the back. Make no mistake that this is a ghost of an artist from the past.

Rockport Spook

This street decoration in Rockport is so popular I had to wait my turn to get his picture. I overheard someone say "I'll be he'll win the competition." I would think so too. He is done up with creativity and flair. I would hate to bump into on the street at night if I didn't know he was standing on the corner.

Folk Art

Is it my imagination or has Halloween become a new outpouring of community creativity and expression? Someone at my book group said the other night she heard more people spend money on Halloween decorations than on Christmas decorations. It certainly seems so in my neck of the woods. I love the creativity and imagine gleeful homeowners coming up with new ways to make ghosts and goblins.

This house tries to outdo itself every year. I couldn't quite get a full shot of all that goes on in their yard. This is only the middle section of the display.

I have much more coming over the week to scare and amuse you as I have fun driving (yes, I'm back behind the wheel) around Cape Ann!

The Helper

Here he is - William, my lovely office assistant. He's staffing the phone. Maybe he is willing it to ring! If only I could teach him to do project budgets. I am tackling a mega one right now which isn't any fun. I need all the feline support I can get.

Tricky Tide

The tide is a tricky thing. I learned growing up to walk "out with the tide" and come back in before the tide turns. As kids we would delight in the "city folk" who would get trapped out on the sand flats because the tide would fill in their path back to the beach. They did know about the tides. Of course, we kids were very malicious in our attitudes towards the summer residents of our town.

When I came off Good Harbor Beach Sunday, the tide had come up from the marsh into the parking lot. I will admit the little Cape Codder in me got evil pleasure from thinking about the owners of the cars wading to get into their vehicles! You can take the kid out of Cape Cod, but you can't take the Cape Cod out of the kid!

Good Harbor Beach

I still can't drive yet which is frustrating. Next Tuesday should be the date when my surgeon lets me start living outside the house again!

However, friends do come take me off for outings as my friend Jess did on Sunday. Columbus Day Weekend was spectacular weather. Jess and her dog took a long walk on Good Harbor beach while I basked in the precious fall sun near the closed bath house. This is the view from my chair. I guess you could say it was my view of the world.

Home

I am trying to get back to my blogging. The hip replacement recovery is slow so I haven't been out and about with my camera. I did take this shot yesterday of my own sweet little cottage as it sits ready for viewing. Three people have looked at the house already. There is an open house scheduled for this Sunday which I hope will draw visitors to the area who are going to the Cape Ann Artisans Tour. You can see why I am very sad to be leaving my wonderful space.

The Industrial Harbor

I am going to miss the working harbor. You get very used to the industrial buildings as part of the scene. I find it exciting to see all the activity that goes with supporting and running a fishing harbor. The Gloucester fishing industry diminishes each year because of the restrictions on taking stocks of fish. Still, the harbor always looks busy to me.

I Wil Miss . . . . . . . .

Buoys! They are everywhere on Cape Ann. You see them hanging on fences, barns, fishing shacks, etc. They always remind me that I live in a working fishing city.

Things I Will Miss

I am going to miss that part of the beach where the waves wash up on the sand. In summer you walk through the water to cool off. In the winter you try not to walk through the waves or get wet! Then there is the sound of the waves. I can hear it from my house at high tide in the Magnolia Harbor.

New Home

I've been running around a lot lately - doctor's visits, packing to move and organizing my work before I head to surgery. This is an overwhelming time compared to the quiet of the last two years. I happily welcome the activity even though I am having trouble getting everything done.

Here are pictures of my new home in Ayer, MA. You can see the carpenters on the roof starting to build my living room/bedroom that runs across the back of the house. I had to include pictures of the beach and the pond. They make this house a pleasant place to visit and live. My friend's neighbor calls her house a place to go for a "stay-cation". That's just what I will be doing, sort of. I also will have an office off the room that is being built.

It's a busy time of change and new hope.

Granite, Granite, Granite

Cape Ann, unlike my sandy Cape Cod, is built on granite. It is everywhere including ledge that runs through people's yards and boulders all over the place. I am going to miss this stony landscape as I move to farm land.

This rocky wall is my path to a new life.

Wish I Was Swimming

Doesn't this look like the perfect summertime activity? I would be thrilled to be playing in the water like these kids. Instead I am cleaning out "stuff" accumulated over time. I took 7 bags to the garbage and 3 to Goodwill. I've got to admit, I felt great when I came home. I don't think I am going to mind this down-sizing! Who knew!

The Ladies of Gloucester

Our Sicilian women are the heart of the city. You see them in groups mostly sitting on stoops or walking. Many wear black. They always speak Italian to each other making this wonderful old world atmosphere. These ladies were sitting on the street during our annual Sidewalk Sale weekend.

These women got me thinking about change and what change looks like. While I think of the Sicilian community as firmly rooted in the past, they aren't. They represent the bravery of change and leaving home for a new life. Perhaps these women are a part of setting out from Sicily to find a new life when they were much younger and in the process have forever altered the Gloucester community.

Padre Pio

I took this picture as a study of "blue" (get a load of all those blues!). Yet this fishing boat is a symbol of a community in change. Gloucester's main industry has been fishing and all the businesses that support fishing. Generations of families are fishing families. Over the years the diminishing stocks of fish have caused a collapse of the community. The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration have wisely put in regulations that limit the amount of fish any one boat can catch in order to save the fish stock and help them grow. This is treated as an assault on the local livelihood. I believe it is an example of the distance between science and enterprise. This has been going on for years and year.

The Gloucester Daily Times reported yesterday that seven New England Senators have asked the President for a $150M bailout for struggling fishermen. Guess what the local reaction is? No. We don't want a bailout we want to lower the restrictions on catching fish so we can continue our tradition of fishing.

This is a community of proud Sicilian and Portuguese fishermen. Change is slow here. Gloucester is impoverished and a bailout would help the city survive.

Change

My friend Libby Ball inspired me to think of life changes and how the ones I am about to make are ones from which I can learn a tremendous amount about finding life's real pleasures and making a home.

I have made a life decision to sell my sweet little house (seen here) and move in with my friend Jess who has invited me to share her house in Ayer. It's a major life change. At the same time I am having hip replacement surgery August 30. My life is changing from the inside out.

My life has been marked by down times that lead to wonderful new experiences - I lived with an alcoholic boyfriend which inspired me to leave Cape Cod and move to Boston. That pivotal move gave me a career which I never would have found otherwise. When my mother died, I found small town life on Cape Ann. A car accident helped me create a house of my own as my protection from the world. Now, the ugly side of layoffs is leading me to down-size and reduce expenses.

I am embracing the chance to reflect on life and learn how to live simply without the clutter of stuff, emotional and otherwise. This blog will now be about change. Please post your thoughts. Change is a communal one and your thoughts will inspire all of us.

The photos will continue!

Study in Red

Yesterday was a brilliant, sunny, clear day and all the colors in the harbor were striking. I went back to Kathleen's color challenge which I have yet to fully explore. Here's one of my "red" pictures. It's the hull of a good sized boat pulled up to the Coast Guard pier. The boat stood out in the sea of blues and whites that is the color vocabulary of the harbor.

Playing with Dad

The beach is a great place for people watching. You see lots of fathers building sandcastles, jumping over waves and teaching their kids to be playful. This shot reminds me of being a kid and climbing up high and then not knowing how to get down! What endless, fun summer days kids get to have on our beautiful beaches.

Juan Munoz sculpture

This sculpture is on display at the Clark Museum on the outdoor patio. The piece is groupings of figures engaged with each other. I accidentally clicked the shutter on my camera before I had the view finder up to my eye. The result was better than the ones I took with proper aim. It focuses right in on the gist of the sculpture - communication.

Perfect Summer Day

Wow! Doesn't this image just say "summer"? I took this on the grounds of the Sterling and Francine Clark Museum in Williamstown. The sky was just right. I wanted to go lay down in the field and watch the clouds float by which was a childhood activity of mine during long, lazy summers. Who wouldn't want to have one of those endless summers now?

Jacob's Pillow

I took a cultural escape with my friend Linda in the Berkshires Thursday and Friday. We went to see Monica Bill Barnes perform at Jacob's Pillow and the Picasso-Degas Exhibit at the Clark Museum in Williamstown. The weather was perfect, the art fantastic and the dance, the freshest choreography we've seen in a long time.

This picture is off the gardens on the beautiful, picturesque grounds of Jacob's Pillow. We were strolling around before the performance. I had to get one garden shot at least. Viewing the people through the flowers was an added bonus.

Sumac?

I always forget the name of this plant. I think it's Sumac. It's not a cultivated plant, but a wild one that grows near the beaches and bushes. It must like sandy soil since it grows in all the coastal towns in which I've lived. The contrast of the greens and purple always catch my eye as well as the cone shaped buds. When winter comes the twisted branches always stand out against the background. I took this picture as I was leaving my swimming hole on Sunday.

Summer's Bounty

Kathleen Holliday has issued another challenge - summer flowers. Her challenges always get me outside looking deeply at the world around me. I actually took this picture for Kathleen's color challenge! By the way, I am still working on "color" and have great plans for "red" (if I can ever get out of bed early when the sun will be just right)! So, enjoy this blue bell flower from my garden.

Bench Sitter

The benches in Gloucester get used by all kinds of people especially in the summer when they can sit on the Boulevard in the ocean breeze and look at out constant activity in the harbor. I like going down and watching and seeing what I can catch on camera. I was drawn into the conversation between these two women through the language of their hands. I can't wait to get down to the Boulevard again soon and see what else I find.

Man At The Wheel

If you stand still long enough in Gloucester, a seagull will sit on your head!

This is the iconic image of Gloucester. The "Man At the Wheel" represents what Gloucester is all about. It's a landmark, an image and a tourist site. And, a bird rest!

A couple of year's ago the citizens of Massachusetts voted in a contest to put the image on the quarter to be issued for MA. However, the state or Governor or someone nixed it. I don't know why.

I'm not actually sure the title of Leonard Craske's statue is truly "Man At the Wheel". That's the name we who live here call him. He stands looking at out the harbor every day.

More Color

There is nothing like a hydrangea for summer color. And, for shades of colors. No two blossoms are alike. I love the way the change their colors almost daily as they mature. This one is in my yard. The conditions have been just right this year for an abundance of blooms on all three of my bushes. All of them, I might add, are different colors.