What talent!

Watch closely . . .

>

Pretty good, huh?

* I know some people are sure what the Eider is eating ... it's a Crab! First it rips the legs off then sucks/pulls out the body!!!

Gloucester Gulls!

I apologize for taking so long to post about the Gloucester Gulls. It's been a long week and I'm so glad it finally over.

Lined up are the three herring trawlers; Endeavor, Challenger, and Voyager, along with a schooner on the end

When we arrived at the fishing pier overlooking Gloucester harbor I jumped out of the car and went straight for the birds. Judging by the commotion something big had to be going on!

I don't know that is was 'big' but in a birds eyes it's about survival. My gosh, what an awful job this guy has.



You can see where the Gulls steal the fish from as they roll out of the conveyor belt into the shoot. I only saw one actually get a fish and he swallowed it whole as the other birds attacked him!



Here comes an immature gull now hoping to get lucky

This isn't the best video, but you get the idea of what it's like. Mayhem!!!

After watching the Gulls for a few minutes my husband and I walked over to the other side of the pier and had a look at the Princess Laura

I'd seen her before but she's still a beauty


Looking out into the harbor (with the sun directly overhead) you can see the old paint factory on the left and the schooner, Peacemaker (formally known as Avany), turning around then going back to port.




The Erin E. Miller coming in.

And that's just a brief moment in time in Gloucester harbor. You might want to cover your head when you visit.

Rockport Gull

Sitting on lobster pots right in front of Motif #1, this Gull was pretty relaxed and not shy about being the center of my attention







Yes, a lovely Gull in Rockport.


In my next post we'll get a look at some Gloucester Gull's. Brace yourself!

A little more Rockport

And so we continue in Rockport.

These photo's go in progression starting from where Motif #1 is located and continuing as we walked up through town and along Bearskin Neck. This is also just a very small sampling of the town of Rockport which is chock full of shops, art galleries, and food.


The Sandy Bay Yacht Club sits overlooking Motif #1



On this particular day it was empty. The rockers looked very inviting though. They made me want to sit and rock a while. No membership, no rocking.


One thing I loved about Rockport were the flowers, they were everywhere! This town knows how to garden!

An outstanding view looking through the window from The Greenery, a restaurant where we had lunch. Great view, great food, poor service, poor upkeep. Sorry Greenery, doubt I'll be back.





Kind of wish we had eaten at Roy's instead. Maybe next time.

The Ice Cream Store was an adorable little shop, but it was closed.



Kayak rental. What color suits you?



Smack dab in the middle of all the shops sits this private residence, and their cat


Side view of Motif #1 as we walked up Bearskin Neck. I really wanted to walk out there but didn't want to ruin anyone's shot.









I know nothing about this building and couldn't find any information on it. If anyone knows how old it is, or what it was, please let me know. It's obviously been there quite a long time.

When we reached the end of Bearskin Neck there were several benches to sit on and gaze out to sea. The placque on this particular bench had special meaning.



From Bearskin Neck looking back towards town and a small red sliver of Motif #1



Panning around we see the jetty that keeps the inner harbor waters still

Straightmouth Island Lighthouse, lobster boats, a cruise ship ... yup, it's Cape Ann and I can't wait to go back!

Motif #1, Rockport MA

It's not to often my husband and I get a weekday off together without prior commitments but this past Tuesday we finally succeeded. Rockport, MA was our destination.

Being that I had never been to Rockport I knew there was one thing I had to see first, the 'old' fishing shack: Motif #1. Once you arrive it doesn't take long to find it either. Standing on the main street in town, Mt. Pleasant Street, this is the view looking down T Wharf:

The town has done all it can to keep the view unobstructed from overhead wires. They know Motif #1 is their goldmine to help keep tourists coming back again and again.


And there it is, photographed, painted, and sketched a million times over. My images aren't great ... the sky was mildly overcast, reflections are poor, and as usual I didn't have a lot of time to work with, but I did what I could with what I had.


This gull was honking up a storm with some other gull in the harbor. I don't know what he's complaining about, after all he lives in Rockport!


After 80+ years the original Motif #1 was destroyed during the Blizzard of '78 (photo) and rebuilt in '79. I'm not fond of the newness but whatcha gonna do. It's still very attractive.

Those of you who are native New Englander's will surely remember the blizzard. I was 14 at the time and still remember driving along the coast of NH and seeing terrible devastation to ocean front homes.


Another artist doing his thing. This photo also looks back towards the main part of town where I took the first photo.


Looking over the inner harbor with the Motif just to the left.

I'll have a little more Rockport in my next post.