Gloucester Welcomes the Gaff Rigged Schooner Highlander Sea!

“What, Steve”, you may ask, “what are you doing posting in the middle of the day?” Turns out that I got slimed by a cold last night so I went to work early and picked up my laptop to work from home. And what a day!

I saw a huge sail going by the window and I knew it wasn’t the Lannon. Hokey Smoke, Bullwinkle! I haven’t seen a schooner this big since the Bluenose II was in town.

It’s the Highlander Sea from Port Huron, Michigan! She left for a sail to Gloucester on September 11th and arrived today. 

Highlander Sea built by J.F.W. James & Son, was launched on October 2, 1924, from the A.D. Story shipyard in Essex, Massachusetts. That boom is 65’ long and weighs 2000 lbs!

But there is much more history on the Highlander Sea’s owner’s website which I encourage you to visit.

Sorry for the bits and pieces pictures, as I didn’t see her coming and she’s 154’ long!

Forgotten Photo Friday, Iguana

I’m just in the mood for something really different today. Digging way deep in to the forgotten photos, I found these iguana shots I took in 2008 on the island of Sint Maarten.

The Green Dragon in Marblehead

When we took the daytrip to Boston, our ferry took us past Marblehead Neck. I spied a schooner and I just had to jump up and get some snaps. That tower is Marblehead Light.

I recognize that green hull and the 39 on the sail! It’s the Green Dragon from Boston.

They always come up for Schooner Festival. It was a fun surprise to see them.

The Forest Floor

This time of year, given the right conditions, the forest floor can have a wide variety of fungi. This year has been pretty impressive. These were all seen on a Sunday morning walk in Dogtown.

Sumac

An Eastern Tailed Blue takes a rest on sumac leaves.

Autumn Meadowhawk finds  some early fall color.

 

The Red Boat

Sunset Sail

Saturday evening Creature Feature

I had three juvenile Barn Swallows sitting on the wire outside the house.

They were just sitting and preening.

It’s migration time and an adult came in to get the kids on the move.

Someone’s gotta know something ‘bout this.

Two years ago, 25 September 2009, I took these shots by the Scott Bridge in Townsend, Vermont. This film crew was shooting a piece that involved two men in a Roles Royce station wagon and a guy standing out in the rain.

I gave my blog card to someone in the production crew that was going to send me a link to the film’s website, but he never came through.

So every year, I send out a query. Somebody’s gotta know something.

Oh, I almost forgot. Happy Friday! It’s that time for those forgotten photos!

Love in the bushes

I spotted these two spiders in a bush. What I think is going on is the female is on the left and the male is on the right. He was vibrating the strings to get her attention.

Timidly, he got in a little closer…

And this was about as close as he got…

He decided it just wasn’t worth it and left.

Old State Building

Every time I go to Boston, I’m taken by the juxtaposition of the tiny Old State Building with it surroundings.

Salem Street, Boston

Salem Street in Boston is a little up from the more touristy places. The narrow street is home to many little eateries. The North End is the place to go for Italian.

Friends on a sunny afternoon.

“Pants”

Walk along Salem Street long enough and you may bump into a little history. This is the Old North Church.

Sailing into Boston

Becky and I took a daytrip into Boston on Saturday. We like to take the ferry out of Salem and walk around. These are four shots from the ferry on the way into Boston Harbor.

If you thought, “Hey, I recognize that schooner!”, then you are correct. It is the Liberty Clipper coming back from a public sail.

Boston Snapshot

This photo captures many layers of Boston, its history, its people, the architecture and narrow streets. It’s like Becky says, “Hey, if there’s a big digger in you shot, you might as well just go with it.”

Saturday Evening Creature Feature, Big ‘uns and Little ‘uns

The dragon season is starting to slow down a bit. I took a walk in my favorite dragon patch and was treated to the small end of the dragon scale and the large end of the scale.

This Autumn Meadowhawk represents the small end is about 1 1/4 inches long. Autumn Meadowhawks are rather friendly and will tolerate close presence. I’ve even had them land on me.

This Autumn Meadowhawk was so casual that I was able to take a macro shot with my point-and-shoot.

This Autumn Meadowhawk is munching on a mosquito that it caught near my head.

Darners on the other hand are do not like human company and will flee. I was very fortunate to be able to photograph this one species on two occasions on one day! Her it is low in the grass stalks. This darner is a whopping three inches long!

Later I fond this one about seven feet off the ground. I was able to take a few shot until a jogger came by the trail and spooked it.