Father's Day Weekend

What a weekend!  We started by driving up to Amesbury and checking in at a hotel, drove down to Newburyport to Plum Island for a brief visit, saw a Northern Shoveler, not a common bird in N.E., drove to Amesbury to have dinner with Erin, Ken, Trish and Oliver, got some beautiful clothes from Ken and Erin for Father's Day, and a wonderful woven bird house from Oliver, very cool.  Drove to Sparhawk school, and watched Jackson in "Hello, Dolly", then back to the hotel for the night.  Up the next morning to Peabody Essex Museum, met with Barbara and Bill to see the  J.M.W. Turner exhibition "Turner & the Sea", just spectacular, came home to feed the cat,  slept in Sunday morning, Susan served me breakfast on the deck for Father's day, and then off to the Mazzoli's to celebrate Father's Day there.  The only way the weekend could have been better was to have Cheryl and Carter with us, but he is facing surgery on Friday, and Cheryl wanted to keep him healthy for that. Photos and a video for the weekend.

These photos are from Heritage Plantation in Sandwich, where the
"Big Bugs" are on exhibit.  This is from the visit on Monday with Alex
The Granddaddy Longlegs



The Praying Mantis

One of the three Ants

Lady Bug

Scott and Alex at home.

From a gallery in Amesbury

Wonderful Oil

These next photos are from the Mazzoli house, the
Father's Day gathering.  These are for you, Cheryl

Here is the Northern Shoveler at Plum Island

Jackson, "Hello, Dolly"

Peabody-Essex Museum
This is part of the "California Design" exhibit.
This is an "Avanti"

Susan

This is a Sam Maloof chair, one of the great
wood artists

Some jazz albums from the 50's

And finally to the Turners. 
"The fighting 'Temeraire' tugged to her last birth to be broken up"

John Singer Sargent
"Atlantic Storm"
This was the most disturbing painting for me.  The following sea is so terrifying, so malevolent.
Neither Barbara or Bill liked this painting.   I am not so sure it is meant to be liked.
It makes one feel powerless

"Rockets and Blue Lights (Close at Hand)
to Warn Steam Boats of Shoal Water"

 

"Staffa, Fingal's Cave"

Birding at Sparhawk School

I presented a little talk on birding, bird photography, etc. to Oliver and his class at Sparhawk School and we had a good sight of a redtail flying overhead.  I showed a folder of about 25 birds to the class, some of them quite rare, and Oliver identified every single one.  I had dinner with my sister, Barbara, in Portsmouth, where we had a superb meal at Jumpin' Joe's and then we both went up to the Seacoast Science Center where we saw a lecture by Eric Masterson, who had just published "Birdwatching in New Hampshire"  All in all a great Wednesday.
Here are a few photos from Sparhawk.

This large skunk was in my backyard under the bird feeder. 

It was "Greek" day at Sparhawk!

Good timing, to see s Redtail just at that moment.

Ken, Jackson, Oliver at Plum Island

What a spectacular morning, as crisp and beautiful as it can get in New England.  I drove up to Groveland, watched J-man  and Oliver while Ken and Erin went out to dinner.  We watched "The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug", and the boys were fantastically good.  We left the next morning for Newburyport, and breakfast at Josephs' and then on to birding.  Not much new, but we saw about 29 species all told. and here are some of the resulting photos.

Oliver and Ken at breakfast

Jackson and Oliver

A gadwall, I believe (Oliver is convinced)

Least Tern

Wild Turkey

Bobolink

Cedar Waxwing

Killdeer

Willet

Great Egret

Cedar Waxwing

Tree Swallow

Could this be another female Rose-breasted Grosbeak?  Look at that bill!

The Osprey, from afar.