Weekend Camping!

Well, I think I can say, we had a nice time and we had a rotten time, it just depends on how you look at things, lol. We had a beautiful spot, lots of grassy area with trees, so we got to sit in the shade and just enjoy the views.

The tide was low during the day, but I finally got out in my little kayak and paddled around the little inlets. It was windy but I stayed in the calmer sections and enjoyed the variety of birds.

The bad was, we were climbing up the hill to go to the look out point and I slipped on a rock, did a turn around and snagged my leg on the roots, ripping my leg open, and landing on my elbows, so they are sore too. But, I went to the lookout and walked back to camp, cleaned myself up, lots of peroxide and a super size bandaid and I was all set.

We enjoyed some time at the dog beach, Bean's happy place. More exploring at the forts. When I was younger, we came here and we would be able to go inside the entire hillside, but they are filling them in, to keep kids out. And after dinner, a walk on the beach, and a beautiful sunset.

The lighthouse was a nice way to get out and enjoy the views. This female red winged blackbird, was enjoying a day at the ocean. Of course we found some glass at the beach, the tide was high but I still found a little. And it wouldn't be a normal day if I didn't hurt myself, never stand in hard surf with rocks around, especially with bare feet. Nothing serious, just a little cut and bruise, but I think I need to wear my water shoes, next time. And a beautiful end to the weekend, as the sun was coming down, it cast beautiful rays across the sky.

Today was spent doing laundry and dishes. I always leave the camping mess on the last day, and clean them good at home. The rest of the time, I am being lazy and resting, I need it, lol. I was able to see mama and her chicks today. She actually stood at the feeder and looked at me, she remembered me enough to stay close and wait till I threw her a scoop. The sad thing is, the white baby is gone, so not sure what happened, but I think the white ones are the easiest to see, which makes them more susceptible to predators. 

New project!

We are getting ready to go camping for a 3 day weekend, so I have spent most of the week, getting ready. It would be much easier if I could eat out or quick food, but I have to cook with my allergies, so today I made chicken wings and macaroni salad, so all we have to do is eat, no cooking or mess to clean up.

Of course I need a project to work on, I do plan on relaxing more, so I made up a stitchery. This is another large one and it will be a gift for the kids, so I can work on it, a bit at a time. I had to just use short first names since Ivy has no middle name and it really was too small for me to sew. I also changed the sayings, they were longer and nice ones, but too small and this way it is more of a house blessing.

I am still unsure how I will finish it, I am thinking about making a nice reclaimed board to put it on. I think it is too big to be a pillow.

My tracing is horrid, but I try and stitch better than the marks look.

I have been keeping an eye out for the Guinea Hen babies, which are called Keets. I read that they will stay alone until the babies are old enough, then they rejoin the flock. The only others I have seen are the two, I call Laurel and Hardy, they are the daftest birds and very vocal.

Today I went out with bird seed and they let me get close, and just moved a few feet away. Once I dropped the food, they came running, so they are getting used to me. I love watching the Keets, they are so cute and just as busy as their parents, spending most of the day, eating bugs off my lawn, which is fine with me.

It is hard to get a good photo, they never stay still.

And if you look closely, you can see how funny their heads are, instead of a tuft of feathers, they have a horn on top of their heads.

I posted a day early since we are leaving tomorrow. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Working on Friday!

Not a lot got done this week, seems I am still dragging from taking the kids out. I really have to stop lifting Alex, it does me in, every time. Add the heat to that and it is just miserable, so mostly resting, swimming and a little stitching.

I am finally getting close to finishing my stitchery, by Kathy Schmitz. Since it is so large, I have decided to make it into a lap quilt. I will add a border, than blocks, then another border. I have lots of precut squares that will go nice with it. The design is 16" x 20".

I have also been enjoying the birds in my yard. I showed you a photo of the baby robins, well this is what they look like after one week, they sure grow fast. The other day I noticed them standing up and ruffling their wings and yesterday they were gone.

Mama robin is still close by and feeding them, until they are ready to go out on their own. I think they are in my neighbors yard, since I saw her go behind the fence with a worm.

Lots of birds this week, I think most of the houses are empty now, except for the beach house, I can still hear chirping. It is fun to see the new ones, flitting about the trees, testing their wings.

And today I saw 8 large birds, flying over head. I was all excited, thinking they were hawks, but after closer inspection of my photos, I realized they were turkey vultures, lol. I have never seen so many in our area.

And the final visitor today was a surprise. Two guinea hens came across the street and they had a group of Keets with them. Of course I worried that they would get hit, not sure why they are allowed to wander around. I kept an eye on them and the minute dusk came, they hunkered down in the thickets behind our trailer. Hopefully nothing comes by tonight, the hens are known for leaving their young, the birds are a bit daft.

I hope you enjoyed seeing what I have been up to this week and the feathered friends in my area. I hope everyone enjoys their weekend and be careful in this heat wave.

Week in Review!

This has been a whirlwind week, going all day and coming home to clean and cook, then back at it, the next day. Today we stayed home and I caught up with some real cleaning and resting. We did look at trailers and picked one out, but it didn't work out. I loved the size, but realized it lacked the storage I wanted. We were all set but Bill's security for credit access, shut them out, so we said it would take too long and we would rather wait. I have decided to look for a small truck camper for weekend getaways and wait until we find the right size and type of trailer, that we want.

We had a great week for getting out, a bit hot but always cooler by the beach. We made beach stops are several places, but the tides were usually high. We did find a bit of glass and some driftwood.

We spent one day in Newport, the tower was impressive, but closed, so we couldn't go to the top. We also did a 4 mile hike around the trails at the bird sanctuary and then we stopped to get photos of the Castle lighthouse. As usual, we had bad timing, there was a wedding going on and they were about to get photos at the lighthouse, so I took a quick shot from the path.

The next day was spent with the boys at the state boat launch in Burlingame. The launch has a large cove with shallow water, so it was perfect for the boys. I was so happy to see Alex get over his fears. He did not want to go in and being in deep water was ok if I held him. But after a while, he was going up to his chest without a life jacket and going out in the boat with me. Nick was showing me how he could swim and even paddled by himself.

Thursday we wanted to go back to the pond, but they closed due to high bacteria. Found out later that it was only certain areas, but better to be safe with the boys. We took them on a picnic near a waterfall and then went to another boat launch beach, lots of shallow waters. It was so crowded we couldn't park, but I got out with Nick for a quick look and someone left, so Bill parked the truck and we were able to enjoy a few hours at the shore. The kids loved playing in the water and seeing the little crabs, running around in the shells. We even go to see two large horseshoe crabs.

I got a few shots of birds at the sanctuary and spotted a Great Egret at the boat launch. Wonderful to see such a variety this week.

Today I got caught up. I also had to empty the trailer and clean it, and now it has to be repacked. But it is good, it needed a good cleaning and a lot of things will be left out so I have more storage space. We even found a good spot at the ocean in two weeks, so a three day weekend will be nice.

This week our Robin's eggs hatched. Her fist eggs never hatched, so I was happy to see that two survived. Even though I am exhausted, it was a week filled with beauty and happy memories with the boys. I hope you all had a wonderful week and a fun filled weekend.

Friday Finish!

A new month and new stitcheries from the One Stitch Club by Kathy Schmitz. This month we got an extra free one, so I decided to make that first, just in time for the holiday. I almost had it done in time, but yesterday was spent with the kids, so cooking and a party at their house, put me behind.

Today I finished it. I didn't have much time to work on things this week, so I rushed it a bit, but it was fun to do and I used up fabrics in my scrap box. It measures 9" x 7 1/2", great for a small area on the wall.

And of course I enjoyed a day with the kids, even the big kids had fun;) Bill has to stay out of water for another week, but he had fun squirting the kids with the hose. Alex is afraid of the big pool, so he has his own to play in. Hopefully I can get him to the pond without his mom and get him used to the water. She is petrified of drowning, so I think it is best if I teach them myself. Maybe someday I can help her overcome her fear.

Bill has this week off, still not sure what we will do, but the weather will be nice without the humidity. We will be looking at trailers again, I think I make our dealer crazy, I can't make up my mind, large and comfy or smaller to fit in more campsites, plus I want space for the kids so we can all go together. I love the comfort of a trailer, but I like to camp, and I don't need fancy or a bunch of Tv's.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Weekend Wanderings!

We had a nice weekend, even though storms rolled in, both days. I check the weather map in motion to figure out when the storms will hit, so I can plan how long we have. It was pretty accurate and we were able to spend a few days on the beach with time to get home before it hit.

On Saturday we went to East Matunuck Beach. It is a long beach, with an area at one end, that is roped off for the birds, so we walked that way first. Lots of rocks and plenty of driftwood and I have been thinking of ideas, for using it. Today it is sitting in a bleach wash, then I can sun dry it tomorrow.

We decided we had time to walk to the other end, which comes to a breaker wall, the opening to the Salt Pond area.  Bill was enjoying the view.

And this is the view, Bill was looking at, Galilee, this is where the fishing boats and ferries come in. As you can see, the fog was coming in, as well.

Sunday warned of early storms, so I noticed that the last area to get hit was Jamestown, so it would give us more time out.

We found our own little piece of heaven, with a few friendly visitors enjoying a quiet swim.

Bean got to come this time, he had lots of fun playing with another pup and being silly in the water. Here he is, showing his walking on water skills.

Here he is, levitating rocks.

A close up of the sailboat in the cove. Love the old sail, on her.

And before we left, the racers and larger sailboats were coming in, to beat the storm.  Newport is in the background.

And I didn't leave, empty handed. It was a rocky beach and not much glass on the surface, but by digging through the piles, I was able to find some nice pieces. I hope you all enjoyed your weekend and found your own adventures.