Working on!

 

This week I have been fighting off something. I am seriously thinking it was from mosquito bites I got when I was working in the garden. Luckily I had meds and Lyme meds, so took what I had and rested a lot. It affected my bones and joints, so I didn't have much energy this week.

I decided to make up a stitchery to work on, when I felt better. This is an old Cheri pattern and thought it would be nice as a gift. I will add buttons and maybe do a pillow or small wall hanging, will decide on that later.

Last weekend we went out for a little ride around the island and enjoyed seeing the birds in the coves. 

I also got some shots of the new Osprey. I guess they only had one this year. Dad bringing in the catch.

Coming in with dinner

And feeding time

At home I have been watching a lot of new arrivals. Unfortunately I spotted this juvenile Coopers Hawk with its meal. They are not the best hunters, so they tend to go after birds. The photos are at dusk, so a bit odd looking.

And this is what he had, another Flicker. This one was enjoying bugs in my yard, so hopefully the hawk doesn't get him too.

And another new arrival. This is a juvenile Cowbird. It can fly on its own and eat, but it's a bit confused. It is all alone, so I think his mother left her egg in another birds nest. Once they get too big, the other bird will stop feeding it. It also calls out constantly, but no sound comes out, so it lost its voice. 

Today we went back to the island. I am feeling better, so enjoyed a nice walk around the cliffs. Lots of sailboats are out now.

We also had company, thousands of Dragonflies. 

We decided to explore the inner paths and got a closer look at the Osprey on the radar tower.

After we went to the other park and I got to enjoy a swim in the cove. The tide was going out, so I swam in the channel, against the tide, so I stayed in one place.

There were a lot of Egrets in the surrounding area, so I had plenty of company. Bean was enjoying swimming too, but he won't go that deep. I hope you all had a good week and enjoy your weekend. 

Friday photos!

 This week hasn't been the greatest. Bill got the cold, that Billy had and I got it from him, so for the first time in years, I got bronchitis and still fighting it. We were able to get out for a few days, before the cold knocked us out.

We did make it to the kid's birthday party. They had it at a place that does nerf guns and areas to run around in, so a bit hectic. It is also hard to get good photos with kids running around.

This is a shot of the kids at the party.

And here they posed with the Jeep. There were beat up cars and other things, sectioned off into rooms, so it was a bit dark for photos.

We were able to enjoy a day at the beach the next day. When we went to one, I noticed a few people with cameras and this is what they were looking at, a Great Egret, fishing in the cove. I also took a photo of ship, as it passed by the lighthouse.

At one beach I spotted this Mockingbird, at another, the Cormorants, nesting on the rock. I caught one as he came in with dinner, to his mate. I also found a few nice treasures.

The rest of the week was spent at home, resting, getting a few things done when I could and watching the birds. I got lucky and caught a Northern Flicker, feeding on the ground. I hope you all are in good health, seems a bad common cold is going around now. We had the boys tonight, so my son could take Ivy out for her birthday dinner and tomorrow we will have them for dinner and a family party. 

I hope everyone had a nice week and holiday. We stayed home and got some things done, which we usually don't have time for, when we are running around. We have family coming in next week, so plans for a family get together for next weekend. 

I have been working on my seaport piece, still in the works and I may add a few of my own touches. I got the new stitchery from Kathy Schmitz, so I decided to make that this week. I am sticking with a theme for her yearly contest, mine is hot pads. They will be nice for gifts, at Christmas.

This one is a garden bunny and I have a few relatives that like gardening and bunnies. I like giving them a pop of color since others like bright and cheerful decor. I still need to stitch up the outer edge, I like having a bit of a bump there, so they can place things on it, without them sliding off. For some reason the blue marker does not want to go away, so I keep pressing it with a damp cloth and eventually it will go away.

I have been getting a lot of new birds at the feeder, lots of young on their own now, but I still get the ones who make a racket to be fed. In these photos are, a Baltimore Oriole, a Northern Flicker ( first time photo of one in my yard), Red Bellied Woodpecker, and a Blue Jay. 

I hope everyone has a good week. Hopefully I can get out for some paddling and time with the boys.

Friday Finishes and Fun!

 

This week I have been busy. I have finished a few things and one I want to work on more to make it better. I made a stitchery with one of Cheri Saffiote's designs and decided to make it into a pillow cover. This way, the person can put a pillow in or they can hang it, if they want, so more versatile and easier to ship.

Another thing I worked on was, more masks. I wanted to use up the halloween fabric and get those out, so the kids can enjoy them now. I know there are a lot of kids with bad masks, these are 3D so they are easier to breath and talk in. I will try and sell a few and the rest will be donated. I also made myself a couple and a few for our cat sitter. I do need to rethink the design, so I can sew it more neatly, have less bulk and that would be easier on my machine and my arm.

And of course, we had a weekend filled with adventure with the boys. On Saturday we took them to a new place. A beautiful park with a pond and waterfall and lots of hiking trails. And having large parking lots is always a plus, so we set up to have views and a spot to relax at. The bad thing was, the water levels were down and the falls weren''t flowing,  but it was still beautiful.

The boys had a full day, hiking, swimming and Nick found some painted rocks. I definitely want to go back and hike the trails, it is too much for the boys to do a full hike, even though they are moving non stop, most of the time.

And we had three friendly Mallard ducks, hang out with us.

I took several photos and this one shows how they have a nictitating eyelid, almost looks furry.

And on the way back, I got a shot of some early foliage. A lot of areas are turning fast now, due to the drought. 

On Sunday, I got up too late for a day trip, so we picked up the boys and took them to the boys camp. We lucked out and the gate was open, so we parked our camper in a lot next to a big grassy area.

The boys had fun at the beach areas.

And hiking along the pathways.

And while the guys were resting and playing at the camper, I snuck away and waited for some birds to sit still. I finally got one close enough and was surprised to see that it was a Yellow Shafted Northern Flicker.

This week, I had Bill take the week off. I am burnt out with everything that is going on and our last vacation was spent, with me sick. So I am hoping we can enjoy the week and get out to some places in Ct, that I have wanted to visit. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and find places that bring you joy and peace in these tumultuous times.