Friday Finish!

 This week I worked on finishing my quilt. It is a panel, so I stitched around the black lines of the designs and then used red and green for the smaller areas. It is hard to see the stitching since it is on the lines, but looks quilted in person. I was thinking of doing a couple of large snowflakes in the empty spaces, so I may try to do that this week, before they come for dinner. I really wish I had machine quilted, it took weeks to finish and I have more to do. At this rate, I might get one done.

Last week we went for a ride in Connecticut. The new bike was great on the rougher trails, I do love having shocks. We did a section going up and turned back to the other side and did a few miles on that side. It was a beautiful trail, lots of wooded areas, riding along hills, and along ponds and swamps. We will definitely go back and do more of the trail. 

Today I turned 68 and I wanted to do a bike ride. The weather was a bit cool and my joints a bit stiff, so we went for a walk at the bird sanctuary. It was cloudy and cool, but perfect for a walk. Along the field we stumbled onto this young doe. She was not afraid of me and let me take a close up.

On the other side was her sibling. 

The pond was full of ducks today. I am not sure what we were seeing in the big blocks, but I am pretty sure these were American Widgeons.

We also saw a few that were swimming closer to us. I guess the various ducks flock together as they head south. 

I saw a lot of birds today, but most were high in trees or flew off, when we startled them. With the clouds, I couldn't get clear shots today, so I just enjoyed a walk in nature.

This week I am going to be busy. Three days to get the house organized and cooking. Then three weekends to get the house decorated, get the cards out, last minute shopping and making time to finish at least one quilt. 

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Friday Fun!

 

This week I am still working on my quilt. I was also busy with a lot of other things, so I didn't get as much done, as I would have liked. Hopefully it will be done next week and I can get to the other projects I want to finish.

On Saturday we surprised our grandson with a new bike. He was thrilled with it and couldn't wait to go riding. Nick had confirmation camp, so we took Alex to a local bike path. We started at the college, which has a path to connect to the main trail. It goes by a farm and fields.

 The main trail goes by the Great swamp area and further down, but we only did part of it.

We turned around and headed the other way and ended at the train station. It was a good spot to give Alex a rest and snack, while we watched the train come and go.

On Sunday we picked up the boys and took them to the Boy Scout camp. I wanted to try them on dirt track and more hills to see how they did. Alex was ready to go.

I wanted to go on the main dirt road, but realized it was too rocky and hilly for the boys and Nick took a spill. So, we rode down a paved road in camp and the boys got to stop and enjoy the lake area. Nick enjoyed riding the bike I gave him.

We took a stop at another spot for a break and a snack. It was a great day and it gave me a better idea of what they can handle, so we will stick to paved paths and better trails.

Today I got my new bike. It is an electric mountain bike, so it has shocks and much more comfortable on trails. We went back to the southern path so I could get used to it and the power source. It has regular gears so I can use my own strength and power settings when needed. It is also lower so I can put my feet down and not fall. It was also cold and windy today, so we only did a part of the trail, which took us 7 miles. 

Tomorrow might be nice enough to do a trail ride. I hope you all have a nice weekend and get to do something that brings you joy.

Friday Finish!

 

This week I finished a Thanksgiving piece. I needed something for the holiday, for the front entry area and this was perfect. The design is by Cheri Payne and a fun one to do. 

Last week We went for a drive to see if we could find some fall foliage. Not as much yet, but we did find a few spots with splashes of color. The first stop was a reservoir with a dam, but with less rain, less water coming down. It was still beautiful though.

We took a walk along the path to the old bridge. 

Our next stop was Old furnace park, across the border in Connecticut. It is a bit of a climb up to the cliffs, but worth it for the view.

There are more trails that run along the side of the pond, so we took a walk part way to enjoy the views.

The next day we took the boys out. We took them to the bird sanctuary for a shorter walk on the pond side. They enjoyed walking along the paths.

And seeing all the critters along the way.

And we spotted two Praying Mantis along the paths. Love the look this one was giving me. It is always fun to explore with the boys and good to get them away from their electronics. 

This weekend we have a storm coming in and of course I seem to have gotten a flu from them, so taking it easy for a few days. I hope this finds everyone well and enjoying the cooler fall weather.

Vacation week!

 It always seems that you start enjoying your vacation and relaxing, by the time it is ending. But, we had a good week and lots of adventures. I am showing some things tonight, I took lots of photos and saw lots of interesting places, so I will do another post when I get home and can go through more of them.

Our camp is nice, right on the river so we can paddle up river and float down. We had three really hot days, so we swam in the river to cool down. The bad thing is the mosquitos, not fun sitting outside. We spent most of our time going places, so we swam, ate and relaxed in the trailer.  Bean is sitting in front of Bill.

Up river we found a sandy place to swim and Bean could play off leash, so it was a nice place. Most of the time he would run into the river and join the other families who were swimming from the launch. The kids loved playing with him, so I didn't mind.

I also spotted a lot of swallows flying around and found their nesting area. There are high banks along the river and they make their homes there.

On Monday we went to Cathedral in the pines. It is a beautiful place on a hill with stunning views. It is dedicated to the men and woman who served in World War II. You can see Mount Monadnock in the distance. 

They also have paths to walk along and lots of garden spots.

The next day we went to Harrisville mill store. They sell looms, yarn and roving. I treated myself to a few bags of dyed roving.

Because of the heat, we were limited to rides and short walks. I found a Gorge nearby and we went there. It was a little cooler, but still humid enough to wear me out. It has a path that follows one side and back up the other.

And we drove into Vermont. Along the way we have seen a lot of covered bridges. We stopped at one in Vermont that has a swimming spot. I walked around with Bean in the water to cool off.

Finally the heat lifted and we got to go to Madame Sheri's forest. It was the site of the home of a socialite. Originally it was a grand home and the pond was where they swam. Now it is in ruins and the pond is a sanctuary for birds. I also thought we were hiking a short circle around the pond and by the time my phone app kicked in, I realized we were almost at the top of the mountain. It was a lot of uphill and the skies looked ominous, so I didn't dare continue, so we turned back. 

I spotted a few birds and a weasel, along with a lot of chipmunks. I caught this Vereo who was happy to pose for me.

Today we visited some new places that are worth a stop, so I will post about them later. I hope everyone had a nice week. I am hoping I can enjoy a rain free day and avoid the weekend traffic on the way home.

Working on and mini vacation time!t

 This has been quite a week, twice as much work with the clean up and then repacking everything, along with cooking for the trip. I made up a big pot of goulash so all I have to do is heat it up and a salad, as well. Unfortunately, the day we left, I woke up sick. So not sure if it was from cleaning the mice mess or something else, but it means less activity. I really love to paddle in the cove and ride around the park, so hoping by tomorrow I can feel good enough to do more. The bad thing is, a big storm is heading our way, so hopefully the worst of it stays north and we just get a few hours of it.

Last week for a break, I decided to use up some of my boho style fabrics for a quilt. I need a long twin for the guest bed and thought it would be a fun way to use up those fabrics and make a light quilt for summer.

This is the layout I made with them. I saved all the scraps and plan on sewing them into small strips and running that around the edge.

After I lay them out, I stack them up, from left to right in order and tag each row. This way I can sew them next week and not loose track of where the go. 

Our campsite is nice, right on the cove. Plenty of space between the campers so we can sit and relax. We have had some sun and lots of fog. A view of the cove from the boat launch.

The lighthouse is down the road, so we go there for walks and at the fishing beach. Lots of fog, but beautiful.

On the way out I spotted this beautiful warbler. 

Today we walked at Black point. It has a nice path along the rocky coast, with spots to go down to. The tide was coming in strong, so it was nice just to sit and watch them.

It ends at the site of old ruins from an estate and the beginning of a state beach. 

We did quite a bit in a few days, more walking than I normally do and yes, I get get exhausted being sick, but well worth it. A fun shot I took today was the Osprey nest. This pair always seems to find the weirdest things to put in their nest. This time I spotted a large plastic mesh bag, the type you might put clams or potatoes in. 

And at camp, we walk in the back camping area. Not sure why, but they have it closed off, so no campers but lots of bunnies. It is peaceful without people and more critters are hanging out there. 

So, that is some of my week. I took lots of photos today, but too tired to do them all, but a good tired. Tomorrow we shall see how the weather goes, but we are nice and cozy in the camper, so I can work on my small quilt project or work on some sketches. I hope you all had a nice week and the weather was not too bad in your area.

Friday Finish!

 

This week I tried a new project for Easter. I saw a coloring book design on the web and thought it would be a fun design to needle felt. I used a mix of my good variegated roving with some cheaper ones for the bright colors. The backing is a dyed piece of white wool. I put another piece behind it to stiffen it up and then another thick piece for the backing, finishing with a blanket stitch.

Last weekend we did a ride to Connecticut to visit the owl sanctuary. They had some new birds, so it is nice to see ones we don't see in the wild, but sad to see them in cages. Some will be released when they recover, others have injuries that keep them from hunting, so they live there. The nice thing about the sanctuary is, they have beautiful paths to walk along and enjoy birding and nature. I didn't catch any birds but I did spot a lone turtle in the pond.

The paths have boardwalks and bridges in the wetlands. 

After that we stopped at Barn Island, and got another walk in. No birds were in the marsh, that I could see, but always a nice place to walk and enjoy the ocean views.

Our last stop was at the ocean drive. We spotted an Osprey in the nest, waiting for his mate.

On Sunday we went to Connecticut to shop at the mill store. I didn't find anything I was looking for, but I did get a fun stitchery and tea towel to do. We drove around the river areas but no eagles. We stopped at the park for a quick walk along the river, but this day killed my foot, so we didn't do much more.

This week we went to the island to see what Ospreys were in. A lot of the nests had pairs, but I was surprised that the one at the forts was empty. The nest was blown apart by the winter storms, so I hope he gets here soon and fixes it up, before his mate comes in. A few Ospreys that I spotted along the way.

And when I got home, I saw a big bird fly off, something with large black wings with white bands. I watched the area and finally saw what it was, a Pileated Woodpecker and not one, but two, so maybe this year they will have young that will visit. This is the female, the male has a red band on the side of his face.

I hope everyone had a good week and not in the bad weather that seems to be hitting so many areas. We have rain coming in, but we may get enough dry periods to enjoy being out.

Vacations!

 

We got back from one vacation and I spent the week cleaning up from that and getting the new trailer ready for the next. When you live in a raised ranch, that is a lot of stairs going in and out of the house. Last weekend we enjoyed a day with the boys and they got to sleep over in the RV, which they loved.

We were able to go to the beach for a bit and the boys had fun playing in the waves. Alex wasn't great at the board, he like jumping in the waves more.

Nick loved surfing with the board. The waves aren't big but big enough for them.

After dinner we went back for the sunset and the boys had fun finding hermit crabs in the shells.

As we walked back along the beach, they had fun, treasure hunting. Lots of pails and a few small beach toys.

And of course the sunset.

Today we made it back to the same camp, but a different spot. The driveway is so big, we could fit two campers and lots of grass with privacy trees.

We rested and did a few walks and after dinner, sunset at the beach. Dogs aren't allowed on the beach during the day, so after they close, we can all go. Bean made a new friend. I was surprised at how well he behaved, just sitting while she petted him. Usually he jumps on everyone and tries to give them hugs.

I will leave you with tonight's sunset and wishes that you all have a wonderful holiday weekend.