Friday working on!

 

This week I have been working on a Christmas quilt panel. I am hand quilting it, stitching around the black outlines. It also has some greenery and red that is not outlined, so I am using red and green single floss to stitch those areas. I have a few more small areas and then I can get to the outer border and add an edge, so not too much more.

Last week we took a ride and took a back road route. I wanted to see the old mill area, since they said it was being torn down and made into a park. Well, the building is still there and nothing has been done. I would love to explore it, but there is no way in, the area is too overgrown.

We headed to the beach areas to see if any birds were hanging out. There were a lot of egrets and herons clustered in the middle of the salt water pond, on their way south. On an inlet, I spotted this Great blue heron. He was just hanging out and then noticed the egrets and started puffing up and making funny gestures. 

Then he chased one away.

Then he went after the other and got a whack in the head, as it flew off. I think it was a young one who was being territorial, even though he was just passing through.

Another day we went for a ride into Connecticut. We drove down a road that passes through a reservoir. The colors were getting darker, but still pretty.

Then we stopped at a preserve in the area. It was a farm and they donated it with the stipulation that the farm and animals were kept private. We parked at the farm area to start the hike.

The path we took, went though wooded areas to an overlook.

And this was the view.

Back into the woods we found an old cellar.

We tried the trail on the opposite side and passed old farm equipment, a river and it ended up at a pond. With the droughts, it was more of a marsh. It was a nice walk and another place to revisit in the spring, when the birds come back.

We have rain coming in, so we will try and get out during the clearings. I got a new bike coming in, something better for trails, so I am giving Nick my mountain bike, and today we picked up a new one for Alex. He had his stolen, so now they will both have good bikes that fit their size. Tomorrow we will take them riding after the rain stops, so can't wait to surprise them.

I hope you all had a good week and can get out and enjoy the good days, before winter sets in.

Friday Scramble

 

This week I have been busy getting ready for a trip. With the holiday, I couldn't get anything on the weekend, so I set up a site on Monday for the week. I have been planning and packing, so have gotten a lot done and hopefully the weather will be nice, so we can do all the things I want. I did sew a few mittens on my new quilt, so that will have to wait till I get back.

We have gotten out for walks with cooler weather. We always love going to the island and the cooler breezes, always rejuvenate me. 

On the weekends, a couple sits along the road with a fun display for people to enjoy as they drive by. The Teddys are animated and wave, as you go by. The items are all Rhode Island staples and Bennys was a store we all loved, that closed years ago.

On the other side of the island, a view of a home on the cliffs. 

We enjoyed watching the boats and sail surfers at another beach. It is a great place to go for a variety of walks and views.

Today we went to the park for a walk. Along with enjoying nature, the Jazz festival had started, so we go to enjoy some music, as well. One fun thing to watch is, a Blue Heron who was on the hunt and caught a  fish, while we watched.

We saw a few shore birds, but it seems all the smaller ones have left the area.

In the cove were several Oyster harvesters. 

One thing I do before a trip is, look at the area on google to see what is in the area. I found a paved bike trail along a reservoir, perfect for me. The problem is Bean, he cannot ride a bike, so we bought him a bike trailer and now we can go enjoy riding the bike trails when we go on trips.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend. We are heading to the Berkshires in Massachusetts so next week will be more photos of our adventures.

Friday Finish!

 

This has not been my week. On Saturday we went out to fix my skis and ended up getting a new pair, with hopes of going out on sunday. Then we went shopping and got a bag of items. Then I got home, picked up the back and it broke open. The heavy lazy Susan bowl set fell sideways on my foot, so now I have a broken toe near the joint.

I hate emergency rooms in our area, so I put up with the pain, but couldn't walk for a few days. Over the week I have been icing it and then I taped around the joints and am able to walk flat footed, as long as I don't use the toes. Hopefully it will heal and I can get out again. The weather is getting better, so I was looking forward to hiking. Skiing is out, so the skis will have to wait till next year. 

Since I cannot sit for long, I made up some small projects to do, while I rested. I have a few more in the works, so those will be done next week. I took some patterns from a large one, by Kathy Schmitz and used those to make mini sachets. Nothing fancy but something mindless to do.

While we shopped at the south end, we stopped for some birding.

Today I wanted to get out for a ride. Riding around the island is always nice with the views. We stopped at one beach and watched a tug bring in a ship.

We also stopped at the east end, the docks are always a nice place to check for birds that may be visiting on the rocks.

Our last stop was the marsh. There has been a sighting of a rare bird to our area, but I never did see it. There is always activity there, plenty of birds stay for the calmer waters and fish that come in and out with the tide.

Tomorrow will be another ride, so I have to decide where to go. I like when we can enjoy the views and I can get shots from the truck. We have nicer weather, but cold coming back again. I hope everyone had a good week and our weather brings an early spring.

Friday finish!

 

This week I decided to try something new with braiding, a heart wall hanging. I used scraps of fabrics and a one inch strip, since I wanted to make small ones. Well, I made my starter piece too large, so it came out larger and longer than I wanted, but I still like it. Since it was bigger, I added a stitched word and a bow for fun. I enjoy braiding and rag braids are easier, since I just tear the fabric and make a slit to attach the pieces. A great relaxing craft, while watching tv.

The colors are off but the bow is the red in the heart.

I also finished one panel of my Christmas quilt. Even with lines, I am still wonky. Hard to work on a long piece, so it takes longer than a regular block. I also need more space on the couch, so I can only work on it when my husband goes to bed. The yellows are not as bright as they look in the photo.

We got out for a ride last week. As always, I enjoy the ride and ocean areas, as well as catching a few birds along the way.

I hope everyone has a nice weekend and doesn't get too snowed in. They are predicting up to 8" in our area. Tomorrow we will get out during the day, before it hits.

Friday Finish!

 

First I want to thank those who comment, I appreciate them all, even though I don't always reply to them all. This week was a lot of catching up, but I always like to have a project to do. Since we are going on trips and getting into hiking weather, I thought I would make up a few rocks to hide.

I found the designs on the web and I hand draw the design as best as I can, with my fabric marker. I have been using my paint pens, since I have quite a few and I want to use them up before they dry up. I do think I like painting better, for better control on colors and shading, but the pens are easy to use.

Last weekend it was cool enough to go for a walk at the bird sanctuary. We saw turtles enjoying the sun and an Osprey hanging out in the cove.

In another side I spotted a group of swans and an Osprey flew over with a fish, but I didn't catch him in time and had to shoot from a distance when he landed in a tree.

The nice surprise was when we came inland and spotted a Green Heron, fishing in the pond.

Another shot after he had his meal. He had dove in and caught a huge frog, but hid in the bush to eat it. I couldn't believe he ate something that big.

Down the road, at another beach area, I found a large group of egrets. Lots of birds are migrating now and will gather in the cove areas.

And sitting above them were a few Blue Herons. It is nice to have an extended summer and this weekend will be warm again. Hopefully we can get into the launch and get some swimming in and a little boating tomorrow. This week I will be getting ready again, we have a site at the local camp again, and this time we have back to back weekends. After that I am hoping to get out for some fall foliage tours. 

Friday finish!

 

While I am working on my hand quilting, I like to have a small project to finish. I also like to make something new for the holidays, just for fun. This week I wanted to make a needle felted egg and I found a design from an online coloring book page. It is a bit wonky, but it was fun to make and something different.

Last week we did a ride around the beach areas and got in some walks. One of the places we went to, is a bird sanctuary that goes to a cove, but no birds. When we went to get back in the car, a hawk flew past me and landed across the street. Once I got back in the car, he came back and went back to the hunt. Unfortunately, as you can see in the last photo, he was unsuccessful.

At another cove, I caught a Blue Heron on the hunt. They are fun to watch and this guy was successful in catching a few fish.

We had Bean on one day, he loves going out with us and playing at the dog beach.

It is a nice beach to walk along and enjoy the views across the channel, lots of fishing boats.

On one of the docks, I was trying to get some photos of birds in the channel, when these two flew over to me. They were quite friendly and even more so, with each other.

 

And had no shame in getting together in front of me.

Today we took a hike in a new area. It is called the Great Swamp and there are trails all through it and surrounded by a lot of swamp area. When we came out of the woods, we ended up at a beautiful pond and spotted a few Ring-necked ducks.

And the reason we went there was because I saw that there are a lot of nests in the area. We spotted two Osprey nesting on the telephone poles. There are other nests, but these were the only two that had come in. It is an area we will definitely go back to, I am sure it will be teaming with birds by next month.

I hope you all had a nice week and can enjoy the weekend. We have rain tomorrow, but will be going to Nick's school concert. He is playing the Glockenspiel this year. He also plays the piano, so he is definitely musically inclined. 

The Osprey are out of range, so I couldn't get close ups. We have a lot of nesting areas, so we are watching for more to come in this month.

Weekend Wanderings!

 

This week we have been busy, getting out and trying a few new places and some old. On Sunday we went to the bike path so I could try a ride. The ride runs along some inlets and end at a beach. It was a nice ride, but I think I need more strength before I do any long rides.

We stopped at another inlet before heading home and I caught a Snowy Egret and a Great Egret, wading for fish.

Yesterday we went to Newport and hiked at the Norman Bird Sanctuary. They have several trails and one took us uphill, along a rocky cliff. Great views and a deer we spotted in the gardens.

Today we went back to the sanctuary and tried a new path. It paralleled the other, but much higher. It came to a high point with a narrow rock, that dropped on both sides. No way was I going across that, so we need the path there. There are a lot of birds there, but most take off, the minute I go to take a shot.

After that, we headed to the next sanctuary. Sachuest Refuge is on a point, surrounded by the ocean. It was a nice walk with cool breezes.

Also a great place for birding. Most are high up or further into the bush, but a few sat still long enough for a shot.

A few more birds and a deer that was hiding in the bush, when I came around a corner. On the way out, we saw a man stop and start feeding this little bird. The bird started following him as he walked away, I wish they would come up to me like that, lol.

And a nice surprise this week. I spotted 3 babies, the House Wren had a good year. My whole yard sounds like a bird nursery, the babies make quite a racket. I hope everyone is having a good week. We have one more good day and then possible storms coming in. I am hoping they hold off till the afternoon so we can get out more. Tomorrow will be a paddle day, so we shall see where the day takes us.