Vacation part III

 I tend to pack a lot in a week, I love seeing new places and there is plenty to do in the Freeport area. Less than a half hour, we went to Mackinac Island for a walk around their paths.

The paths go around the island, so a lot of views of the ocean and the islands. We could see an island in the distance. On one was an old fort.

I realized when I got in closer, there were seals, sunning on the rocks.

There were lots of places to get to the shore, so Bean loved that.

Another day we went for a paddle on a lake above Brunswick. It started on a river, into a nice sized lake. It was a bit windy and I forgot to get my seat cushion and gloves, so it was a wonderful paddle, except for being uncomfortable.

And one day we went for a bike ride on the Lisbon rail trail. It was a nice paved path, along a river with waterfalls along the way. The nice thing about paved trails is, we can take Bean in the carriage.

On the way back we saw a big dam. A lot of rivers with dams to control the waters, during rainy and dry seasons.

And every day after dinner, we went for walks. There were a lot of new trails in the camp, that went through fields, into woods and up and down stairs. I definitely got a lot more exercise that week. Now it is just hot, too hot to even go paddling, so hoping to do some swimming this weekend. 

Friday finish!

 

I finally finished my stitchery and it was a fun one to do. The design was a free coloring page by Karla Dornacher. I decided to color it on fabric and stitch around it. I made it into a wall hanging that I could put in my room, something inspirational to wake up to. You can click on the link to see Karla's page and sign up for her newsletter. She makes a lot of wonderful inspirational designs and tells wonderful inspirational stories about her life.

Last week we went on a hike to a forest in Connecticut. It was a little cool but it made for a brisk hike and kept me going. We went to the regular path and part way down, all I could see was a swamp, so we had to take the long way around to avoid that. Our first stop was the pond, along the way.

Our end point was another pond, that had a beautiful little waterfall. A great place to stop for a rest and snack break.

On the way back we passed by a lot of small streams and ponds. All the snow melt and rain, made for a lot more waterways. This is a fish hatchery that is open only to kids. Each year they have a fishing tournament  for them.

As we came through the woods, we stumbled onto the old sheds. Previously when we saw them, we had no idea what they were for. Now they have signs and this one was for explosives.

There is another one, further away. It was used to store the igniters and other tools.

Back at the main camp, we passed by the fishing bridge. As you can see, this stream was overflowing, so no one will be picnicking there, anytime soon.

I hope you all had a nice week. This week I will be getting ready for Easter. We always cook the meal since I have a special diet. I hope you all have a nice weekend and it looks like it might be warming up for a lot of you.

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 wanted something new to do but something that didn't take too much work. I decided to remake a bunny from my Bunny Buddies pattern. This time I went with bright and fun, using old scraps and floss from the ones I got for the kids to make bracelets. It is also a bit larger than the others, so a fun piece to decorate with. I actually made it for my sister, who is going through medical problems and I wanted to make her something happy to cheer her up. She had asked for some when I first made them, so I hope she likes this new version.

I added the background and the pink bow with photoshop AI. I still have to get out to the craft store to get some pink ribbon before I send it. I have a link to my patterns on the left side column.

Last week I wanted to go back to find the elusive rare bird. We didn't see it, but on the way back out, we saw a bunch of cars and cameras pointing toward the field. It took me awhile to find it, but finally with the help of others, I was able to catch it in the back field. This is a Northern Lapwing, usually found in Europe and Asia. 

We also spent time at the beach, where Bean can enjoy some play time and I can enjoy the views and birding.

Lots of Common Eiders this year.

At home, more birds are leaving and our regulars will be returning. I seem to have a new visitor, a Red Squirrel. This one is a new one, it is living in the neighbors yard and I usually spot two of them, running around the wood piles.

I am still unable to walk much. Today it was shopping in my light hikers but it killed my foot, so no walking on the beach. We have beautiful weather this weekend, so I hate that we can't get out for hikes. With the cooler temps it is perfect to be in the woods and bug free. I hope everyone is doing well with the bad weather conditions that come through. 

Friday Finish!

 This week I was able to work on my pillow and finish it. It is a design by Whimsical quilts and can be found in the book, For the Birds. The original pillow has a longer side piece, but I wanted to use a material that was not as long, so I modified it to fit my size. 

It is done with a flannel background and wool appliqué. I pinned the pieces in place and did a blanket stitch on them. The background has small stripes that are browns and a blue one, so it fits perfectly with my living room colors. I use it on the back of the couch for decoration and when the sun hits me in the face, I can move it to block the sun. 

Last weekend we went to the island. It was too cold to be out long, but a nice sunny day. A few of the docks and some of the fishing boats.

Today we got out and were able to walk on the beaches, since it got up to a balmy 38. I haven't been able to find as much nice glass, but with the cold, I try to walk more and bend less. There was a ship on a ship next to the bridge. With oversized ships, they cannot get in for repairs, so the larger ship is a dry dock, that they can get on and do their repairs.

I also spotted a group of American Black Ducks.

A male Mallard.

And it's mate. I love seeing so many ducks and other birds that winter on the island. It is a nice way to get out and get rid of the winter blues. This weekend will start out nice and then rain coming in and on Sunday we will get snow in the afternoon. I am not sure how much we will get, since we are always on the line, so hopefully more snow than rain.

I hope you all enjoy your weekend and find ways to get out and beat the winter blues. Making new things to decorate with, is always a good way for me to enjoy my days when I am stuck inside.

Friday Finish!

 

This has been another week of being sick. I guess we got what the kids had and they got what we had, so a double flu. Luckily I have meds that help keep the symptoms down, but it also means I get less done and I am behind on decorating. 

I was able to finish one project and while resting, I am working on a few more. This is a design I wanted to do, to match another pillow I have, so I have them on my chest with a few stuffed Christmas dolls. The design is by Robin Kingsley from her book, Snow Happy.

We were able to spend a day at the beach. I always feel better at the ocean, with the cool salt air. One beach looks across to Newport and we can watch the ships are they come in, this is a barge being pushed in by a tug boat.

Another beach is nice, since we can find more old glass here and Bean loves to play in the water, even when its freezing.

I was able to find a few nice pieces of glass, from both beaches, always nice when we catch the tide, at the right time.

Speaking of Bean, he loves the new toy I got him. It came in a set of 4, so when he destroys one, I can give him another. 

It also makes a fun photo op.

And more feathered friends are coming in for the winter. I finally got to see the Pilieted Woodpecker. She seems to like the dead pine trees on the side of the house. I am hoping I can catch her with a better close up, to get finer detail.

I hope everyone had a nice week and are avoiding the flu's going around. This one is not a fun one and even Bill had to take the day off.

Weekend Fun!

 

I thought I would do extra posts since we are home and exploring new places. The weather has been nice but today we got rain, so we stayed home to get things done and I cooked up foods for the week. 

On Saturday we took the boys to a new park,  It is a large park in Connecticut called Masamoquet Brook State Park. I was happy to see that they had several parking areas and we found a nice big spot, facing. the river. The waters are still down, but there was enough flow to hear as it tumbled along the rocks.

There were several hiking trails but the one to the Wolf's Den was up a hill, so I was afraid the boys couldn't handle it. We walked around the lower trails and they had fun jumping on the bridge to hear the drumming sound.

Then we decided to take a side trail that went along the river. It was a nice trail, and a lot of beautiful old trees, with unique features. There are signs everywhere that Woodpeckers are around.

Alex was tired so Nick and I went for a hike up the hill to see how bad it was. It was steep but once we got to the top, it leveled out and was easier walking. I didn't want to go too far, but then Bill and Alex showed up so we hiked along a trail for awhile. We will go back and hike the main trails and points of interest by ourselves, next time. After our walk, the boys enjoyed ice cream and some play time before we went home.

Sunday was a day with Bean, he hates when we leave without him, but it is too much with the boys and him. We went back to the park we took the boys to, last week. This time we hiked the trails and got to enjoy the ponds and woodlands.

Our destination was the covered bridge. A nice trail and except for the main trails, no one was on the back trails, so we had the woods to ourselves.

 Lots of small streams, mostly dried out. We had a nice day, got a good 5 mile hike in and no stress. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and remember to step away from life's stressors and enjoy a moment of peace for yourself.

Weekend Wanderings and Works!

It is that time of the year where I get out more and we had a full weekend, so I thought I would do my Monday postings to share our adventures with you. I also started prepping materials for more masks. Today I cut out the masks and made more Tshirt yarn for the ties.

It took me about 3 hours to make it, it is time consuming but worth it to get a continuous string to avoid waste. For now I am doing the main shirt, but I did find a video to cut a continuous piece from the upper parts as well, so I will try that when I get a chance.

I cut off the upper and bottom piece, then cut 1 1/4" strips, then I take the piles of strips and watch tv while I pull on the piece, which makes it twist into the rope shape. It is tough on the joints, but worth it to do a lot at once, so now I have plenty to last a while.

On Saturday we took the boys out for a birthday, day. They got their cameras and off we went. We started at a graveyard on the river that goes to the ocean, but Alex fell asleep, so Nick and I just walked around for a bit. Then we took them to a new place, a bird sanctuary that goes to a salt water pond.

The boys loved this place, an easy walk for them.

And of course they had to show off their jumping skills. Nick likes to do the spin and jump technique.

Alex is at such a fun age, everything is fun and exciting and he loves to play superman.

And while we were out I was able to capture a few birds. An Osprey, a Willet and a Salt Marsh Sparrow.

On Sunday we took them on another outing. This time we drove into Connecticut and visited two parks in the same park system. The first we found a great open spot to park in and got to enjoy a hike around the campgrounds.

The second was at another campground and beach area, so we enjoyed hiking around the trails. The photo with them sitting in front of the pond is from the first camp. They are closed for camping but allowing people to come for picnics and hiking, which is nice since our camps are closed to all access.

It was nice to get out and with the new camper, the kids are comfy and we have our own bathroom, which helps since bathrooms are closed. Nick took some photos and this one is my favorite, he loved taking pictures and when he found out it played games, loved it even more. Alex's camera took longer to charge and the next day he forgot it.

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. With all that is going on, it is good to get out and find joy in our lives.