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 Finish!

 

While on vacation I stopped at a little shop in Williamstown, called Karen's Quilting Corner. It is a wonderful shop, full of beautiful and unique fabrics. I was good and only got two quilt panels. This one I got for myself to hand quilt. I quilted around the designs and left the border as is, with a little edge with the black binding. It is hard to see the quilted look in the photo. I have clip hangers on my curtain rod, so it hangs there. The next one is a Christmas design, that will be for the kids and I will use the machine on that one.

This design is by Bonnie Sullivan.

Last weekend we went on a nice walk at the bird sanctuary. Lots of activity, as migration has begun. The fields were uncut, so the bees were enjoying the flowers.

Lots of turtles enjoying the warm sun.

And a few more of the wildlife we saw, along the way.

Afterwards, we drove by the marsh to see what was in the area. One area was full of Egrets in the trees, too many to count.

 And quite a few Blue Herons in the marsh.

Today we went for a paddle at the pond. It was a warmer day, so we could paddle and do a little swimming, though the water was cooler from the cold nights.

We stopped at the first beach head at the campground, across the way.

A Heron was in the corner, wading for fish. We saw a few different birds, but none were close enough or still enough to catch. 

We paddled along the back cove, lots of weeds at the end of the season.

It was a nice day to get out and even though I started out feeling sick, the paddle was just what I needed to feel better. This weekend will be cooling down, so it will be nice for hikes and biking. I hope you all enjoy your weekend and can enjoy getting out. 

And yes, I do have hair, long and thick, so I pull it back and it looks like I am going bald in photos.

Friday Finish!

 

I am trying to finish old projects and found one in a box, in the basement. This was a runner I was making for my sister and for some reason, never finished it. It is a pattern I found in an old Better Homes and Gardens magazine. The original has a quilted middle, but I left that out. The only thing I did was hand quilt around the appliqués and border to finish it. 

It is done with old fabrics from an old fabric store that had sale bins, so not choices I would make now. The only bad thing is, two flowers have staining, so I will try and get those out and then send it to my sister. The side view makes it look shorter.

Last weekend we got out for a ride, still too cold to be outside for walks. We stopped at the breachway and enjoyed some fresh air and the incoming waves, for a bit.

The next stop was at the marsh. Lots of birds in the area and always nice to enjoy the area.

Our last stop was at Point Judith. It's a great place to park and see the ocean, without having to be outside. 

Another gull came in and let me take its photo. There are always a lot in this area since a lot of people get take out seafood nearby and sit here to eat, so they wait for leftovers.

Another day we stayed close to home and took a ride through the old base. Lots of businesses in the area, but a lot of area is left for wildlife.

With the snow and colder weather, I am seeing a lot more birds. There is a flock of Black-eyed Juncos that have decided that they like hanging out in my yard.

And a new pair of Cardinals, they are shy but the female finally decided to eat out of the feeder and stays nearby in the scrub bush.

And today I was able to catch the Sapsucker. It hangs out in the maple tree and has been drilling holes, all over. Usually the sap runs in February or early spring, so I guess he is making sure that he will get plenty when it comes in.

I hope you all had a good week. We are staying in a cold spell and maybe a little more snow next week. It seems the weather is reversing and the south is getting it all. 

Friday finish!

 

I hope everyone has done all they need to, so they can enjoy some time before the holidays without the stress. As usual, I seem to have picked up another flu bug, but doing ok and will be fine for Christmas. I am glad I got all my shopping and wrapping done, so I could relax this week and not do too much.

I hung the new quilt I was working on, on the banister. It is a cheater piece and I added a border to make a lap sized quilt. It was something I could work on at night, by quilting around the black lines. Nothing fancy, but the design is fun and a nice way to greet people when they walk in.

We were able to get out for a bit last week, mostly driving since it is too cold to be outside for long. I finally caught the Horned Larks in the parking lot, at the beach.

In the breachway, there was a large group of Common Eiders. The black and white male seemed to be the leader and wherever he went the females followed him.

We also take drives around the island. It is even colder there with the ocean breezes, but the views are always beautiful and a way to get out of the house for a bit. We ran into this doe, that was walking down the road.

Today I tested a recipe, cranberry cornbread. I wanted to make something a little different for Christmas and the cranberries make it more festive. I really liked how cranberries gave it a bit of tartness. I use Monks sugar and the recipe called for buttermilk. I don't use that but a trick I learned. I warm up milk and then put a bit of fresh lemon juice into it and let it sit, instant buttermilk. If you want to try the recipe, you can find it at Spilling the Tea. 

Tomorrow will be a rest day, we got a bit of snow, so hoping to get out and get some photos with snowy backgrounds. Then it will be time to get the house ready and start cooking for Christmas Eve. The kids come here for dinner and we go to their house on Christmas. I give them presents at our house, then save some for their house. 

My hope is that everyone has a wonderful holiday, no matter how you celebrate it. Even if you cannot get out or be with family, take the time to make the day special, for yourself. Christmas blessings to you all.

Friday working on!

 

This week I did not get anything done. With the holiday I was busy getting out and doing things around the house. I also spent a lot of time, looking for my smaller hoop. I still can't figure out where it is, so today I finally thought of a solution.

I added extra fabric on the top and bottom and now it fits on my larger Morgan hoop. It is the only hoop that will hold the fabric tight when you have the thicker punching started. What I did was, sew a thick edge so I can pull it really tight and it will hold.

Last week we were all set to go to the seaport and see the wooden boat show. We left early and when we got there, the lot was full and they were parking people on what grass areas were left. I figured it was way too crowded to bother, so we headed to the owl sanctuary.

We took all the paths we could for a longer walk and in the fields, we were delighted with the bird boxes and watching the parents, feed their young. One box had Bluebird babies.

Another had swallows. They were harder to catch, they fly in fast and leave fast. As you can see in the first photo, I was getting some dirty looks. They had enough of me, staring at their box and one covered the hole with its body, while the other threw darts at me. 

We also walked some new paths, further in the woods and stumbled onto a few critters along the way.  The deer let me get pretty close and the bottom right photo is a nesting Dove that I spotted, hiding in a tree over the pond.

With the humidity and crowds at the beaches, we spent more time on the island this week. The air is so much cooler and I am able to get in nice walks. This day the weather was kicking up so more boats were heading in, then out.

This guy was sailing alone and it looked like he might tip any moment, but he didn't.

A few more scenes while walking around.

Another day we walked around and we stopped in the lighthouse museum for fun. They had open hours that day and I really wanted to go up into the lighthouse, but that is a lot of steps and a ladder to get to the top, so I decided I didn't have the legs for that. The egrets I saw in a field, on the way back.

We also stopped at the park on the way back. There is a path that takes you to a platform to see the Osprey nest. I only spotted one baby, so not sure if more were hidden, but it seemed like just one.

They are very vocal when they want to eat. Dad was hanging out in the marsh.

And then there was today. It was cloudy with a chance of rain so we went to the beach, so bean could play in the water. It was way too rough to swim, I just went into my waist.

And then it poured, so everyone left and we hid under the picnic area. Once it stopped we got to enjoy the beach, all to ourselves. No good treasures, but Bean found a nice dog ball that washed in.

At home, the feeder has been busy with the new babes. I was even surprised when I spotted a new one, a Rose-breasted Grossbeak, in the lower left.

And since we put out an orange and grape Jelly, I have had a lot of Baltimore Orioles. First the parents were feeding the babes, now the babes come alone and they are less timid. 

I hope you all had a nice week and can enjoy the weekend. Hopefully the winds will die down here and I can get out for some paddling and swimming.

Friday Finish!

 

This week I have been getting my energy back, so catching up around the house and yard. I made another heart sachet, something I enjoy doing while watching tv at night. It is fun to do something with bright colors and something cheerful. You can find this design, along with others at  Pinker N' Punkin.

This week I had a new visitor. The first time I have seen a buck, not sure where its mother is.

And more birds are coming to visit. Lots of young and the new jelly feeder, has bought the Baltimore Orioles.

Last weekend we got in some walks at the lighthouse. It is always cooler there and a good way for me to get my strength back.

We got out for a walk at Ninigret park. I was able to catch a Common Yellowthroat.

And I was able to catch a few others along the paths.

Today we got to Trustom Pond. It is a 3 mile walk and always full of wildlife. The humidity was gone and we had a nice breeze, so it was nice to get out for a longer walk.

The Osprey was giving me the eye, they do not like it when you get near their nesting grounds.

I saw a lady, taking photos of something and she showed me the Swallows in the nest. I would have missed it, if she wasn't there. The mom was feeding her baby, a large dragonfly. The other two were fledged and out on their own.

More of the critters we saw along the paths.

Afterwards we heading to a nearby beach for a short walk along the shoreline. I almost missed the baby Piping Plovers, they blend in with the rocks and are tiny. They are so fun to watch. The moms were close by, watching and if you got too close, the mom would feign a broken wing. The males fly over head and dive bomb you, if. you are in their area.

The Fishing boats are coming back to bring in their daily catch. It was a nice way to spend the afternoon and unwind. I hope you all have a nice weekend and are not in the paths of the storms.