Friday Finish!

 

I hope everyone is having a good New Year. It seems last year and into this year, I am getting every flu that is going around. My son was sick so I assume I caught it from him. I am not as bad and am fighting it off, but it means resting and finding a new easy project I can put together. I cannot stand just sitting all day and working on something is a good way to pass the time and create something new. I am leaning towards a long pillow to put on the back of the couch, so hopefully I can put that together tomorrow.

This week I wanted to work on something and need more lavender pillows for boxes I will be resorting. I decided to sign up for the new club, PQP Club. You get access to all the back issues of the magazine and 4 new designs each month. I found a valentine stitchery set that was perfect for mini pillows and I reduced it a little more.

We had a few warmer days, warm enough to get out for a bit and walk on the beaches. We went to one of the southern beaches and walked a bit on the point. From there I could get a shot across the water, to the lighthouse. 

At the beach end,  I spotted this guy, trying to keep from being swept up on the beach. He would swim out and then get pushed back.

He seemed to be content to stay at the beach area and enjoy the waters where it was a bit calmer.

Another day we went to the island and walked along the beach. A view of the lighthouse across the bay.

I spotted a flock of geese in one of the yards. I walked up to them, got my camera ready and caught them, just as they flew off.

On another beach I spotted a flock of Brandts. They were not afraid of me and actually followed me as I walked along. On the way home, I spotted a Kingfisher, hanging out on the camera of the Osprey nest. 

I hope you are all doing well this year and not in the storm's paths that are coming through. 

Friday Finish!

 

This week I finished the sashing and started working on my wall hanging. Hopefully I will have it done next week. I also got a new mold to try. I have seen this pairing in wood and loved the design, so it was fun to try in resin.

You have to mix the resin properly and I think I didn't get the ratio right for the hardener, my piece is still too soft. The arm and body start to sag down if I leave it up, so hoping if I let it sit, it will harden up. I also tried a little dye which was fun. I got the cheapest type since I am experimenting and maybe not enough, learning as I go. I wanted to make the lady, look like a mermaid, maybe a bra top for the next one, lol. I have tons of small browns, so perfect way to use it on the dog. Later I will add a sea glass eye. 

Over the weekend, we spent some time at the beach. It was a bit chilly, but fun to walk and find a few treasures.

On Sundays we like to go to Connecticut, since hunting is not allowed on that day. We went hiking at a park near the Hatchery, but no eagles. It was a beautiful walk and lots of woods, so we did see a lot of Woodpeckers. There is a stretch on the water, but no warm enough to stand still for long.

During the week, the kids came to visit, while the parents had a day out. The boys are always a joy to have and they both enjoyed working on a puzzle. 

Nick gave the thumbs up, after Alex put in the last pieces. I hope everyone had a good week and not the bad storms coming in this weekend.

Friday finish!

 It seems I did a lot this week and got nothing done. I did take down my Valentines decorations and started with Easter. I am trying to cut down on the amount I put up, so things don't look so cluttered, but I know I will end up making a few new things.

I am working on getting some quilts ready to quilt, lots that need to be finished. I also had some new paint markers to test and found out, they are just markers, no acrylic markers, so I had to redo them, with the better markers. Not as good, as when I use paint, and I rushed them, but a lot easier and less messier.

They do look better in person, the fresh gloss, makes them look worse.

Last weekend we took a ride, no luck with birding, but we enjoyed the views and a stop at the Westerly lighthouse.

On Sunday we took a ride to the fish hatchery in Connecticut. I heard there have been eagle sightings there. We got a nice walk in and as I was getting ready to leave, I saw a black bird in the sky. Thinking it was just another vulture, I wasn't quick enough to get great shots.

I caught him as he flew over head. Then he landed on a telephone pole, way up on a hill and then he was joined by his mate. They were too far to get a close up and a river between us, so I couldn't get closer. It was still wonderful to finally find one.

We also saw a lot of other birds in the bushes, most were too busy to sit still and too shy, to let me get close. I think the first are Hairy Woodpeckers, the middle is a  Chipping Sparrow and the last is a Northern Mockingbird.

The Hatchery has a nice walk along the river and into fields, so we will have to go back to that area again. I hope you all had a nice week and get to enjoy getting outside and exploring your area.

Friday Finish!

 

Another week that went by too fast and I didn't get as much done, as I had planned. I was able to finish the stitching on my Christmas piece, so now I have to cut it to size and add a border, then I can quilt it. I decided to try a little chick, with needle felting. 

I had a photo of one I wanted to make, but mine came out differently, since I started with a cookie cutter. I made the mistake of peeking to see how it looked and it puffed out of the frame. So, I had to do the rest without the frame. I will try more and try to get it a little more rounder, like the original one, but fun to practice and I did better on the eye, this time.

Last weekend we went to Connecticut and checked out a few of the ocean areas. We went to the point and enjoyed some of the views and watched the ferries. It is a nice spot since you can sit in the car and not be outside too much, way too cold.

The lighthouse at the top left, is all that is left of the Little Gull lighthouse. My grandfather was a keeper there, at one time. It had a large home with several families living there, but storms have washed away, most of the island.

Then we drove to the UConn campus down the road, lucky kids, who get to go to this campus.

On the way home, we spotted this funny scene, in a marina.

The next day we stayed local and went to the island. I never get sick of walking on the beaches, and I even found a marble.

We also went to the point and walked around for a bit. Another place that has spectacular views of the ocean and Newport.

A close up of the lighthouse, behind Bill and Bean.

A hidden fort on the hill.

And this Red-tailed hawk, landed nearby, just as we were getting back in the car.

I hope everyone had a nice week and fun plans for the weekend.

Friday working on and camping!

 

It seems this month went by fast and the end of the month is here, last weekend of camping at this campground. The good thing is, I might get more done now. I have been working on a project that I was hoping to finish for my Daughter in Law's birthday this week, but still working on it. The good thing is, we postponed the party till next week so I may still be able to. 

I plan on doing a nice floral print border and making a wall hanging with it. The design is by Kathy Schmitz, one of the patterns I got with my winnings.

Most of my time at camp is spent on the water or going for walks with Bean. I just love hearing all the birds around me, I just wish they would sit still. Even so, I was able to take a few photos last week.

I was finally able to catch the Baltimore Oriole, and hopefully I will be a closer, clearer photo one day.

I also enjoyed watching the Great Blue Heron, fishing. That is until, another larger one came diving from the nearby trees and attacked it, and chased it away. I guess that was his fishing spot.

And I always know when a Blackbird nest is nearby, the males yell at me, the minute I get close to one. Not the smartest way to keep the nest a secret, lol. Most just yell a lot, but the one near the bridge, has decided to dive bomb me, when I paddle by.

One day we went for a ride and decided to come back along the fire road and stopped at Hells Hollow Pond. We were lucky enough to come when a family of Geese were swimming nearby.

And another nesting pair, Mallard ducks. Today we got to camp early, so I was able to get some photos and spend time outside before the rains. I will save those for next week. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday weekend and find something that you love to do.

Friday this and that!

 No finishes this week, I did work on my stitchery, but forgot to take a photo of my progress. It seems I spend the weekend at camp, come home, do a million things to catch up and then a few days getting ready to go back to camp, definitely need to organize my time better.

I did get out for some nice paddles last weekend. Even if I cannot get photos of all I see, I do enjoy the solitude of being on the water and just watching the natural world around me.

I was able to finally catch the Great Blue Heron, he doesn't like to be bothered and when some paddlers got too close, he went up to the treetops. 

The next day I was able to catch him fishing. I can only get so close before he takes off and the pond always seems to be windy, so hard to stay still myself.

I enjoy watching the Hummingbirds in the area, they are all about and my neighbor has a bunch of feeders, so I was able to catch one at her camp.

I was also able to catch a different angle of the Hummingbird mom on her nest. 

While on the river, I spied a nesting Redwing Blackbird. They do not like it when you come near, so I was very quiet and took a few shots without disturbing her. 

I also spied an Eastern Kingbird along the river.

And the two Goslings are growing.

And since we are inland most of the time, I just had to get out for some beach time. The bad thing was, our favorite spot is open to camping, so we went to the other side of the island.

And I was lucky enough to find a few nice pieces of glass and pottery, unusual for that beach but I hit the tide just right. I hope everyone's week went well and you enjoy some time to enjoy time outside.

Weekday Aventures!

 

This week has been a whirlwind of activity and going back and forth to camp, so no time to create. While I have the time and opportunity to get out more, I am using my time to be active and get back in shape. Every day I go for walks withe Bean and paddling on the river.

I have a small sit on that I use, it makes it easier to get into coves and shallow coves. One day I explored into a river way that had two small falls and now that the water is higher, I was able to scoot over them and see what was on the other side.

It opened up into a larger river, surrounded by forest and stumps, unfortunately I couldn't find out where the Blue Heron was hiding, probably on the other side, that I couldn't get into.

I was able to find a spot to sit at, in the larger pond. I could hear and see the birds, so I sat still until a few were curious enough to land nearby. A Yellow Warbler and a Red Winged Blackbird.

And one day the Geese came to the boat launch and I was able to get closer to the Goslings.

With the higher waters, I was able to get further up into the river. I admit, I get a bit scared, being out in the middle of nowhere by myself, but I kept going to reach the fork in the river. It is a beautiful area, nothing but nature and the sound of birds. A lot of turtles along the banks. I only took my phone with me, so wasn't able to get close ups.  

I also found a place called Heron Cove, but no Herons in sight. I did find a nice trail and realized that it goes back into the state forest, maybe a hike for another time.

And, we went for a little ride up the road and I found this little old Schoolhouse, the Wylie Schoolhouse. It looks like it had some damage and the Bell was missing. It has two outhouses in the back.

I snuck a peak inside by pressing my camera against the window, would be fun to go inside. I hope you all had a wonderful week and find adventures in your own area. Lots of hidden treasures when. you take the roads less taken.

Last night we came home, I got laundry done, food cooked for the weekend and plan on staying at camp over the weekend. Maybe then I will stop and relax for a bit and work on my quilting.

Friday Finish and Fun!

 

This week I had more energy so I worked on some new masks. I had gotten some fun kids halloween fabrics so wanted to use them up, so I did a few for now and next week I will use up the fabrics. I saw a notice for someone looking for larger men's sizes so I let the local group page know that I had some and got a request from a lady who works at the school near me. She will stop by Monday to get hers and I will give her the extra kid masks so she can give them out to kids who need them. 

I like the 3D style, it is not hard to make, but the sides are thicker and I am trying to figure out how much I can trip to make them neater and easier to sew. The owl fabric was from Joannes, not as thick as the quilters cotton, I get from the shop. A fat quarter makes two adult and two kid's masks.

We got to get out and enjoy some time with the boys this weekend. We took them to a new place, Fort Shantuck in Connecticut, part of the Mohegan reservation. The park is free and has a pond with walks around the grounds. 

The boys loved exploring and we had a picnic by the pond.

The pond is filled with ducks and wildlife, a nice place to walk and relax at.

On Sunday we had a rest day, and lucked out with a spot with views of the bay. Bean gets to go with us and loved playing in the water and I even found some nice glass, hiding under the rocks.

At home I have been enjoying the birds and was surprised when I spotted this guy watching for mice near the kayak rack. It is a juvenile Cooper's hawk.

I love having the suet on the porch, the Downy Woodpeckers love it and are getting used to me, sitting there. This is the male, I have two males and two females that visit.

And here is a female, you can see her feet and why they can climb up and down trees so well. I hope you enjoyed seeing a bit of my week and I hope that you are all safe and healthy and enjoy visiting places in your own area.