Busy Week!

 

This week I have been busy, always something to do around the house and yard, but I have been working on my projects. I also made an Americana wreath, but it needs the finishing touches. I have set up a new garden area for the birds with a bird bath and it has had a lot of new visitors. My resident Hummingbird is back and still territorial.

Today we finally got out on the bikes. We went to the bike path that starts at the train station. It goes through woods, marshes and ponds and we ended up in town since the last part goes across busy roads. The area has bridges and a pond, so we took a break there to enjoy the wildlife.

Lots of turtles in the pond.

The floats are a favorite place for the cormorants to hang out.

On the way back we took a side route to visit the farm. 

Lots of cows in the field and they were fun to watch. Lots of young ones.

This one was running all over the place, just having fun. 

And this one was taking a lunch break.

Tomorrow will be rain, so we plan on having the kids over for dinner, for an early Mother's Day. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Final Finish!

 

This week I finished my wall hanging. I had a few touches I wanted to add, one being the stars I forgot. I also added some buttons to the flowers. Then I finished with an outer stitching on the edge. I also started a punch needle piece, that I started years ago. I had it in a hoop and left it on and crushed some of the floss areas, so I took those out and doing a bit at a time. Another project I found, is an old quilt I made a long time ago, so I just need to add a backing and do some quilting, to finish it. 

I also found another punch needle piece, the exact same one I just did with the sheep. Well, now I have two and the first one is one I like better. It is narrower and better contrast, so that I will keep to make a key rack with and the other will be fixed and sold.

Last week I was able to get a few good hikes in. One place we went was a pond walk. It goes in and out of woods, along the pond, into a farm field and back around the pond. With all the wind storms and flooding, there is also a lot of downfall.

We were sitting on the deck, overlooking the pond and I spotted this guy. A Great Blue Heron, too busy to notice me as he was fishing. 

And a few birds that I spotted; a Hairy Woodpecker, a Black Capped Chickadee and when I got home, I spotted our first Hummingbird.

Our next hike was two new areas. The first was an old road that went along fields and I did notice after, there are lots of trails on the other side, so something to explore another day. Down the road, we found another trail but no parking spots. Luckily I have a trail finder and found another parking spot, on the opposite side. 

It was a beautiful place to walk, lots of birds that I couldn't catch and it opens to a field, where you can do more birding. Another place to come back to and explore more of the trails.

On the way in, I spotted this bird and grabbed a shot, before it flew away. I had to do a lot of editing to get it to show up better, but a first for me, an Ovenbird. 

I hope you all had a good week and not too much flooding this week. Lots of areas here got flooded, so we won't be able to hike in a lot of areas, that are swampy. I also got my garden started and need to do some shopping for more plants, so hoping to get that done this week, while we have nice weather.

Friday Finish!

 

This week I was working on my second Halloween piece, but I still need to do the finishing touches and binding. I saw a cute needle felted candle and wanted to try it. Mine didn't come out, quite as well as theirs, but it is still a fun piece. 

Last weekend we went to the apple orchards with the kids, always a fun day out. I got a bag of apples and pears and picked up some nectarines at the shop, always a treat to get fresh fruit.

We also spent time at the beach, this day it was nice and calm and Bean got to enjoy swimming without the waves.

I also caught this juvenile Osprey, practicing his diving skills.

Today we went to the beach and the tide was coming in and the waves were crashing, but I was able to get a little swim in. I caught a few birds at the beach and my resident Hummingbird. She has decided she owns the feeder and chases off any others who come near her sugar water.

It looks like unsettled weather coming in, so hoping we get some nice days, since Bill took the week off. We will probably stay close to home and enjoy time at our favorite places without the crowds. 

Friday Finish!

 

I finally finished my angel quilt. The pattern is by Cheri Payne and offered as a free pattern in her Facebook group. I changed it up a little, but it is mostly the same as the original, except for the dragonfly, which was on another pattern in the pack.

Last week we went to the sunflower field. It wasn't as crowded so we enjoyed a stroll through the pathways that cut through the field.

On Sunday we went on a paddle in the cove, at the park on the island. The tide was up so I was able to come around and get closer to one of the nesting Ospreys. The young are getting big and love the look on their faces.

On another cove, I spotted this Loon and it seemed like something was wrong.

I watched as it finally moved and made its way to the water. It wasn't able to walk and dragged its feet. I looked it up online when I got home and found out, Common Loons cannot walk on land and they rarely come out of the water, except to nest. They also need 30 feet of water to take off, so I learned something new. I think it was a young one and just. resting or maybe got stunned while out, but it seemed fine, once it go on the water.

And we paddled into more open waters as we came around. This was one of our views, looking up into the bay.

And lots of boats in the area, this one passing the old lighthouse on Dutch Island.

And at home, more birds are coming to the feeders, migration won't be far away. The hummingbirds are more active, filling up with fuel for their long flight south.

I hope everyone had a nice week and enjoying the last days of summer. 

Weekly Wanderings!

 

This week went by fast and we got out to enjoy some nice weather and a few rainy days. I have been working on my quilt and hopefully, it will be finished next week.

We got out to the island for a walk around the lighthouse after the rain stopped, so it was a nice way to get out and walk on the road and stay out of the wet grass. Always beautiful views and lots of birds.

We also went to the beach a few times, but the tide was always high, so not as much to find, just cool walks on the beach.

Even with high tide, walking along the edge, I find a few things that get thrown up. A large piece of pottery was a big find, it even has the rounded handle on it. I am thinking it was a bean pot.

At home, my feathered friends are alway a delight to see and the bunnies are out more this season.

And the local turkeys showed up and showing off their brood, quite a few this year.

And today we had the boys for the afternoon. We took them on our boats to a little island in the local cove. They loved being able to swim and a picnic on the beach. It was too windy to go to the point, but we were able to paddle a bit in the inner coves to show them the wildlife. Alex found out why you don't lean over in a boat, he and Bill went over, sure wish I had a photo of that, lol.

The kids came over for dinner and finished staining our porch, so now I can do the finish work and put it all back together. I hope you all had a nice week and enjoy the holiday weekend.

Friday Finish!

 

This has been quite a week. We had the solar put in, so they were here on 4 different days to install equipment and today the panels went up, so it is finally done. When I had a few quiet days, I worked on a project and watched tv, it was nice to make something new and not hear banging all day.

This design is by Julie Porter and offered on Facebook as part of a free chicken series.  You can find the group page at Primitive Quilts .....

It is a stitchery and I decided to do the large chicken in applique. I also made the mistake of trying to add red marker to enhance the red and forgot it was still wet, so I messed up the comb on the large chicken. Luckily I was able to take out the original stitching and enlarge the comb to cover my mistake.

Last weekend we had the boys for the day and since I didn't have the pool set up, we got a better slip and slide with sprinklers, for them. They had a ball and I enjoyed watching them play. I also had them tonight, while my son took Ivy and Bill out for dinner, for their birthday. This weekend I will have a party for the boys to give them their gifts, lots of birthdays in one weekend.

Lots of activity this week, more babies are coming out and one hummingbird is coming to the feeder. She is the only one for now, and I hope I get to see more later on.

And ones I rather not see, they tend to demolish the food, a Common Grackle.

And today the yard was full of birds, the majority of them were crows and a lot of Starlings. The young were hungry and wanted to be fed. It got to the point where I had to chase more away, they were eating all the suet and attacking the regulars who come to visit. 

I hope everyone had a good week and enjoy the long weekend. 

Camping Month and Birthdays!

Well, the month is over and the last weekend, which is the one we looked forward to, was a washout, so we came home early. For me, camping is being outdoors and if I am stuck inside for 3 days, I would go nuts, lol.

We did get to spend one day before we left, so at least I got in one more paddle and time enjoying the wildlife. It is amazing how many birds and animals live along the waterways.

I was able to find a new nest and  get a shot before I disturbed her enough, to leave the nest. I would think the blackbirds would be used to all the boaters who paddle and fish on the pond.

And here is another Redwing Blackbird couple, she was not going to take that worm to her babies until I left the area. The male just makes a lot of noise and hopes I will go away.

Since the weather was on and off that day, we took a ride to the observation deck and spotted this Hummingbird high in the tree. There were a lot of birds, but they move too fast and hide in the bush, so that is a hard area to get shots.

And I tried to get some shots of the birds near the waterfall, but the rain was blowing into my window, so I couldn't get a clear shot. I decided to make a montage with a saying, for them. 

And since we came home early, we had a little party for the family, Ivy, the boys and Bill, all have birthdays this week. Nick got his new bike, which was too big for him, and since they couldn't take it home, we offered to drop it off the next day. In the meantime, I had Bill take it back and get one a few inches smaller. I rather have him ride a bike that makes him happy than one that he is afraid to ride. Once he got used to it, he was riding like a pro and smiling, that was all I needed to make my day. Alex loves space and wants to be an astronaut, so we got him a play mobile spaceship, play set. 

While we were there, I noticed a lot of activity in their backyard. I guess I don't need to go far to find birds, I can just sit in their backyard.

I spotted a robin, bring dinner, only one baby in her nest.

  

On the side of the yard, another nest, this one a Catbird. She had two smaller babies in her nest.

I also caught a Blue Jay, who was kind enough to pose for me.

And a few of the other visitors to his yard. A Downy Woodpecker, a Carolina wren, one of the neighbors chickens came to visit, a Chipmunk and lots of bees. It definitely was a lot easier than taking photos from a moving boat. 

I hope you all had a wonderful week and a weekend filled with joy. 

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.