Friday Finish!

 

This week I finished a painting I had been working on. I had a photo of the boys at the beach, so I removed the people and just added the umbrellas and houses in the back. It was fun to do and good practice. I will need to get better paper, since this paper tends to pill when you add too much water, but it is good enough for practice.

Last weekend we got a nice walk in at the park. We spotted a turtle, half way in a hole. Not sure if it was resting or laying eggs.

I also spotted a female Eastern Towhee.

Today we did our walk at the lighthouse. It was a beautiful day and we lucked out, when the Newport Regatta came by.

These two boats were neck and neck.

When they come around the lighthouse, the waves get rougher. 

It was a nice walk, though we went back and forth and side to side to watch them. They race around the island, so we got to watch the last of them coming around the other beach. I always enjoy getting out in the fresh air, and always a fun day for Bean. 

I hope you all had a nice week and aren't stuck in the rain. We have rain coming tomorrow, so hopefully we can get out on Sunday.

Friday Finish!

 

This week I am working on a stitchery that I got at the store, so still working on that. I also got a book to review and having fun with that. It is a workbook with lessons for butterflies and flowers and comes with a pad of all the drawings, that I can practice and paint in. It has been a while since I did watercolor, so fun to relearn things before I do my own and I find it relaxing. I am using colors I had, and finally decided I needed a new larger set so I can follow along better.

I put it in a fake frame and since I don't want to keep them, I decided to cut it out and put it on the wall for fun. 

Last weekend we had rain and ended up at the island when we got a break. It was cold, windy and cloudy, so hard to get good photos. I was thrilled to spot a Kestrel, but he was not thrilled to be watched. He took off, then came back and had something he caught. When I tried to get closer, he would fly to another spot.

I spotted the Osprey who nests in the radio tower at the lighthouse. 

Today we were at the island again. Rain again, but it stopped long enough to enjoy the afternoon. I had fun watching this Merganser, who was by himself and didn't mind me taking photos.

Lots of geese like to hang out on the lawns and the coves in this area.

I also spotted a Mallard couple, the male was in the water, so I couldn't get a good shot of him.

In the bay there is a huge rock island, the nesting area for a lot of Cormorants.

In another cove, we caught some divers from the university, taking lessons in cold water diving. I hope everyone had a good week and better weather for the weekend. We have more rain, but sunny and warmer days coming next week.

Vacation sights!

It is a good thing I take photos, or I would forget what I did, lol. My short term is on the fritz, but I have been on meds again and slowly getting back to my normal. We did a lot in a day, a lot of driving so we didn't get to go to as many places as I wanted, but we did enjoy some wonderful rides and sights.

One thing is, Bean is getting tired of having to stop to have his photo taken, so he is becoming a smart alec. I wanted to take a photo of them walking through the Lupines, that are all over the islands. So, when I told them to smile, this is what I got.

One day we drove to Acadia to walk to Bar Island. The island is accessible at low tide only, so you can walk across to the island and hike up to the top and we made it at the right time, this year. The problem was getting a parking space, there were none. We drove a street up and found one, right at the access road, so much better than parking in town. 

The walk was fun and cooling with the cross breezes and the views at the top of the island, were spectacular. This is looking down at the sand bar and Bar Harbor. We also went to Thunder Hole and the tide was just right to watch the waters come in and pound into the hole. You can see a video on my You Tube Channel.

On the day we went to Nervous Nellies, we also stopped at the Haystack School. They have a public area that you can walk down the stairs, to enjoy the views. The school has art classes and beautiful condo style lodgings on the sides of the hills. 

The last stop was the Tennis Preserve, which I thought was an easy walk, but turned out to be a long walk and lots of hills, roots, rocks and mosquitos, but the views are beautiful. 

On rides we saw some beautiful sites, this field of flowers had a gorgeous view and I think it may be a future design element. 

And at one causeway, we spotted these boaters. Something seemed off to me, and I stopped for a closer look, can you see why? 

We also did a hike up the quarry, we had a path, right from the camp. It was fun climbing around and exploring and this is the view we had, haha. The board shows you what you are supposed to see.

We also stopped in Castine to enjoy the views from the docks and the forts. One reason we like that area is because they have a wonderful dog beach and we explored that for awhile and I even found three small sand dollars, I never knew they were up this far north, now I do. Bill and Bean are exploring the old fort.

I did take a lot of photos, boats and scenery, but the fog kept getting on my lens and leaving spots, so a pain to clean up, someday I will get to them and some might end up in a design. One thing I love is sunsets, and we were able to get another clear night and headed up to the hill to watch it. The sad thing was, when we got to the turn off, the police had it blocked off. There was a bad accident with one driver getting killed, so we headed back and watched it as we drove down the road. I was able to find a spot that the sun was still coming through and I loved the colors in the sunset and sky. 

Tomorrow I will finish with our paddle and last day, I hope you are enjoying seeing a little of what the Downeast area of Maine has to offer.

Happy Fourth!

I hope everyone has fun plans for the fourth. We are going to go to my sister in laws, time to say yes to invites and we will be seeing her husbands side of the family for the first time and My son and Daughter in law will be meeting all of them for the first time too. If you have ever seen the movie, Moonrise Kingdom, it was filmed in Rhode Island and my sister in law was actually in it, Bruce Willis came to her door when he was looking for the kids that ran away in the movie. It is hard to know it is her, but still neat  that she got to meet him and be in the movie.

Bill and I have been able to get out and enjoy the beauty of our own area this week. Yesterday we visited a dog friendly beach at the old base. It is in between the ferry and a ship builder, but the beach is nice and clean and a perfect place to let Bean have some fun at the beach. He finally realized that water is fun to go in and getting braver so next we will have to try him on a kayak.

Today I wanted to try out my mini sit on kayak to see how she handles on the water. Well Bill, who needs a hearing aid, put my sea kayak on, so I used that instead;) I am out of shape, so it was just a nice easy paddle in the main coves and time on the beach to enjoy the cool breezes.

There are two small islands in the cove, they were home to the indian queen at one time, it was there summer place.

We went out to the breakers, we had to go the long way around since it was low tide and we had to avoid the mud flats.

Coming back we enjoyed another trip around the islands and the beautiful views of the harbor. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday weekend.

Anniversary Fun or Exhaustion Giveaway!

Yesterday we took a day off since it was raining on and off and we needed to get things done and get some rest. Well, rest didn't happen, but we did a lot of shopping and running around and cleaning house and catching up on laundry.

I will start with the winner of the giveaway and the question for the next:
And the winner of the Giveaway is Saundra! Please email me with your choice of epattern from my ecrater site. And for the newest contest, I will make this easy. What year was Bill and I married? I will giveaway another epattern of the winner's choice. I will announce a winner on monday night.

Wednesday we paddled at a place called Bluff Point in Connecticut. The paddle took us up a river and up to a long sandy beach with access to the ocean.

We landed near the end of the beach so we could take a look at the ocean, to see what the conditions were. It was a cloudy day and the water was calm and glassy. The little island is actually a chain of islands that are hidden behind this one.

Paddling out of the channel we had views of Avery Point Light and A division of The University of Connecticut. I had to use my little camera, so everything seems further away.

Paddling around the islands, we can to the point of the last island, no place to land.

Coming around the island, you can see the Long Island sound. This was a beautiful place to paddle with amazing views and a place I will definitely come back to.

Today I was tired to start with, but I wanted to get out, so we ended up at Ninigret Park, which is a saltwater pond that goes out to the ocean. The paddle was only 3 miles, but most of it was against the wind and at the beach, I walked around most of the time, so not much rest;) 

A quiet stretch of beach, all to ourselves.

Where we parked our kayaks was along a stretch of the breach way. We we entertained by all of the birds that were feeding in the tidal pools.

This guy was comical and all over the place.

This bird was definitely unique, and I am not sure what it was. When I first saw it, it was small and squat, then it got up and stretched it's neck and body and looked more like an egret. This was it's in between size, truly interesting.

And of course, what would the beach be without a seagull. This is a young one, you can tell because of the mottled colors. He was happy, sitting on his rock and enjoying the cool breezes.

And to end a wonderful week, though we still have the weekend, Bill and I were being silly. He drew the heart and I did the writing, I think we had too much sun;)

Saturday Drive!

It was a nice day, and with a storm going by in the atlantic, it was the perfect day to go to the lighthouse and watch the waves.

These first two things are what I call, dumb things to do during a storm.

Does this look like a good way to fish?

There were lots of people sailing, perfect winds for that, but ski doing in the waves around the rocks, not my idea of smart.

But it did look fun and great way to catch some air.

Speaking of catching some air, the seagulls were loving it. 

We decided to drive to the other side of the island. The cove here is a bit quieter and a lot of divers come to explore the coves.

We walked up a path to the top of the old forts and got a beautiful view of Newport Harbor.

Then it was home for a cookout with my son. My DIL had to work, but Billy bought over photos and a CD for us, of the wedding.

Here is one of the professional photos, beautiful shot of them both.
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Magic and Mermaids Giveaway!

Today I decided to go to the town beach to start our paddle. It is close, for residents only, in the summer, no thieves and it saves a mile of paddling to get out of the cove. It was sunny, but cooler, so perfect for paddling. 

Once out of the beach cove, we pass the island, wouldn't it be fun to live here.

I wanted to go down the bay today, so we headed straight for the bridge and this is what I was met with. Lots of roiling waves, try taking a photo in this and not hit a piling, lol.

The beach on the other side of the bridge is where we made landing. The perfect place to rest and enjoy the scenery. It was way too windy and rough to go any further, so we sat here for awhile and enjoyed a swim and a snack.

There was magic in the waters today, we even caught a glimpse of a mermaid.

And a special treat, her puppy came out and rested on the beach. The sun hurt his eyes, so I lent him my glasses.

On the way back, we came  upon some Cormorants, who as usual didn't want use too close.

The last of the flock taking off.

 And now for the giveaway. On the fourth photo, what do you think is in the water? The first right guess will win a free epattern of their choice and I will draw one name from all the entries to receive an epattern, as well. I will take guesses until 10 pm, this Wednesday night.