Monday Work and Wanderings!

The fun thing about a new month is a new design from Kathy, from her One Stitch at a Time Club. This month was a fun spring design and it was something nice that I could work on this weekend and finish today.

I Colored in the bee black and yellow with my art markers, I like the touch of color. I also added the saying. I think this would be a fun inspirational piece for someone who needs a lift, during a bad time. I also added some lavender so I can use it as a sachet, as well.

My flash was acting up, so I had a hard time getting a good shot.

I also realized that I forgot something on my new bunny piece. I forgot his whiskers. I wanted to add them last, so the good thing was, I could add them on with a needle. They are not permanent, but I like how it gives it a 3D look.

Saturday Bill was sick again, so we stayed home and he rested. On Sunday I wanted to get out so we took a ride to Connecticut, so we could enjoy the views from the car, it was cold out. We sat for awhile and watched the boats coming and going, the ferry coming in and a fishing boat, going out.

As we drove out, I noticed the college, it is an extension of UConn for Marine studies. The grounds are beautiful and they have a lot of beautiful old stone buildings, so we drove in and took a look around.

This is the Branford House Mansion, now it is used for weddings and other venues and you are allowed to walk around the grounds. The bad thing is, the geese leave messes all over, so you have to watch where you walk, lol. You can see the moon, up above.

There is also a small lighthouse on the grounds and the perfect place to enjoy the views of Long Island sound. It was nice to get out and nice to see something new, I will definitely go back when it is warmer. I couldn't get great photos since my fingers were freezing. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.

Weekend Wanderings!

We were blessed with beautiful weather this weekend, so I took full advantage and got in some outdoor time. On Saturday we went to Groton and headed to the point to enjoy the views of the Long Island sound and watch the ferries come in and out.

It was foggy over the ocean and the ships were hidden until they got closer. The smaller ferry coming in from Block Island, passing by the haunted light house.

In contrast to the fog, the river side was sunny and blue. The main ferry, heading to Long Island, as it passes the house on the rocks.

We headed to Bluff point for a hike and encountered more fog, with sun on the inland side.

Once we got the the point, we enjoyed some time on the beach. The fog was lifting, so we got to enjoy the  beautiful views.

We took the full hike, which is 4 miles and a few stops so Bean could enjoy the beach areas.

Sunday was another beautiful day and so warm, I had to take off my coat. We went to the Barn Island  Reserve and got to enjoy the full walk. The walk goes along the salt water marshes and through the woods. You can see the path to the left and the wooded areas, then it continues on around that entire area, off in the distance.

The trail ends at the old farm homestead, stonewalls and cellar holes can be found in the wooded areas. We ended at the entrance to the farm, where we turned around and got to enjoy going through the areas again.

As we came back to the area, that shows the view, I spotted a heron feeding in the marsh. I found a pathway to the edge and was able to get a few shots.

Here he is showing off his beautiful wings.

And this is what he looks like, when he is not  hiding his face. Someday I hope to catch one in flight, they are so beautiful but very shy.

I hope you enjoyed going with me,  on my walk. Today is a rest day, I always over do it and wear myself out, but well worth it. A nice surprise came in the mail today, from my friend Laurie. She sent me a beautiful tin adorned with a beautiful punch needle, perfect for storing my supplies. In the back you can see the felted backing she sent, I love it and imagining a beautiful felted scene to make for my beach room. There is also a tiny hat that I can use on one of my characters, a proddy flower, a scrap pile made into a rose shape that has a ball of yarn in the middle and I forgot to add the other gifts, a hand made button bracelet, handmade soap and some teas to enjoy while I create. I feel spoiled but it was a nice pick me up on a down day.

I also took this photo with my new 55mm lens, and I am not happy with the results, time to take it back, they are going to hate me, lol. I want the one I had, but a better one, so I will just wait and save up for a quality lens with anti shake, I realize I need that with my nerve damage, if i want to get clear shots. 

I hope you are all working on fun, new projects. I have my quilt to finish and working on a punched piece for a lap project.

Vacation Fun!

Bill has this week off, since he worked straight for three weeks, he needed a break. So what to do, run him ragged driving me around to my adventures, lol. We started Saturday with hemming and hawing on what to do and finally decided to go to the beach for an ocean swim.

It was a bit cooler and the fog was rolling in but it was nice to get out for a bit, and the waves were picking up. Bill went out for a bit and played in the waves, then I went out and the waves got bigger. The area starts out shallow, then drops deep, then shallow again. I spent the time trying to get out the to second shallows while the waves kept pushing me back. I woke up sore today, it is definitely a good workout.

Sunday was the same thing, was tired from the beach but I wanted to get out so we decided to go to Jamestown for a stroll around the cliffs. It was a beautiful day and the tides were coming in and crashing on the rocks, a peaceful place to walk around and just enjoy the fresh ocean air.

Of course I had to find a hidden path that led to a rocky crevice and an island, so more climbing and exploring.

Today was our first planned day. We headed to Connecticut to visit a few places along the ocean. The first was Harkness State Park. We headed up a broad walk to the beach and enjoyed the views.

No swimming at this beach, so we strolled along the beach to the rocks at the point. The New London ferry was coming out of the Thames River to Long Island. A trip I took every summer to stay with my grandmother.

Above the point is the original home of the Harkness family, a Mansion with beautiful gardens. It is open to walk around, and they do tours of the inside of the home.

We walked around the area and found this fun tower. It is definitely worth a visit.

The next stop was a place I found last minute and had to take a look. It is Seaside Sanatorium that was built as a hospital for children with tuberculosis, then a nursing home and then an institution for the mentally ill and that is when it went downhill and they closed it down. They say it is haunted and now it is run down and the grounds are open as a park.

No swimming now but it is a beautiful area to walk around and Bean enjoyed being able to play a bit.

The next stop was our main stop, Rocky Neck State park. It is separated from the beach by a train track, so you go under the tunnel to get in from the parking lot. We walked outside the beach area to the picnic area and along the rocks.

We found a hidden cove with a beautiful sandy spot for Bean to play at. Wish I had bought our suits, it was warmer there and the water was nice, at least I got to cool down a bit. 

There is also a large pavillion so we walked up the rocks and along the porch. Of course I saw a sign on the other side that said, no dogs allowed in the pavilion, oops. Higher up above the picnic area and beautiful views of the Long Island Sound. 

We drove back through New London, saw a few lighthouses, the ferries going out and headed home. It was a long but fun day and the rest of my night has been busy catching up around the house, so no time to visit blogs, so hopefully I can catch up with all of you soon. Tomorrow is another day, who knows where we will end up;)

Anniversary Winners!

First of all, I will announce the winners. Patti of Winding Vine Wanderings, the first comment and the first right answer is the winner with Piping Plovers. Now, the island has fences all around it and signs that say, not to go in the areas of the piping plovers, so duh to me, lol. They are so cute, they look like little chicks, but with pretty markings.  Patti, please send me your choices of two epatterns or ebooklets.

The winner of the random number generator is #11, Valerie of The Wooden Acorn!
Valerie, please send me your choice of an epattern or booklet.
Thank you to everyone who commented and played along and for the Well Wishes. This year was our 37th and hopefully we have many more ahead of us.

As for yesterday, I was going to take it easy, but I loved going to the island so much, I had to go back. During the weekends it is too crowded, so being able to go when there is room to park, was a treat for me.

If  you noticed the scenery behind the gull in yesterday's picture, you will see a point, off in the distance, that was our destination. Things look a lot closer than they are and this was no exception, lol. The paddle up was nice, we stayed close to the shoreline and enjoyed the views.

Here Bill is enjoying the views and watching the boats coming through the channel. I think he should move;)

We made it to the point, here is the Stonington Lighthouse Museum, if you visit the link, you can see some interesting displays that they have there. When we got to the end of the point, the water changed, a lot rougher and windier out in the open waters. I decided it was too much for me, so it was time to turn around.

As we paddling back down the coast, I decided it would be quicker and fun to surf back to the island. Well, when you enter the channel, the waves got a lot higher and were churning back and forth between the tide changing and the boat waves. I don't know if you call it surfing, but I was paddling like a mad lady and bracing with my legs to keep the boat steady and flying across the waves. And it was a lot longer across than I thought, so I was exhausted by the time I got to the island.

Since I could not take photos and paddle in this water, I made Bill go back out and paddle in, so I could take a photo, lol. I am such a mean wife, but he loved it, his boat is larger and taller in the front, than mine.

And here is a photo of the waters in the main areas, this is more my style, nice rolling waters.

At the island, we enjoyed the views, a swim in the calmer waters, all types of sea birds and a nectarine for lunch. Fresh fruit is a great pick me up, after a tough paddle. In all we paddled about 6 miles, so today was a rest day, if cleaning and cooking is considered rest;) This weekend, I will be back out on the water and paddling along the coast in our bay.

Sailors pray, For fair winds and a following sea The smell of salt in the air, The feel of their skin as it's touched by the spray An albatross soaring above, Dolphins in the ship's wake at play To witness a work of art that only God can create, The sunset at the end of day At night a million stars in the sky, Safe anchorage in an islands lee When the time comes to die as for all it must, To awake in Sailors Heaven where nothing ever rusts And always there would be, Fair winds and a following sea

Happy Anniversary Day Giveaway!

Today I decided I wanted to go back to Barn Island again.
What is that saying about, too much of a good thing? LOL
More about my adventures tomorrow, tonight I am ready to collapse;)

The only thing to do on a hot day, go for a walk on the beach.

I saw this little guy, he didn't want his photo taken and kept running away. I have no idea what he is, he looks like a baby gull, but his beak is too small. I am too lazy to look it up so tell me, what kind of bird is he? The first winning answer will receive their choice of two free epatterns from my ecrater site. I will also draw a name from all of the comments and guesses and the winner will receive one free epattern. I will announce the winner tomorrow night along with photos about our adventures today.

Barn Island Paddle!

Today was hot as heck, so we headed to Barn Island in connecticut. It was worth the drive, less than an hour away and the temps were 10 degrees cooler and a nice ocean breeze.

Here is the launch site. The big boats get a ramp, we get a tiny space, filled with dead fish heads and flies, ick.

This is the view from the launch, looking out to the ocean, the island we headed to is in the distance.
It is called Sandy point and it is mostly sand.

Standing on the island, you can see Long Island NY in the distance.

Looking left, you are in Connecticut.

To the right you are in Rhode Island, weird state lines.

The inner island is perfect for swimming, shallow and calmer. That is Bill's head out there.

The Island in back of him, is where we headed when we left this island.

This little island has a few homes and beautiful rocky shores, would love to live here.

After we went around the cove, we headed back to the launch, then decided to go out to the other point towards RI. The tides were changing, the wind was blowing and the fog was creeping in, I loved it. Nothing like rolling water and splashing waves to cool you down on a hot day.

I hope  you enjoyed going paddling with us today. Tomorrow promises to be, another hot day, so not sure if we will paddle, it depends on how hot it gets. It is our anniversary, so I want to do something special, but all this fun is wearing me out, lol. Today was another long paddle, three hours on the water, so maybe I need a rest;)