Friday Finish and Fun!

 

It seems the week goes by too fast and I never get half of the things done, that I had planned. But I have been getting a lot of outdoor time, so that is good. I did finish the second free design, by Theodore Cleave Designs. 

It is a small pillow and I added a few touches of glitter thread to this piece.

I also got to spend time with the kids last weekend. We all went to the sunflower farm. They have a field with pathways that you can walk through, to enjoy the flowers.

And I thought these were funny. The birds feast on the seeds and I guess they have a sense of humor.

And these are some of the birds I was able to catch, along with a butterfly at another park. There are a lot of beautiful birds, but they come and go so fast, it is hard to catch them.

And of course, I took photos of the family. Trying to get them to stand still and pose nicely at the same time is impossible, so this is what I ended up with.

Most afternoons we spend at the beach and I have gotten some nice pieces of glass. I also take a swim when I can, sometimes the waves and pull is too much for me to get into, but the cooler air is always refreshing. I was able to catch the local Osprey family on one day.

It looks like three young made it this year. One is a bit shy.

Mom coming in with dinner. One osprey was yelling at the other, so when mom came in, she gave them a good talking to.

Bill took the next week off, but we have no where to go. My cat sitter is going through some things with her dad and I mentioned we might want to take off, but she never said anything. Usually she says she will be happy to watch the kitties, so I think she may be too overwhelmed at the moment and I don't want to ask her, and make her feel obligated. Hopefully Bill and I can find some fun things to do on a hot week and maybe get some fun beach days with the boys.  I hope you all have a good 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.

Weekend Fun!

 

I am not sure if I should say fun, I did a lot, enjoyed a few paddles and the kids visited for the afternoon on Mother's Day. But, by Saturday I was sneezing and blowing my nose non stop. My DIL started doing the same thing after an hour at camp, so I hope it isn't going to be a regular thing. I paid for the month and can't get my money back, so camping in a wetlands area, in the spring, might not have been the best idea.

It was cooler this weekend, so I wore my nylon suit. It kept me warm and covered my skin, my burn is gone and now I am tan for the summer, lol. I love sitting on the pond, in a quiet cove, so much activity around me.

I lucked out and spotted Baltimore Orioles flying by. I was able to catch one, as well as a Hummingbird and a female Mallard.

Red Winged Blackbirds are nesting all over the banks. I spotted a few nests and if I got too close, the Males would fly off to distract me. I was also able to find a spot to catch this Mother goose on her nest, I didn't want to get too close or she would leave the nest.

In the afternoon, I decided to go for a little bike ride. Wooded pathways, long hilly roads that pass by river and ponds. I love riding in the forest, but I need to work on my leg strength, I still have to walk up hills.

After my ride, I cooled down by taking Bean for a walk. No one was around, so he was able to go off leash for awhile. 

On the way back to camp we stopped at the observation deck and I caught a few visitors at the picnic area. A White Throated Sparrow, a White Breasted Nuthatch and a Robin who looks like he was attacked.

For Mother's Day, I did what I love, another paddle. This time I went up river. I went up to the fork and spotted a few Yellow Warblers. They are nesting in the swamps, so once I got close, they flew off into the bushes, but I caught one that was trying to hide. We also have birds at the camp, the cardinal and his mate are frequent visitors.

And the catch of the day, a Hummingbird on her nest. She always flies off when I come close, so I picked a spot near some bush and sat, until she came back. It is amazing how well they camouflage their nest. I read that they build their nests so that they expand as the young get larger.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day. We are home for the week and I need the rest, lol. I have some projects I am working on, so I will post on Friday with some finishes.

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.