Working on!

 

This week I have been working on a Thanksgiving piece at night and I was able to finish the mittens and cut out the extra blocks. I almost had enough to finish, but was one short. I stuck another block in the center and then I can add a border with the same print, to blend them a bit. Not perfect, but I want to use what I have, so it will do.

Last week we took our walk around the lighthouse. We can get in 3 miles around the road and back path and lots of beautiful views and wildlife.

We are seeing more butterflies coming through.

Lots of Mockingbirds are coming back.

We also took a walk at the bird sanctuary. With the warm weather, the turtles are still out, sunning.

I also was able to spot a Flycatcher at the pond.

When we got to the point, I looked up and was lucky enough to spot a Gray Frog.

A Buckeye Butterfly along the path.

As we were leaving, a Merlin flew overhead, and landed in a tree. I was able to walk back to the spot and catch a photo of him.

As we headed home, we stopped at the marsh. Lots of Egrets and Blue Herons, are still coming through and taking a rest in the marsh.

Today we were heading to the island and noticed the traffic was backed up on the bridge, so we turned around and headed back to walk to the point. I was hoping to spot some seals, but they haven't  come back yet. The walk is nice, through woods and out to a point, with views of the bay.

And I spotted this guy, enjoying a very large fish. Very ugly Vulture that looks comical in the photo. I hope you all enjoyed your week and in areas with nice fall weather. We actually have warm weather coming in again, so we may do some paddling.

Friday Finish!

 

This has been a busy week and I am exhausted. I made reservations at a camp in NH on a river, so I have been planning and packing and keeping up with the house. I made time to finish a painting I started awhile ago. Unfortunately I lost the instructions, so I just went by the photo and then added a couple of whales. The original was on a shorter board and my canvas was larger, so added to it. 

I do not have a steady hand so I am a bit messy, a bit wonky, but I am happy to have finished it. It's been a while since I did acrylics, so need to hone my skills so I can finish another I started.

Last weekend we went for a walk at the ocean park. It has longer trails and less people on the backside, so we enjoy that section. It used to be an air force training field in World War II. This path is what is left of the old runway.

Most of the other trails are overgrown and lined with all types of vegetation for the wildlife. We spotted this Snapping Turtle on my section.

Tomorrow is our 50th anniversary. I really wanted to rent a place on the island, but missed the opportunity to get an affordable place in time. The area we are going to has places I want to visit, and we have a river site, so hoping to relax and enjoy seeing some new things. We will be there all week, so next week I will share some of our adventures. I also have my art supplies and embroidery supplies, so hoping to spend time making up designs and stitching them, while I relax.

I hope everyone has a nice week and not affected by all the storms that have hurt so many. We are lucky to have good weather this week, but it will be hot, even up north.

Friday working on!

 

This week I did not get anything done. With the holiday I was busy getting out and doing things around the house. I also spent a lot of time, looking for my smaller hoop. I still can't figure out where it is, so today I finally thought of a solution.

I added extra fabric on the top and bottom and now it fits on my larger Morgan hoop. It is the only hoop that will hold the fabric tight when you have the thicker punching started. What I did was, sew a thick edge so I can pull it really tight and it will hold.

Last week we were all set to go to the seaport and see the wooden boat show. We left early and when we got there, the lot was full and they were parking people on what grass areas were left. I figured it was way too crowded to bother, so we headed to the owl sanctuary.

We took all the paths we could for a longer walk and in the fields, we were delighted with the bird boxes and watching the parents, feed their young. One box had Bluebird babies.

Another had swallows. They were harder to catch, they fly in fast and leave fast. As you can see in the first photo, I was getting some dirty looks. They had enough of me, staring at their box and one covered the hole with its body, while the other threw darts at me. 

We also walked some new paths, further in the woods and stumbled onto a few critters along the way.  The deer let me get pretty close and the bottom right photo is a nesting Dove that I spotted, hiding in a tree over the pond.

With the humidity and crowds at the beaches, we spent more time on the island this week. The air is so much cooler and I am able to get in nice walks. This day the weather was kicking up so more boats were heading in, then out.

This guy was sailing alone and it looked like he might tip any moment, but he didn't.

A few more scenes while walking around.

Another day we walked around and we stopped in the lighthouse museum for fun. They had open hours that day and I really wanted to go up into the lighthouse, but that is a lot of steps and a ladder to get to the top, so I decided I didn't have the legs for that. The egrets I saw in a field, on the way back.

We also stopped at the park on the way back. There is a path that takes you to a platform to see the Osprey nest. I only spotted one baby, so not sure if more were hidden, but it seemed like just one.

They are very vocal when they want to eat. Dad was hanging out in the marsh.

And then there was today. It was cloudy with a chance of rain so we went to the beach, so bean could play in the water. It was way too rough to swim, I just went into my waist.

And then it poured, so everyone left and we hid under the picnic area. Once it stopped we got to enjoy the beach, all to ourselves. No good treasures, but Bean found a nice dog ball that washed in.

At home, the feeder has been busy with the new babes. I was even surprised when I spotted a new one, a Rose-breasted Grossbeak, in the lower left.

And since we put out an orange and grape Jelly, I have had a lot of Baltimore Orioles. First the parents were feeding the babes, now the babes come alone and they are less timid. 

I hope you all had a nice week and can enjoy the weekend. Hopefully the winds will die down here and I can get out for some paddling and swimming.

Friday vacation: NOT

 

This was not my week for vacation, even though it started out ok. Our first day was a paddle on the lake. The weather was nice, but the wind was awful, so we were only able to paddle along the back cove since the wind was too hard to paddle against. Of course Bean was happy, he got to go swimming in the shallow waters.

The next day we went to the kayak store and got a tandem kayak. I wanted something safe and something we could both paddle, to make it easy to cross to the islands in the bay. We got out gear and tested it in the local cove. It wasn't as easy to paddle as I was hoping and we were both dogged when we got back. Later that evening, we both got sicker and realized we were sick. Then Bill got email from a coworker to let him know, he had gone home sick and had covid, lucky us. The good thing is, we can fit bean and the boys with Bill in this kayak, a lot better.

The next day I stayed home since I felt like garbage. I sat in the back yard and caught a few of the birds that love the berries on the Mulberry tree. I am still trying to get the colorful orioles.

The next day I decided I needed an upgrade for my phone. The new ones have better pixels and camera capabilities, and the battery lasts longer. I was able to catch this baby Wren in the nest, we have 4 different houses with wrens in them, this year.

We spent a couple of days at the lighthouse. It has been too humid, but the ocean areas had cool breezes. Perfect place to get out for some easy walks and fresh air.

We have had a lot of wind this week. I love watching the boats as they battle the waves. This one was a group of kids, learning to sail. They ended up taking the sail down and turning back, I guess it was too much for them to learn on.

There are lots of Red-winged Blackbirds on the island, this one was guarding his territory, his mate was nesting nearby.

Today we went out for a paddle, I took my peddle boat. It was a beautiful day and not too windy. As you can see, it was low tide, so I had to stay in the channels. I have long peddles underneath, so the water has to be deep enough to move.

We went up the cove and landed on the inner beach. Beautiful views and we were able to take a swim on the bay side, where it was deeper.

I took a close up of the light at the end, with my zoom. I didn't realize that there was a nest on top. 

And a view from the beach landing. The clouds were coming in, but the storm wasn't expected for hours. So we headed back into the cove and went around the islands. At the last one, I got stuck in mud, so bill tried pushing me forward with his boat to get into deeper water, but there was none. I finally got half his paddle and had to single paddle out of the muck. It too forever to get through it and moving was hard with a half paddle and just as I got into deeper water, the storm hit. So, we were trying to paddle, which isn't easy with a flat stand up boat and lightening was coming down.

We made it to shore, just as it started to rain, then it started to pour. Luckily the lighting stayed away from us and we made it home safely. I was able to snap a shot of the crabs on the beach, they are fun to watch. Hopefully the next two days will be less eventful, but I won't count on it. 

I am doing ok and more of a light flu for me. I have had it before and with meds, can fight it off. I hope this finds all of you well and enjoying your summer.

Friday: Another unfinished project

 I am still working on my punch needle piece. I tried pushing it, but wore my arm out, so I had to take a break. I have a lot of projects I do want to finish and one of them is, a child sized quilt, I had made years ago. After I did the boat, I realized there is too much empty space.

Since it is for a child, I want to keep it simple, so I am thinking, a large cloud over the boat. Then I can do swirls in the sky and wavy lines at the bottom end. It would be good practice to get used to my new machine without getting too complicated with quilting. 

Taking a photo helps me to think on what would look good, on it. What would you do?

As usual, we spent time at the beach. Lots of birds are coming in and I see more, each time we go. I spotted this pair of ducks and thought they were a pair. But, a fellow birder told me, the green bill is an American Black duck and the other is a Mallard, both females. 

Jamestown is always a great place for birding, all types live in the bay and in the coves.

One day we went to Barn Island in Connecticut. It was a bit too windy, but we got a nice walk in and spotted a lot of shore birds. Lots of Great Egrets in the cove.

And we are spotting a lot more Snowy Egrets.

Lots of Greater Yellowlegs, hang out with the egrets and a new nesting platform in the cove.

Yesterday Bill took the day off, since he had extra hours. We went to the bird sanctuary for a walk and enjoyed seeing all of the birds that are coming in. My camera was acting up, so I lost a lot of photos to blur. Luckily, a reset fixed the problem. I hope you all have a good weekend and for those in the paths of the storm, safety from its wrath. 

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.