Friday Finish!

 

This week went by fast with the long weekend. We cut our vacation short, since it was raining on Sunday and more rain on Monday, so we came home. When we do weekends close to home, I plan on being outside and easy access for biking and paddling, rain kills that. We have our big vacation coming up next month, so I plan on getting things done at home and getting ready for that. 

This week I decided to start painting the stones I had. I plan on taking some on our trip, so I start with painting them all white and adding the group name on the back. People can sign up when they find one, but not necessary. The photo makes them look funny, since the camera seems to pick up things that don't look spotty in person.

Before we went home, we had one day that was nice enough to go for a walk along Black Point. I hadn't been there in a while and found a new stairway at the end of the path. I had never been down to that section before, so we went to check it out.

It was a nice spot to walk around on the rocks.

We even found a heart in the rock.

The path way goes around a point, that had a home, that is no longer there. 

They even had a new sign that told about the former history.

Today we got out for a walk at the park. It has several paths to explore, that traverse along the salt water pond, to paths through fields and woods. At the pond, I spotted a few Snowy Egrets.

In the trees I could hear a lot of birds and spotted a Baltimore Oriole.

And in the wooded path, lies this old tree that has so many unique knots, that I could spot 4 tree spirits, hiding within. It was nice to get out and a little cooler near the ocean.

Tomorrow we will celebrate everyone's birthday. The boys were born on the same day, a day after my husband's birthday and Ivy was born a few days before, so we celebrate them all. I had planned on doing it at camp, but the rain cancelled that. I hope you all enjoy your weekend. We have some rain tomorrow, but a good day to cook and get ready for the kids for a dinner party.

Friday Finish!

 Well, I worked on my stitchery when I could, but I still have a few more leaves to add. There are a lot of flowers and leaves, so taking longer than usual. So, I worked on another butterfly painting. After this, I have one more butterfly and then I move onto flowers. I work on painting a bit a time, in between cleaning and cooking. I also put together two smaller table toppers to work on, when I finish the stitchery. 

This butterfly was more pink in the tutorial, but I didn't have that color. But, I realized on my next one, I was missing the part that gives recipes for those colors, by using the ones I have. 

Last week we went to the island for some beach time. This time of year is always nice, no crowds yet, so we can enjoy beach combing and Bean can run free.

In the fields we spotted a flock of Glossy Ibis. They are always on the move, so hard to catch one.

I always like to stop at the cove with lighthouse views and was surprised to see the new addition to the Osprey nest. Not sure how it got that white cloth there, maybe stole it from someone's clothesline?

Today we went to the farm preserve. Last time it started to rain when we got there, so it was nice to have warmer weather with a nice breeze. The donkeys seemed to be loving it up today.

We also spotted an Eastern Bluebird.

And a lot of Swallows in the other boxes.

The walk ends in a cove from the river, so we spotted a few more birds there. 

And on the way home, we caught the female Osprey, calling out to her mate. They can be quite vocal and get upset if their mate stays away too long or doesn't come back with dinner.

Tomorrow will be rain, so a day in or maybe shopping. We want to do some things around the house, so we might go looking at supplies to see what we can get and pricing. I am getting anxious to go camping, but it seems to rain on the weekends, so hoping we can go next weekend.

I hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend. We had a nice day with the kids. I wasn't going to do a hunt, but Alex asked if we were doing it, so how could I say no. 

Friday finish!

 

Another week has gone by and I can never get as much done, as I planned. I am still working on my stitchery and couldn't resist doing one more painting before I put them away. With Easter, I need to get things put away and cleaned up. We always host dinner since it is easier for me to cook foods I can eat, than explain it to people.

This painting was a lesson with shadows and translucent areas. I do make mistakes and I do fix a few. I learned a trick with painting,  years ago. I dip my brush in water and wipe it on the cloth, then move it along the area where the paint went out too far. If you do that and clean the brush each time, you can erase watercolors and acrylics.

Last weekend we went for a ride and walks at the ocean areas. One place is a paved pathway in a farm area that has a sanctuary for birds. I couldn't resist taking a photo of these two donkeys at the farm.

At the beach area, I caught a Snowy Egret. Lots of Egrets are coming in now.

The beach was mostly empty and cold this day, so we didn't stay out long.

This week the boys had vacation so we got to spend the day with them. They had a motorized skateboard and scooter, so I rode my electric bike to keep up with them. We took the short end of the bike path, which goes to the beach. Alex bought his fishing magnet, but no luck and then he threw it and the magnet fell off in the deep water, so that was a bust.

They came home for lunch and then we headed to the island for beach combing. 

At the first beach I spotted the Osprey, having lunch.

And at the other end of the park, another pair. Dad was giving me the look.

Today we headed to the bird sanctuary and I walked the shorter half of the path. Unfortunately I didn't realize I had the wrong setting on. Sometimes when I put it in the bag, it slides it to the wrong one, so my photos didn't come out great. It was a beautiful day and lots of birds and critters coming in.

At the other beach, I caught a few birds along the way. It was nice getting out since it will be raining on and off tomorrow. I need to stay home, to start cooking dishes and getting ready for Easter. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend, holiday and can enjoy being with family or friends.

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!

 

This week was a short one, with the holiday, so I never got a chance to work on my quilt. I decided to whip up a couple of rocks so I will have a stash to hide this summer. I tend to work on night when I am tired and my arm is sore, so I make a mess. I think I do better with paint, since I can go over mistakes and fix things, better than with the pens. 

I saw these designs on the web and had to try them, mine are definitely not as nice as the originals. Working on rough rocks, doesn't help.

We got to spend time at the beach on the island. It is nice since we can walk, collect glass and bird watch. I finally got a look at the new baby, you can see it hiding under mom.

And the dad, he wasn't happy when I got closer from the other side.

With low tide, I was able to walk further into the marsh area. I caught this Glossy Ibis.

And a Snowy Egret with it's catch.

We were able to get out for a paddle one day. We went out of the harbor and stopped at the breakers.

On the rocks behind Bill, I caught these two Cormorants. 

Since my arm was doing good, we went out into the bay and paddled to the town beach. It was a nicer place to swim and enjoy a snack. On the way back, the wind picked up and the smoke got heavier, so it definitely wore me out. But it was nice to be on the bay again, next time I will use my sea kayak, which is easier to paddle in rougher waters.

Another day we enjoyed glass hunting, the views and more birds. I seem to be finding a few large pieces of old brown glass, but no real treasures lately.

I also got another look at mom and her baby. The baby is still to weak to stand up for long, it was trying but kept falling over. While baby slept, mom caught up on her preening.

I hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend. We didn't do much since it rained more, late in the day, but it was nice getting out when we could.

Working on Friday!

 

This week has been busy with walks and bird watching, but I managed to start a new project. I got an appliqué top from a friend, with a nautical theme and I wanted to work on that now, so I can have it for the summer.

The piece is square, so I decided to leave it as is and do some fun quilting. It will make a nice wall hanging. I got the design from a book I have, then I had to freehand it onto the quilt, since I didn't have any transfer pencils. Not bad, a little wonky, but I don't mind. I started with a blue marker to fit it in, then used the white chalk pencil to redo a few parts to even it out. I am working with white pearl cotton so the designs stand out. 

Last weekend we tried a new hike. It was a beautiful area with lots of hills, but it was warm and buggy, so we only did 4 miles. I will go back to hike more of the trails in this area. It is old farm area, so a lot of cellar holes and I spotted some old cars near an old foundation.

We followed a few streams which was nice, since those areas were cooler. Lots of birds in the area, but they were all hiding in the tall trees.

Another day we went for a ride, to find Osprey nests. I found a lot of nests but here are a few unique ones. This guy was nesting on a light pole and moved over to this one when I got too close. 

I found this pair in someones chimney. I guess they won't be using it, this year.

We made a stop at the beach and I got a wonderful surprise, when I spotted this guy, laying on the beach. It is a Northern Gannet, which live in areas like Newfoundland. Not sure if he was lost of making a stop on his way home, but I thought he was hurt since he could barely walk. I found out later that, they do not do well on land. They stay in the water and only go on rocky cliffs to nest, so once he went to the water, he seemed fine.

We also spotted some Sanderlings. They are fun to watch, running in and out of the water.

And this gull was funny. He got a crab, a live one. He found out the hard way, the crab did not like being eaten.

In the marsh, I spotted this Snowy Egret.

During the week, we went for a hike to see the seals before they leave. It seems the point is always windy, so hard to hold steal for shots.

This seagull was making faces for me.

On the way out, we spotted a family of deer. There were five in all, and this one posed for me. I hope you all had a good week and enjoy your weekend. We have one decent day and then rain, so hiking day and rest day for me.