Working on Friday!

 I am still working on my summer quilt and making good progress. I did outline stitching around the sailors and will decide if I want to go around more, after I finish the other sections. I am also thinking it would be fun to, put little ties at their necks and a couple of buttons on the shirt, since it will be a wall hanging.

It has been a rough week, I lost my friend after a long battle. She was a dear friend and I will miss her. I was able to get out for a hike on Sunday, a good way for me to reflect and find my inner peace. 

We walked on a new path which was nice, but I did have to remove a few ticks that tried to crawl up my pants. I guess I need to stay off paths that have too much brush. It is land that had a few homesteads, so we found a lot of remnants of homes and the people who lived here.

It also had a few streams and a hike up a rock for a view of the surrounding area.

We also went back to the refuge that we took the boys too. This time we hiked the entire trail and a side trail. A beautiful place to walk that is close by.

Today we went to another bird sanctuary. This time it was teaming with birds and wildlife, so I was able to get a few shots of the birds.

We also met up with some critters, as well as more birds.

One of the older nests was being occupied by the female, while the male watched over things in a nearby tree. 

Here is a close up of the male. 

I also wanted to have something to remember my friend by, and her favorite color is purple. I saw this lilac bush and it was perfect. It was a nice way for me to process my pain, the day I heard and something I can watch bloom every spring.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. We have rain coming in so maybe some shopping and relaxing with my project. 

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.

Weekend Fun!

 

I thought I would do extra posts since we are home and exploring new places. The weather has been nice but today we got rain, so we stayed home to get things done and I cooked up foods for the week. 

On Saturday we took the boys to a new park,  It is a large park in Connecticut called Masamoquet Brook State Park. I was happy to see that they had several parking areas and we found a nice big spot, facing. the river. The waters are still down, but there was enough flow to hear as it tumbled along the rocks.

There were several hiking trails but the one to the Wolf's Den was up a hill, so I was afraid the boys couldn't handle it. We walked around the lower trails and they had fun jumping on the bridge to hear the drumming sound.

Then we decided to take a side trail that went along the river. It was a nice trail, and a lot of beautiful old trees, with unique features. There are signs everywhere that Woodpeckers are around.

Alex was tired so Nick and I went for a hike up the hill to see how bad it was. It was steep but once we got to the top, it leveled out and was easier walking. I didn't want to go too far, but then Bill and Alex showed up so we hiked along a trail for awhile. We will go back and hike the main trails and points of interest by ourselves, next time. After our walk, the boys enjoyed ice cream and some play time before we went home.

Sunday was a day with Bean, he hates when we leave without him, but it is too much with the boys and him. We went back to the park we took the boys to, last week. This time we hiked the trails and got to enjoy the ponds and woodlands.

Our destination was the covered bridge. A nice trail and except for the main trails, no one was on the back trails, so we had the woods to ourselves.

 Lots of small streams, mostly dried out. We had a nice day, got a good 5 mile hike in and no stress. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and remember to step away from life's stressors and enjoy a moment of peace for yourself.

Holiday Weekend!

This weekend was nice for a few days and rain today, but we had plans to stay home, so we got out for some rides and a little outdoor hiking.

One place we love is Trustom Pond, a sanctuary so no dogs allowed. I was excited to try my new camera there, with the zoom. That is, until I realized I left the zoom at home, ugh. We enjoyed the walk though and the wildlife and got a nice 3 mile hike in.

The views are always beautiful from the first point and deck. Looking into the cove, a pair of swans.

An old windmill from the farm is still standing.

The rains bring more water to the streams and everything is so green and lush.

Sunday was shopping first, and we got some tin tiles to do the kitchen backsplash, hopefully Bill can get them on without messing it up too much, lol. We came back and got Bean and went to the lighthouse for a walk around the circle. Of course most of the time was spent stopping to let people pet Bean, but we got to enjoy some time on a beach and enjoy the views.

A couple were fishing, as a sailboat came by.

Today we had a little party for Nick. His birthday was yesterday, four years old. Alex was born on the same day, so his birthday was at Ivy's mothers and when she comes back tomorrow, they will have a big party for them.

Nick loves presents and we got him something small but fun and he loved it.

Of course the buddies had fun blowing and catching bubbles.

He wanted a puppy patrol cake and at walmart they do special cakes, it sure looks pretty but according to the guys, it is horrid, way too sweet and the frosting was a bit thick and rubbery. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Now it is time for me to get some things finished, get ready for our trip and build up my strength so I can do more paddling.

Weekend Wanderings!

We had a nice weekend, though a bit cool for long walks. One thing I love to do is shop at the antique  thrifts and Saturday was a good day for the barn and a visit to Chepatchet which has several antique stores and a primitive store.

With all that shopping, I didn't get much, but I treated myself to an angel valentine doll. This one hangs on the wall, but I put her on the table for the photo. She looks good, either way so once I get more decorating and cleaning done, I may give her a space of her own. For now we are keeping the main wall free of decorations so maybe, just maybe my husband will clean it up and get it repainted so I can put up my easter decorations.

I also found a plain wooden boat for a dollar, I will sand all the varnish off and remake it into something for my beach room, maybe add some fabric sails.

When we were in town, I saw a step falls but it was impossible to get a photo from the right angle, too much brush and slopes. I did see a small falls on the other side and I loved how the water at the top was smooth as glass but whorling so that the shadows looked like an art painting.

On Sunday we got a late start and headed to Woodstock Ct, for some more shopping and to visit Putnam for some photos. We always try and take a different route to find new sights and on this trip we stopped at a mill. It looks like this one is still operational.

In Putnam we found a parking lot across from the falls, so we took a walk over and I enjoyed watching the falls. With the snow and then rain, they were running, full force. It was too cold for me, to take a walk along the river, so we went back across the street to check out an antique store.

Well, it was not a store, it was an antique mall, four floors of booths and in areas, whole rooms with glass cabinets, filled with goodies. It was so overwhelming, I don't think I saw half of the things, lol. And so big, we spent hours just walking and looking. I saw a lot of nice things, but prices that seemed to be inflated compared to what I have bought. It is well worth a visit if you are in the Putnam area, they do have a lot and there are other stores in the area, as well as small shops and restaurants.

Since we spent so long in the store, I decided that I wasn't up to going up to Woodstock and doing more shoppng. But, I did realize that we were were about an hour away from sunset and if we headed back down to the ocean, we could just make it, lol, yes, we drove an hour back down and went to Barn Island, since it was the straightest point from where we were.

It was a beautiful place to enjoy the sunset, but no place to stand, so we had to go out on the marshy point and walk carefully along the thick tufts to stay out of the muck. The sunset is always the most stunning when it falls below the horizon and a beautiful way to end the day. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend, filled with your own adventures.

A Hidden Gem in Connecticut!

I hope everyone had a nice weekend. We had a beautiful day yesterday, though a bit warm for hiking. The plan was to visit two places and just walk around, but we ended up hiking up to a lookout, so I got a good workout.

We headed to East Haddam Ct., to visit Devil's Hopyard park. I was not disappointed, the area is beautiful. Plenty of parking, and wonderful trails that follow the river and more to explore.

Of course the first place I had to walk to was the falls. The recent rains had it cascading down the rocks with a roar and a fine mist cooling us off.

We headed to the top of the falls and crossed the bridge and headed along the trails that followed the river.

The path led to a covered bridge, a nice place to stop and relax.

I hadn't planned on a hike or climb, but the next sign post said, overlook and I just had to see what it was, lol. It was all climbing up hill so I took it easy and was treated to this spectacular view of the valley below.

I decided to take the river route, on the way back, nice and flat but a lot of areas were hard to climb over and more slippery, but it was easier and shorter, as well as having beautiful views of the river.

Our next stop was Gillette Castle on the Connecticut river. The Castle was built by William Gillette and  an amazing place to visit if you are in the area. It has free parking and access to the grounds and a fee if you want to go in the castle. It was not open, so we weren't able to get in.

Since it was late, we just walked around the castle. It is a place I would like to go back to and walk around the grounds which have miles of paths. Gillette was also a cat lover and I was hoping to find some of the stone cat sculptures but they are in areas we did not go to.

A view of the castle as we head up.

A view of the castle front, which faces the river. Gillette's bedroom is in the uppermost, left side of the castle.

A view of the Connecticut river from the picnic area in front of the castle. You can see the ferry crossing the river, one way to get to the other side. There was also a riverboat coming up the river which is a fun way to see the area.

And here is a closer look of the castle walls, can you imagine having to build this. There are a lot of unique features inside the house as well, the sun room has a pond in it, which we could see from the window. I would love to come back and go inside, take a ferry ride and go further up river to see the swing bridge and the old mill towns along the river.

Down by the old mill stream

We had two nice days, and rain coming for the rest of the weekend, so I thought I better get my lazy butt out and get some walking in. I am so out of shape, my legs are sore and tight, need to use those muscles more.

We went to a park nearby that was once the home to the first cotton factory in East Greenwich. This is the next town up from me.
There is a small pond at the entrance, that is normally frequented by fishermen, but because of the recent floods, there is not much left of the pond. The water is being funneled into one end, where is is cascading down the rocks and into the smaller stream. I love the sound of rushing water pummeling down the rocks to the stream below, I could sit there for hours.



In the 1800's, this area was teeming with activity. The park now contains the ruins of the 19th century textile mill, its mill pond, dam headrace, spillways, and steam boiler building. I wonder what life was like in those days, as I walk the paths.



The remains of the dwellings, several outbuildings, a well, a privy, and bridge abutments can be seen as you walk the paths.



The families of the village once grew flowers around their houses. Patches of lillies of the valley, day lilies, and periwinkle can be seen around the areas of the foundations. A day of peace and contemplation about the families who once lived and worked here.