Vacation week!

 It always seems that you start enjoying your vacation and relaxing, by the time it is ending. But, we had a good week and lots of adventures. I am showing some things tonight, I took lots of photos and saw lots of interesting places, so I will do another post when I get home and can go through more of them.

Our camp is nice, right on the river so we can paddle up river and float down. We had three really hot days, so we swam in the river to cool down. The bad thing is the mosquitos, not fun sitting outside. We spent most of our time going places, so we swam, ate and relaxed in the trailer.  Bean is sitting in front of Bill.

Up river we found a sandy place to swim and Bean could play off leash, so it was a nice place. Most of the time he would run into the river and join the other families who were swimming from the launch. The kids loved playing with him, so I didn't mind.

I also spotted a lot of swallows flying around and found their nesting area. There are high banks along the river and they make their homes there.

On Monday we went to Cathedral in the pines. It is a beautiful place on a hill with stunning views. It is dedicated to the men and woman who served in World War II. You can see Mount Monadnock in the distance. 

They also have paths to walk along and lots of garden spots.

The next day we went to Harrisville mill store. They sell looms, yarn and roving. I treated myself to a few bags of dyed roving.

Because of the heat, we were limited to rides and short walks. I found a Gorge nearby and we went there. It was a little cooler, but still humid enough to wear me out. It has a path that follows one side and back up the other.

And we drove into Vermont. Along the way we have seen a lot of covered bridges. We stopped at one in Vermont that has a swimming spot. I walked around with Bean in the water to cool off.

Finally the heat lifted and we got to go to Madame Sheri's forest. It was the site of the home of a socialite. Originally it was a grand home and the pond was where they swam. Now it is in ruins and the pond is a sanctuary for birds. I also thought we were hiking a short circle around the pond and by the time my phone app kicked in, I realized we were almost at the top of the mountain. It was a lot of uphill and the skies looked ominous, so I didn't dare continue, so we turned back. 

I spotted a few birds and a weasel, along with a lot of chipmunks. I caught this Vereo who was happy to pose for me.

Today we visited some new places that are worth a stop, so I will post about them later. I hope everyone had a nice week. I am hoping I can enjoy a rain free day and avoid the weekend traffic on the way home.

Friday finish!

 

This week I worked on a simple table topper for the summer. I have had the sheep fabric for years, and thought it was perfect for a little table I have to keep snacks in. I also got out to the trailer to check it out and get it ready for a trip I planned for next week.

Well, not sure I am going now, not since I walked in the trailer and looked around. Since I broke my foot, I hadn't been out to the trailers myself, so this was the first time I went in the new one. I started to notice little black spots, mouse turds. Then I noticed them on the top of the bed, and then found them in the dish drawers. I started looking everywhere and luckily they didn't go in any of the top areas or clothing cabinets, but what I found was, their nest, in a little drawer. It is the one my husband uses for some shorts and bathing suit and he left them in there and they had made a nest in there. 

Then I looked around and could not figure out what they used to make the nest, until I opened the hidden storage under the bed. They had chewed a hole in a quilt and used the stuffing from inside. As I was taking things out to clean, I noticed a horrid smell in the bathroom and it wasn't until I lifted the garbage can with a swing lid that I found the mice, both dead. They jumped on top and fell in and couldn't get out. So, I have sprayed everything down with bactroban and letting it sit till the sun comes out. Then I have to clean every surface and open windows to air it out. Luckily the smell is gone, but I read up on sanitizing and following those steps. It is going to take me awhile to do all that cleaning, so leaving on thursday seems too much. The Rv is also a mess, seems the workers who installed the new generator made a mess, so that has to be cleaned too. 

So, not too happy with all that and that someone who said things was fine, did not look in every space like I said. So, for now I am just going to take care of me and work on projects and getting my rooms redone so I can be more organized and enjoy being in them again. 

And I finish another painting. I find it hard to follow her directions, but I try and do the lesson parts and a bit on my own. The next one was another sunflower, so I skipped that and am onto a rose. I will keep the ones I don't do for Alex, he loves to paint and I can teach him a bit with watercolor painting.

Last week we went for a walk at the farm sanctuary. Lots of birds, but none wanted a photo, but I was able to catch a funny pair of swallows. Another swallow kept going to their nesting box and they were getting upset. It finally left and the two were happy again.

We stopped at the beach and walked a bit to see if the piping plovers were nesting behind the fences. I took photos and realized when I saw them, I realized I had spotted a group of Killdeer. It is a protected area, so I guess they are using it too. We also spotted an Osprey and a Willet. 

The other day I was watching tv and I heard a loud thump on the back door. I found this poor guy on the porch, who was stunned from the hit. I watched him until he finally moved and then he jumped over to the rail, and eventually a tree, then off to the trees where they stay. I was so glad he was ok, I love seeing the Orioles come to the feeder, they are so beautiful. I have stickers on my windows, but when the sparrows dive in, they scare off others who fly into the window on occasion. 

So it was a week of good and bad, among other things, so for now, I will just relax and decide if I can ever sleep in a bed that had mice pooping all over it, even if I clean it, lol. We had a tent trailer that happened to, and they ate through the mattresses, we sold it. I hope everyone has a nice Mother's Day, another holiday I avoid, but I find a way to enjoy the day in other ways. It looks like warmer weather and less rain next week, so I hope you all have better weather and we can all enjoy some time outside.

Weekend Wanderings!

 

This week I didn't get a lot done on my new piece, so hopefully I will finish it this week. I am thinking it is time to start Christmas. I have a few unfinished pieces and ones I wanted to make, along with crafts to make, so a good time to get started.

I got a reservation at our favorite spot in a few weeks for four days, so a great midweek break to get out and try the new trailer. Yes, a new trailer, a much bigger one, so we have room for the whole family now. We will keep the RV since it is great for weekends and day trips and some parks have a size limit, the new one is 32 feet. 

We did get out a few times over the weekend and week. We tried the new double kayak around the lake and did much better this time. I like that we can go to the far coves and have a private spot to relax and swim. This is an old camp that closed down and the state just left it, so a great place to stop.

We got to the lighthouse for a nice walk, lots of butterflies now.

And a Monarch

And lots of birds

And a group of kayakers coming in to practice kayaking and landing at the rocks. 

We went to the beach for a swim at the park, afterwards, but I was so busy trying to get photos that I never did get a swim in.

During the week we went to the town beach, close by so perfect for a swim before dinner. This weekend is iffy, rain on and off, so hopefully we can get out for a paddle before it hits. I hope you are all enjoying your summer. I can't believe it is almost over, but we always enjoy being out in the fall, when the crowds are gone.

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.