Weekend wanderings!

 

This week I was busy getting ready for our trip, so no time for crafting. I did take time out to get out for a walk last week. We went to the local park again and walked around the pond, then the path to the troll, since Bill didn't get to see him.

The pond is always beautiful, anytime of the year.

Lots of birds, but they are hidden in the trees. I did catch a Cardinal, that stopped for a while.

And the pond had a lot of turtles.

And we made it to camp. Our site is not bad and we have some views. The bad thing is rain all day on Sunday, so I will see how it goes and if it is a washout on Monday, we can just go home. I had planned on having a party for the kids birthday coming up, but we cancelled it till next week.

                                         

We were able to get out for some walks at camp and one at the beach after dinner. The sunset was obscured by the clouds, but back at camp, it spread out beneath the clouds.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and an amazing week,

Friday Finish!

 

While on vacation I stopped at a little shop in Williamstown, called Karen's Quilting Corner. It is a wonderful shop, full of beautiful and unique fabrics. I was good and only got two quilt panels. This one I got for myself to hand quilt. I quilted around the designs and left the border as is, with a little edge with the black binding. It is hard to see the quilted look in the photo. I have clip hangers on my curtain rod, so it hangs there. The next one is a Christmas design, that will be for the kids and I will use the machine on that one.

This design is by Bonnie Sullivan.

Last weekend we went on a nice walk at the bird sanctuary. Lots of activity, as migration has begun. The fields were uncut, so the bees were enjoying the flowers.

Lots of turtles enjoying the warm sun.

And a few more of the wildlife we saw, along the way.

Afterwards, we drove by the marsh to see what was in the area. One area was full of Egrets in the trees, too many to count.

 And quite a few Blue Herons in the marsh.

Today we went for a paddle at the pond. It was a warmer day, so we could paddle and do a little swimming, though the water was cooler from the cold nights.

We stopped at the first beach head at the campground, across the way.

A Heron was in the corner, wading for fish. We saw a few different birds, but none were close enough or still enough to catch. 

We paddled along the back cove, lots of weeds at the end of the season.

It was a nice day to get out and even though I started out feeling sick, the paddle was just what I needed to feel better. This weekend will be cooling down, so it will be nice for hikes and biking. I hope you all enjoy your weekend and can enjoy getting out. 

And yes, I do have hair, long and thick, so I pull it back and it looks like I am going bald in photos.

Friday Finish!

 

This week I worked on another project to get through my patterns. This one is from a Simply Need'l Love book, called Scare the Crows. It was a fun project to do and a great way to use up more wool from my stash. 

Last week we spent time at the island, on the beach. The water was rough, so it was hard to swim, but fun to ride in the waves. Always something going on, on the water. A tug boat pulling a working barge up the bay.

A few sail surfers were out, enjoying the wind and waves.

Today we went for a walk at the bird sanctuary. The state beaches at the ocean were all closed, due to rip tides, so no swimming today. I spotted a friendly pair in the pond.

Lots of chipmunks were along the paths today.

And more turtles sunning on the rock. It was a nice day for a walk, but got hotter as we went along. Warmer weather coming in, so we can get back to the beaches and enjoy the last days of summer. 

I hope everyone had a nice week and enjoying the weekend. We want to get away but have to wait till after the holiday and my husband has to be back at work on the next Monday, so we will have to slip it in, between the holiday and the following Monday, so I need to decide where and what to do. 

Friday Finish!

 

This week went by fast, so I spent most of the day yesterday, finishing my patriotic mat. It was a cheater cloth so I hand stitched white pearl cotton around the squares and in the middle designs. I enjoy mindless projects when I am resting and watching tv. 

Last weekend we spent a day with the boys. We took them shopping since Nick needed a new backpack and Alex had on shorts, so we bought him a sweatsuit since it was too cool for shorts. They also loved the silly shark sandals, so another treat since it is their birthday week. Of course they had to wear them at the beach.

And even though I got him long pants, Alex rolled them up and went in the water.

Another day we took a walk on the bike path. We start in the middle and walked to the end, where there is a beach.

Lots of Birds along the way, but most are hidden in the bushes.

We also passed a small pond in a neighborhood that had gardens and spotted a few turtles.

Today we walked at the lighthouse. The ticks are bad this year and with all the rain, most of the hiking paths are swamped. A few fishermen were fishing off the rocks, not a place I would stand.

A lot of birds are in the bush along the paths and inbetween. Lots of nesting blackbirds and lots of Song sparrows. It was getting foggy, so I could only get a few decent shots. I love this one, the Song bird is just watching the waves, not a care in the world.

I hope you all have a nice weekend and not in areas where the smoke is coming in. 

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 Finish!

 

First I want to thank those who comment, I appreciate them all, even though I don't always reply to them all. This week was a lot of catching up, but I always like to have a project to do. Since we are going on trips and getting into hiking weather, I thought I would make up a few rocks to hide.

I found the designs on the web and I hand draw the design as best as I can, with my fabric marker. I have been using my paint pens, since I have quite a few and I want to use them up before they dry up. I do think I like painting better, for better control on colors and shading, but the pens are easy to use.

Last weekend it was cool enough to go for a walk at the bird sanctuary. We saw turtles enjoying the sun and an Osprey hanging out in the cove.

In another side I spotted a group of swans and an Osprey flew over with a fish, but I didn't catch him in time and had to shoot from a distance when he landed in a tree.

The nice surprise was when we came inland and spotted a Green Heron, fishing in the pond.

Another shot after he had his meal. He had dove in and caught a huge frog, but hid in the bush to eat it. I couldn't believe he ate something that big.

Down the road, at another beach area, I found a large group of egrets. Lots of birds are migrating now and will gather in the cove areas.

And sitting above them were a few Blue Herons. It is nice to have an extended summer and this weekend will be warm again. Hopefully we can get into the launch and get some swimming in and a little boating tomorrow. This week I will be getting ready again, we have a site at the local camp again, and this time we have back to back weekends. After that I am hoping to get out for some fall foliage tours. 

Friday Finish!

 I am still working on my charity quilts and I wanted a break from sewing, so I made up a halloween piece. I find that I can sit for hours while felting, so it is a good activity when I want to sit and rest. I always start with an idea and it comes out differently, but still fun to make and have something new for the season.

I also, finally, put my scrap quilt together, so now I just need a border and get it ready for quilting. This will be another hand project, I want the stitches to show and it should work up quickly enough, that I will have it ready for Christmas.

Last weekend we went for a few walks. The first was at our local bird sanctuary. Always a nice walk and lots of birds in the area.

A few views on our walk.

And a few of the wildlife, we saw along the way.

On the way out, we spotted a hawk, flying overhead.

And also flying overhead, were a group of World War II planes.

The next day we went to a park in Connecticut. A nice walk along the coastline with views of the ocean, along the way.

We spotted quilts a few groups of birds, who are resting on their way south.

And more shore birds along the way.

Lots of Monarchs, flitting about, gathering nectar for their trip south.

And quite a few dragonflies and bees, as well. Unfortunately we also ran into quilts a few mosquitos and I got bit, way too many times. It was a hot day, so to the best time to be in a swampy area.

Today we went to the island to do a little walking and glass hunting. It was a bit windy and cool, and the waves were higher in the inner bay, due to the hurricane, passing by. I found a few treasures and was delighted to see that the black piece I found was a cobalt blue piece.

I hope everyone had a nice week and plans for fun this weekend. A lot of the places we visit, are ones I found by using Google maps and exploring closely to find walks and parks in the area. See what fun things you can find to do, in your own backyard