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.

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.

Weekday Wanderings!

This week has been a whirlwind of activity. Our weatherman seems to have lost his knack for predicting the weather and when we thought we had rain, we had nice days. One day we decided to go paddling at the salt water pond, but the wind was horrendous. We paddled around a bit of it and I gave up, my arm was killing me from pushing too hard.

We did get to enjoy the inlets and the wildlife. We even saw a deer frolicking through the marsh, enjoying the open space. We also spotted an Osprey nest, high up in a tree.

I also spotted a Green Heron in a little cove.

Another day rain was predicted, so we went to our local cove. This time I used my peddle board, which was much easier for me, than paddling. We paddled into the town and around the inner bay. This is a view of a surprise I found.

And a close up, of that surprise. Someone has made their home in someones boat. I am not sure if the boat is usable, it looked pretty beat up.

And a close up, of the mail on the left. Love the face he is making. I had to use my hsuband's boat to paddle back out for a photo. One bad thing about the peddle board, you can't take photos while standing. It was a bit windy, so it was hard to grab shots as I rolled in the waves.

More views of the harbor area.

Today we took the boys out for a few hours. They loved taking rides on my board and they swam for a bit, but it was cooler and they got cold. More rain predicted but it seems we get out and it never rains, so hopefully we can get out some more this weekend. I hope everyone has a nice weekend.

Camping has ended!

We came home yesterday earlier since we had the boys and I was tired, easier to pack up before it got dark. It was a week of good and bad, the bad was our new neighbors, they were a group of families that were around us and their kids were non stop noisy when they were at camp. Quiet hours meant nothing, was awoken by them screaming by our trailer at six in the morning.

The good was the quiet time, paddles and time with the boys. It seems the birds finally arrived and each day they flew around the trees at our camp. They never set still, so hard to see what they were and get shots, but I was able to get a decent shot of this Downy Woodpecker.

On one of our walks, we spotted this deer, at dusk, so not the best shot.

The last day, we had the boys. It was not the best day to have them since we were leaving, but we had fun and they were picked up in time for us to start packing up. On the way back to camp, we stopped at a farm that we had spotted on the way up. I knew the boys would love it.

They had a large penned in area with lots of animals and a variety of fowl. This guy liked making faces at me.

And so did this one. And he got photo bombed by the cow.

And if that was not bad enough, the kids were doing it too. I wanted a nice shot of them in the flower garden. Not only do they make faces at me, Bill had to stand there and hold them still.

And then it was back to camp for rock painting. Nick wanted to paint, so he had fun painting a few rocks. His method was to mix as many colors as he could, to see what new colors he could make.

And of course, I cannot take my eyes off of any of the boys, for a minute. While Nick was painting, I spotted what these guys were up to, playing in the turtle tank.

Even though it was a little cooler the boys wanted to swim. Alex loves being in the water now and they both love playing with Bean and Bean loves playing with them.

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend and making your own memories. And prayers for those in the hurricane's path.

Camping with the boys!

Yesterday the boys came for the day and we enjoyed some time at camp. They loved swimming in the lake, playing with Bean and Alex tried some rowing in the raft. They are also such a joy and make everything more fun, but they also have way too much energy, so grandma was worn out by the end of the day.

The camp has a nice playground and a nature center, so they kept us busy.

Before we went home, we stopped at the salt water launch, nice shallow water, so more time to play and explore. Of course, telling them not to get wet didn't work, too much fun running and splashing.

The day before we went to Blue Shutter beach, across the road. Dogs can go after they close, so we enjoyed a nice walk and I was able to catch this guy surfing. I wish I was able to get his name so he could have a photo. I will check with the local surf groups to see if anyone knows him.

We stayed long enough to watch the sun setting. A beautiful place to go when the crowds are gone. I hope everyone is having a wonderful week. We are home for the night. Rain came in today, so we stayed and I got to paddle a bit, then we left, just as the rain came down. They warned of heavy storms, but so far, just rain. We are staying till Saturday, so I will probably post that night or Sunday.

Weekend Camping!

We are camping, but came home for the night. I was happy that the weather is much cooler but it is also windy and cold, so definitely not swimming. Today it as so windy that I couldn't go out to paddle.

Here is our site, there is a little path to the water, so we have our own tiny beachfront, but perfect for us and Bean. No even or paved sites here, lots of bumps and rocks.

With high winds, we decided it was a perfect day for a hike. We went on a trail that goes around the pond. The trail is long and we started late, so we just did a couple of miles.

With all the rain, the paths were lush with growth. They have done nice board walkways since the area can get swampy. Luckily the cooler air kept most of the bugs away. Bill takes horrible photos of me, and tends to wait until I am making gestures and faces at him.

Another section with a snake like path, they also laid roof tiles on one part, since it was downhill and slippery. Bill and Bean do not know how to relax and look natural, haha.

We ended at the covered bridge, a nice spot to stop and relax, before we headed back. We also came back to get the regular kayaks, so we can paddle around the pond tomorrow. We have to carry them on a T-Bar, so we had to bring the trailer down first. Hopefully the winds will die down and we can enjoy more paddling and some bike riding. I hope you all have a wonderful week.

Weekend Camping!

Well, it seems it is becoming a bad habit, I get sick or hurt on camping trips, lol. This time I was sick. I know Alex had a fever the day before we took them out, so I assume I got something from him, since my son told me they were all sick this weekend with the flu, too.

But I had my med and it kept me moving, even if I crashed more often, I was able to have some fun and enjoy some rest. I tend to go and then come home and crash, I feel like I got hit by a truck, but it was worth it.

Today I did one more paddle which was what did me in, it was a little calmer, so I was able to paddle into the cove with my good camera and lucked out by spotting a female Belted Kingfisher.

I had my little kayak, harder to paddle but fun to putt around, in the coves. Bill was taking photos of me, I was checking out the areas around our site for clean spots. It was a lot more murky this time, but still swimmable.

Of course Bean did what Bean loves. He would stay in the water all day if we let him. We went for lots of walks too, fun to check out the other campers and sites, in the surrounding sections.

And the weather was perfect, sunny most of the time, with a nice breeze. The sunsets were beautiful over the pond.

And after it set, it was still beautiful with the colors in the clouds.

We enjoyed our time and sad that we didn't get to bring the boys, but with them being sick and with my energy level, it would have been too much for all of us. When we got home, I was treated to the new Cedar Waxwings that are visiting. This is the type of bird that I had found on the ground, so maybe one is him, there were a lot more today, so I assume it was a new family in the area.

I hope you all had a nice weekend and enjoyed seeing some of the beauty at Burlingame camp. It is a nice camp to visit, lots of nature and close to the oceans, as well.

The Good and the Bad!

As many of you must know, vacations do not always go as planned. I cannot complain, no major disasters this time.

The bad; thousands of Gyspy moths. It made it hard to relax since I constantly had to check my chair to make sure, none were crawling towards me. They also dropped from the trees, so I had to look up when I walked. For two days our trailer was leaning forward, not fun walking in a crooked trailer. Then we noticed a leak coming from the bathroom, but the good was that it was the water hose, nothing disgusting;) And I wasn't thinking about the fact that I was using a sit on kayak, no kayak skirt to cover my legs, so I got burnt pretty bad, so no jacuzzi soaks for me.

The good thing was, being slanted caused the leak to come onto the floor, before it was leaking below where we didn't see it, so now it can be fixed. Seems someone nailed into the hose and opened a leak. The bad thing is, I wanted to take off for a few days next week and it won't be fixed until monday so any trips will have to be local. We had lots of good moments and beautiful sunsets, so I will leave you to enjoy a few moments during our week.

Of course the highlight was when the wind died down and we got Bean out in the kayak. I took him out first in my smaller one, he sat on my lap and then we tested him on the larger one, he fits quite well. He still prefers to sit in our laps though, he is so spoiled.

If you would like to see a couple of videos of Bean paddling, you can go to my U-Tube channel and watch them. Another good thing, the old camera works nicely with the new card and on U Tube the videos are larger and much more clearer.

And he has learned that kayaking also means water fun. He loves the water and has gotten braver and going further out to actually swimming. I want him to feel safe in the water, then he will feel safer on the boat in deeper water.

He goes all out and the water is low enough to run and jump in. He also needs a new life jacket, his chest has expanded so we will take him to the store to make sure we get the right fit.

One day we went to Watch Hill lighthouse. It is a nice place to park and enjoy the views and Taylor Swift's home on the hill. We also drove to a boat launch nearby, since that means dogs are allowed. There were a few people enjoying it as a beach with their dogs. Bean wanted to play with everyone as  usual.

And another beautiful sunset on the lake. Love how it formed a shape in the clouds. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. It is going to be hot, so I may be staying in more, especially with the weekend crowds.