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.

Nature Walk

Today we went for anther walk, to another salt water pond, which is larger.
I wanted to get a longer fast walk in, for the exercise. We did the point which was nice, but as soon as we headed into the woods and swamp areas, we were attacked by hundreds of mosquitoes, so we got out of there. I didn't think with the recent rain and warm temps, that they would be hatching and looking for a meal. Next time, I will wear bug guard.

So, back to yesterdays wonderful walk. It was cooler, so no bugs, but there were lots of critters enjoying the day.

Coming back from the first point, I spotted theses guys, enjoying the sun.



Then we took the side path which is a long meandering path, through woods, fields and swamp.
Bill almost stepped on this little guy, good thing I was looking down.



Once we go through that path, we go to another point. There were a lot of swans in groups, but these two, preferred to be alone. Normally swans are territorial and stick to their own areas.



Coming back we were treated to a fawn, grazing in the woods.



Then around the bend is another small freshwater pond. Can you guess who is staring at me, from the reeds?



It's DinoTurtle, lol. This guy is huge and was out scouting for a meal. So it was a day full of wildlife and a few snakes and frogs who crossed our path. I think this day would make a wonderful story quilt.

Why we didn't get flooded!

I tried to finish my new piece tonight, but I kept getting interrupted, so I should have a photo of the finished piece tomorrow.
In the meantime, I thought I would show you why we were spared of the disasters this week.
Yes, Dora has been offering up prayers and beseeching the kitty spirits to intercede for us;)



We took a ride down the road to the old mill which has a small pond and waterfall. Just a little water around the edges and the poor people who own the business in that old building, had water running out the front doors. We saw the sign, for canvas works and were going to go in to see about replacing our trailer canvas. We have tent trailer and the canvas is moldy. Well, we saw the doors open and water coming out, so doubt I will want their canvas;)



This is a pond nearby, that we paddle in the spring. This section is where the fish gate is and there is another section of pond on the far end. That is where we paddle among the tall reeds and check out the baby geese and swans. It is a beautiful spot to paddle and enjoy the bird life.

Paddling at Ninigret Salt Pond

Today we finally got to go to the new launch on Ninigret. We go there often for walks and it is a beautiful place that the state took over and made into a wildlife sanctuary. The pond is actually big, and it is state park and private homes, so lots of nice areas to paddle.

The tide was still low, so the launch was mushy marsh and stunk, lol. Bill had to push me out since I would have gotten stuck in the muck. I have carbon paddles and you do not use them for pushing. They are lightweight so perfect for me on long paddles, but they are more delicate and I do not want to damage them. The launch is in a protected cove and then it opens up into the main pond. We stuck to the shoreline and I loved seeing the comorants on the rocks and in the water you could see the crabs scurrying around.



We paddled along the shore and then came back a bit to cross over to the other side. We wanted to find a place to land and cross over the dunes to the ocean. But, all the areas would mean lugging our boats down paths and then across to the beach areas, so we gave up on that idea. The water was teaming with Jelly fish, so I would not swim in that section. There was a huge Blue crab, but he would stay still and sped along the bottom, sideways. With the bright sun and the water movement, it was hard to get any good pictures of the creatures living under the water.



We decided to head for the breakers and take a break there. We paddle back down and found the cove, well we thought we did. We noticed it was awful low and wondered how a big boat could get down this way, and we should have known, it was a dead end. But, it was a pretty area anyways.



This is the real breakway. This is where the boats come in and out of the pond to and from the ocean. The tide was coming in, so the current was strong. I stayed on the side until we came to the rocks and then dragged my boat to our spot.



Here is where we stayed for a bit, nice and sandy and a little rocked off area to take a cool dip in.
It also had a nice view of the entrance so we could watch the boats coming and going.







I walked over the dunes and you could see the ocean from there, but the island was hidden with fog today.
A few people were enjoying the beach, but it is not crowded on this side, which is nice.



This is the view looking down the beach. It is a really long beach, about 3 miles long. The only way to get to this end is down a bumpy dirt road, so most people stay at the farther end.



On the other side of the breakers is a state campground. Trailers stacked up on top of each other and the beach is wall to wall people. I like my side better:) It was beautiful day, though hot and I did a lot of heavy paddling, but the sore muscles were well worth it;)