End of Week

It's been an okay couple of days. I've been doing a bit of sorting (really not much) more moving around from one place to another lol. Husband took several boxes to the charity shop on Thursday. Really quite pleased with all that went. I am starting another box. I just have to work out where to keep it as it seems as I declutter a place, I end up stacking more things that need to go. At least things are leaving the house. 

I had my Asylum Lake meeting on Thursday. It went on for quite a while but was quite productive. I'm still not sure how/whether I fit in. I'll give it a while longer and then see. It seems the people involved are a lot more knowledgeable than me. I feel a little...beneath (not sure that's the right word!) them. I am in charge of social media and seem to be doing an okay job, so I suppose that's something! 

Friday, I went for a walk in the morning and then did a few household things. I messaged with sister in the afternoon. C had some good news and bad. Good news - our brother-in-law's (Sister D's husband) latest scan says he is still cancer free! That's fantastic news! They have finally booked a little getaway and I'm hoping, fingers crossed, they will be able to go. They haven't been away since before Covid. The bad news, Sister C was supposed to be on holiday last week, but they had to come back early as her good friend J's husband passed away. It wasn't unexpected, but sister C wanted to support J as she was such a big support to sister C when she was looking after Mum. 

It will be a quiet weekend here. We are going away camping for a week starting next Friday so we won't be going far this week. What are your plans for the weekend? 

Photos from a walk in the woods

It's Friday!

Husband took three boxes to the Charity Shop for donation. I wanted them out of the house. 

Tomorrow we are off for a week 'camping' trip. I hesitate to say camping as we will be staying in a mini cabin. It's nothing fancy. It's basically a small room with two sets of bunk beds and a small counter. There are two chairs outside, a picnic table and a fire pit. There are showers/bathrooms a small walk away. It does have electricity which is more than we usually have. We have to take everything - sleeping bags, cooking things etc. I am really looking forward to it. It's in a state park. We've stayed there for a weekend before. There is a beach across the road, and a lagoon. Lots of wildlife and photo opportunities which is what I want. Husband is going to just relax and enjoy. I have plenty of books packed to read in between taking photos. It is a chance to just get away from the normal and enjoy. 

Today I walked briefly with my friend and then went off on my own. I needed a chance to recharge before setting about my day. I ran a couple of errands before heading home, doing some wash, tidying up a bit, packing and getting camera stuff ready for tomorrow. 

I am looking forward to breaking the routine for a week. Usually, I have a chance to reflect and think about how I want to do things going forward. I really need to do that as I feel like a record that keeps getting stuck. 

Hopefully, I will check in during the week if only to share a few phone photos. 

Phone photos from my walk today -  In the Woods. Everything is looking so lush and green

No Walk Sunday

We stayed in today. It was cloudy and rainy when we woke and I'm still battling this cold, so we decided to stay home. Yesterday I went for a walk in the morning. I think I overdid it and ended up spending the afternoon shivering under my blanket and feeling horribly achy. I ended up taking a really hot bath and going to bed quite early. So I thought, with the weather not being the greatest, it was probably better to have a day of rest. I did manage to sort through some photos and get them a little organised. Middle son came up for food and to watch some of the new Iron Fist season (something we watch on Netflix).  I think that, while I'm sitting watching it, I'll pull out my planner and actually use it  plan out things I'd like to get done this week on a daily basis. I find myself not getting anything done unless I write it down.

A photo from yesterday. There is a touch of Autumn in the air. The trees are still mostly green but that green is changing deeper and darker, ready to turn into the bright colours of Autumn. I can't wait!

Start of Another Week

Monday dawned bright and sunny but still chilly. I went for a nice walk at a local place. I expected to be able to walk the way I do when I go with hubby but surprisingly it was all flooded! It must have been all the melting snow and the rain we've had! I'm not sure if it's a regular thing or just a one off this year. We only 'discovered' the park this year.

This is called the Powerline Trail. It's usually completely dry. There is no water source really close by. As you can see it's completely flooded!

Son came by yesterday with his new kitten. So cute! He named it Basil. He is really, really tiny.

My cat was not very impressed by him. In fact he was quite put out. He's so spoiled! He ended up going in the kitchen and sitting on his mat - the same place he escapes to when Shasta visits.

I'm off for a walk this morning as, though cold, it is bright and sunny. Got to make the most of that sun! I'm also going to try to be crafty today! Hopefully I'll have something to share tomorrow. Hope everyone has a good day - stay warm!

Dreary, rainy...but waaay above freezing!

Thanks for all the comments yesterday. I really appreciated them. Feeling a bit more cheery today. No sunshine - it was rainy and really dreary - but the temperatures were above freezing. Waaay above freezing. I think it was a record for Michigan. We were at 57F/13C. I went out for a walk despite the rain. We're going to have a mess tomorrow. Temperatures will be dropping back down to 26F/-3C. Talk about a temperature change! The snow has mostly gone, but more is on the way.

As the temperature was warmer and the roads clear I ran some errands after my walk. I returned library books and did a little food shopping. I was really good and only picked up a few things. I'm trying to get through some of the cupboard/freezer food.

It was really squishy out by the lake and there was a fine mist coming up from where the heat of the air hit the cold of the snow. It was really quite eerie.

I did get up to my craft room and manage to fill out some wildlife pages. Really enjoying making the book. I also did some colouring of stamps ready for cardmaking. The bright colours helped make me feel a little more cheery.

Drying Out

The weather people said we ended up with almost 6 inches of rain on Saturday. I think it was more. My bucket in the garden is completely full. I thought it would never stop! Sunday brought high winds. We'd spent all day Saturday in so we decided to go out even though it was still raining and very windy. We didn't walk far but decided to go look at a couple of (sort of) nearby lighthouses. The waves at the lakeshore were wild!

There was definitely no walking along the walkway! It was covered with water and waves. It's amazing to think this is a lake and not the sea!

At the other lighthouse there were people trying to surf! They could barely get up on their boards before either the wind or the waves knocked them off again!

Monday dawned cloudy but I put my boots on and went for a walk anyway.

The water was a lot higher at the place where I usually walk. I can usually walk past that plant - now it is in the lake! I've never seen it so high.

I was hoping to get some crafting done, but I've got to clean up a bit - we're having some of our windows replaced tomorrow so things need to be tidied and moved.

Hope everyone has a good Monday!

Looking a lot like Autumn...

It's beginning to look and feel like Autumn! It rained all day yesterday - yuck - and was rather chilly. I ended up closing the one window I had open. Today the rain cleared but no sunshine so still feeling a little chilly. I actually got out my cardigan yesterday!

The woods are even starting to look seasonal!

After our walk on Sunday we stopped by a farm shop. I love seeing all the pumpkins and gourds. They are all so very colourful!

Now that the cooler weather is coming (and so is Christmas!) I got up in my craft room and started off on the album I want to make hubby for Christmas.

I've got the covers and the binding done. The basic pages are ready to be mounted. I've got to pick out what finishing papers will go on the pages. It did feel good to get back creating something again. I think when I've got the basic book done I'll work on putting the one for my Mum together. I don't have many children's papers so either I'll have to go get some or maybe just use brightly coloured blank colours. I'll give it some thought! At least I've got started!

Monday Rolling Around AGAIN!

I can't believe it's Monday again! I feel like time is just getting away from me. The weekend wasn't too bad - Saturday started off raining but that was it. Friday night we had storms. Half of our neighbourhood lost power (not us) when a tree fell on an ice cream van! There were a couple of people in the van - I hope they were okay! We did our walk on Sunday, a nice walk in the woods. There were still bees and butterflies around! Because of the warmer weather we're also getting stink bugs again (yuck) and this morning I see hoards of flying beetle-like things on the garage door (shudder). I'm hoping for a cold snap just to get rid of them! I don't want them in the house. I see one and then I can't stop thinking about it until someone gets rid of it.

From yesterday's walk.

Today when I went for a walk the moon was still high in the sky! I'd been hoping to practise night moon photography the last few nights but it's been too cloudy. It wasn't too cloudy this morning!

It's a gorgeous day today. Still a lot of green in the trees - the autumn colours are coming late this year.

You can barely see the moon up in the sky on the left, but it was large and bright considering it was ten in the morning!

Hope everyone has a good Monday!

Easing into the Weekend

It's supposed to be a nice weekend here in Michigan. Good thing as we are going on our last camping trip of the year. I was a little apprehensive as it has been quite chilly in the morning. I booked it six months ago though so we have to go. It's at a lovely state park that has a lighthouse and several nice walks. I'm looking forward to it.

Summer is definitely winding down and Autumn is in the air. We're planning a weekend away in a couple of weeks to travel up north and hopefully catch some of the wonderful Autumn colours. I just hope we pick the right time - too early and there is too much green, too late and all the leaves are gone! It's a matter of timing.

Yesterday morning was quite foggy. I got out early for my walk and was glad I did. I manage to capture a few snaps before the sun burned away the fog. It was lovely, almost as though someone had waved a wand over all the webs.

It was really wonderful to see. It's becoming quieter where I walk. Because of the chilly mornings not too many people are out and about early. It's lovely and quiet.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Monday Morning

Ug it's Monday again. The weekend was SO hot. We still haven't got our window air conditioners in and apparently hubby didn't feel like putting them in so we suffered through heat. It was horribly hot and stuffy. Despite leaving the windows open last night it is still hot and stuffy in the house. He says he's putting them in tonight when he gets home from work. It is supposed to be cooler today but the air conditioner will help with the humidity too. I don't put them on all the time as I don't like it too cold, but a little relief would be nice!

It must be egg laying season for the turtles other at the lake. I've come across several of them on the path laying eggs.

These two I saw today. They were in different spots along the path and stayed still while I took their photos. There were a lot of broken eggs where I saw the second one. I hope they were broken because they hatched and not because someone had uncovered and damaged.

Even a chipmunk sat still (or rather froze trying not to attract attention) while I took its photo. I've been seeing deer too (finally). I think now that things are growing in the woods they are out eating. This is one I saw the other day. I think we startled one another and just stood staring. I managed to snap a few photos and then go on my way leaving the doe where she was.

Hope everyone has a good Monday!