Saturday Critters ~ 311 ~

We had some warm weather this week, warm enough for a look around

Lake of the Lilies

The Herons do not migrate, 
but a lot of the birds that do migrate are here.

The lake is quite big and most of them swim "in the dead center of the lake".

I have 33 pictures of this Heron that all look exactly like this.

It only moved when I moved, go figure...

and I was happy to get 1 flight shot!

The Gadwalls are here for winter.

A familiar and rather understated dabbling duck, the male is quite beautiful in flight!

I saw both the male and female Wood Ducks.

They did not really want to come out for pictures, but I was happy to see them.

The Wood Ducks are present in New Jersey year round but only visit this lake in winter.

She is beautiful and gets little credit for how pretty she is.

The American Coots are back...

as are the Rudy Ducks.

I will try to get a close up next time I go back.

Sharing today with Eileen at Viewing Nature With Eileen

Post Thanksgiving

As I sat down this morning to write,

so many beautiful images danced around in my mind.

My youngest son Michael has been with us all week, he is a joy to have at home.

We had a lovely Thanksgiving with our family,

celebrated at our nieces house, I can't image having more fun.

We are up to 5 little ones, one cuter than the next.

The bird is deep fried...always!

Great smiles here, 

I fell before taking this picture,

it seemed everyone enjoyed the fall and "bounce" up!

Here we all are!

Perhaps one of the highlights of the past few days was meeting Ruth and Chris.

We went to dinner Wednesday night at Red Lobster, a tradition of sorts.

We order a couple of shrimp cocktail platters and a huge chocolate cake to bring to Deanna's,

while we are there to pick up those items, we always have dinner.

As we went to sit down, I thought I heard someone talking about purple, and a blog!

Ruth was sitting across from us and it just so happens, she reads my blog.

She only reads 3 blogs every day and mine is one of them.

Seems she knows a lot about me as she has been reading for seven plus years.

And, she recognized the hubs and can attest to his existence!

We have never met before.

She was dining with her son Chris, 

both lovely people and we had such a nice conversation.

We were sitting across from each other so we had plenty of time to talk.

Hi Ruth, I know you are reading, meeting you was a highlight this week,

something I am most grateful for.

Leave me a comment!

Happy Thanksgiving

Yarn Along

I love the sound of my clicking knitting needles...the rhythm and tone.

The act of knitting is so relaxing.

My hands tell me when I have made a mistake or dropped a stitch.

I have been very busy, 
let me show you guys what I have been working on...

February Hat by Kate Gagnon Osborn,
free here on Ravelry.
Knitted with yarn from Arrow Acres Alpaca Farm
3 ply DK Alpaca Yarn
This past week, 
I finished this hat for my great nephew Kalmin for Christmas.

Next are all the cowls I have knitted this year for Christmas presents for my nieces.

Neapolitan Cowl

I have knitted 5, I will have 1 for each of my nieces for Christmas.
I have used a variety of different yarns, all dk weight.

I made this so long ago, in January I think, also to gift for Christmas.

A Bandanna Scarf and a Donnie Hat

I have knitted and crocheted many more beautiful items this past year,
but this is my Christmas gifting knitting.

I started another 
February Hat by Kate Gagnon Osborn,
free here on Ravelry.
I am using the same yarn I used on Kalmins hat from Arrow Acres Alpaca Farm
3 ply DK Alpaca Yarn
This hat is for my great niece Nora for Christmas.
A few months back I gifted her a pretty gray knitted (not by me) sweater.
I think this will look great with it!

Click...click...click, my needles have been busy.
Also...my youngest son is here, we are keeping each other busy.

And on a side note, he is very good at helping me ball yarn...
I told him it is good quality time we can spend together talking, he agreed.
We have balled 2 hanks so far, 
I am looking for more yarn that needs to be balled, he is a great helper!

Atlantic City, New Jersey

When we went to Sugar Factory last week, we realized we had to walk through the 

Hard Rock Hotel & Casino

to get to 
Sugar Factory.

The music was so loud everywhere, but I really enjoyed all of the memorabilia!

The Beatles

Elvis Presley's Rolls Royce

This guitar was on the ceiling.

"Imagine"

Light fixtures in Hard Rock

The flowers in Hard Rock were so beautiful,
they all had yellow roses in them.

I was hoping the hotels would be decorated for Christmas, they weren't.

We popped over to 

Borgata

Once you pay for valet parking, you can valet at any one of the casino's,

I thought that was a deal.

The Borgata is filled with these crazy light fixtures.

This is a "Living Wall"

The Borgata was so crowded, my anxiety was through the roof.

I don't even know if they had parked our car yet, when we decided to leave.

I know the Christmas decorations are really beautiful here,

if we go back,

perhaps going back early in the day would be better, and the casino's would be much less crowded.

Wise Words On Sunday

Saturday Critters ~ 310 ~

The backyard feeders have been all abuzz with bird activity...

this Tufted Titmouse is an endearing little bird that I see primarily during the winter months.

The berries in the cedar tree have been attracting a lot of birds as well.

At times, there are as many as 10 or more American Robins in this tree,

dining on the berries.

This tree is the favorite "hangover" spot for all of the birds,

as they wait for their turn at the feeders.

This male Downy Woodpecker is waiting for his turn at the suet.

They rarely chase other birds away.

Sharing today with Eileen at Viewing Nature With Eileen

Great Falls National Park

This was our first visit to

Paterson Great Falls National Park

Located in Paterson, New Jersey, with an interesting history and culture,

the falls are only a few steps from the parking lot, making it easy for everyone to see them.

It was a cloudy day, 

but that did not take away from our enjoyment of the beauty or the mist from the falls.

This was a large, very cool, seating area.

Power Generation Plant

The Cities Founder Alexander Hamilton

A beautiful mural but I did not understand or agree with the quote.
Thank you Marie for researching this...
if any of you are interested, you can read about the poem and its author, Ginsberg, here.

We stayed for about an hour or so...

they have a really nice picnic area, I would like to come back in the spring for a picnic.