A Finished Top

Good morning, my friends. It was a good day for sewing yesterday. Mike was out bike-riding, and I had the place to myself. I could spread out at will. Mike has no problem with me taking over virtually every surface in the RV, but I'm more comfortable when I can tell myself I'm not inconveniencing anyone. So...wanna see what I did?

I started here with these sections of the stars from my previous day of sewing. The first step was to lay them out as they would be sewn together.

Then I sewed them together. There are 16 of these. They'll be the corners of the stars.

And then I laid them out with the remaining pieces of the stars.

And sewed those together. So, I'm making a table runner, but I like the secondary pattern created when they're laid out like this. It would make a pretty bed quilt.

The only thing I needed to do then was to sew the sashings and borders, and I had myself a finished quilt top.

I'll use that same red for the binding. I have another fabric at home I'll use on the back. For now, I'm finished with this. I'll put it away for sandwiching and quilting when we're home again. My thanks go to the Crafty Quilter for providing this free pattern.

And I couldn't have done this without the help of my two trusty sewing companions.

As I was putting it all away, Mike returned from his bike ride. I'd already decided to go for a walk, and he was tired out from his bike ride. No worries. He took a nap while I went for a walk.

Approaching the first lake, I noticed a small playground area across the way. We walked right past it a few days ago, but I didn't see it then. Also, there are benches placed randomly around both lakes. It's a nice meditative place to sit.

The same collection of birds were there to greet me along the way. Here's our friend the Great Egret.

I spent some time watching this cormorant. They swim completely submerged in the water...catching fish or other delicious morsels, one presumes. I kept thinking how much they reminded me of the Anhingas we met when we were traveling in Florida.

The Anhingas will spread their wings to dry like this too.

Here's another cormorant.

Compare it with this photo of an Anhinga I took in Florida several years ago.

Okay, well, this caused me to inquire of The Google. Are Anhingas and Cormorants related? Here's what The Google tells me:

Yes, cormorants and anhingas are closely related aquatic birds, both belonging to the order Pelecaniformes, which also includes pelicans, tropicbirds, and frigatebirds, sharing features like webbed feet and diving for fish, though anhingas (darters) have slender, pointed bills for stabbing, while cormorants have hooked bills for scooping, and anhingas have longer necks, often appearing snake-like above water. 

So there you go. Have I said lately how much I 💕the internet?

Moving on...what kind of duck is this? Looking at pictures, I think it's a tufted duck, but its little tuft can't be seen in this image.

There's some kind of excavation going on outside the park. Not sure what's going on here.

The horse seems none too pleased.

Here's our friend the Blue Heron.

Here are some mallards...

This is probably his girlfriend.

Here's one sleeping, keeping one eye open as I approach.

Here's another shot of the cormorants, but I really liked the "V" formed behind the swimming duck.

Please don't embarrass me, okay? There's a restroom right over there.

Here's another shot of the heron from across the pond.

This looks as if it's already bloomed or else it's getting ready to bloom. My phone tells me this is "Sugar Sumac."

Inquiring again of The Google...I'll go with that. Here's how it looks when it blooms.

I'll keep an eye on it. Maybe we'll see it bloom while we're here. A little farther on...this:

My phone tells me this is a "Portugal Laurel." We have English Laurel at home, and I was thinking the foliage looks the same.

Walking on, this is a little deli and mini-mart, permanently closed, unfortunately. However, anyone who's done any RVing will recognize this structure as a typical KOA office. We believe this park was once a KOA, but this structure is far back in the park. Apparently, more was added after it was no longer a KOA.

This is the little creek running behind our rig. We hear froggies at night.

Okay, so I'm sorry to say one of our friends has landed herself in the hospital. I won't go into the details, but she underwent an emergency surgery. Via text, she told me this morning she was doing okay. We were planning to visit her, but she says she's not up to visitors just yet. No worries. Instead, we're going to make a trip out to Anza Borrego State Park. With the recent rains, there are wildflowers in bloom, and there are also some good hikes out there. We'll also stop off at our favorite farm stand and pick up some avocados. We're also lime-deficient. One cannot make margaritas without limes. They'll have limes too, and so it'll be a double delight.

Speaking of delights, it's time to make some Sunday morning blueberry pancakes. I wanted to make them last week, but then realized I had no baking powder or baking soda with me. Now we've been to the grocery store and restocked the pantry with leaveners. Pancakes are coming right up. 

Lace up your hiking boots, my friends. I expect we're going to do some hiking today. The weather looks good. A hat might be a good idea too.