What's up Buttercup? Good morning and a very Happy Friday to you , sweet friends.
The last time I left off on my camping tales, Mr. Pinker and I were at Grenada Lake at Skuna Turkey Campground.
This is a free primitive camping area, and at this time of the year, we had the whole place to ourselves except for an occasional 4 wheeler going down to the lake with an eager fishermen on board🎣.
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| Cypress Knees at Grenada |
Across the road was Stevens Cemetery.
" Do you want to visit the cemetery?" I asked Mr. Pinker.
"Whatever you want to do, Sweetie, " replied hubby.
"Aaah right answer, dear. " I said with a grin.
Into the woods we went . Soon we came to the site. "Is this it? Oh my, how sad, " I said with a frown.
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| Do you see the headstone? |
" I can not believe this cemetery is so overgrown with briars and shrubs."
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I began to buzz about the sites studying the gravestones.
Many of the graves were sunken. The oldest dated back to 1871 and the newest to 1930. There were at least 51 graves here, but there were some that were unmarked. So sad to see this resting place in such a state.
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After saying a few prayers and quiet contemplation , we soon made our way out of the woods and back to the camper.
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"Let's move camp, " said Mr. Pinker.
"Ok, I thought you liked this spot. "
" Well, I want to see if we can get closer to the water."
"I should have guessed that, "I said with a smile.
Soon we were packed up and puttering down the road and around the lake. We stopped at the visitor center and at the dam. The dam is an earthen dam that measures 13, 900 feet in length and stands 80 feet above the streambed.
A conduit runs under the dam and is used to control the water . There were a lot of fishermen along the channel where the water was coming out of the conduit. Mr. Pinker chatted with a fellow as I sat on a swing.
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| A fish stake bed- habitat for fish when there is water. |
Soon we were on our way. "Now where? I asked. "Well I guess we are going right back to where we were- that's the only primitive camping that is available. " Hee! Hee! See I told you! We do fly by the seat of our pants. 😂👖
The next day, I woke up to an empty camper. Mr. Pinker was gone. I looked out the window to see fishing rods missing. "Aaah he found his fishing spot, "I said to myself.
I puttered around and soon found myself setting up my stitching table.
Today's plan was to work on some applique.
I brought my Little Chicken appliques that I had started year ago.
So with needle and thread in hand, I appliqued 3 wonky baskets and worked on a new hen. I need at least 1 more hen and basket and then I will have 24 blocks.
As I was stitching away, I felt a tap on the head. I quickly snapped around to see Mr. Pinker tapping me on the head with his fishing rod. "You catch anything?" I asked.
"You!" exclaimed Mr. Pinker. I just smiled.
"Soooo that means NO fish . Right?". Mr. Pinker laughed, "Yep! How about you?"
"Oh I caught a lot of ZZZZZ's this morning and caught up on some chicken stitching. "
"Sounds like a good day!"
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| The water was low at Grenada Lake. |
"It has been so far".
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| A cat fish noodling box at Grenada Lake. |
Mr. Pinker and I then sat down for lunch. As I was eating I gazed out the window and eyed a big yellow butterfly. I quickly scampered up to the cabinet above my bed, pulled out some fabric and with a jump and a skip was out of the camper. "What's going on ? " asked Mr. Pinker. "Have you spotted something? "he asked in confusion.
"I am off to chase butterflies," I chimed.
The yellow butterfly flew away, but lots of small ones were nearby enjoying the early spring blooms which carpeted the forest floor.
After taking a few snapshots, I appliqued a little yellow butterfly. It still needs it's body, but it is a start.
So all in all Mr. Pinker and I had a grand but simple day. I will leave you with a few photos of the lake. We stayed here for a few days before moving on.
Thank you for the sweet visit and have a beautiful day!
A new house is on the finishing table. Hopefully, it will be posted tomorrow as a freebie. I would be thrilled if you come back by for a visit. Hugs!
Happy quilting and stitching, y'all
Melisa
"Finding some quiet time in your life, I think is hugely important. " Mariel Hemingway
Hugs and Stitches!!! 🤗❤🧵
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| Do you think this rock looks like a heart? I thought so. It was on the beach at Grenada. |
I love the adventures you and Mr Pinker seem to enjoy! Just flying by the seat of your pants. I was married to a city boy from New York so he wouldn't dare adventure out and about like you do. LOL Darlene J
ReplyDeleteLOL, thank you so much, Darlene. Hubby never traveled as much as I did until we got married. He always joked that when I planned our vacations, that on our return he would have to go to work to relax. Hee! Hee! Now he has gotten use to the buzzing about and enjoys it. Have an awesome weekend, Darlene and thank you for the sweet Friday visit. Hugs.
DeleteI love hearing about your adventures. Aren't graveyards interesting. It's so sad they don't keep them up. I can't wait to see the new cross stitch house. Looks like bunnies. Oh how I love rabbits. Have a blessed day.
ReplyDeleteHappy Friday, Joy. I hope your day is off to a lovely start. I agree -cemeteries are very interesting and I find peaceful . I am the "family caretaker" of my family's resting places and during this time of the year am mowing and weeding . I told hubby I wish I could have cleaned this one up. I can not wait to share the bunny house. I just finished it today and will soon be working on a new one. Have a wonderful day, Joy and thank you for dropping by. Hugs.
DeleteI can't imagine just meandering around like you guys did, sounds fun! Happy stitching!
ReplyDeleteWe seem to go where ever the wind blows with no set plan. We just choose a state and off we go. We usually see a lot of interesting things as well. Hope you are having a wonderful day, Gretchen and are enjoying some quilting time. Have a great weekend and thank you for the sweet visit. Hugs.
DeleteWhat a wonderful adventure you had! I am enjoying your photos and liked how the butterflies inspired a block!--TerryK@OnGoingProjects
ReplyDeleteOh thank you so much, Terry. We had a great time ; we were hoping to come back to this campsite at the end of the trip but we faced some bad weather and diverted and went another route. There were so many butterflies here; I was grateful I brought my butterfly project bag with me. Have a wonderful weekend and Happy quilting. Hugs.
DeleteHello, great to have you back, thanks so much for sharing your adventures! Yes, I do think that rock looks like heart!!
ReplyDeleteI am just wondering....Have you ever (thought of) designed anything with a Chinese theme? For Chinese new year maybe...? I have 2 sons from China, and their country has a special place in our hearts....
Happy friday/almost weekend from Holland!!
Aaah thank you so much for the sweet homecoming message, dear. It is great to be back. We had a wonderful time , exploring new places. Oh thank you so much for the suggestion; I will have to brainstorm on some ideas and perhaps do a bit of research for inspiration. My grandson has always been interested in the Chinese calendar. Have a wonderful weekend, dear . Hugs
DeleteOh thank you so much, Melissa! Looking firward to anything you might come up with, and in the meantime I'll enjoy embroidering another of the lovely saltbox houses you design! Love the new one btw, thank you! Happy weekend from Holland!
DeleteYou and Mr. Pinker seem to find adventure wherever you go. I would have explored that cemetery too. I have to ask, though, what is a catfish noodling box?
ReplyDeleteLol , we like being out and about especially in nature. You never know what you will find in the woods or even along the banks of river. There were all kinds of the catfish noodling boxes . Normally they are underwater, but the water was so low that they were exposed. Fishermen put them in the water for habitat, and then fishermen who like to catch catfish by hand will reach in and grab a catfish ( No that's not for this ole' gal- Hee! Hee! ) The fishermen in our area tend to do a lot of jug fishing where lines are tied to milk jugs and then they go check them. Now I have been with hubby when he has done that ; it is interesting too. Hope you are having a fabulous Friday. Thank you for the sweet morning visit, dear. Hugs.
DeleteLoved the photos. That cemetery is so sad. But isn't it interesting to poke around a cemetery? You are so talented to be able to see a butterfly then turn around and applique such a beautiful piece!
ReplyDeleteHappy Friday, Linda. It was interesting to poke around this cemetery. I always enjoy looking at the headstones - some are elaborate. There were several children in this one. It seemed that 1916 was not a good time in this area either. I was amazed out how many butterflies there were at this camping area. Of course you know me and my love for butterflies. LOL. Have a great weekend, Linda and Happy quilting. Hugs.
DeleteLooks like a good adventure, Melisa! I'm surprised fishing was allowed with the water being so low. Happy Friday!
ReplyDeleteOh thank you so much, Robin. Hubby had to walk a long ways to get to the water. He brought his chest waders to fish here. I was amazed how many fishermen there were all across the lake whether on the banks, out in kayaks or just wading. I bet the fishing is even better when the water is raised. Have a great weekend and Happy Stitching. Hugs.
DeleteHow nice you had a great day doing what you both love doing.
ReplyDeleteI think that is one reason we had such a relaxing trip this time. We both brought along our hobbies to enjoy on our downtime. It was a great trip. Have a wonderful weekend, Vicki . I hope you are enjoying some quilting time yourself. Hugs.
DeleteThe simple days in the end are always the most wonderful, don't you think?
ReplyDeleteYou enjoyed nature, laughter and sewing.
Hugs and happy weekend, my friend!
That is so true, Isabel. It was a lovely relaxing day at camp. I wish you a wonderful and productive weekend, sweet friend. Hugs.
DeleteSuch a sweet post of two in love—. I felt like was right there with you! So glad you had such a joyful adventure. Glad you’re back!
ReplyDeleteAaah thank you so much, dear. My hubby is a gem; I feel very fortunate. It was a great day at camp relaxing and enjoying our hobbies. Thank you for the sweet Friday visit . Have a great weekend. Hugs.
DeleteWhat fun explorations. I've never seen some of the things you showed today. Obviously, it's a fishing thing from that area, but I'm not familiar with them. I will investigate further on my own. Loved the butterflies - both pieced and real! Looking forward to seeing the new house stitch. Looks pretty good to me already. The Chicken/Basket applique is so sweet, It's going to be such a pretty quilt when you decide you've made enough blocks and are ready to put it together. I always love seeing the heart rocks you find. Wouldn't a bunch of these bigger size make great stepping stones?
ReplyDeleteI had never seen the noodle boxes or the stake beds either. It makes me wonder what is underwater in our rivers and lakes other than vehicles. Lol. I would have loved to have been able to take the big heart rock home with me, but alas it was too big. I have started collecting the smaller ones and have been putting them in a jar though. Thank you for the sweet Friday visit, Ginny. Have an awesome weekend. Hugs.
DeleteDefinitly a heart! Beautiful scenery! Thanks
ReplyDeleteI thought so too. I have started looking very closely in nature for hearts now and every now and then I am lucky enough to spot one. Thank you for the sweet visit. Have a great weekend, dear. Hugs
DeleteNo fish caught but you still had a lovely time.
ReplyDeleteWe had a great time at this fishing spot despite hubby not catching any. We will definitely visit this lake again. Thank you for the sweet visit, Jenny. Hugs.
DeleteJust love those little baskets--where did your friend find that pattern, if i could ask??? ;)) I think that stone sure does look like a heart....hugs, Julierose
ReplyDeleteGood morning, Julierose. The little baskets are super quick to applique. It is just one that I made up. I will try to post it in the near future. I have a love for little basket quilts. I appreciate the sweet Friday visit. Have an awesome weekend. Hugs.
DeleteI love living the camping live vicariously through you, Melisa! The knees won't let me do it anymore except in a cabin! LOL Sounds like an awesome day!
ReplyDeleteOooh Cabin vacations are fun too! Aah thank you , Brenda; it's just fun to be out and about. We had a great time. Thank you for the sweet visit. Hugs.
DeleteSounds like you've been having a wonderful adventure. Very fun chick and butterfly blocks.
ReplyDeleteWe had a great time, Kate. We visited 11 different camping spots. Many we will return to in the future. Hugs
DeleteI love searching for hearts in nature. I even made a folder on my phone labeled "I heart nature" ;)
ReplyDeleteOh how fun , Melva. I hope you will post some of the hearts that you find on your blog. I just recently have been finding hearts in nature. I have been picking up the small heart rocks. Have a blessed day and thank you for the sweet visit. Hugs.
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