Textures

As I was picking up small branches around the yard today. I stepped under the big spruce in the front yard, and I just happened to look up. Thankfully, I hadn't walked into the big paper wasp nest that was hidden in the branches right above my head. I'm also glad I didn't get stung as I snapped a couple of pictures. Some of the paper nest had been torn from the branch that it had been attached to on the bottom.

It was hard to get a good photo because I had to face the sun to get the shot of the nest. I find the layers of paper the bees make fascinating, and I love the texture. Isn't it amazing that little bees can make paper to build their nests?

 

I am sure the white faced hornets will rebuild the nest and even make it bigger. I want to take down the nest after we have some cold nights with frost so I can keep it.

view from another angle. You can see at the bottom the part of the nest that was torn and is hanging down.

Also under the same spruce tree I found a second and much smaller paper wasp nest that had been torn off the branches with the high winds from the storm. 

Then when I was under the mountain ash tree I found this branch that had fallen with grayish/green moss growing on it. The funny thing with this moss is that it very soft when on the tree or when wet, but as it dries out it is very stiff, but wet it, and it gets soft again. I love this stuff.

I love texture not only in art but in nature, do you?

Morning after...Hurricane Irene

taken this morning

Thankfully Hurricane Irene was downgraded to a tropical storm by yesterday morning. I'm sure there would have been more damage if it had stayed a Category 1 hurricane. We only got a 8/10ths of an inch of rain during the whole storm, and most of that came on Saturday, when at times the rain was coming down so hard that the gutters on the roof were overflowing.

Lots of tree branches and leaves came down with the high, whipping winds. I even found lots of the apples from our tree on the ground.  We lost power in the morning, and then it came back on for a short time. Around 11 a.m. we lost power until around 7 p.m. I had just finished lighting lots of candles when the power came back on. I blew out the candles, and we immediately lost power again. Relit the candles, and the power came back on. The lights flickered for a bit, but we have had power since. Area towns are still without power due to so many branches coming down of the electrical wires.
During the storm the little hummingbirds kept coming to my feeders. Sometimes the strong winds would blow the fierce, little birds off the feeders, but they kept coming back. The hummers were the only birds I saw all day long.
Here are a few pictures I took of downed branches.
you can see where this maple tree lost a big branch
big white pine branch
 
Tom's tomato plant...cage tipped over and roots pulled from the ground
    Tom's tomato garden with the cages tipped over from the winds
this morning as I opened the kitchen slider to the deck to take a few photos of the hummingbirds on my feeders one little bird kept trying to land on my camera lens. At first it startled me having it hovering so close to my face. Wish I could have gotten a picture of that. All summer long I hadn't seen as many hummingbirds that were going to the feeders this morning. By the time I got my lens adjusted they were off and fighting.

My friend called me this morning to tell me that someone she knows had gone to a birthday party not far from where I live yesterday, and two bears showed up in the back yard, and were busy ripping down the feeders. I guess her friend took photos of the bears. We have been reading in the paper that there had been

 sightings in our area and in neighboring towns. Yikes!!!

While out doing errands today I couldn't believe the number of huge trees that were knocked down in the storm, and big limbs were everywhere. Many big limbs are still on telephone and electric wires.

Cape Cod Lighthouses and Windmills

Today I am sharing with you some of the photos I took while I was on Cape Cod last week of several of Cape Cod's lighthouses and Cape Cod windmill photos.  I hope you enjoy my photos.
Lewis Bay Harbor Lighthouse, Hyannis
Lewis Bay lighthouse

 Lewis Bay Lighthouse
Chatham Light, Cape Cod
Nauset Lighthouse
1st of the 3 sisters lighthouses..Nauset, Cape Cod, and the only one that still has its light.
  2nd of the 3 sister lights...now without a top
3rd of the 3 sister lights also now without it's light. The 3 sisters lighthouses were moved.  
 couldn't get the whole sign in when I took the photo. So to read double click on each sign.

Nauset Lighthouse...Nauset, Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Windmills of Cape Cod
Dennis, Cape Cod
Orleans, Cape Cod upstairs in the windmill looking down at the mill stone
mill stone inside the top of the windmill
upstairs in the windmill grain hopper for corn waiting to be ground
   Looking up at the grinding stone from downstairs in the windmill.
    windmill with cloth sails granite watering trough in front of windmill
Brewster

Brewster Grist Mill
Brewster Grist Mill diagram of the workings of a grist mill
 
on the left side of the grist mill
Brewster, Cape Cod, Massachusetts Grist Mill
When I was a young girl, I would go with my brothers, mother, grandfather and aunts to the Brewster Herring Run each spring, and we would stop at the Grist Mill.

More Cape Cod photos to share

 

Heart Beat Quilts on display....mermaid doll and seashell wall hanging. I love stopping at this little quilt shop in Hyannis.

fishing boat coming back to the Hyannis docks in Lewis Bay

Lewis Bay, fast boat leaving for Nantucket, and someone fishing from shore.

lower Cape Harbor with pleasure boats

I thought this Dora the Explorer kite was funny, as it had big eyes that moved with the kite's movement.

windy Sunday afternoon lots of kites flying at the beach.

wind surfers

  pink and white wild Cape Cod roses..the rose bushes are wicked thorny and have lots of rose hips that can be used in jelly or tea.

the cobbler shop is the first building on the small street  leading to the chapel.

this blacksmith shop was moved next to the Kelley Chapel

  sign over the blacksmith shop door

Yarmouthport  is just off Rte. 6 A. This little chapel is only used in the summers. Weddings are often  held here. The chapel is the last of the 3 small old buildings on the little street.

   I put my camera lens up against the windows and took a few photos of this plain little chapel that was originally used year round, and was heated with a woodstove.

I saw this funny birdhouse in the Blue Bird Cafe restaurant on Main Street, Hyannis. I laughed out loud when I saw it...this truly is an Up your nose bird house. The mouth has a branch in it for the birds to sit on. The birdhouse was made of ceramic and wood.