Tuesday, December 15, 2015

Hiking on the weekends

Billings Barn - Click image for larger view
As I mentioned in an earlier post, since September, Carol and I have been spending at least one day each weekend hiking in different forests in our area. We have explored many spots in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The barn in the sketch above was done in the Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary in Walpole, Massachusetts. It was a great walk with easy hiking and fantastic views from a high bluff...overlooking Patriot Place about 8 miles away. This unique looking barn was along the path and it had several bat habitats attached to it and a building next to this one was dedicated to bat habitat. Moose Hill is run by the Audubon Society of Massachusetts and the charges us seniors $3.00 each to hike their trails, which certainly seems reasonable as this is a very well maintained site.

Lobster boat, Wickford - Click image for larger view
Although I am still sketching every morning before work, things are getting more difficult. The sun seems to rise around noon these days..so dark for so long in the morning - and I am just running out of things to sketch in Hope Valley. So I am leaving earlier (when it is even darker) and traveling further afield. The sketch above in is Wickford which is about 40 -45 minutes from home and still about 40 minutes from work -- I like to get to work at 7:30 -- so I left extra early and started this sketch in the dim light of a nearby street lamp and finished up a few minuted before the sun broke the horizon. Still having fun with this though and will continue, although I am longing for my camera again so I may start mixing some photos back into this blog.