An Artsy and Crafty Winter

Spring has finally arrived, albeit with snow on our very first day. It seemed to be a long winter with lots of snow accumulation in the first three months of the year. I finally took my first hike of the year on Long Island this past weekend, which will be in a future post. I am still piecing together bits and pieces of the Paumanok Path slowly. With the snow and hunting season this year hiking wasn't very feasible.

I do think it is a bit unfair that during the best time to hike the trails here, the land is being used by hunters. It would be nicer if it could be shared and hikers could use on weekends and hunters use weekdays. It leaves only a month or two of the entire year for hiking when the ticks aren't as problematic. To hike the entire Paumanok Path at once, it seems the best time to do it would be late September/early October or late March. Weather-wise, November would be ideal. To hike it in summer isn't worth the risk of lyme disease.

With hiking sidelined and many snowy days indoors due to unsafe road conditions, I have been working on a hobby that does involve the nature side of this blog. I've posted some photos below of projects I have been working on. These are just a few and I'm still working on some other designs and ideas. I will eventually be using my own photos for Decoupage (wiki), but for now I am learning with card stock.

A flower and bird box

A fall theme box

A lucky ladybug and leaf box

A beach theme

Many other boxes in non-nature themes as well.

A larger multi-drawer jewelry box

Gold Leaf Earrings

Keychains :)

And lastly, some bracelets for the three major thru-hiking trails, the Appalachian Trail (AT), Continental Divide Trail (CDT) and Pacific Crest Trail (PCT).

Some items I've made for myself and others can be found on my Etsy site for purchase. If you like any of these check them out on Etsy - Walk and Be Happy

FYI...I've learned how to create all these items using YouTube only. It seems you can learn anything nowadays on the internet.

One glimpse from my last hike....The thing I love about the Pine Barrens here is how beautiful looking up at the tall standing trees can be.

Thanks as always for reading!