As soon as I stepped onto the Cherry Island Trail and saw this oddball “thing” in the murky marsh, I knew it would be my featured image because it reminded me of the word “pareidolia” (seeing faces in objects that don’t have faces). What do you see … a partially submerged, iridescent-looking log, mired in the Duckweed and green algae, with a fisherman’s bobber gravitating toward it, or doesn’t it resemble some creature, maybe even a whale? Check out its “eye” … humor me here please. 🙂
There were a few oddities on my marsh meander.
Seeing this “creature” definitely began a trend for the rest of that trek as I saw things with a slightly whimsical, even offbeat eye.
For example, these very large water lily pads looked like floating green tortillas. Lots of leaves, but no lilies. A frog atop a pad would have been a nice find, just sayin’.
I rounded the bend of the trail and walked in a woodsy area, grateful for the shade, as it was getting warm and I’d already spent about 2.5 hours in Gibralter, walking and driving around that small city before coming here.
On the first overlook, everything was very green. The marsh reeds cast a beautiful reflection and more lily pads dotted the surface. I was so intent on getting the Great Blue Heron’s reflection in my shot, this photobombing Mallard zipped by. Yay, an unintended “twofer” shot!
Moments later, with eyes still watching the marsh through my camera lens, it was another “twofer” shot when this Great Egret suddenly stepped into the frame … hmm, I was seeing doubles, or even quadruples, of my fine-feathered friends!
Well, there is always that one goose, duck or (fill in the blank here … even human works) that dares to be different. In this case it was one feathery butt up in the air, looking for tasty underwater plants.
Across the marsh, pushing the limits of the 12X zoom of my digital compact camera, was a turtle who was eyeing this “ramp” much like a skateboarder would at a skate park. I took its photo and quickly moved on. I could picture the turtle landing on its shell, kicking all four legs and no one to help it flip over.
My trek continued, in and out of woodsy areas, until soon I was at the next, larger wooden overlook, the marsh before me, Lake Erie behind me.
I admired this Great Egret, intent on stretching its neck as far as it could go. Thank you for posing for me.
The Egret, either bored with neck stretching, or annoyed by my presence, made a screech and flew down to this bowed branch in the marsh, then proceeded to study the water. I waited patiently for it to score a fish, but …
… the fishing expedition came up empty, so I turned around, ready to resume my walk and found a row of Barn Swallows sitting ever so sweetly on the top railing of the overlook. Hmm – how long were they there and I said “please hold that pose!” Since the old dead tree is gone on the other side of the park, I rarely see Barn Swallows alight – they are always catching insects in flight. I’ll have a few more pics of these Barn Swallows in my Wordless Wednesday post this week.
On the shoreline side of Lake Erie are many fallen trees and the Mallards and turtles use them for snoozing and sunbathing. No matter how quietly I creep up to take photos of them, one sees me and they all bolt, the ducks paddling furiously away and the turtles plopping into the water.
A peek-a-boo Mallard was distracted so I got fairly close to it.
This portion of the Cherry Island Trail ends at the boat launch area. Surprisingly, on this gorgeous Summer day, there were no boats at the docks, nor in the water.
All I saw were the wavy-looking pier “legs” …
… and a gaggle of geese gave me a giggle as they played “Ring-around-the-Rosie”, a childhood game I played many moons ago. No, they did not all flop down, but they saw me and quickly waddled off.
Amazingly, on August 4th, there were Poplar leaves littering the parking lot and grassy areas near the boat launch! Wasn’t I just photographing the Cottonwood fluff a month or so ago? While we had torrential rain many times, we were not in drought mode.
Just as I stepped back onto the nature trail to get on still another wooden overlook, some geese flew overhead, in traditional V-formation … say it isn’t so, Fall migration? Nah, our Canada Geese are hardy and stay put.
Heck, the Lotuses have just begun to bloom!
(Well, most of them anyway.)
Here was an American Lotus, with a leaf as big as an elephant’s ear, along with a bud that reached for the sky with the promise of beauty to come.
There was not much else to see in this marsh – no waterfowl or Lotuses blooming on one side of the overlook and across the road, the reeds blocked out that side of the marsh.
I did appreciate the color along both sides of the wooden overlook, like this pretty Purple Loosestrife …
… and I never get tired of seeing these huge Swamp Rose Mallows.
The swamp reeds are so hardy, they poke up through the slats of the wooden walkway.
From a distance, I thought the darkish blob on the overlook walkway was more reeds poking through the slats, but it was a juvenile Robin.
As I ended my trek, a delicate Eastern Black Swallowtail settled on some Queen Anne’s Lace and spread its wings, nearly covering the plant. There were sticky spider webs and I worried this butterfly would get caught up in them. As it was, it was missing one hindwing tail.
A group of wild Black-eyed Susans, a/k/a Sweet Coneflowers, were the last shots I took, before I headed to the car and the welcome A.C.
Terri’s Challenge is Hometown, so I’ll be joining her Flower Hour instead. I am also enjoying Pepper’s Challenge One Step at a Time.
There were also some mellow Mallards and grumpy Geese too.
On July 22nd I headed to Dingell Park, …
… the first time I’d been there since that frosty February day when I went for the Great Backyard Bird Count.
I strolled along the Boardwalk; it was a perfect Summer day. There have been so few of them, in my humble opinion of course, that they were to be savored. I’d just driven back from Lake Erie Metropark and this was my last stop before heading home.
I was surprised to see no fisherman along the Boardwalk – perhaps they were here earlier – it was straight-up noon after all.
Feathers littered the grass along the Boardwalk …
… because it was waterfowl molting time. The Canada Geese from Council Point Park always disappeared to Dingell Park, just a mile or so away, paddling with their goslings in tow, once they begin losing their flight feathers because then they could not escape land predators. Here they are safe and hang out for a few months until their feathers have been replenished.
A pleasure boat zipped by – from my vantage point, they were having more fun than me strolling on the Boardwalk.
Up ahead, I saw a few folks in the pavilion area along with some waterfowl at the water’s edge. I thought those geese might be the recipients of a few tantalizing tidbits as I saw kids at the railing. “Well good” I thought. “There may be some photo ops, since I’m not getting any pics of anglers with their catch of the day.”
The kids quickly departed with the rest of the family, so it was just me, along with about 40 waterfowl that lingered near this peaceful area.
Normally, that many ducks and geese would be making a lot of noise, but not that day because they were subdued due to molting. None of these feathered friends were exempt, even the ducklings, who start losing their downy feathers and gain their adult plumage, a few months after hatching. More about those cutie pies later.
The water directly beneath the pavilion is surprisingly very clear, despite all the freighter and boat traffic in these waters – however, that couldn’t be said for litter that floated around the shoreline. I artfully shot around the litter.
I arrived at a good time as some geese lingered, hopeful for more tasty tidbits and a few mellow Mallards gave me some photo ops, like this Mallard nestled near the weeds at the shoreline. It is often tough to tell the males from the females during the Eclipse molting phase – for a short time ALL the Mallards have brown plumage. This Mallard looks like he is easing out of Eclipse phase, soon to have those bright colors we are so familiar with, like the iridescent teal head and white neck ring.
As this Mallard rested comfortably, one watchful eye on me, a sweet duckling paddled toward its family at the water’s edge.
I am always in awe about our feathered friends.
(Especially when people call them bird brains!)
I was reminded of the goslings at Council Point from back in May. If Mama or Papa abruptly decided to abandon grazing for swimming, the obedient babies followed the adults down to the Creek. You probably remember all the goslings leaping off the cement ledge after Mama … they learn by example.
Like how these ducklings snuggled near their Mama who was likely mindful of that one duckling that returned later than the others from its paddle. She was frenzied over her feathers, picking out old ones, trying to stop the itch from the new feathers.
Her ducklings decide to mimic their Mama, picking furiously at their feathers.
That is, except this one duckling who figures it looks mighty fine – why mess with perfection? (Yes, there is always one of those in every family!)
I focused my attention and my camera on the family for a good 15 minutes, taking lots of photos, most which weren’t very good as they were constantly on the move, picking and preening.
This was the same bucking-the-trend baby from the last picture.
I was lucky to get a few poses out of them before they started preening again.
I desire a little “alone time” please …
… is what this Mallard seemed to convey in its yoga-like pose at the far end of a weathered piece of cement. The waterfowl like perching on this long cement piece all year around, especially in Winter to keep those webbed feet off the ice.
Sadly, this Mallard’s personal space did not remain his for very long as a few Canada Geese decided to join him, politely at first, leaving that duck to itself …
… but soon a pair of rogue geese overtook the rock, forcing the Mallard off and into the water. So much for sharing.
This goose, closer to the water’s edge, right beneath me, seemed appalled by his brethren’s behavior.
This was the same goose I showed you in a recent Wordless Wednesday post, with the deer-in-the headlights look as it gazed into the water.
Bopping down the Boardwalk at Dingell Park gave me a few nature photos for which I was grateful, even though my main purpose that day was to visit one of the DIA art installations at this venue. There are multiple paintings for Inside/Out in Ecorse this year, but I didn’t want to overdo it with more masterpieces, as I had already done one post and planned to visit the Gibralter installation.
So here is one of the six Ecorse paintings, aptly placed, as usual, near the Boardwalk at the Detroit River, across from Mud Island.
I am joining Terri’s Sunday Stills Photo Challenge: Animals and Pepper’s Hiking Challenge: One step at a time.
Authentic postcard of 1910 Stanley Steamer automobile at the Henry Ford Museum
With this very long post, I have finally exhausted my long trip down Memory Lane circa 1976.
First, I wrote about my mom’s 50th birthday and how my grandmother and Aunt Frances took the bus from Toronto for a surprise visit the day before. The three of us had made the arrangements and I wrote about that event here in my tribute to Mom who would have celebrated her 100th birthday on Valentine’s Day 2026. That tribute may be found here.
Next, I wrote about finishing up at Henry Ford Community College in June 1976 and the slew of activities I enjoyed immersing myself in during the time I was at that institution. You can find that post here in case you missed it.
Then, on Independence Day this year, I shared some memories and photos about that Bicentennial year, when we celebrated the 200th birthday of the U.S. That post may be found here.
As mentioned in those posts, I have still more to add. I’m going to pick up the “story” again, this time in conjunction with National Grandparents Day, which is today, although I know it is more of a Hallmark event, rather than a day to celebrate your grandparent(s). It is always the first Sunday after Labor Day.
I know that one day I will run out of memories about Wilhemina “Minnie” Goddard, or “Nanny” as I affectionately called her, but if you’ll indulge me in one more 1976 memory, here we go….
After my grandfather died in 1969, my grandmother spent every Summer here in Michigan – 1976 was no different. My parents drove to her Toronto home over Memorial Day weekend to pick her up so she could attend my HFCC graduation on June 4th.
I wasn’t the only one decked out in a mortarboard and gown and holding onto my Associates Degree diploma – Nanny did as well.
Day Trippin’!
I worked six days a week at the diner every Summer, but on my day off, weather permitting, Mom, Nanny and I always went out, maybe to the mall, the show, or out for lunch.
Mom tried to think of interesting places to take Nanny and decided Greenfield Village and Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn might be of interest to her. Mom decided to stay home as it was a lot of walking, even though she said “I think one trip around the Museum and your grandmother will be ready to come home.” I agreed.
It’s no secret that most of Dearborn, Michigan is about Henry Ford.
Multiple historic sites and tourist attractions are relevant to Mr. Ford.
Courtesy of the Library of Congress/From the collections of The Henry Ford
I’ve often written about my treks at the Ford Estate, a/k/a Fair Lane. It was Henry Ford who created the concept of the Museum at Greenfield Village, so he had “The Henry Ford Museum” built in the 1930s to house a wealth of inventions by his friends and colleagues like Thomas Edison. The Village and Museum are one of Michigan’s biggest tourist attractions.
Even though Nanny had a heart condition, she could walk short distances, but needed to sit down occasionally. Greenfield Village is very large and spread out with lots of historic buildings, a farm and the Museum. I decided we’d visit the Museum first and, if Nanny was up to it, we’d tackle something else later.
The Museum had many areas of interest – where to go first?
I thought we’d head over to the showcases of vintage clothing, but, before we moseyed over there, my grandmother left my side to wander over to the huge farm machinery, like this tractor. (Note the name of the inventor in the lower, right-hand corner.)
1919 Tractor Patent from Henry Ford (digital download purchased f/Etsy)
Nanny circled the area filled with these huge farm machines and delighted in telling me each of their names/purpose and how she remembered her father using them in the fields to sow, plow or harvest their crops. Well, of course this would interest her – she grew up on a farm in Ariss, in rural Ontario.
Finally, I tore her away from admiring the farm equipment and steered her toward the sections of vintage clothing from different eras. Nanny had eight siblings, most which stayed in Ariss and farmed on their own land or married farmers. But, Minnie and her sister Loretta wanted to live in the Big City, i.e. Toronto, so they left Ariss when they were still in their teens. (Minnie is on the left, Loretta on the right in the below photo taken in the early 1920s.)
Once they arrived in Toronto, they rented a room, each got factory jobs and quickly shed their “farm girl” personas once they had paychecks. Nanny was in her glory as she pointed out to me vintage clothing she had once owned, like buttoned shoes, a fancy hat, or a small drawstring handbag, even a corset, all items worn by both sisters back in the day. Actually, Nanny wore a corset for years afterward. I can remember how I’d see her squeezing into that contraption to slim her waist and hips when she got dressed up for church or other occasions.
I know we lost track of time with my grandmother’s fascination and exuberance from seeing items she likely had not thought about in a very long time. Finally, she conceded she needed to sit down, then soon she popped up and was ready to look around some more.
We passed a gift shop on our way out. The shop featured vintage-type items and Nanny decided to buy this small chicken roaster for Mom.
She told me her mom had a huge chicken roaster that looked like this one. Mom remembered that chicken roaster and put this one in the back of the shelf so it would not accidentally get broken – it fit in perfectly with the other country-type items and is still there to this day.
We also we had a similar style of dish, but a duck, on the kitchen corner cabinet. The blue cake plate belonged to my great grandmother.
We finally left for home, ten miles away. We were gone many hours and unbeknown to us, Mom was worried something happened to Nanny due to her heart condition and that’s why we didn’t return home earlier. I should have gone to a payphone and called home, but I never thought of it.
My grandmother had a short nap on the way home but walked into the house and recounted to Mom every last item she’d seen at the Museum, so Mom excused us when she saw everything was okay and how much Nanny enjoyed herself. We went out for a late lunch at A&W. Nanny had never eaten a footlong coney dog, nor onion rings, so she raved about that simple meal, along with her Museum visit for the rest of the Summer.
A visit to Carter’s to see Erdie and Ann.
My grandmother wanted to visit Erdie, my boss, who managed the diner where I worked and was kind enough to pick up my mother’s birthday cake and drive us home when Nanny and my Aunt Frances were here for Mom’s 50th birthday back in February. She wanted to thank him again for his kindness.
So my parents and Nanny stopped at Carter’s on a Saturday afternoon, while I was at work, before driving her back home to Toronto. Erdie’s granddaughter Leslie and I had worked together Summers and every Saturday for several years. My grandmother asked Leslie if she’d ever visited Toronto and when she said “no” my grandmother invited her to visit before school started. We asked Erdie if it was okay for both of us to be off for a week and he said “sure” (though we kind of put him on the spot to be honest).
Soon, we were making plans to visit there the last week in August.
Tronna, here we come!
(Note: Canadians always know the tourists from the locals because they pronounce their City “Toronto” … Torontonians don’t say Tor-on-to in three syllables, but run it together as two syllables, Toronno, or even as one syllable, Tronna.)
We left on the Greyhound bus on Sunday, August 28th. There was no reason for me to drive – you really don’t need a vehicle in Toronto as there is mass transportation galore. You can ride everywhere on one fare by asking for transfers and great connections are available via the streetcar, subway or bus. My grandmother lived just off Dundas Street, where we could catch the streetcar to Downtown.
There was one pesky problem however.
When the Greyhound bus pulled into the terminal in Downtown Toronto after our four-hour bus trip, the driver announced that the TTC had gone on strike that day, the TTC being the Toronto Transit Commission which operates all mass transit in the City of Toronto. NOT great timing!
There were no taxis to be found to take us to Nanny’s house either – those drivers probably thought it would be more lucrative to wait for fares at the airport. Luckily, I had Nanny’s phone number memorized as we called her every Wednesday (after 7:00 p.m. – remember how the rates went down then?) Who says the brain has only so much memory … I still remember her phone number: Lennox 3-435-4346 and Nanny’s been gone 40 years.
My grandmother and aunt had great neighbors, a big circle of friends, but like them, no one had a car – they didn’t even know how to drive as they all relied on public transportation. So my grandmother, who worked in Downtown Toronto for years said “it’s easy, you and Leslie just find Lansdowne Street and keep walking – you know where to turn!” Well, we were young, we had been sitting on our bums for the last four hours, but it ended up being 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) to Nanny’s house and we were both toting heavy suitcases. Thankfully we were wearing flats!
We finally arrived at my grandmother’s house hours later, just in time for dinner.
Leslie took my photo on my grandmother’s front porch sitting on my suitcase; hers is to the left of me.
We relaxed and rallied back quickly and by the next morning, we were ready to hit up all the tourist attractions, some which I had not seen since before we moved to the States in 1966. We checked the newspaper to see if we could reserve tickets for any concerts that would be coming up at the Toronto Exhibition that week.
Then we were off, still on foot … in fact the TTC strike ended the day we left for home, the following Sunday, so in addition to any sightseeing on foot, we had that 5-mile roundtrip to the City and back to factor into each day.
Here are some of the places we visited that week.
Casa Loma.
I gleaned this info from Casa Loma’s website: “Completed in 1914, it took 300 men nearly three years to complete the almost 200,000 square foot, 98-room castle at a cost of $3,500,000 (at the time). Today, Casa Loma is one of Toronto’s top tourist attractions and hospitality venues. Each year over 650,000 visitors tour Casa Loma and the estate gardens.”
I remember going on a field trip to Casa Loma, either for school, or maybe an outing for our Brownie troop, while we still lived in Canada.
Unfortunately, there were renovations outside the castle, so there is some scaffolding in the photos. No selfies back then of course, but my Kodak Pocket Camera was so easy to use, I never hesitated to hand it to someone and ask them to take a photo. (Unfortunately we are a bit blurry here.)
All this walking made us hungry, so we stopped for lunch in Chinatown.
The CN Tower a/k/a “The Needle”.
Next we went to visit the newly completed CN Tower, a/k/a “The Needle”.
We went up to the top and had a bird’s eye view of the City. I did not change the photo from the top viewing area to black and white.
Canadian National Exhibition a/k/a “The Ex”.
We spent two days at “The Ex” which is how Torontonians abbreviate the name for the Canadian National Exhibition. We were lucky to get tickets for The Beach Boys and Chicago, so we visited this venue twice that week.
This photo was taken at the Princess Margaret Fountain at Exhibition Place which is where The Ex takes place every August through Labor Day.
There was plenty to see as it is like a huge county or state fair, with lots of rides, …
… an agricultural exhibit and loads of fair-type fare, especially a booth selling the famous hot ice cream waffle sandwiches like the vendor used to sell in Eaton’s Annex Tunnel. I remembered them from my childhood. Leslie and I figured we could indulge since we walked so much on our vacation.
We were lucky enough to see the tall ship Christian Radich docked at the shoreline and take a tour of that wooden sailing vessel.
Ontario Place.
We spent one day at Ontario Place, a waterfront park on Lake Ontario. This was a big tourist attraction, which has since been shut down. I had never been there as it was built after we moved over here in 1966.
The spherical building was called “The Cinesphere” and it was a huge movie theater.
I took a few photos of the Toronto skyline to show “The Needle” from different angles. (Either “The Needle” was listing, or I was!)
There was a lot to see at Ontario Place, so we were there until dusk.
Ontario Science Center.
We went to the Ontario Science Center one day, another new-to-me tourist attraction.
Leslie took this photo of me with Nanny and Aunt Frances.
All too soon, it was time to leave Nanny’s house, as we had to trek, one final time, with our suitcases in hand, to the bus station downtown. As mentioned earlier, the TTC strike was resolved later that day.
I had one last photo taken with Nanny in her backyard. The neighbor next door had many grapevines and made his own wine.
We arrived home Sunday evening; the next day was Labor Day. I started school at Wayne State University a couple of days later and it was back to just working at Carter’s weekends and school holidays.
And now I’m finally done stirring the memory pot for the year 1976. Looking ahead, 1977 was kind of a bust – it will be just one post and done. 🙂
I’ll have some pretty apricot and orange flowers for Terri’s Color Challenge and Flower Hour on Wednesday.
Summer is fading fast! I mean, how the heck did we get to Labor Day weekend already? Wasn’t it just Memorial Day, the unofficial gateway to Summer and now we’re at the unofficial gateway to Fall? Not that Summer wasn’t around heat and humidity-wise … whew!
I visited Emily Frank Gardens way back on June 12th – it was my first visit for 2026 and clearly, the Gardens were not ready for prime-time yet and no, it wasn’t because the steadfast group of “Garden Angels” was slacking off. This band of volunteers works tirelessly from March through November to keep the Trenton Cultural Center looking beautiful for anyone who happens by. They also maintain MacArthur Park’s pollinator gardens just down the road. Lest you think the group only tends beautiful perennials and annuals, they also plant, maintain and harvest a huge produce garden in which all produce is trucked over to local senior centers for those who might not get out to fresh farm markets – “growing to give” is their motto.
I knew as soon as I got to the Gardens, I had visited the venue way too early and I should have known better. We had an over-long Winter, a cool and rainy Spring and in the days just before Memorial Day, our meteorologists were warning those who planted in-ground flowers and veggies that those tender plants needed to be covered.
But, there are always things to see at the Gardens anyway, even in mid-June.
The days are already getting shorter – and, as I write this post the end of July, we’ve already seen our last 9:00 p.m. sunset. Yes, slowly we’re creeping toward Winter – ugh.
Good day sunshine!
In the middle of the Gardens is a sundial and …
… it displays the message “Count Not But Sunny Hours”. I’ve enlarged the top of the sundial below so you can see it better.
I’ve been going to Emily Frank Gardens for about five or six years now and I always thought it was just yard art, something interesting to plunk in the middle of all the beautiful blooms.
But, on a whim, while writing this post, I decided to Google the image and see if this sundial was the “real deal” and, to my surprise, I learned a few facts about sundials in the process.
Well, it certainly was sunny that afternoon …
… and I was getting warmish with my sunhat, long-sleeved sun protection clothing and my heavy fanny pack strapped around my middle, but I stopped to pose for myself anyway. 🙂
I saw the birdbath and yes, that cool water sure looked inviting … if you were bird-sized of course. I had already had a two-hour walk at Lake Erie Metropark before coming here.
A quick stroll around the area, found none of those tireless Garden Angels at work – in fact, it appeared they had departed for the day, a watering can where it was last used and flats of flowers awaited planting.
I knew I would be back as Summer stretched on (and on) and the flower beds would eventually be filled in, but surprisingly, I never made it back until late August when their Sunflowers were at peak.
In the meantime, things still looked a little sparse.
I strolled over to the Moonglow Garden. This is one of the venues in the annual Moonglow Garden Walk every year. Many white flowers are planted in one area of the Gardens. I am sure it is spectacular to see them on a moonlit night. Last year, I spotlighted the Moonglow Garden, albeit in the daytime, with this post.
These flowers were early bloomers in the Moonglow Garden, the beautiful White Asiatic Lilies and …
… this Zinnia.
There are various painted rocks and signs about the Moonglow Garden Club – this is one of them.
Stunning white flowers may be appreciated, but who can resist taking a photograph of a perfect rose?
I strolled over to the area beyond these gardens to see what else was there to photograph.
I saw this birdhouse, but no bird activity that I could see as I peered in.
I saw no real bunnies, just this cement bunny tucked amidst the Hostas.
I must have lost my touch with squirrels as this black squirrel saw me and scrambled up the nearest tree.
I’m sure St. Francis is watching over the critters that frequent the Gardens.
Once the Sunflowers arrive, there will be Goldfinches flitting around, alongside the bees and butterflies.
I’ll bet St. Francis was watching over that little ol’ House Sparrow as I was photographing my fine feathered friend posing on the heart-shaped wreath.
If wishes were fishes ….
By now, you have been scrolling through this post, past 20+ photos, perhaps wondering about the title “Oh Boy, Koi!”
The pond at the Gardens was filled with Koi and Pond Lilies as well. There were no blooms on the Lilies yet, just a single bud for now – the delicate flowers would emerge later in the Summer.
The Bald Eagle and Heron know enough to leave the Koi alone, despite my featured image photo to the contrary.
The pond and its small waterfall are very peaceful.
Who’s up for a little whimsy?
I always pop over to the Children’s Garden near the big red barn. There I saw these two whimsical fellows. I’m always up for a little whimsy for my blog since “WHIMSY” is part of the title.
This is the entrance to the barn. All Summer there are daily crafts for children to do and the barn also serves as a place to host art sessions for adults, like painting and they have a craft show here as the holidays near.
Just a wild guess here – fingerpainting must have been on a recent agenda at the art barn. I agree – hands down, this is the best venue to visit for color, beauty and a peaceful interlude to your day!
A final touch of whimsy … I’ve enjoyed experimenting with ink-and-wash paintings this Summer. I did this pond with Koi during a real hot spell when staying inside just made more sense than walking in the heat and humidity. Unfortunately, there have been way too many of those days.
I’m looking forward to cooler days to help boost my steps and images on the camera card!
Terri does not have a Challenge today due to the Labor Day holiday, so I will link this post to Terri’s Flower Hour tomorrow. It’s not much of a hike at this venue as it’s a street corner filled with flowers and veggies, but I’ll link to Pepper’s One Step at a Time Challenge as well.
Let’s just say that July in Southeast Michigan was truly nothin’ special. Like many of you across the U.S., we were subject to that heat dome that made us miserable the tail end of June and into the holiday weekend, only to deal with another heat wave about a week later. Already-searing temps kept soaring, with near-record highs of heat and humidity. Dewpoints were despicable and the weather site Michigan Storm Chasers quipped that the dewpoints were “downright disrespectful!”
It wasn’t just Summertime heat that had SE Michigan in a tizzy.
#1 – In the City of Detroit, just a dozen miles from where I live, on Thursday, July 16th, the City had the dubious honor of having the worst air quality in the world. We also had that exact same honor one day in the Summer of 2025. The Canadian wildfires were not the only source of our smoky skies – wildfires were also burning in Minnesota and in the Pacific Northwest.
#2 – The State of Michigan was breaking lots of records and we weren’t proud of this one either – the cyclospora outbreak was highest of any state right here in Michigan. Well, that got me wondering: do Michiganders eat more healthful food like salads, or are they frequenting Taco Bell more than weekly for Taco Tuesday – hmm. We retained that honor well into August. Yay us!
On July 22nd, I seized the day!
On Wednesday, July 22nd the smoky skies were now clear, the temps went down to below normal, the humidity and high dewpoints vanished and the weather folks predicted three or four days of stellar weather. I was ready to get out as I hadn’t walked in ten days.
We had dealt with many dry days in a row, but the night before, around 9:00 p.m., the predicted torrential rain arrived. It rained heavily for about 15-20 minutes and I checked how much rain we got … almost an inch. Well, that didn’t bode well for any trails that might now be muddy.
I decided to head to Lake Erie Metropark to check out the Osprey platform nest and see if I’d see any offspring peering out of the nest. I knew there were two chicks born in early June because I follow the Metropark Photographers group on Facebook and one photographer frequents this venue and had been showing “baby pictures” for weeks.
Well, he was lucky to see them. I had made a few visits to the nest in June, with just a handful of photos of an Osprey flying near the nest, or an adult peering out of the nest, nothing too remarkable.
To get to the nest, plus get in some much-needed steps, there are asphalt and cement paths, so no risk of muddy feet. I walked along Cove Point, past the marina, then continued on to the nest, located near the marina’s parking lot. I glanced upward as the sunny skies from moments earlier seemed to darken at ground level. There was no rain predicted, but boy, those clouds looked a bit ominous.
In the distance, I saw one Osprey on the pole, none in the nest. Probably the female waiting on her mate to bring home the family meal.
As the saying goes, “good things come to those who wait” and in short order, along came Papa, a fish clasped in his beak.
The sun continued to be conflicted … “should I stay or should I go?” On the positive side, at least I could gaze up at the nest and its inhabitant(s) without the sun in my eyes. On a sunny day, it is problematic, especially with my digital compact, point-and-shoot camera as all I see is my own reflection and that was the camera I was using today.
As Papa neared the nest, Mama shot me a steely gaze as if to say “I’m not sharing!”
Her stomach growling, Mama told Papa to “get a move on!”
Papa Osprey made a graceful landing, settling into the nest with his prize fish.
Moments later, Mama tore into that fish as you see below. Was that piece of fish in her beak destined for her or her offspring?
Satisfied he’d made the wife and kids happy, Papa left, soon soaring above the trees. I didn’t stick around as Mama was feeding her offspring and Papa may be gone awhile.
I started back toward Cove Point and the car. I was so tempted to stroll the Cherry Island Trail, hoping to see a fawn or two, but erred on the side of caution due to that torrential rain, plus a mosquito with West Nile Virus had been reported in my county the day before – sigh.
I tucked the camera in its pouch and got out my car keys. My next destinations would be Elizabeth Park and Dingell Park, staying on their respective boardwalks and cement walkways.
It’s a bird, it’s a plane ….
However, my plans took a detour moments later because, as I neared the parking lot, a vehicle pulled up, two women hopped out and each reached into the back seat and dragged out huge kites, one Batman shaped and one a Bald Eagle. The wind had picked up since my arrival an hour earlier. I later verified on Weather Underground that the gusts were clocked around 25 mph.
I watched the pair approach a picnic table, set a radio and their water bottles on top, then each proceeded to ready their respective kites for lift-off.
My interest was piqued – perhaps there were some photo ops here, so I asked if I would be in the way and if they would mind if I took photos. I remembered kite flying as a kid, running back and forth across the meadow and perhaps they wouldn’t want to be dodging me.
One woman said “no problem, just no pictures of me!” I assumed she spoke for both of them, so that wouldn’t be a problem for me, (although it would have been nicer to show how they manipulated the kites).
The woman with the Batman kite had it airborne in no time, its multiple tails streaming in the wind, hovering amidst the ever-brooding clouds. She controlled her kite with a plastic reel, skillfully reeling in the double set of strings, occasionally nudging the kite to a different position by directing it with a flick of her wrist.
She told me they come to this location in the park to fly their kites as it is the windiest area of the park since it is right on Lake Erie.
Soar like an eagle!
The other woman, the one who was camera-shy, had the Bald Eagle kite and, as to getting that kite to stay airborne, she did not fare as well. Initially, it started climbing …
… getting higher and higher …
…. but soon thereafter, to coin a familiar phrase “the Eagle has landed.” But not in a good way.
The strings were tangled up and, unlike her friend, she did not use a reel, so she spent about 15 minutes untangling the strings and got the kite airborne for a few minutes, when a hefty gust of wind brought the kite down slamming it into the water. She had to crawl over the massive boulders, to fish it out, but announced it was not damaged, despite needing to drag it out of the seaweed and over some rocks.
The Eagle kite seemed none the worse for the wear and soon was in the sky again.
I said goodbye to the women and driving out of Lake Erie Metropark, I glanced over at the satellite fire station on the outskirts of the park and saw two Osprey were in residence. I always look going in/out of the park every time I’m here, so I was happy to see the pair and I scrambled out of the car to take some photos.
Longtime readers may remember a few years ago I saw the nest, which the Osprey have built atop the fire station’s siren and did a post or two about them. They nest there every year and yes, the fire station turns off the sirens while they are living there.
So, still another detour in my plans, but I stopped and parked and got a few shots of these Osprey. I haven’t a clue if there are offspring in the nest here. I had to crane my neck to get these shots, which are not particularly great.
I wanted you to see the nest.
When I zoomed in, a head popped up, likely the adult, Mama?
There’s always a pleasant greeting for me – NOT! No matter was Osprey nest I am photographing, if I’m not facing glares and surly attitudes, they turn their backs to me. I don’t take it personally. 🙂
Well I waited long enough to get a profile shot, then I was outta there and on to my next two parks, a long day indeed by the time I got home, many hours and many steps after I left. Posts on those treks will be down the road.
I am not joining Terri’s Sunday Stills Photo Challenge: “Beaches” but will contribute to her “Flower Hour” on Wednesday. I’m also joining Pepper’s Hiking Challenge “One Step at a Time”.
Linda Schaub
