(How I love alliteration!) This morning just didn’t go right from the get go. I got up and heard the weather report – yes … it was foggy, just as predicted, and yes … it would clear up, maybe mid-morn if we were lucky. I was grateful, once again, that I had seized those two sunny days last weekend and claimed them for a marathon walking-and-photo-taking session.
I peered out the front door around 8:45 a.m. and the pavement was still damp and the trees and bushes had water droplets on them. I came back to the computer and noticed I lost my internet connection while I was away – great. Actually, I was not done, and was still responding to comments to yesterday’s post, so that was just plain annoying. I decided to just shut it down and go, but there were eight updates. Would I ever get going out into the murky morn? Finally, almost an hour later, the updates were done and I decided I should hightail it before the computer gremlins made even more mischief. I grabbed a couple of Ziploc bags of peanuts and headed out.
There was only one other person at Council Point Park and that was Todd, the weekend jogger. I saw his car, yet I never saw him on the path. I looked around for squirrels and they were similarly absent, even Parker. Did the dregs of the fog deter them from coming down from their nests for a visit?
I started along the trail and the asphalt was still wet from Friday’s rain and then the subsequent fog. Surprisingly, since it was 35 degrees, there was a thin veil of ice on the Creek and black ice on the pathway. I felt my feet slide a few times, so I thought it might be more prudent to walk on the soggy grass. My sudden movement raised the hackles of a half-dozen Canada geese and a couple of them got rowdy and flapped their wings, and one even hissed with its bright pink tongue aimed in my direction. They then decided I wasn’t worth the aggravation of ganging up on me and stopped their collective hissy fit. “Wait a minute! I meant no harm and I’m certainly not intruding in your space” I growled to none of them in particular, but they waddled off in a huff anyway.
A group of crows were high above and cawing loudly – they were making quite a ruckus, and, despite the tree branches being bare, I didn’t see a single crow so I had no idea where they were, or what was getting them so agitated.
Harry, the resident heron, was up in a tree. He was positioned way inside the dead branches, and there was no use in pulling out the camera to take his picture as he just blended into the tree’s dead wood, so the dull sky and his blue-gray body just became one big blur. “You’ve off the hook Harry – no photo sessions today!” I called out as I passed him.
I had to walk almost the entire loop before the word got out that the Peanut Lady had arrived and was looking for takers, then the word spread quickly because soon there were furry bodies scrambling all over the path, and headed toward me. Parker was not in the bunch so he must have been slacking up in his nest. “That’s better” I told them as I tossed out peanuts, and added “I was hoping I didn’t have to summon you down!”
I emptied most of the Ziploc bags with the eight squirrels, but had to save some peanuts for the other side in case any squirrels were over there. There were none, and, unbelievably I walked in that second loop without seeing a single soul, human or otherwise.
I wanted to spotlight another memorial tree today. You’ll recall back on November 23rd I wrote about Brian Skinner’s memorial tree which had not one, but two, Christmas wreaths, both in a red-and-white color combo. One wreath had a hockey theme so Brian might have been a Red Wings fan, or “wing nut” as they are called. It was very festive.
There is only one other tree at Council Point Park that sports Christmas décor and it belongs to Earl “Butch” Paryaski.
Every year this tree is decorated with old-fashioned glass bulbs and nostalgic-looking ornaments. I picked today to mention this memorial tree since Mr. Paryaski passed away 15 years ago on this date and tomorrow would have been his 79th birthday. I found out his information simply by Googling his name and landing on the “Find a Grave” site.
These ornaments sure do shimmer against a gray and lackluster background don’t they?
lindasschaub
