As the snow flies.

Posted on March 9, 2018 by Linda Schaub

ducky1

I suited up for a walk after a quick peek out the front door confirmed there was no snow, despite predictions for more of the white stuff.  So, I got ready in record time, grabbed the camera and peanuts, then laced up my hiking boots, only to open the door about twenty minutes later and discover delicate snowflakes twinkling down from the sky.  “You’ve got to be kidding!” I said to no one in particular.  I could have just thrown on half of what I was wearing and slipped into my shoes to run the car a few minutes, then scurry back into the house.  So, I grumbled a bit more and decided all the effort in anticipation of a walk would not be for naught.

Going to Council Point Park from my house is a rather convoluted jaunt.  There are twists and turns in the road, so that wending my way down through the neighborhoods to the beginning of the walking trail is nearly a mile, according to the pedometer.  Maybe it’s shorter as the crow flies, but it’s impossible to make a straight run there, as there are several dead end roads. Google maps will tell you it is a .8 mile-long trip, but that’s just to reach River Drive, and then you have to hike clear across the large parking lot, then past the pavilion area, before you even get to the start of the walking path.  It’s worth the trip, but I didn’t want to get there and have to cut my walk short like yesterday.

Along the way, the intensity of the snowflakes picked up with most of them settling neatly into the cracks in the sidewalks, but it wasn’t slippery, so I continued on.  Once at the Park, I noticed the snowflakes had similarly drifted and settled into cracks in the asphalt, or formed a white outline along the path itself.  I was glad I didn’t turn back – a few snow flurries and no worries.

It was a little blustery and the temperature was 28 degrees.  Despite the cold, Parker and his pals were back and I doled out peanuts and sweet-talked them a little, then gently chastised the whole bunch for being lazy and staying up in their respective nests yesterday.  Unfortunately, my words fell on deaf ears because as soon as the peanuts were scattered on the ground, the squirrels glommed onto them and I moved on.

I saw a half-dozen Canada geese grazing, and, I would not have even noticed them, since their brownish/gray plumage blends right into the drab and blah landscape at the Park right now.  What I did see was those sleek black heads bobbing up and down as they grazed on grass with their brethren.  Just like yesterday, those geese were keeping a low profile and they paid me no mind as I strolled by them.

Today, the ducks were making a racket with their quacking, which, since the Park is so peaceful in the early morning, the cacophony of duck chatter and quacks tends to echo throughout the narrow Ecorse Creek passage.

Sometimes it even sounds like raucous laughter to me.

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Not all mallards were creating a stir, however.

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Some were placidly paddling along, sometimes dipping their beaks or submerging their heads in the icy-cold water.

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Occasionally, one duck would go vertical, and all you saw was tail feathers sticking out of the water.  Obviously the cold water holds much appeal for them.  I felt a shiver rack my body while watching those ducks, despite my having donned nine pieces of clothing to go on this walk.

The mallards are welcome to their icy dip – I know for them, it’s all that it is quacked up to be.

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Easy Glider.

Posted on March 8, 2018 by Linda Schaub

EASY GLIDER HEADER

I’m weary of Winter and over-wary of ice, so this morning’s dry pavement beckoned me to venture out.  Even that small sliver of sun in the sky made the wicked wind chill not seem so bad.

Although snow was predicted for three days in a row, on Tuesday and Wednesday, the northern ‘burbs got socked with a lot of snow, and we just had a wintry precip.

The car needed a little run, so I figured I’d roll past Council Point Park to see if anyone was on the trail, because that meant the perimeter path was not ice-covered and slick.  I saw one guy running, so I pulled into the parking lot and figured I’d give it a go, feeling confident as I was wearing my lug-soled hiking boots because I didn’t want to end up as an “Easy Slider”.

There was no peanut pal welcoming committee as I arrived, so I don’t know if they figured I’d abandoned them, or merely decided to stay tucked in their cozy nests.  I presume the latter and I really couldn’t blame them with the 25-degree air temperature and a biting wind chill in the teens.  I even took out a Ziploc bag of peanuts and jiggled it vigorously to entice them, but there still were no takers, not even Parker who usually is at the head of the pack.  Ah, well … I just slipped those peanuts back in my pocket until tomorrow, or for this sunny weekend the weather folks are promising us.

I’m still not totally “de-burred” from Sunday’s brush with the burrs by the water’s edge.  I was forced to pluck each pesky piece of burr from my wool gloves with a pair of tweezers, but evidently some tiny remnants still remain, since every so often I feel a little stab in the pads of my fingers.  Next time I’ll pay more attention to my surroundings before heading willy-nilly through the swamp grass!

I was the only person at the Park since the runner left just as I was walking to the pavilion area.  I saw this Canada goose gliding gracefully at the Creek.  I followed its journey along the water’s edge.  One time it looked right at me and briefly I wondered if it was going to take an attitude, like the swan the other day, but then it turned around and just paddled along, seemingly oblivious to my presence.

EASY BLIDER - HI

I could not help but notice how its sleek black head was moving in a back-and-forth motion, as if those jerky movements would help to propel its body forward.  It was as if it was paddling along in sync to music – hmm,  a groovin’ goose!

You can see at the photo up top, how the water was parting behind this goose as it paddled along at a fairly good clip.  There were no ducks or other geese this morning, so it was quite a blissful walk at the Park, with the only noises being the occasional birdsong or the Downy woodpecker drilling into his favorite tree.

Just as I was enjoying the ambiance and the very faint appearance by the sun, the sleet started.  At first it was just a few specks of icy pellets which stung my nose and cheeks and pinged off my eyeglasses.  I picked up the pace a bit, but then those icy pellets began to fly in earnest.  So, I cut my walk short, hightailed it across the grass and headed for the parking lot.  I arrived home with the car tucked into the garage just as the sleet started going sideways.

So, I added about 1 ½ miles to my 2018 tally and gained some ruddy-looking cheeks as well.

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Me and my shadow.

Posted on March 5, 2018 by Linda Schaub

03-05-18

Today’s weather was the best of the bunch as to upcoming days this week.  When I left the house, it was 25 degrees with northeast winds blowing at 15 mph.  It was brisk and breezy and by the time I got to Council Point Park, that stinging cold left my eyes watering, and my nose running like a sieve, but hey – the sun was out!

I saw that portions of the Creek had a very delicate film of ice on top, which always reminds me of pudding as it starts to cool,  you know … that very fine skin that happens when it starts to harden from the air or fridge.

There were no big birds today – at large were the heron, geese and that cantankerous male swan who had it in for me yesterday (for no apparent reason).

The songbirds were singing their hearts out, glad for those early sun rays.

This is the last week before Daylight Saving Time begins on Sunday, so back to a later departure time for the walk.  And, unfortunately, we have a week of undesirable weather … an inch of snow tonight and a wintry rainy/snow mix for the rest of the week.  At least, now that it is March, the snow won’t stick around for long, but it is still an annoyance.

So, I made the best of my trip to the Park today.  It was so sunny that I couldn’t resist acting like a kid when I saw my shadow as I stopped along the trail to tender peanuts to my favorite squirrel.  Even better, there was Parker, contently munching on his peanut, sitting companionably close by, just like a faithful family dog.  I decided we both looked kind of gargantuan in our respective shadows, and, on a whim, I turned to my furry little friend and said “Parker, I am starting to look roly poly like you in this heavy coat, my pockets brimming with peanuts and stuffed with a pair of gloves.”  No reply – he played it smart and did not agree with his benefactor.

Before I left the Park I made some droppings on the picnic table – half a Ziploc bag of peanuts to tide the squirrels over for a day, or two, or three … if they’re smart, they’ll tuck them away for a rainy day, because it looks like we will have plenty of those on the horizon.

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Brr, burrs and birds.

Posted on March 4, 2018 by Linda Schaub

bench with snow

 

What a beautiful day we had today!  A perfect weather weekend with two days of sunshine in a row.  Yesterday, I only walked laps in the snow at Memorial Park because I thought it would be too icy at Council Point Park.   But today I waited until it was above freezing to go out, so I did not have to fear the dreaded black ice on the perimeter path.

It was 33 degrees when I departed the house, but a little blustery.

Earlier in the morning, I had divvied up three large bags of peanuts into Ziploc pouches and I could faintly detect the smell of fresh peanuts wafting from those bags that were stuffed into the cargo pockets of my squall jacket.  All I needed was my furry friends to come eat them, and right at the get-go, there were takers.

After Thursday’s messy weather combo of rain which morphed into wet snow, our official tally is 57.7 inches of snow this year.  The average amount for the same time period is 34.2 inches.  As I neared the cement landing, I was surprised to see just how high the Ecorse Creek has risen as a result of all the snow and torrential rain we’ve been having.  This photo shows the water rising almost to the top of the cement landing.  Usually the ducks seek shelter under the landing in this storm sewer area, but, I guess at this rate of quickly rising water, they’d better duck, or they’ll likely bump their heads on the cement.

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Much of Council Point Park was still covered in snow.

snow in park

The stiff breeze was rippling the water in places.  I managed to walk at least halfway through the first looped pathway before I encountered ice and snow on the path – no problem, I just walked alongside the path on the snow.

icy path

Here I saw two Canada geese waddling around looking for a good spot to graze, and occasionally dipping their beak into a snow-covered area.  However, they were good sports about letting me take their picture – usually I get the wing-flapping and hissing (even with the pink tongue flapping away), but they cooperated today.  Give them a few more months, when the goslings are in tow, and they won’t be fit to be around.

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While scoping out the elusive heron, who was not hiding in any of the weathered old trees, nor fishing in the water for his brunch, I saw a large flash of white in the sky, then heard two big splashes in the water.  I knew it wasn’t geese as they usually honk incessantly when they are coming in for a landing, so I double-backed and scurried to the other end of the path, hurriedly doling out a few peanuts to a couple of my squirrel pals who were at my heels trying to keep up with me.

Just as I suspected, there were two beautiful mute swans in the water.  One was much smaller, so I guess they were mates.

two swans far

I zoomed in and got a few nice shots of them from afar… the one looks cross-eyed here.

two swans semi

I wanted to get some close-up photos, but the crunch, crunch, crunch of the icy snow under my hiking boots alerted them to my presence right away.  Interestingly, they both came close to the Creek bank where I was standing, occasionally dipping their slender necks into the water.  I wondered how their feathers could be so white with such murky water to swim in and drink from.

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The larger swan came right within a few feet of the bank where I was standing, repeatedly making snorting noises.  I didn’t particularly pay attention to those loud snorts; after all, he had been submerging his head in the water.  Unlike her uncouth counter-part, the smaller swan was behaving in a lady-like manner … no snorting noises from her.

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I must have really piqued the large swan’s interest, as suddenly, he used his huge, black webbed feet to climb up the edge of the Creek bank for an up-close-and-personal-look at the woman who was so intrigued with him.  His head was down, and his mouth was open, and I had to back up pretty quickly, while keeping my eyes trained on him and that very long orange beak.  He was really snorting loudly, and by now I was out of the marshy area and onto the snowy grass.  With the camera in my right hand, I quickly dug into my left pocket and fished out a half-dozen or so peanuts and tossed them onto the ground.  I remembered how that mute swan enjoyed the peanuts the day I was at Dingell Park.

He ambled toward them and away from me, and, with his long neck stretched over, beak opened wide, he grabbed one.  Whew!

swan eating peanuts

But, despite his treat, I was not going to get away so easily as he gave a huge snort, and sent a dirty look my way.

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I beat a hasty retreat and never looked back!

(When I sat down at the computer tonight, I Googled “what type of sounds do mute swans make?”  Since, their moniker is “mute swan”, I was curious – perhaps they make no noises.  I discovered when mute swans are agitated, they make a snorting or hissing noise.  I listened to the audio – yup, that was it!  https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Mute_Swan/sounds …)

Needless to say, I was happy to be on the perimeter path again and breathed a sigh of relief when a couple of squirrels came running over … squirrels I can handle, the swan not so much.

I remembered to check up into the tree where the rat was hanging by its tail and I sure was happy to discover it is now gone.  So the mystery remains how it got up there, and where did it go?  We may never find out.

While my gaze was focused on scanning the bare trees for signs of the rodent, I heard a lot of quacking.  The trees partially blocked my view, but I could see at least a dozen drakes coming in for a landing on the surface of the Creek.  I edged closer to the bank to get a photo, but once again, my boots pressed into the icy snow, and those ducks were immediately skittish.  They dispersed, darting this way and that, first to the left …

left ducks.jpg

… then to the right …

right ducks

… then they finally regrouped once I hid behind a tree.

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Pretty clever on my part I thought – it was duck soup!   Those mallards, all males, except one, were quite a sight to see, their iridescent green heads glinting in the sunlight.

I took several shots of the ducks, when out of the corner of my eye I could see one insistent squirrel chomping at the bit for some peanuts.  It was Parker, who didn’t nab me when I first got there and soon he was stepping on the toe of my boot, so I reached into my pocket, without taking my eye from the camera, and I felt something prickly in my fingerless gloves.  I looked down to find burrs were hanging off my coat where I’d traipsed through the swamp grass to get a better view of the swans.

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I had to peel those fingerless gloves off and shove them into another pocket, so I didn’t get burrs mixed into the peanuts, nor around the camera lens.  Of course Parker was impatient as I dug around for some peanuts after messing with all my paraphernalia.  Finally, I appeased him.

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The sun might have been shining, but it wasn’t really warm enough for bare hands – so it was brr and burrs as a result of birds!

After a glorious walk in the Park, I got home with a sunny disposition, four miles walked and believe it or not – burrs in my britches!

burrs in britches.jpg

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March came in roaring …

Posted on March 1, 2018 by Linda Schaub

March

… and it must have laryngitis by now since it is has been roaring since early this morning.

Unbelievably, yesterday we were enjoying Spring-like temperatures.  We reached 59 degrees in late afternoon, with weathermen crowing about #Pure Michigan, the slogan for the advertising campaign used to lure tourists to the Mitten State.

February 28th

After finally reaching a record high of 60 degrees, things went downhill very quickly.

In the wee hours of the morn, torrential rain began, which continued until afternoon when the rain suddenly morphed into heavy, wet snow.

March 1st forecast

We’ve had about an inch of snow an hour, even thunder snow and lightening, and an icy mess will ensue tomorrow after the snow machine finally winds down later tonight.

My agenda tomorrow morning won’t be a walk in the Park, tripping along the perimeter path and passing out peanuts to the squirrels, but instead, I’ll be dusting off the shovel once again and getting myself in gear to hoist and heft that heavy snow.

Hopefully this weekend, I’ll get a chance to sneak down to my favorite nature nook, if the perimeter path is not still slickened over with ice and snow.

You know that I’m silently cursing the Groundhog …

[Images from Click on Detroit]

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Tuesday Musings.

Posted on February 27, 2018 by Linda Schaub

Low tech versus high tech is on my mind for this week’s Tuesday Musings.

Since last Tuesday, when I was bemoaning about whacking my knee after running into the wooden trim on the couch, (said couch which has been in that corner for four decades), I had a low-tech “fail” that is worth sharing.

This little gem was my landline speakerphone, which sits near my left elbow, and is handy for when my boss dictates on the fly, or, when I’m on hold, thus eliminating the need to sit with the receiver crunched in between my neck and shoulder for long periods of time.  The phone is from Radio Shack, which filed for bankruptcy and finally went out of business last year.

I don’t know how long the phone was broken as I don’t make that many outgoing calls.  I had spoken to my boss three times last Wednesday as we had a few matters in the hopper and were quite busy.  Later in the day, I went to make an outgoing call, picked up the receiver and a pitiful little squeak was all I heard when I pushed each of the numbered buttons.  There was a dial tone, so I did a low-tech fix and pulled out the port in the wall and in the phone, and tried again.  Nothing.  Later that evening, I read the manual’s troubleshooting section, which said to make sure the button is set to “tone” and not “pulse” … no chance of that button moving on its own since the controls are under the four batteries, and require at least two eating utensils from the cutlery drawer to pry that battery cover off.  But, I checked anyway.  I wrangled the battery plate off, checked the button, which was in the middle, but I took the knife to move the button over just a smidge, and suddenly the button popped off and flew through the air.  “Well, wasn’t that special!” I muttered.

So, until I get a new speakerphone, I have two phones – one next to me for incoming calls, and one across the table to dial out.

Meanwhile, my friend Evelyn upgraded to a new cellphone over the weekend.  We text back and forth quite a bit.  I text from my computer to her phone and she uses her phone to text back.  Her fingers fly over her phone’s QWERTY keyboard and she matches me in speed … except now with her new cellphone, I can only text her 36 characters at a time, even though she may text unlimited characters to me.  Thus, it is a one-sided conversation most of the time as I try be less wordy (which has never been my strong point).  I like simplicity in my life, but reducing my thoughts to 36 characters is pretty darn tough.

What was NOT tough was my walk this morning … another gorgeous day, though I hear the trio of beautiful February days we were promised, may just fall short tomorrow.  The March 1st weather forecast is still looking very ugly, with a couple of inches of rain, followed by snow.

It was the epitome of peace at Council Point Park today.  There were some more new walkers there, and each one, just like me, was immersed in their own thoughts and just enjoying the solitude of a brisk walk in this nature nook.

The squirrels were playing tag with one another, but came running over as I entered the trail.  I pictured them with a thought bubble over their head “Linda’s here!” as they race over to get their treats.  I was still chuckling to myself while thinking about their mindset, when I noticed a pile of shelled peanuts in the middle of the perimeter path.  Hmm – now there’s a luxury from a new benefactor.  I adore my squirrel buddies at the Park and sometimes believe I could claim them as dependents on my income tax with all the peanuts I dole out.  I figured I was treating them royally with jumbo, unsalted peanuts in the shell.  Now they’ll be really spoiled – I hope it doesn’t go to their heads!

I lost count of how many robins crossed my path and the sweet tweets of the songbirds filled the air.  I heard more than one red-winged blackbird calling from their perch in the tall trees, all noises that were soothing to the soul.  The slight rat-a-tat-tat of a tiny downy woodpecker, drilling away in his favorite tree, was the only noise disturbing the tranquil morn.  My head swiveled around trying to locate that industrious little fellow, but he was elusive as usual.  Even the mallards and geese were playing nice, placidly floating along the surface of the water and not raucous as they usually are.  The heron was in his usual corner, busy fishing and paid me no mind, so I gave him a break and left the camera in my pocket.

The usual cast of characters, whether feathered or furry, were present and accounted for, except the bunnies, which I’ve not seen in months.  The regular walkers have still not returned, perhaps still mall-walking or doing the treadmill at home or in a club for now.

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Febulous!

Posted on February 26, 2018 by Linda Schaub

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February’s weather has been a real smorgasbord, between the record-high or low temperatures and the gargantuan snow and rain events.  As we creep toward the end of this shortest month of the year, we have a trio of sunny and mild days to enjoy before March arrives in lion-like fashion.  Yup, the early prediction for March 1st has two different weathermen uttering the “S” word – yes “snow” has tumbled from their lips, because two to four inches of snow is on the way!

But, this February day was fabulous, thus my new word I coined above.

All of a sudden, the days are so much longer.  Sunrise was at 7:12 a.m. today and that bright sunshine gave me a chance to get in an extra mile on a weekday.  Of course, all that good stuff will end when we go to Daylight Savings Time on March 11th and return to darker mornings for a while.

The sun made me feel good and I watched my shadow as I strode purposely to the Park.  I wended my way down Pagel Avenue, stewing over whether the rodent would still be hanging by its long tail on the twig in the tall tree.  I wondered if I should call the City to have one of the Department of Public Service workers come with a tall ladder or a cherry picker to retrieve that rodent?

And then I saw him … no, not Parker, or any one of the other peanut pals, but a policeman sitting in his patrol vehicle, monitoring the Park, as they sometimes do, just for a police presence.  I walked past the patrol car and his head was bent down, so I passed by … then, on a whim, decided to go back.  With my bag of peanuts in one hand in anticipation of a squirrel waylaying me, I went to the driver’s side and he rolled down the window.  He was young and gave me a big smile.  I’ll bet this was his easiest task of the day hearing my tale, especially after I prefaced the story with “please don’t think I’m strange to tell you this, but ….”  I relayed the rodent story and asked if he thought it would be wise to contact the DPS to have them take it away because of the germs and disease that rats carry?  I also asked if there were any similar incidents he’d heard of.  He smiled and said “no, I’ve not heard anything like that and I think it is a beautiful and safe park and you shouldn’t worry at all.”   I thanked him and told him to have a good day, then walked up to the pavilion area.

Hungry squirrels rushed right over and I doled out peanuts quickly as I saw a walker – another new face to me, headed in the same direction as I was going.  We commented on the nice weather, and, when we neared that tree, I pointed up and said “look up there!”  (I wanted another opinion on the rodent story. )  He did a double take – yup, he also was puzzled, but said it looked like someone hung it there, then suggested it might even be fake, as a predator bird would have grabbed it by now, but added “how the heck did someone climb way up there?”  “My thoughts exactly!!!” I said.

I’m not going to dwell on it anymore, but you can bet I’ll look up there, out of the corner of my eye, every day when I pass.

Going forward,  I hope I only see cute and furry critters like this squirrel, who tucked himself up in the tree to enjoy his peanut in peace.

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Hold onto your hats everybody!

Posted on February 25, 2018 by Linda Schaub

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Just like everything else this Winter season, Mother Nature has done nothing in moderation, and today was no different.

After still more rain last night, we started the day off rocking and rolling with 40 mph wind gusts.  I knew before I went to bed last night that a morning walk was not in the cards.  It is all open spaces at Council Point Park, especially now with the bare trees and bushes.  So, I bided my time to avoid a “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore” moment.

Finally, at 11:30 the wind subsided a bit and I headed out.  Though the wind was about 20 mph, gusting to 25 mph, because I am bullheaded, I was not going to pass up a sunny Sunday just because of a little wind.  I used the big tree across the street to gauge the wind velocity; it was bending and swaying a little … “a little” being the operative words here.

Before leaving, I secured my chullo hat by safety-pinning the straps to my turtleneck sweater as I didn’t want to be chasing it along the perimeter path once I got down to the Park.  As long-time subscribers to this blog know, I’ve had one woolen cap blow off and I chased it down the street as it somersaulted along ‘til it hit a murky-looking puddle.  Still another woolen hat went airborne, sailed over the water and snagged onto a gnarly old tree that bends across the Creek, so it now belongs to whatever critter, probably a squirrel and his missus, who likely use it as a cozy blanket to line their nest all Winter.

Speaking of nests, it amazes me just how solid and sturdy those critters’ nests really are, from the tiniest bird nest in a sapling …

SMALL TREE

… to a squirrel or crow’s nest atop the tallest tree.  The wind may blow and blow, and those nests always stay put.  Very rarely do you see a nest that has tumbled to the ground.

I know all of you are dying to know if the “creature” was still hanging from its tail up in the tree.  I must confess it creeped me out so much yesterday, and, given the gusty winds today, I avoided that part of the perimeter path, and instead made a detour through the grassy area and later connected to the trail.  Okay, call me a scaredy-cat, but I was not having a rodent, suspended by its tail from a thin twig, drop to the ground during a big gust of wind.  What if it landed on me?  I have enough worries when the geese do a flyover and I am bareheaded.  I always hope they miss me … if you know what I mean.

Tomorrow, when those winds are much calmer, I will stray back over to that tree again.  I still want to know why a predator bird did not see the rodent and take it “to go” … I hope to find it gone tomorrow.

Today, the squirrels remained tucked in their nests, even Parker.  I wonder why?  Perhaps they are afraid of shimmying down the tree trunk when the wind is so gusty?  Or, perhaps the two men who also feed the squirrels arrived earlier than me.  I was the only person on the trail today and much later than my usual time.  I left some peanuts on the picnic table as a sign of life that I’d been there.  The wind shouldn’t push them off the table top as there are ridges and grooves between the wooden boards to line them up.

The  mallards were not bothered by the wind at all, except those ruffled feathers from a particularly gusty puff of air, or, from a fellow mallard who swam too close and infiltrated their brethren’s personal space.  Loud quacking then ensues.  The geese were similarly a no-show, and the old heron I believe was tucked away somewhere, evading me as he believes I’ve become too intrusive with my picture-taking of him lately.

I got four miles done today, some steps by my own two feet, and still others as I rolled like a giant tumbleweed along the pathway.

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Numb and number.

Posted on February 24, 2018 by Linda Schaub

Bench

Last Sunday’s walk in the still-snowy Park left me quite giddy.  It was a beautiful, sunshiny day, I walked five miles and took lots of photos which I used in Sunday’s blog post.

The following day, the rain clouds gathered in earnest and a week of incessant rain began.

I got drenched in Monday’s walk, stayed close to home for Tuesday’s trek, Wednesday and Friday were total washouts, and Thursday morning, finally a dry day, was delegated for errands.

It was a week that seemed to get progressively worse as each day passed … and, I don’t just mean the weather.

The national news was not any better, with the aftermath of the Florida shootings taking precedence in the headlines – you’ve read about them too … they made me numb.

The local news was jam-packed with tales of flooding and potholes.  On Thursday, the high school I attended had a massive no-show of students, after rumors ran rampant of a threat of a copycat Florida school shooting.  Later that same day, there were a barricaded gunmen in a Chinese restaurant a mile from my home.  The latter two incidents just made me number.

We were incredibly busy at work this week, and, I told myself that even if it rained this morning, I was going to escape the news of the world, and the confines of the house, to head to Council Point Park for a long walk to reboot my brain.

Well, it didn’t rain this morning, but the sky was very overcast, and it was dreary and dismal looking as I headed out.

Enroute to the Park, I could not help but notice these pretty snowdrops under a big tree.  Every year, they are the first flowers in the neighborhood to poke through the soil.  Their appearance makes me think that Spring cannot be that far off.

Snowdrops

Once at the Park, I was surprised to find a few piles of snow in the parking lot, which somehow lingered, despite Tuesday’s mild weather and those multiple bouts of torrential rain.   While I stole a glance at those snow piles, along came a trio of my furry friends, beating a path to meet me.  They didn’t even wait for me to get to the pavilion area.  I hustled them out of the parking lot in case a car came along, then led them over to the water fountain.  After sprinkling out some peanuts, a feeding frenzy soon ensued.  I took out the camera since they were busy eating and got a few pictures, then moseyed along.

Feeding Frenzy at the Fountain

As you can see in the photo at the top of this post, the Creek is now flowing again, with no surface ice.  The docks are no longer embedded in the ice, nor are they covered in snow.

Dock no snow

I stopped in my tracks as I heard a red-winged blackbird singing from the top of this tall tree.  He was easy to spot between the bare branches, his black body silhouetted against the gray sky.  Even by zooming in, I could not get the red and yellow stripes on his wing to stand out.  But, what I could see, was this songbird’s slight fluttering of his wings and throat pulsing each time he trilled his notes.  It reminded me of Summer when these birds are in nearly every tree in the marshy area of the Creek.

Bird in tree1

I saw Parker, my favorite squirrel, or, maybe I should say he saw me first, as I was trying to take some pictures of the red-winged blackbird.  He announced his arrival, since my focus was on taking the picture, by scurrying over to the toe of my boot as he awaited his peanuts.  Of course, I had to take his picture …

Parker1

… and then, I got a second pose from Parker.  Who could resist such a wistful look that seemed to say “pretty please, could I get my peanuts now?”

Parker1-pretty please

Of course, once you start doling out peanuts, from their perch high up in a tree, or across the walking loop, suddenly all eyes are focused on goodies, like this squirrel, who wanted to know “what’s happening over there?”

Squirrel standing up

I saw Todd, the weekend jogger, way over on the other side of the loop and decided to take his picture since I always mention him in my blog posts.  If you look closely in the background on the left-hand side, Mr. Heron has settled himself into a tree, a different weathered tree than last weekend.

Todd and heron in the background

I walked to the end of the cement landing to get a better look.  Last Sunday I got a flattering picture of him, but he doesn’t look as good today – that bird either had his head tucked under his wing, or has some serious bed head!

 

Heron

I got back on the trail and noticed a dog walker glancing up at a tree.  Even at a distance, I could tell the woman seemed transfixed by what she saw.  Being the inquisitive person that I am, I was going to see what she was checking out, but she nabbed me first.  She said “look up there – does it look like what I think it is?”  I took one look and shook my head in agreement.  She took the words out of my mouth by saying “why is a rat or a mouse hanging by its tail on a tree branch?”  Hmmm.  No one else happened by to help analyze this rather spooky mystery with us.  We surmise the rodent climbed up to the top of the tree, and maybe went into some critter’s nest … but then what happened?  And, yes, in case you were wondering … it was real and it was definitely dead as a doornail.  I hope those gusty winds the weatherman is predicting for tomorrow doesn’t make the branch  break off when I’m walking by.

Rat

After a half-hour of chatter, we finally introduced ourselves and were discussing this and that while Biggy, who was growing increasingly bored, kept straining at his leash, occasionally shooting me a look of disdain for holding up his walk and squirrel-chasing efforts.

Biggy.jpg

I know Biggy didn’t quite know what to make of me, and meanwhile Christine and I didn’t know what to make of this scene.  We finally parted, going in opposite ways on the trail.

I decided it was a trifecta for critters-in-the-trees activity.

It might have been a gray day, but not awfully bad for the last weekend in February.  My mission was accomplished:  five miles walked, brain aired out and ready to take on the world again.

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Tuesday Musings.

Posted on February 20, 2018 by Linda Schaub

 

close up planner page

It was 58 degrees when I left on my walk this morning.  I was glad for that brief respite in the unrelenting rain, which started coming down in sheets shortly after I parked myself in front of my computer on Monday morning.  Luckily, Mother Nature finally turned the spigot off around 8:30 a.m., so I seized that opportunity to get out and get some steps in.  One minute the rain was just pounding on the patio roof, then suddenly that sound was reduced to a light pitter patter, then nothing.  Without the noise of raindrops in the background, I heard the twitters and murmurings of the sparrows who were huddling together, lined up along the bedroom window ledges underneath the patio roof, just as they always do when they seek shelter from a soaking rain.

We’ve had two inches of rain since early Monday afternoon and the weather folks tell us this translates to 20-24 inches of snow.  Well, I for one, am thankful it is not snow; that 9.2-inch Snowmageddon on February 9th was quite enough thank you.  This continuous pouring rain makes you think it might be ark-building time.

Unlike yesterday, I was not willing to rely on the weatherman’s prognostication, after getting soaking wet on yesterday’s walk, so I decided I’d check things out with my own eyes and do my own scientific determination, i.e. I opened the front door, stuck my arm out, palm face up and felt nary a drop, and saw no fog that the weatherman had yammered about either.

I closed the door and was in such a hurry to get going I smacked my knee into the wooden trim on the couch … it’s only been in the same place for decades.  What a klutz!  I skinned my knee just like a five-year old, and had to stop and put a Band-Aid on it since I scraped it raw.  It could be worse –  my good friend throughout our high school and college years had a knee replacement this morning.  I’ll be good as new once the scab heals; Cheryl will take a little while longer ‘til she is stepping out again.

At 58 degrees I was out of the hiking boots, and back in the walking shoes, with no danger of slip-slidin’ away on any ice.  A dark and brooding cloud hung overhead, so I didn’t stray any further than the ‘hood.  I half expected to see worms slithering across the sidewalk, then remembered the ground was still cold from our recent frosty temps and all that snow.  I even took an umbrella this time, but, of course, since I toted it along, it never rained.  It was like a good luck charm I guess.  I got in about 2 ½ miles this morning – not my best effort, but better than a poke in the eye as that saying goes, as every little bit counts toward my year-end total.

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