The hunters are in their glory as firearms deer season began at the crack of dawn today. With all that snow in Northern Michigan making it easy to track poor Bambi, the hunters will have no problem taking out their prey. Bucks: better watch your backs! I thought of those poor deer as my friend Marge and I drove along West Jefferson in Trenton past a rural area where the deer hang out, but were conspicuously absent today. We trekked out to Trenton to The Lighthouse, a large lamp and light store. We visited with Angus, the Springer Spaniel store mascot, who greets everyone at the door with a smile … er, wagging tail. After the sniff test, if you pass muster with him, Angus promptly heads back to his perch, a large counter next to the cash register.

From The Lighthouse, we went to Elizabeth Park for an extended trip around the perimeter of that scenic Park. As we got closer to the entrance, I wondered if the blustery winds the past few days wreaked havoc with the beautiful trees, stripping them bare and sending their leaves in a downward spiral to carpet the ground. Well, we were pleasantly surprised to see many trees full of leaves, still cloaked in their beautiful Fall colors. We rounded a bend and Marge suddenly whipped out her camera and took this photo above. The scene reminded me of one of my mom’s jigsaw puzzles. How magnificent those trees looked and so picturesque on a sunny, but bitterly cold, Saturday morning.

We continued to take in the sights as we made our way slowly around the Park. Up ahead, a small car was pulled over on the shoulder on the left-side of the asphalt road. We pulled in behind after seeing a crowd of squirrels gathered in the wooded area near the car. A group of squirrels – numbering about 30-35, were sitting around munching contently on peanuts, with the occasional brave Blue Jay zooming in for a nut, then lifting off and returning from whence he came, only to repeat the process with a few of his counterparts a few minutes later. As we drove past, we saw the driver watching us – another kindly soul, enjoying her afternoon and eager to help the critters tuck away a few goodies for the long Winter ahead. It was a peaceful and idyllic scene. The sun warmed the front window and it felt so good basking in the sunlight, capturing the picture in my mind’s eye to churn out during those chilly months ahead.

We exited the Park and drove along West Jefferson, pausing briefly to look for deer near the site of the old McLouth Steel Plant. Usually the deer come out of the bushes to feed at a place where people often leave bales of hay or toss their carved pumpkins after Halloween is over for the deer to feed on. Oh dear – the deer were absent today. I hope that no one was taking pot shots at them somewhere so they ran for cover!

We continued along West Jefferson, through downtown Wyandotte, and on to Bishop Park. It was so beautiful there today – the sun was high in the sky and a freighter was lazily gliding by while the seagulls kept watch from the sidelines.

I hated for our trip to come to an end, especially since I had some outside chores to do. Though it was a pretty day, the sun belied the frigid temps. I got a very brief walk in as well, and, but for the interlude of outside Winter prep chores, it was a perfect Fall day.