… and it wasn’t me stepping out with my best foot forward. Finally, a few more of the long-time walkers were strolling along the perimeter path this morning.
So what ultimately brought the “regulars” out of hibernation?
It sure wasn’t because of the sliver of sun peering between those gray clouds on this dismal morn. Nor did that 33-degree weather beckon them to join fellow walkers at Council Point Park. No, something was afoot as today was touted as “National Take a Walk in the Park Day” – so now you know.
The weather and walking were both duds this week; Tuesday and Thursday were all-day rains and Wednesday was dull and dreary, so I used that morning to run a few errands.
So … fast forward to Friday. Luckily it was above freezing, or I’d have worried about the dreaded black ice forming on the asphalt walking path after yesterday’s incessant rain. The squirrels, with Parker leading the pack, came racing over to greet me like I’d been away for weeks, rather than just a handful of days. I made their day by doling out extra peanuts, then off I went to find some pictures for today’s post.
A big splash in the Ecorse Creek sent me scurrying to the water’s edge, as far as I dared, since the grass was slick and a little muddy from all the rain. Then I heard another splash. Clearly it was not the large smack landing by a duck or a goose, so there I stood, still as a statue, camera in hand and ready to take a shot of whatever surfaced. I suspect it was a fish flip-flopping in the water, certainly apropos for Good Friday during the Lenten season.
I gave that mystery creature five minutes to put in an appearance, and he or she did not, so I finally left. A few geese were peacefully paddling down the Creek, and a drake stood on a half-submerged log performing its morning ablution, first sticking its bright-yellow bill into the water, then using that moisture to spread the natural oils to the end of each feather. Clearly, he was so engrossed in this task, that he was oblivious to me as I stood there during his preening process.
On the second loop of the perimeter path, there was no action, except calling out “Happy New Year and Happy Easter” to a walker I’ve not seen since at least mid-December.
There are subtle signs of Spring at my favorite nature nook, and on the way home I noticed tree lint littering the sidewalk. Those red leafy buds were everywhere, a soft cushion beneath my shoes while I walked along, plus occasionally tickling my nose since I have Spring allergies.
It was good to be back on the trail, albeit on a gray and dreary day.
I’ll leave you with this quote that I saw on #TakeAWalkInTheParkDay, which was trending on Twitter earlier today:
“We need the tonic of wilderness.
We can never have enough of nature.”
~Henry David Thoreau
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Very nice post, I felt like I was there with you, surrounded by lovely nature! BTW, your mention of the “drake” reminded me of my last Laughter post, heheh! xox
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Thank you Ellie. I’m glad you liked it. On the weekends, I try to take more pictures and have a narrative to go with those images. It won’t happen today as we have another cloudy morning and rain moving in by mid-morn and a stormy day. We are expecting wind gusts of 50-60 mph this afternoon and evening. So I will get my walk in and get home ASAP.
Yes I remember that post. This drake was a beauty and it would have been a nice picture had he been bathed in sunlight while attending to his feathers, but it was such a dull and dreary day, it did not do him justice. Those drakes are so striking when the sun shines on their iridescent green heads.
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Thank you for sharing, Linda. I had no idea we had a
National Take A Walk In The Park Day. It worked, too.
It is quite gusty outside this morning, but the golf course
is definitely greening up, and Tulip leaves are showing themselves.
We’re expecting 1 to 2 inches of snow on Easter Sunday,
and 21 degrees overnight. Brrr…my camera is but collecting dust.
I wood have gotten along well with Thoreau, methinks. Nice quote.
Hope you have a good Saturday, anyway you like it. 🙂 Peace and luvz, UT
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Uncle Tree, I never heard of National Take a Walk in the Park day until last year, jotted the date down … somewhere, then heard it yesterday so used it as a blog post topic.
Our weather was cold and gusty this morning and not much to take pictures of here either. I took some photos of some green peeking out in gardens as I walked home, a few green ferns (maybe weeds) at the Park to use next week, but that’s all. They’ve taken snow out of today’s forecast for us, but we have flurries next Wednesday. That’s no fun for Easter morning having 1-2 inches of snow. The weather is crazy. We have a rain this afternoon and the baseball game was cancelled, also due to high winds 50-60 mph winds. Don’t like the sound of those high winds at all. Humming along pretty good right now and most intense at 6:00-9:00 tonight.
I like Thoreau and think we’d get along fine as well. I liked that quote and found a quote for you, when looking for a quote about a park. You could use it one time for Arbor Day (04/27) unless you’ve done that before … check out Bob Ross’ quote #s 7,8,9 at this link. I used to subscribe to “Mental Floss” for years. I liked their tidbits of fun knowledge and quotes. How did it get so late on this Saturday already? Happy Easter to you as well.
http://mentalfloss.com/article/65452/20-bob-ross-quotes-make-life-better
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Awww… 🙂 Those made me feel good. I’m smiling. Thank you!
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You’re welcome. Glad I made your day!
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Linda………………….I’m glad that I walked this morning even though it wasn’t at a park………….we still have 2 pairs of geese one on each end of the pond…………….I’m glad the new geese stayed in spite of Mr Meany’s honking disapproval ………….and the pair of docile ducks………………..
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Someone ought to kidnap Mr. Meany in the middle of the night and take him to a park where he can be with the other loud geese!!
Yesterday I was walking along the path and a pair of geese came along, walking side by side, and just like that picture at Heritage Park a few weeks ago – one of the geese just went off on a tangent and started honking and hissing at the other one for no good reason!
I was talking to someone at the Park today and he often goes to Ecorse Park. I was telling him about the swan in the ice two weeks ago at Council Point Park. He said there is a cove down there where the swans go with their young … I want to see that because the swan moms carry their babies (cygnets) on their back. He told me that they usually have their young in April and that’s the best time to go see them and he would tell me if he sees me at Council Point Park. He said if I wait until May, that is when the silver bass are running and you can’t move for fisherman down at the pier. Good to know.
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Thoreau was right! Young people need to shut off their iPhones and look at nature! 🙂
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He sure was Tom! I see it all the time and it was really bad during the height of the Pokemon craze. Everyone was looking down at their phones – you miss all of nature’s gifts that way.
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