The rain, the Park and other things
The jury’s still out on whether Spring has arrived yet. We’ve had a few more 70-degree days, as well as thunderstorms that typically whip up with all that heat and humidity, but tomorrow our high will be a mere 50 degrees. The normal Spring weather,which we looked forward to for so long, keeps retreating into a corner.
I’m convinced we are still a month behind in that ditty we memorized way back when about “March winds and April showers bring forth May flowers” … the showers in April were of the snow variety and it seems every other day in May it pours raining or storms. During my trip to the backyard to check on the progress of the lilacs, they had leafed out, but there were no blossoms yet. In the neighborhood, a magnolia bush that sported huge buds just a few days ago, now is full of large open blossoms.
I was happy to eke out a walk this morning because the forecast originally called for rain (what else) and my trek to the Park was still kind of puddly from all the rain yesterday and overnight. On my way there I saw a few birds bathing in the street, splashing away in the many pools of water that formed near the curb. The robins were pecking and slurping up some long worms which had wriggled free from the earth as a result of all that rain. Those robins wore a defiant look as I neared them, as if to say “hey you, don’t step on my worm!” I wanted to say “don’t worry, I’ve already had my breakfast, thank you.”
I’ve scouted out some new parks to try out, but the threat of rain last weekend and the promised rain, (two inches in total), for this weekend, will have me tabling those treks a little longer.
My trip to the Park yesterday was enjoyable. On the heels of my statement that the geese and their offspring had been missing in action the past few days, I rounded the path by the old twisted tree and there were two families of geese, with all their goslings grazing companionably alongside their parents. This scenario was just a tease for you, because I’ll save those warm-and-fuzzy photos and narrative for the upcoming Mother’s Day holiday, plus an update on the baby robins as well.
I’ve been watching Council Point Park slowly come back to life. Gone are those bare branches which have now totally leafed out, lending a cozier feel to the Park. The bushes have likewise filled in, and only the reeds and swamp grass are still a dull and drab brown color. Perhaps this onslaught of rain will green up the rest of the Park.
Angels and butterflies for a life cut short
There are many memorial trees planted around the Park. They are all different varieties, each bearing a stone plaque of loved ones. Some people take great care with their memorial trees, laying down fresh mulch, planting flowers, putting balloons for birthdays, or decorating for the various holidays throughout the year.
This one tree, in particular, stands out every Spring because its delicate white blossoms arrive the same time as the tulips that are planted around the memorial stone.
Butterflies with gossamer wings are fastened to the tree branches …
… as well as an angel with the same delicate wings.
I took a picture of the memorial stone as I wanted to know more about Erica Megan Sharick, who passed away at just 21 years old.
I thought I’d include that info with this post, but a Google search of her name revealed nothing. All year around, there are always angels of some kind adorning this tree, or reclining near the stone. It always makes me feel a little sad when I pass by.
On Monday the mowers arrived and cut the grass, but the dandelions have already returned. They are in abundance, and sometimes it appears my feathered and furry friends are lost among those familiar yellow weeds.
A tough nut to crack
With the advent of a rainy weekend, I’ve decided that this year’s goal will be a tough nut to crack. My fine-feathered friends know all about that expression. Beaks are definitely not as sharp as a squirrel’s front teeth, and, when cardinals and red-winged blackbirds swoop down to snatch a peanut from under a squirrel’s nose, they often are perplexed how to eat it afterward. The cardinal is fairly adept if it’s a small peanut, but the red-winged blackbird, having finagled that treat, has to twist and turn it around to enjoy it.
Today’s jaunt got me to 301 miles walked so far in 2018, leaving me 750 more miles to go to reach this year’s goal. Gulp! I hope to fulfill this goal, but this weather has to cooperate better. Mother Nature, help me out please!
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
What a beautiful park! You took some awesome photos of the birds. We are expecting a hard frost overnight with temps in the mid-20s.
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Thanks TJ and I was excited for my gosling pictures I took yesterday – honestly, I came home with about 75 pictures, but I took a slew of pictures when I first got there of the parents and babies, then some people came along with strollers and they started tossing bread to the geese and they all ran for the bread (except for Papa who was hissing at everyone as they got too close to the goslings). I like your videos of the bluebirds at the house – they are up close. I have never tried the video feature on the camera … I have to read the book. Sometimes I don’t have time to fiddle as the birds swoop down, the squirrels run here, there and everywhere, and I’m happy to just get them in the frame. I uploaded yesterday’s pics and some of them are missing tails, snouts as they ran out of the frame.
Just amazing that you are going down to the mid-20s … I put the heat back on as we are going to 43 and it feels damp in the house from all the rain. Hope you haven’t planted any flowers yet.
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Very nice shots, Linda! 🙂
Our yard looks like a jungle because the grass and dandelions are so high. Now that i’m retired, i have someone else mow the grass… and he just hasn’t come around again yet. Well, the insects are happy! 🙂
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Thanks Tom, I made today’s post a mishmash of different items from a few different days. I had more pictures of dandelions but they looked far away, and there were so many dandelions, the grass actually looked yellow. My lawn is covered too, plus violets … nice color combo! It has rained so much lately, getting the grass cut is a problem. I actually have all electric yard equipment and when the grass is lush in the Spring and grows like a weed, it was always a problem. I also have a push mower because sometimes in the Spring, the grass would get too long and the electric mower would rebel. My neighbor and I trade chores … I shoveled snow for both properties all Winter and he does his and my lawn all growing season. P.S. – It was not a great deal for me this past Winter though with 61 inches of snow altogether and his property is 2X if not 3X the size of mine.
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Ouch, that’s a lot of snow! Our yard looks like even more like a jungle today! I don’t mind it, but very tall grass can invite ticks, and Lyme Disease is very prevalent in our area. I’ve got rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis the way is. L.D. would do me in!
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Tom – I’ll donate some of our rain if you still are in need of it in your neck of the woods … in the last 36 hours we have had over 3 inches of rain, and 3 thunderstorms with more rain overnight into mid-day Sunday.
I think Lyme Disease is found more in the northern parts of Michigan, but you are right, it is not something you need given your present medical issues. A good friend had rheumatoid arthritis since her teens (she joked she was the original Bionic Woman as she had every joint in her body replaced in the course of her lifetime) and my mom had osteoarthritis, since a young age as she was hit by a car at age 11 – also very painful. So, I know you must be in extreme pain, especially in the Spring and Summer once the extreme humidity kicks in. My mom would say she could tell the weather forecast a day ahead of time from her aches and pains.
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I laughed that your walk was “kind of puddly”. I know it doesn’t seem that spring has come to your area, but your photos are full of life and color. We’ve made progress down here. I worked in the garden three days in a row.
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The birds were bathing and flipping their wings around like they were in a deep birdbath. All that street mud – guess they enjoyed it. Well, nice enough to work in the garden is good – you are making progress. I’ve not been out to do anything and usually don’t until Memorial Day when I take out the yard ornaments. Usually then I have to deal with all the maple and elm seeds, but I bet that will be more like Fourth of July’s chore this year.
I am working my way through “Reader” and just thought of you/John because I read the post at Retirementally Challenged about the Santa Fe Train Depot. I sent her a link to the Michigan Central Depot like I sent you for John. Here is the post in case you missed it: https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/13786670/posts/1853308751
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I enjoyed both the Santa Fe Depot and yours. Don’t you wonder what buildings put up today will be admired years from now?
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I sure do – they are going to build a huge skyscraper in downtown Detroit, a state-of-the-art building which will be retail, office and lofts in what was the old Hudson’s Department store. They imploded the beautiful Hudson’s retaiil store in the early 90s and it stood vacant for years. The artist rendering for this project, which will be finished in 2022 I believe, has it looking like some futuristic small town. Hudson’s never became Macy’s because they went out of business first, but it was a gorgeous store, with the elevator man stopping at every floor. In its glory, it was the jewel of Woodward Avenue.
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Miss Linda……………………you have some delightful spring hopeful pictures there………………I enjoyed them………..thank you
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I am glad you enjoyed them Ann Marie – all of a sudden Spring has Sprung … must be all the rain, with more on the way.
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You beginning to get real spring in Michigan and the trees and bushes beginning to be green. Here in Kristianstad, south of Sweden, we have real summer weather and everything is green. I compared the latitude, Michigan and Kristianstad and Michigan is further south than Kristianstad. But there are several factors that affect the weather. The butterfly look so real so I thought it was a real one!😁 I love your beautiful pictures of the birds you have there. I haven’t seen a squirrel this year, very strange because they use to show up everywhere.
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Wow – I never thought to check the latitude for our respective countries and I had looked one time how severe your Winters were compared to ours and saw a quote that said something like the weather in Sweden was proportionate to how one dressed for it … 🙂 … well, that is true too. It is greening up nicely and we had a few warm days and this morning it is just 42 degrees, so I will be bundled up as it is quite windy at the Park due to all the open spaces. I like that memorial tree the best and every Spring I have vowed to take a photo of the tree in blossom and the tulips and this year did it – I felt a little like I was intruding, but then thought that I was merely admiring how poignant and in good taste this memorial tree was. Those butterflies and angel are beautiful and surprisingly not too battered by the weather, especially the hail and all the rain we’ve had lately I do like the cardinals, and that blackbird, even though he chased the robin off its nest, is unusually inquisitive and comes by to check out the peanuts and lands pretty close to my feet now. I wonder what happened to your squirrels? I’ve seen only one rabbit this year and that is unusual because there are usually many of them grazing in the grass as you walk by. They get used to the walkers and most continue munching the grass and won’t bolt unless you get off the trail and walk on the grass near them. Well, I’m off to bundle up to walk before the next rain this afternoon and most of the weekend- enjoy your day!
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This spring does feel like we go one step forward then two steps back or maybe the other way around LOL. I love that people can plant trees in the park in memory of loved ones. That is beautiful!
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This weather sure is crazy Ruth … this morning it is 42 degrees and I have to bundle up before setting out on a walk. I like that idea of the memorial trees as well. There are many at the Park and some fasten pictures of their loved ones to the tree, and they decorate many of the trees for Christmas with wreaths, swags, even Christmas ornaments. Stay warm and keep those cute baby chickens warm too. They were adorable!
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Wow that is an amazing distance already! I loved your beautiful pictures and😕 that’s angel❤️.
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Yes, that angel makes it sad doesn’t it? They had an angel lying on her side with an arm outstretched … it was there for the longest time and I hope no one took it or it got broken, but it is gone and this angel and butterflies were new. My goal for 2017 was 755 miles. I always try to beat the previous year by just one mile. I got to 755 and we had a gorgeous Fall, so I was able to get a lot of miles in … I kept going like the Energizer Bunny. The weather has not cooperated much in 2018. I walk in Winter if it is not icy or real snowy. We had ice and snow and a lot of rain. We have a rainy/stormy weekend coming up as well. I’ll have to push myself … a lot!
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That’s awesome…I admire what you are doing!
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Thank you for saying that Diane.
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Beautiful photos!!
I’m SO excited to see flowers and trees blooming again!! I’m excited to finally see Spring back!
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Me too – it is such a blessing that after an overlong Winter and a long, chilly Spring that all the buds and blooms will finally come out. We should have lots of flowers once it warms up because we have gotten 3 inches of rain over the last 36 hours! Some storms as well, thankfully none of them severe.
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Oh my goodness !!!! lol Yes , in that case you should expect an overflow of blooming😂😂
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Such a beautiful post. I love the memory tree being planted there with the angels on it. You have walked so far this year, well done. 🙂
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Thank you and I had hoped to uncover a backstory of the young girl whose family or friends keep her memory alive with flowers and trinkets at this memorial tree. Since I’ve been writing the blog, I had a few little stories behind a picture. One involved a young serviceman from my city who was killed and they put up a statue to honor him in nearby Memorial Park. It was a statue of boots and bayonet, which is often used here to honor a serviceman who died. Later, after that post was written, I came upon a memorial wreath by a big fir tree at Council Point Park. It was something new, and the fir trees are not memorial trees, just trees planted around the perimeter of the Park. So, I took a photo of the wreath, then dug around a little online and discovered it was a Marine who died, not serving his country, but had been hit by a drunk driver. I wrote a post about the serviceman, his fate and the article that I found in the paper. I included the first serviceman’s story in this post. Because I don’t get the local paper, but I get the headline and tidbits of local news online, I did not know about either of them – the online version only covers mostly crime (sadly), not human interest stories such as this. This is the post I wrote back in 2014 about this young man (unfortunately the video link to the new story is no longer active): https://lindaschaubblog.net/2014/11/11/over-hill-over-dale-as-we-hit-the-dusty-trail/
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I love your dedication and passion towards the back stories of your promps. Amazing 🙂
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Thank you so much for saying that … I think having a back story gives some more depth to stories, and in the case of the two servicemen, it was very sad to read about how tragically they were killed.
Last year, I went to another nearby memorial park and noticed a walkway of cobblestones where loved ones/friends had purchased cobblestones and had their loved one’s name and some personal info engraved and placed on the pathway. I saw many bricks with the same name, so I took a photo to Google the name and perhaps discover why ten or more people all dedicated stones to the same person – large family, many friends? Turned out, he was also a serviceman, died young, but he and a fellow serviceman were off duty, indulging in a little horseplay, and one guy’s firearm accidentally discharged, killing the other guy. It had been a story in the local newspaper. I decided not to use the story nor the stones … still wondering if I will one day or not???
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Nice pics
—
Joakim Brobeck
http://www.brobeckaren.com
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Thank you Joakim – I just went to your site and looked at some of your beautiful nature pictures as well. I hope you get this reply because I could not find a translator button on your site, or I would have gladly commented on your photos, especially the squirrels with the unique ears that are furry and stand up. Thank you for stopping by my blog.
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That memorial tree looks pretty, but I can feel the sadness as well. Whoever loved her must regularly decorate the tree.
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Yes, they always do for each holiday, but others do as well – even for Halloween. And some decorate if their loved one was a veteran. I wanted to know the backstory of this young girl and hoped I could find it, but there was nothing, not even a death notice. A few years back, someone put a memorial wreath in the Park by a large fir tree. The fir trees are not memorial trees. It caught my attention and I took a photo of the memorial and then Googled around, only to find out that it was a serviceman, who had died, not serving his country, but instead because he was killed by a drunk driver. So, I wrote about his fate in my blog post that day. It was very sad … here is the post; you can see how the memorial got my attention: https://lindaschaubblog.net/2014/11/11/over-hill-over-dale-as-we-hit-the-dusty-trail/
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Lovely birds! Being in nature has healing properties and apart from all the medicinal herbs and food, just being among greenery can really help revive weary spirit. Great post!
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Thanks Sharon – I am glad you enjoyed it … nature does have healing properties. I like doing the walk in the morning, as it clears my head and refreshes me for the day ahead.
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O yea! It contributes to our physical well-being and can even reduce mortality and also have significant impact on anxiety and stress. I love nature too.
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