Today’s weather was just like Nat King Cole crooned about back in the day … yes, those lazy-hazy-crazy days of Summer. If you’ve never heard the song, here it is: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOV96BCAvZc
It doesn’t matter that we’ve not turned the calendar page over to June and Summer is still three weeks away. This scorcher today had all the ingredients of a mid-Summer day.
I got up and out the door early to beat that oppressive heat the weather folks were predicting, and, when I left the house around 7:30 a.m., the thermometer hovered at 70 degrees, with 85% humidity and a 65% dew point reading. There was not even a breeze.
I drove ten miles to Elizabeth Park, thinking it might be cooler along the boardwalk, and, besides, I was still in search of those elusive ducklings.
It was a little hazy when I arrived, and, if I thought I would be the only one with the bright idea to be early and stake out a spot by the water, I was very mistaken. As I pulled up, I had to drive halfway along the loop that encircles the entire Elizabeth Park, just to find a parking spot.
I soon discovered that the cars did not belong to the usual crowd of walkers, runners and bicyclists; instead the cars were filled with people who lined the boardwalk and pier area, fishing poles in hand and sturdy buckets nearby, for a morning of fishing. Well, I totally forgot – the silver bass are running in the Detroit River these days!
Young and old, men and women, and even children … they not only ranged in age, but also the type of fishing equipment used as well. Some folks had a simple rod and reel and others had fancier set-ups, which made a clicking noise on the gears when they cast out. While some people stood patiently at the pier, rod in hand, others fastened their fishing pole on the rail, then sat and enjoyed a cold drink with an eye trained on any movement on that pole. More than once I found myself zig-zagging and side-stepping along the boardwalk, when a fisherman raised his arm backward to cast that line with great gusto. Yikes! I didn’t want to get snagged and end up in the Detroit River as overgrown bass bait!
This guy had the perfect sun protection, a head umbrella to shield him from the sun’s rays that were bouncing off the water.
As I ambled along the boardwalk and passed all the ambitious fishermen and women, I watched a young guy land a silver bass. I usually take my people pictures on the sly, but I wanted a photo of him with his fish, so I politely asked if I could take his picture. “Yes” he said and posed for me.
“And, are you throwing your fish back in the water, or having him for dinner tonight?” I asked. “I’m keeping him” was the answer, and the fish was soon dropped into a bucket with the rest of his silver bass booty.
The boardwalk was a hoppin’ place, but other folks seemed content to get away from the crowd, so they fished right along the shoreline.
It was hot on the boardwalk, so I sought shade in the tree-lined portion of Elizabeth Park.
First, I stopped to take a photo of the picturesque bridge with its curved walkway and ornate wrought-iron railings. The bridge’s reflection was almost a mirror image, despite the fact that the sky was hazy.
I had packed treats for the critters – oyster crackers for the ducks and peanuts for the squirrels. The last time I was at Elizabeth Park, I didn’t take peanuts, and I think every squirrel in the Park hit me up for treats and I had nothing to offer them.
I walked down by the water where the ducks usually congregate. No ducks were on shore, but there was one beautiful Pekin duck traveling down the center of the water wearing a big smile. This duck just quacked me up when I saw it. I’ll bet you smiled too, when you saw its picture at the top of this post.
I wandered around, climbing up the bridge, looking for kayakers and there were none, so I chitchatted with a few other walkers about the weather.
By then, the Pekin duck had come ashore and he brought a pal, a mallard hybrid.
Weren’t they lucky ducks because I waited until they waddled over to the sidewalk, then lavished oyster crackers on them which they nibbled on.
I even forgot myself and tossed a few crackers to the goose family that monopolized the pathway.
I quickly realized that was a big mistake when the gander did not mind his manners, lowered his head and started marching toward me. I beat a hasty retreat.
Next, I headed to the path that encircles the entire Park and was grateful for the shade. I walked the entire perimeter of Elizabeth Park, from start …
… to finish.
My favorite spot along the way is the makeshift feeding station someone has set up for the critters. You may recall the last time I was here, it was still cold, and someone had set up multiple bird feeders and suet holders hung from a small tree. Nearby, a couple of boules had been broken up and placed on top of a wooden picnic table.
I spread the remaining oyster crackers on the picnic table, along with about a dozen peanuts, then stood back under the shade of a big tree. Within minutes, there was activity at the table. My offerings attracted a grateful crowd of squirrels and birds, even a woodpecker.
I waited and watched the scene continue to unfold as more woodland creatures came for treats.
A blue jay zipped over and stole a peanut before I had a chance to record its image, and, just like last time, I saw a woodpecker alight on the picnic table’s surface and he grabbed a peanut to go. Another walker came by just as the woodpecker departed and asked “was that a Flicker because I wish I had a photo of it?” (I think it was a red-bellied woodpecker.)
I know from now on when I come to Elizabeth Park, it is a must to visit this spot with goodies in hand. The peace and tranquility of the critters coming together is worth the price of some peanuts and oyster crackers.
I usually work in the yard over Memorial Day weekend. The weather has not cooperated – first rain and a storm, then oppressive heat, and truthfully, I just didn’t feel like wielding a hedge trimmer in 90-plus degrees. Whipping the weeds and taming the bushes can wait ‘til it cools down a bit. Instead, I took myself to the water’s edge and found peace on a holiday which is meaningful for the freedom we enjoy today.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Miss Linda……………………………so you got to Elizabeth Park very early and there were lots of cars there already……………………………….we drove around Elizabeth park around 1:30 and it was crowded with picnic-ers……………..good for you to not want to work in this very hot muggy day today……………how do I get your pictures?
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Ann Marie – I should have gone earlier than I did for it to be cooler. Lots of people were fishing and thought of you and Steven. They were lined up all along the boardwalk, end to end, and off the little pier at the far end past the boardwalk. I can imagine that Elizabeth Park was busy with people having picnics. Were there no parking spots when you were there too? Maybe it was too hot to fish by then. It was just too hot out there. I’ve had two incidents working out in the heat – first ran over the electric cord with the mower as I was so hot and sweat in my eyes, and ran the hedge trimmer into the chain-link fence … same thing, sweat in my eyes and couldn’t see. In both instances it was mid-day and very hot and on Memorial Day weekend when doing the big “fix up the yard”.
Trimming at the side of the house – no shade. That was years ago when I was younger – no more. It can stay like that til next weekend. I’m glad you liked the pictures and I liked your swan you e-mailed me – so graceful and elegant.
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AWESOME photos! Fred
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Thanks Fred – I took so many photos today and had to sit here and decide what NOT to use. I am a sucker for the squirrels … I came home with about 50 squirrel pictures. Good thing I no longer use film – I’d be in the poorhouse!
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Neat shots! 🙂
I used to fish a lot when i was way younger. I refuse to do it anymore (being a vegetarian and all). If those are striped bass, they are quite on the small side. I used to be able to catch plenty of fish when other people couldn’t.
That squirrel shot is amazing! 🙂
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Thanks Tom. I got a lot of squirrel shots yesterday at the picnic table area, and had a tough time picking the two to use. Squirrels at least move slowly, unlike jays and swallows and even woodpeckers sometimes.
I have two friends who love to fish and both are strictly “catch and release” … one is my friend Ann Marie who has the African Grey that I mention here in my blog. Her and her husband are retired and go every Wednesday morning to fish. The other friend, also retired, has a cabin up North and writes a few publications on fly fishing. He also conducts fly fishing trips on the Au Sable River and ties his own flies and sells them ..,., he and his fishing buddies are all catch and release fishermen. In Coan Lake at Heritage Park, they stock that man-made lake with fish, but it is catch and release only. Still the fishermen come … for the relaxation and sport of it I guess.
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Catch and release isn’t so bad but i still have qualms about it. Years ago, i used to tie my own flies and fly fish a lot too. I found a lot of other excellent hobbies to take the place of fishing. 🙂 Tell your African Grey keeping friend that, not long ago, i put a video in their DVD player, for the birds, showed them the video cover, and Scarlet (a Scarlet Macaw) said, “I already saw that one!” 🙂
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Hi Tom – I don’t think Ann Marie nor Joe keep the fish they catch out of the water long enough to harm them and they remove their hook gently. So I don’t the fish are traumatized (hopefully) I think both of them go fishing for relaxation and not for the catch of the day for dinner. 🙂
Ann Marie and her husband go to a nearby pier to fish and Joe has his cabin, as I mentioned, but also has some fishing buddies he’s known for years and they go on a week-long guys-only getaway every year, sometimes to Alaska, or other locales and they fish out in the wild. He’s had some great pictures, including being chased by a bear in Alaska, that he posts on Facebook.
I always share your stories of Tweetie and Scarlet with Ann Marie … she gets a big kick out of them. Her bird “Digger” is still learning phrases and sentences and surprises her with what he comes out with sometimes.
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Wow so much going on compared to the autumn and the winter
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I’m almost wishing we were back with our chilly Spring! It is already 70 degrees and 80% humidity as of 5:30 a.m.. Then rain Wednesday afternoon through Friday evening (they say). This typical weather for 4th of July holiday.
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Oh heavens isn’t that always the way… after all that terrible weather this winter
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I feel cheated by Spring’s absence … the real Spring that we all enjoy, and Winter was certainly one for the books! We have three more days of this oppressive weather, then a volatile thunderstorm, possibly severe, then some normal weather – thank goodness!
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Woohoo normal will be lovely for a change !
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I had to laugh. I simply can’t imagine you as overgrown bass bait!
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It is hard for me to imagine myself, at 5′ 9″ tall, getting snagged by a fishing pole either – I have an overactive imagination. 🙂
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Your imagination is lots of fun, though.
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Thank you Anne … sometimes I think I imagine these things, like the duck smiling – he was just happy, why not be smiling?
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That looks like a nice walk. We don’t have a goose population around here but I remember dodging goose poop bombs on the sidewalk while on a walk I took in a park in Spokane last year. Watch out!
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Oh they are seriously a problem at the two parks I visited over the weekend as well as Council Point Park where I walk every day – it is worse right now as the goose population has increased with the multiple families with goslings – all those grass do is eat for goodness sake! Soon they will be gone, once the goslings can fly and won’t be back until late Summer/early Fall. They spray a grape substance on the grass and the geese don’t like the taste of it, plus they can’t fly for a few months as they molt and lose their flight feathers.
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Lovely pictures!
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Thanks Diane – glad you enjoyed them.
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So many beautiful pictures!😊 Unbelievable that Canada geese are so tame that they go in the park. Yours squirrels is so cute, I have not seen anyone this year. I can see that you got summer in one week, not so long time ago there wasn’t any green leaf on the tree in your picture.
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The weather here is incredible John – they joke in our state if you wait a few minutes the weather will change, but this year the Spring has made no sense. It is already 70 – very warm and high humidity again. Then three days of rain and storms off and on. We have had a lot of rain this month, three times the normal amount. And possibly severe weather this afternoon/early evening due to the end of the tropical storm and all our hot weather. The trees only leafed out maybe two weeks ago. My yard looks like a jungle all of a sudden. This weekend will be in the 70s – I am looking forward to that.
Glad you liked the pictures – that was a hopping Park on Memorial Day and I couldn’t believe all the fishermen and women. There were squirrels everywhere in a manner of minutes … they must have been very hungry as they ate the crackers as well as peanuts. Next time I’ll take some more for them to eat, though there should be more berries for them to eat by then.
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Quack! Busy that day, huh? Maybe cuz it was a holiday weekend for you ‘Murricans?
Great pics!! I’m partial to the squirrel but they’re all fab!!
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Glad you liked the Ellie. I am partial to the squirrels too, but I like that smiling duck – it quacked me up. I think it was busier because of the long holiday weekend too.
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Quacked u up – LOLOL!
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