Walking needs to be efficient these days. There’s no time for lollygagging or enjoying a leisurely Sunday stroll because, if it hasn’t rained recently, just wait a few minutes as showers or storms are sure to be on the horizon.
Like yesterday – we had rain five separate times. The sun came out and dried things up, then, just when I was thinking “hmmm, maybe I’ll meander out” … it started to rain again, one time even while the sun was shining.
Today I didn’t think I’d fare much better as to walking. You know it isn’t good when you listen to the 5:00 a.m. news and the weatherman prefaces his forecast by saying “well, you might need an umbrella and keep an eye to the sky for a pop-up shower or storm.”
So, with that mindset I ventured out. Due to yesterday’s frequent rain and this morning’s 70-degree temperature and 86% humidity, I ticked off where I did NOT want to go. Heritage Park is kind of woodsy, so that’s a no-no right now, as would be Lake Erie Metropark with its meadows and marshland. Both venues would likely be laden with mosquitoes. Trekking to Trenton to Elizabeth Park was a no-go as that city is having its annual Summer Festival and many of the streets were going to be blocked off.
So, I settled for my old standby, Council Point Park, and took the car for a spin as well. Once at the Park I chatted it up with a few walkers, while we lamented over the rain ruining Saturday morning’s walk, and, our upcoming heat wave which will rival last week’s temps in the 90s. Ugh!
Another topic we hashed over was the absence of our feathered and furry pals. I’ve not seen any geese this week and I saw one squirrel today and that was it. Usually, the perimeter path is full of furry friends coming to hunt me down for peanuts. Mike, who also feeds the squirrels on an everyday basis, agreed with me – they simply have not been around. I’ve been stewing and fretting over the absence of Parker, my longtime faithful furry friend at the Park, and the subject of many a photo and blog post. Parker has been missing for weeks, and last Saturday when I walked mid-morning, (later than usual for me), I had a conversation with a fellow walker who was carrying a bag of peanuts. I asked him if he usually walked in the 10:00 o’clock hour, and, if so, if he’d seen any squirrels. His answer took me aback. He said that he, like me, always carried the bag of peanuts so the squirrels could see them, but, he feared that predator birds have been swooping down and attacking the Park squirrels and bunnies, so likely our furry friends are hiding to avoid being preyed upon. I felt sad after he told me that. I did a recent blog post about a pair of squirrels lounging in a tree, but, they were not the usual Park squirrels – they were not friendly and would not come down to ground level.
I walked four miles and the sky was still overcast but rain didn’t look imminent, so I decided to drive to Lions Park, which would be the first time I visited there this year. It is just a stone’s throw away from Council Point Park, on River Drive.
Lions Park could be called Council Point Park’s little brother (or sister). It is similarly situated along the banks of the Ecorse Creek, also lined with trees and bushes, but is smaller and more open.
The motto of Lions Park is: “That All Can Play” …
… this is because it is a special needs park.
It is one of our City’s newer parks, and geared for handicapped children. A braille walk and sensory garden has been planted with a wooden railing so that kids with special needs may walk along the circular garden area and smell and touch the hundreds of plants. There are twenty varieties of plants in the circular garden.
The flowers were blooming profusely, no doubt due to all the rain.
Bees were buzzing and Cabbage Whites flitting delicately nearby, as I walked the length of the sensory garden.
Yesterday’s rain left parts of Lions Park saturated and under the swings were mud puddles.
Lions Park has a one-half-mile paved loop trail so I walked this Park twice, adding another mile to my total – five miles walked today.
P.S. – It still has not rained.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
How nice to have a park so children of all abilities can play! I hope you get to see your furry friends soon… dang birds.
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I hope so too Janis. For at least a year I’ve interacted with this squirrel – he was my favorite and I often took him little treats and he’d come sit on my shoe or follow behind me as I walked along. Most of the squirrels are really friendly though – they know it pays to be friendly as there are about 5-6 of us who feed them. They are shameless! And the squirrels give me lots of fodder for posts. I can’t blame them for not coming to ground level or there are predator birds around. I just hope they haven’t fallen prey to one.
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As to Lions Park, they built it in 2010 and were asking for donations for paver bricks to be used toward obtaining the playground equipment. The local Lions Club raised a lot of money that way and also got a grant. Lions Club in Lincoln Park did all the planting of the flowers and constructed the braille trail – they even had volunteers construct the two pavilion areas. The playground equipment was specially ordered just for this Park from a company that specializes in playground equipment for disabled children. The Park is also wheelchair friendly for the garden area.
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Linda,
I miss Parker and the squirrels too. Your walks seem lonely now, with no friends for company. I am glad you are clocking the miles though.
What predator birds ?
And the geese- did someone shoot them ?
Susie
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Hi Susie – Yes I miss Parker … it was a joy when he came running over to see me or followed me around the Park. I hope it is just because he is hiding. I have seen some baby bunnies, but not large bunnies this last few weeks. You are right – it is not the same. Others who feed the squirrels noticed as well. I blamed it on the weather and we’ve had so much rain, I’ve not walked every day like I usually do. The predator birds would be hawks or eagles, maybe peregrine falcons. I took pictures of a big bird gliding overhead, showed it to someone who said it was a young eagle. But we have falcons in the neighborhood – I’ve seen them attack smaller birds mid-air. The geese may be gone since they lose their flying feathers in Summer due to moulting. But the goslings are also gone … they have not been there all week. I only walked three days last week due to the issues from heat, rain and the power outages.
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Miss Linda………………………..thanks for the tour of Lions Park………………………..great idea for Special Needs children……………………………the opening flower is beautiful too
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Hi Ann Marie – it is a nice little park for special needs children. It looked nice yesterday because all the flowers were blooming … I have been there before and they had no means to water the flowers so they were not thriving. There is no water facility there, including bathrooms or water fountains, since the park is quite small. I think the flowers benefited from all the rain we have been having. Glad you enjoyed the post and the bright flower with the bee.
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Wow you definitely made up some miles!
That’s really cool about the sensory garden. I had my garden box at school done as a sensory garden as I had a student who was blind last year. I have continued with the sensory garden this year because everyone seems to like feeling, smelling, hearing, and seeing these plants:)
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I did rack up some miles AJ and end of this week we are getting into the 90s for a prolonged period – ugh! The garden looks good this year thanks to all the rain we’ve had. I meant to look for signage because they tout the garden as a braille garden walk. Originally the plan was to have braille signage at each group of flowers to I.D. them. That makes it more enjoyable for the blind children and the Park is sponsored by our City’s Lion’s Club and other Lion’s Clubs in neighboring cities. Kudos to you for having a sensory garden at your classroom garden box!
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That is very cool!
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It was gorgeous out today – in fact it was “sweater weather” … 60 degrees F (15 C) when I left this morning and an NE breeze – I was actually chilly, but I’m not complaining about that!
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Wow what a great place to walk!
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Yes it is a pretty place Diane … so similar to my usual stomping grounds, only on a much-smaller scale.
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Look like a very nice and beautiful park!😊 The only park we have here is the tivolipark next to city and beside is the health garden with several flower gardens. But not often I see any squirrels there either.
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Glad you like it. It looks especially nice this year thanks to Mother Nature and all the rain. In the past, they did not have a means of watering the plants and had to truck the water in. It is not a large park so no water fountains, bathrooms, etc. like the bigger parks. I didn’t see any squirrels there at that park either. I feel badly for my furry friends – I worry a predator bird may be preying on them and hope they are only hiding, and not lost their lives. I have written a lot about one squirrel named “Parker” who came bouncing over to see me every time I was there. He would walk beside me, behind me or stand on my shoe to get my attention. I wrote about him a lot in my blog and had many pictures of him as well.
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They are not easy to catch. Squirrels are very fast and in the tree they are pretty safe and when it’s people around in daytime.
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That’s true – I will hope that the bird finds another place to terrorize and things return to normal. It seems very strange without the squirrels there … there were as many as 15-20 at a time sometimes. This is why it is so strange.
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They may have had kids? I watched a TV show yesterday that the mother had a full job of changing the grass in the estate to keep it clean. Then they will be fed, but they leave the estate right quickly. Red squirrels we have in Sweden get 2-3 litters with kids each summer!
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That could be too and they are staying up in the nest to help? Hope that is the reason then they are missing. That is what I get for getting attached to a squirrel at the Park.
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Some very pretty flower photos that you took! It’s hard to get good photos around here in this heat. Every time I walk outside from the air-conditioned house into the high humidity, my camera fogs up and it takes it a while to get use to the change. I’m sure this can’t be too good for the camera. Your little furry friends are probably just staying in a shady, cool spot for the time being. Hopefully they’ll show back up soon.
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Thanks Rebecca … I thought it would be something different to spotlight Lion’s Park with its sensory garden, and, especially since there was not much happening at my regular Park. We have a heat wave coming the end of the week – 90s and a heat index of over 100 with high humidity. I am not looking forward to it. I would be leery to use the camera in that humidity as well. I am hoping my furry friends return – I can’t blame them for hiding, and they are doing a good job if they’re hiding, since I have seen no movement in the trees except the pair of squirrels lounging in the tree about a week ago.
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I love the idea of such an accessible park for children of all abilities.
I loved your use of the word lollygagging 😂. Never heard of that before but it must be one of the best words ever !!
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It is a great idea Zena and the playground equipment was specially ordered so that kids of all abilities can use and enjoy it. It is considered a braille walk since there is signage in braille of all the names of the flowers in this garden. The local Lion’s Club raised much of the funds to build the Park but they also had a grant from the government for part of the playground equipment.
Lollygagging is a fun word, isn’t it, and that word is so much more descriptive than just to say dawdling. Glad you liked it and I am sure you will find a chance to use it now. 🙂
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What a nice park! 🙂 And a very sweet idea!
You’re pics turned out really well, Linda. Good work!
Bzzzz…where even trees can play. Luv it!
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Thanks Uncle Tree – I decided to go there and take some pics since not much was happening at my usual Park … yes, lots of trees, glimpses of the same Ecorse Creek, but there are gardens there, so something different. The trees are happy here.
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This tree is happy at home watching golfers wait 5 minutes too long, when obviously, the thunderstorm was on the runway taking off and approaching fast. 🙂
We got close to 3 inches of rain today. Unheard of in June ’round here. Nothing terrible, though, for goodness sake, but great for all the little saps they planted ’round here this year.
A nice break we’ve had lately, but the heat is on, as will be the a/c come Thursday, our last day of work before summer shutdown. I’ll have 10 days off in a row. 🙂 YaY! Cheerz, UT
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Yes, they puttered around too long I would say. 😉
The weather is beyond weird. We had that Saturday … an all-day rain, five separate times it rained. Yesterday it threatened all day, but didn’t rain. This morning I went out and it was “sweater weather” – I was going to write a post by that name and I was late leaving work so did not But it was 60 degrees and a NE wind blowing 15 mph. We too will suffer in that heat spell – mid to high 90s and 107 heat index on the weekend.
Yay for that long Summer shutdown, plus you had the long time off between Christmas and New Years as well … I remember I just started following you and it had been very cold and you said you had not been out of the house all week.
Enjoy yourself, put up your feet and relax … it goes by so fast unfortunately.
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Rain is threatening here too. And soon we’re going to be shrouded in HOT HOT HOT temps. Ay yi.
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I agree with you Ellie. We had those multiple bouts of rain yesterday, this morning it was already humid and tomorrow the heat wave begins – for us it is until the Independence Day holiday.
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