This was a picture-perfect day with fluffy clouds in the sky, a gentle breeze blowing and finally a weekend devoid of rain or heat and humidity. Yeah! So I decided to take a long-awaited trip to visit Lake Erie Metropark today. It was my first visit there and was a 32-mile round-trip drive for me.
I was drawn to this park for its scenic three-mile Lake Erie shoreline and its marshy areas, both which are supposed to be a prime place for bird-watching, especially hawks, but it is also a gathering place for migrating birds in Spring and Fall.
I parked and walked most of the shoreline and back, and I also meandered around a bit into the marshy area to see if I saw any interesting birds. Though I didn’t see a hawk, I saw plenty of geese, a couple of ducks, a heron, and some swans. The pond lilies were everywhere and I heard a lot of croaking but saw no frogs sitting on a lily pad. I got my share of fresh air and sunshine – a little too much sunshine, because about two hours after I got home, I noticed my face and arms had a pinky glow – sunburn! I never walk when the sun is strong, but it was later than usual and I was in close proximity to the water. Well, next time I’ll wear long sleeves and a hat or use sunscreen.
When I first arrived, I glanced at the horizon and saw a freighter in the distance. I knew I would be at the Park for a while, so I kept monitoring its whereabouts to get a close-up photo of it when it passed by.
But, its destination must’ve been Canada, since one minute it was in my view, and the next time I looked, it was gone, having disappeared behind the Canadian shoreline with its wind turbines neatly lined up like soldiers on the shore.
The huge rocks along the shoreline made the view quite picturesque, especially with the sparkling water.
I saw a group of geese bobbing along in the strong waves, then caught up with them and their brethren a short time later when they came ashore.
When walking along the shoreline on my return trip, I noticed two of the geese out paddling around with their goslings. They were a late Spring brood as they were still in the cute-and-fuzzy stage.
There were geese galore, dipping and bobbing in the water or lined up along the shore. Some were preening, others sleeping with a “lookout goose” nearby. I found it odd that this Great Blue Heron should be embedded in the rocks with the group of Canada geese, but there he was, almost statue-like, a rose between the thorns.
That heron barely moved a muscle the entire time I was watching him, giving me plenty of time to hone in on him with the camera. He was so unlike the heron at Council Point Park which bolts just as soon as he sees me. But later, when reviewing my photos taken today, imagine my surprise to find the heron in this odd pose. Hmmm.
I’ve never seen so many pond lilies in one place plus they were enormous pads, none of them blooming yet.
Once I had traveled the length of the shoreline, I wandered over a wooden bridge which led into a marshy area.
There was a lot of algae in the water as well, and maybe it was algae bloom? People were fishing off the wooden bridge but it didn’t appear they caught anything.
I chitchatted with a man who was walking his two dogs and pushing a dog stroller that could accommodate both pooches if they got tired.
We all walked along the shoreline, and up another path I’d not noticed when I arrived. This took us to the fishing pier where we gazed at Canada in the distance while he gave the dogs a bowl of water from his canteen. We talked about Lake Erie Metropark and I told him what I’d seen and he suggested I drive over to the other side of the Park to visit the Marshlands Museum and Nature Center to check out the resident bald eagle named “Luc” as well as several woodsy nature trails. He did warn me the trails might be laden with mosquitoes and ticks.
I did drive over there, and checked out “Luc” who was eyeing a freshly killed white rabbit that his caretakers had placed on a tree stump in his cage, so I said a hasty “hi” and “bye” to him. “Luc” is a rescued eagle from the Bay City/Saginaw region and is blind in his left eye and has a permanent injury to his right wing.
I went to try out the nature trails but found the woodsy area full of mosquitoes and a little muddy from Thursday’s rains, so that will be something to do come Fall.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Wow Nice
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Thank you.
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love the Heron – perhaps it was a yawn! sitting in the sun relaxing.
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I loved that picture too Andy – almost used it for the header picture but I was not sure you could tell what it was with its mouth gaping wide like that and its head turned around the opposite way. A yawn sounds like a good reason – I didn’t even see him strike that pose. I kept trying to get him close up with no geese in the picture.
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Linda,
That was a whimsical post – I found the part where you wrote about seeing the Canadian coast from this side of the lake very romantic. Don’t ask me why.
How long would a boat ride to Canada over Lake Erie take, I wonder?
Are there bridges from Michigan to Canada over Lake Erie ?
The pics are beautiful. The blue heron’s dancing pose was great- looks like he was singing.
The pooch stroller, I have never seen one but isn’t that practical ?
Are dogs not allowed to be off their belts in the park ?
Susie
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Thanks Susie – I am glad you like it. It sure was a beautiful day and that’s how I got sunburned – I was close to the water and it was not hot and it was breezy and never thought of the sun’s rays … the tops of my arms from my arms facing the water while holding the camera and my face … surprised me.
I don’t know if there is a boat ride to Canada over Lake Erie – they have some scenic tours along the Detroit River on a small river boat but that is about it and if you cross into Canada you need a valid passport so I haven’t looked into that as I don’t have a valid passport … I never renewed it after I stopped traveling. I suspect that is why I have a difficult time renewing my green card every 10 years – that and having no fingerprints from all the typing I do. Today I am in the U.S. for 52 years. There are two bridges that cross to Canada – the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron crosses the St. Clair River and the Ambassador Bridge (and a tunnel as well) are crossings from Detroit to Windsor over/under the Detroit River. I thought it looked nice to be able to look across at Canada too … but I wasn’t sure if it was just an island, the gentleman I was speaking to (with the dogs) told me it was Canada. There are many small islands in the Detroit River … I saw the wind turbines but did not realize it was my homeland. First time down that far from my part of town – never explored that part of the water before.
I thought the heron had an interesting pose too – I almost used it for the header pic though I wasn’t sure you could tell what it was with its neck and head turned around. 🙂 Dogs are allowed but must be on a lead and these were small dogs so he had the stroller which was actually a carrier you attach to a bike to pull your dog and he fashioned it into a stroller so he could walk at the same time in the park. There were many bicyclists there yesterday.
I am glad you liked the pictures – today is nice, but not as clear out as yesterday.
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Wonderful pictures. The goslings are so cute, they can’t be so old. I don’t know how Canada geese do, but the Greylag gees lay egg from early April and sure 2 months forward so they have goslings all te summer.
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Thanks John – I was there a good part of the morning trekking along that shoreline. Very pretty there and a beautiful day. I wanted to be sure to include a water lilies picture since we mentioned it before and I never see them that large at Council Point Park. I hope that all the green scum was not algae bloom … a few years ago algae bloom killed a lot of ducks … we had no rain for a long time and ducks had to drink and about a hundred of them were found along the shoreline of a marshy area nearby. We’ve had alot rain, but we also had a lot of heat as well. I was surprised to see the goslings so young. At Council Point Park, they are already gone and out of the Park. They were so cute following their parents around.
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I’d say your trip was worth the effort and the sun’s effects, Linda. That’s not so far to go. Happy anniversary, too. I can’t imagine how that feels.
Love all the pics! 🙂 BIG water, big boat, big birds, little dogs and fair weather made for an outstanding post. I see you having fun with words here, as well. Nicely written!
I’m currently watching the news. 2 boys safely out of that cave in Thailand. YaY! More on their way out. I was beginning to doubt. Whew! Hope has returned. Feels good.
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Glad you liked it Uncle Tree – my first time there and the strange thing was that I got that recreation pass when I renewed my driver’s license. I remember you told me how much yours was and mine was only $11.00 … I was surprised at the difference in price. Thought yours may just include boat launching as well where mine did not. I thought it was good for ALL parks – state parks and metro parks. So I got there yesterday and first time to use the pass. Just a sticker on the license plate – not car window. There was a toll booth, but no one manning it. So, I asked this guy with the dogs who was very friendly and is there at that park walking with his dogs or just walking several times a day. I said “why was no one there?” He said there often wasn’t. I later found out from someone else it is a metro park and not covered under the recreation pass and it is $10.00 a day just to visit, unless you visit on foot or bike. Hmmmm. Have to see if there is an access point and where to leave the car, but better yet, I’d like to come back in migrating season in the Fall, so I’m going to just spring for a pass that’s good all year long and treat myself. I am glad you liked the pictures – the heron with the mouth open surprised me … almost used it for the header pic like he was singing the song, but not sure everyone is familiar with that song.
Went to Heritage Park today and loading pics now … took a ton of pics as usual as about 1/5, if that many, are good, but many are duplicates … with moving birds or critters, have to take extra to ensure no tail feathers or beaks are missing. 🙂 Then went to the Farmer’s Market.
Since you wrote this, two more boys have been rescued as you may already know … they took the four most needy kids … they did not identify whether “most needy” would be in poorer health than the others or because they were having difficulty adapting to the maneuvers needed to get under the water to dive, then surface etc. The newsman believed the latter and most, if not all, of the boys do not know how to swim. You and I and the rest of the world will watch the outcome – they only do four rescues a day and resume tomorrow I heard. If the world can come together for this event, why not for other things? Just thinkin’ aloud.
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That song by Seals and Crofts was one of the few I could play on guitar and sing at the same time. My mom taught me to harmonize, so I rarely would sing tenor, even though I could.
The heron “yawning” is a crack-up! Keeper for sure. On the first pic, I wondered, “What’s with the hair lick?” LoL 🙂 What is that sticking up above his (or her) head?
I thought the Thai boys would come out at regular intervals. When they stopped at 4, I worried…for good reason. For pity’s sake, they ran out of oxygen tanks? Are you kidding me? Seals? Every nation willing to help, and they ran out of air? Good golly! My job concerns supplies. I don’t allow that to happen, unless it can’t be helped. Now, the worries return. Monsoon rains I have yet to experience. I’m guessing sheets of rain becomes buckets. “Time is of the essence,” as is said say oft times. Never more true, I feel.
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I like that song – since you can sing tenor, perhaps that little robin was singing tenor – good name therefore … he had two siblings which would make them “The Three Tenors” … remember them?
Yes, I should have used it up top – it cracked me up as well. My mom would have said “close your mouth, you’re catching flies!” I wondered what was on its head as well and I thought its tufts of hair looked like the Canada wind turbine. Maybe I should have put that in the post. (Now I think of it.)
I couldn’t believe they ran out of oxygen tanks either – they have multiple nations assisting in this rescue efforts. I know they said the water will rise too far and that was why they expedited the rescue efforts as well. Big rains were coming in today. When I heard the news early this morning is was near midnight and the rescue was in the dark … guess it doesn’t matter since the cave is dark. Hope there are no sea serpents or anything in the water. I’ve not heard anything like that mentioned. A friend of mine and his wife just moved to New Mexico last October. He told me that, despite their heat and mostly sunny days (it is a place where the sun shines the most in one year … Las Cruces, NM), they are now experiencing a monsoon-like season. Surprised me but it is bad rains that don’t last very long, but are powerful torrential rain. Now, I am going to shut down and get something to eat. I loaded my photos and Shutterfly had multiple hiccups. I have been here several hours because it kept stalling and not adding pictures anymore. I just looked at the slideshow, not bad, but it was awfully sunny and some of my duck friends looked a little pale. 🙂
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What beautiful pictures! I passed a woman pushing her dog in a baby carriage when I was running in the early morning a while back. I hadn’t seen that before!
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I told this guy I saw a man and woman at the park where I usually walk each pushing a baby stroller and each one had mosquito netting over it and there was a dog sitting up in it. This what he was using, he had converted from a bike carrier for dogs which you pull along behind you, an just put a handle on it so he could take them to the park with him. He told me he lives close by and walks there twice a day. Don’t you wish you had invented that?
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Hmmm interesting.
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Beautiful Pictures! It sounds like you had a great day.
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Thank you – it was a pretty day – the first coolish day in a while. We’ve had a scorching hot late Spring and Summer with lots of rain and high humidity. Yesterday was just picture perfect. Glad you liked the pictures!
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You are very welcome! We’re having a very hot summer here in the Uk as well, very dry. It’s very unusual for this kind of weather here.
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It seems many of my blogger friends are suffering right now in this heat. Mother Nature is certainly having her way with us. Take care and stay cool.
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I love the heat the heat wake! Thank you.
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Love the dog carriage. I have no memory of being pushed in a carriage but it must be fun. Glad I’m mobile though!
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I thought that was clever too Kate. He told me he converted it from a carriage you haul behind you on a bike and made it into a stroller he could push while he was walking. He walks there twice a day and often takes the dogs with him. When they get tired, he lifts them into this carriage. I don’t remember being in a carriage either, but have pictures of me in a stroller and my mom pushing it and it looked like I was having a good time as I was all smiles. No effort needed on my part – that’s why! 🙂
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I remember visiting Lake Erie when my family (from California) spent a few weeks with my grandparents one summer when I was about five. But it was a different part of Lake Erie because my grandparents lived close to Buffalo, New York. It looks like you had a nice walk despite the sunburn.
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It was a large body of water Janis … first time I’d been to that shore and across from the shoreline was Canada and I didn’t realize that until the man told me when he asked if I noticed the wind turbines. I told him I had seen them, but thought it was another island. There are many small islands, mostly uninhabited around here and assumed that was another one. I was surprised. It was a nice walk up and down the shoreline and the marsh. I would have liked to venture into the wooded area, but not only the mosquitoes and muddy areas, but there was no one around and I didn’t think it was safe to venture deep into the woods on my own. The sunburn was dumb of me – I’ve not been burned in years … I knew I’d be by the water but had no idea the glare of the sun would be that strong … still red today. Didn’t we do those tricks when we were teens and wanted to have some color and usually ended up looking like a lobster in the process?
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Wow, you must have an amazing camera! The water is so blue and sparkly! Thanks for sharing your amazing adventures. I look forward to reading more about your adventures.
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Hi – thank you … I’ll give credit to the camera and not to me the “picture taker”. I was kind of surprised just how sparkly the water looked. The sun was shining down on it and to me it looked like little crystals or sunbursts on the water. That, and the flash kicked in for some reason. 🙂 I’m glad you enjoyed this post and hope you enjoy the others down the line.
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Miss Linda………………….very nice pictures of Lake Erie and the goslings and the Heron “posing” for your camera shot…………………….good for you…………………….your adventurous………….
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I am glad you liked this Ann Marie – I was sorry I published this post right after after you went off line yesterday, especially since you were there the very same day. I’m adventurous since you spoon fed me and gave me directions – I am bad with directions. So thank goodness for you. That heron was a “ham” wasn’t he?
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Sounds like an interesting day out. I love the idea of a dog stroller. ☺
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It was Zena and a little break in the heat and humidity, though it has returned today. I thought the dog stroller was a cute concept as well – they were just small dogs, terriers or Shih Tzu I believe. They get tired, hop aboard, then climb out again and run on their leash. Bet they sleep good!
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Love that heron – yawning or yelling! Love the guy & his spoiled little dogs! 😀
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Wasn’t he just incredible Ellie? I never saw him doing it until I got home and reviewed the pictures. My mother would have said “shut your mouth, you’re catching flies!” Those dogs were very cute. One got tired and when he stopped, it climbed into the stroller on its own, the other one kept on walking.
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Let’s face it, when you have short little legs, you get tired faster. I should know. 😂
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He did have short legs – you too, well good things come in small packages Ellie. How is the walking coming along, or are you not walking in this extreme heat?
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I did do 2 km today but was so humid… lately it’s just been like an oven/steam bath.
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Well, that one mile is better than 0 miles Ellie. It saps your strength and just is not fun to walk in this heat. Here in Michigan we have a rainy period coming up after this Friday … not happy about it, and, if it rains in the a.m. I am highly unlikely to venture out in the evening when it is hot and steamy out. We have one more day of this and bad storms and torrential rain slated for tomorrow, then three days of cooler weather – I hope that is coming your way to get a breather.
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Yes, hope so too. Steam baths aren’t fun!
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No they are not – Summer’s extreme heat and humidity have never been my cup of tea. Winter either – there’s no pleasing me. I like Fall best, even if it is a prelude to Winter.
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Ah, lovely park, great photos, and a doggy cart to boot! I’m seeing this post in January, so thank you, I feel all warm and ready to take a walk!
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Yes, wish it was now – maybe an alternative for Copper … I’ve seen dogs in those foldable baby strollers too, this just accommodated two pups. They loved it!
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