I really look forward to my weekend excursions, when I can expand my horizons to explore a little more, take extra pictures, and I don’t have to be watching the clock to be back home for work. So, yesterday I did a different type of morning meander. Instead of walking solo, I decided to take a pair of organized nature walks through Lake Erie Metropark. This is only my fourth time to visit this very large park and I thought it would be fun to explore the woodsy trails as opposed to walking along the Lake Erie shoreline and taking in the sights from there.
When I made the reservation for the “Coffee Club” I was told this group meets once a month and it is fun, informal and these same folks had been gathering for coffee and donuts, then setting out on a nature walk for about twenty years. So, how cool is that … all these walkers and nature lovers – yup, it sounded right up my alley.
I left earlier than usual and the sun had just risen, a fiery ball of fire in the morning sky. If only we could have skipped the heat and humidity, it would have been perfect, but at least it didn’t rain … well the rain event came later, thankfully.
I turned off West Jefferson into the sprawling Lake Erie Metropark grounds. There were at least two dozen Canada geese and some goslings grazing by the road. It was such a peaceful sight. As I traveled the long and winding road to get to the Marshlands Museum, in the still-dim light I saw a doe about thirty feet ahead of me. How I wished I could have whipped out the camera and got its picture, but it paused for just a second, then loped away and disappeared into the nearby brush. So, that little bit of nature nirvana made my day. I don’t think I’ve seen deer in the wild, since we visited Algonquin Park when I was a youngster. I would later learn that the deer was not scampering across the road to provide me a potential photo op, but instead many people are feeding them corn, so the deer contingent hopes that the next carload of visitors to the Park may be providing them breakfast. (Actually, feeding any of the Park’s critters is forbidden here.)
So here are some tidbits from the trail …
Trek number one.
As mentioned above, the “Coffee Club” members meet monthly for coffee and donuts at the Marshlands Museum. Once fortified with a treat and some java, off they go on a nature hike. One of the Park guides leads the pack and is full of tidbits about the flora and fauna along the way. Though I was the new kid on the block, the rest of the group welcomed me into the fold and we chatted amicably as we started out on the trail.
Our guide was Paul, who has worked at the Park for a quarter of a century, and he not only filled our heads and eyes with info along the trail, but entertained us as well. Paul had just returned from a hiking vacation in the Bruce Peninsula at Georgian Bay, Canada. Coincidentally, this is where my boss is this weekend, in a cabin near Wiarton. Many years ago I visited Georgian Bay at a family friend’s cottage in Collingwood and it’s a beautiful area.
Our first stop was to pause by a raised garden bed just outside the Marshlands Museum, where we watched a Monarch butterfly caterpillar inching along a leaf. Then we headed to the actual nature trail. There are multiple nature trails at Lake Erie Metropark and this one is named the Cherry Island Trail. Thankfully, there was a bit of a breeze since the humidity was 95% and the temperature 75 degrees when I left the house.
I have always liked Black-Eyed Susans and here was a large patch of them.
The abundance of yellow continued as we went forward, only this time it was Goldenrod. Paul explained that most people blame their Summertime allergies on Goldenrod, when it is really Ragweed, a very common and ordinary-looking weed, which causes all our red-eye and sniffling miseries.
In the background you see tall reeds with frothy-looking tips and they lined this paved path.
They are an invasive plant that is known as Phragmites and some are ten feet tall or more. You can see how high they are near this lotus pond.
Just before we turned into a woodsy area with a grassy walking trail, Paul showed us a crayfish burrow or “chimney”, which was essentially a dirt mound with a hole about two inches in diameter where the crayfish pops into and it leads right to the marshy water. Snakes sometimes misappropriate these burrows for themselves … it was empty though, as it had sustained some damage, so no crayfish or snakes found here.
There was some beautiful birdsong by a bird I’ve never heard before. I looked up in the trees but I couldn’t see any birds up there.
This trail was woodsy and peaceful and our next stop was to visit the lotus beds on either side of the pathway. Paul referred to this area as a dike because the pathway comes between the two areas of the marsh.
One side of the path provided a primo, up-close view of those beautiful lotuses that I told you about last month in my post “Lovely Lotuses” https://lindaschaubblog.net/2018/08/04/lovely-lotuses/
Even though the peak season for lotuses has already passed, they were still blooming, with many buds yet to open. Paul advised that these delicate lotus blooms only last two days after they open.
They sure were beautiful. I hope the photograph captures the size of the leaves here – they look as large as an elephant’s ear.
As we walked across a wooden bridge over the marsh, my head was swiveling back and forth – what do I look at first? On the left was a marshy body of water, and on the right, I was watching a kayaker and some mallards navigating the thick algae bloom along the Lake Erie/Detroit River shoreline. Suddenly, a group member cried out “look at the egret!” Well, there he was, sitting in the tree, a bright-white slash in the nondescript background. I zoomed in on him with the camera, but he was clear across the marsh. He didn’t seem to mind this passel of people gawking at him while he alternately preened, then gave us a profile from the left, then the right.
There were several opportunities to cross wooden bridges which rose above the many marshy areas. Barn swallows flitted everywhere and we were told that they were nesting beneath these bridges.
There were also long stretches where we walked through woodsy areas that ran parallel to the water and that shade was a welcome respite from the hot sun.
Here are some more pictures of the scenic trail.
At Council Point Park, there are pond lilies. Their leaves are very large and rest upon the surface of the Ecorse Creek. They have blooms, but they are smaller than a lotus bloom and sit right on the lily pad. I often scan those pond lilies for frogs as I hear them croaking in the still of the morning, but I’ve yet to see one. But, as our group crossed a wooden walkway, we peered into the water that is covered with different types of pond lilies, and we were lucky enough to see the proverbial frog sitting on a large lily pad. He made no sounds and blended right into the leaves. Can you see him?
Here’s a close-up …
There were also tiny frogs sitting on smaller water lilies, only these are an invasive type of lily pad, coincidentally called European frog-bit. I swear there was a tiny frog here when I took this picture, but I can’t find him now.
We walked and chatted while absorbing facts, but all too soon our trek was over and we were back at the Marshlands Museum. I returned to the raised garden to find that caterpillar and get its picture, but he evidently was munching away and hidden under some leaves. I did find a horned caterpillar and there was a beautiful butterfly hovering over the flowers. I thought it was a Monarch, but was told by a group member it was a Viceroy, which resembles a Monarch. It’s the first time I’ve seen this species of butterfly. Unfortunately, getting a butterfly to pose is not as easy as tossing a few peanuts out to one of my squirrel pals. These were my best out of about fifteen shots.
I wished I could have nudged him (or her), with the unfortunate tear in one wing, to go over to a greener and prettier leaf than this one.
Trek number two.
I enjoyed myself so much on the “Coffee Club” nature hike, I decided that I’d go on another interpretive walk. This trek focused on “Pesky Plants” and there were only two of us, along with our guide Kevin. Once again we started out on the Cherry Island Trail on a paved path, where we saw buckthorn which has overtaken much of the wooded area. As its name suggests, it is thorny and reminded me of a Pyracantha bush I have. It is difficult to prune due to its thorny nature and will grow out of control if you don’t keep it tamed. We saw the Phragmites invasive reeds then turned onto the natural pathway and the wooded area. Kevin pointed out a frilly white weed/wildflower which I recognized as Queen Anne’s Lace. What I didn’t know is that this plant could be “beheaded” and those frilly blooms battered and fried up to make it taste like an elephant ear pastry. Who knew?
We alternately passed over several marsh overlooks as we wove our way along the trail. Occasionally we’d walk on the gravel roads which were found in more shaded areas (thankfully), then we’d be back into the full sun again. By now it was 11:00 a.m. and getting steamy. The egret had tired of entertaining the Marsh visitors, but, in its wake, we saw what Kevin identified as a Cormorant, a large dark-brown bird with a huge wingspan that flew over our heads. We also saw a pair of Common Terns, but they, too, zipped by quickly before I had to chance to take their photo.
It was an enjoyable morning and yielded a wealth of pictures and info to sock away in my brain for future trips to Lake Erie Metropark.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Extraordinarily scenic!
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Thanks Jan – I was glad I took these two treks. I usually just stick to the walking/bike path that winds through the other side of the Park. It’s nice exploring new horizons. I think it will be nice here when the colors change. There are a lot of trees here.
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The coffee club sounds like a great group!
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It was fun Kate and I was glad I went. Apparently they walk year around, even in Winter (they look for and identify tracks on the trail).
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That sounds like a great group of like-minded people. Sometimes it’s hard to be the newbie, but it sounds like they were happy to welcome a new member.
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Yes, they were nice Janis and I hate being the newbie but they were all friendly. Twenty years is a long time for this group to be together.
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I enjoyed your guided walk. How nice that the group welcomed you! The butterfly might not have posed for you, but you got some good shots. We used to see egrets and cormorants all the time in NY. I liked the photos of your fellow walkers, too.
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Thanks Anne – I’m glad you liked it. We learned a lot of information on these two treks. They were a nice group and I wish I’d gotten that Metropark pass earlier in the year. I’d like to go again with this group and hopefully some of the Winter events are when it is just plain cold and not real snowy. I was pretty close up to the butterfly. I had another butterfly there but I didn’t notice until I reviewed the photos that most of its wings were missing. I took photos of that horned caterpillar but they were too blurry.
That was the first cormorant and common terns I’ve ever seen. I thought I’d include the group on the trail – I should have gotten one shot with Paul and the group before we started. I was lagging behind sometimes as I was taking pictures. I could not resist taking more lotus pictures. They were much larger than last time.
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The post was wonderful.
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Thanks Anne – it was an enjoyable morning. I just realized it is too late to post in “Patch” tonight – all those pictures and text cannot load up in time for a post dated today … I will have to do it tomorrow. At least I am caught up in Reader again. 🙂
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Miss Linda…………………thank you for “socking away into your brain”……………………..all of this new information and pictures………………………it was an adventure just reading your blog today
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I am glad you liked it Ann Marie – I enjoyed going on these treks and learned a lot and I wish I knew about this Park before July of this year … no wonder you like going out there so much!
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maybe you can find a photographic group as well?
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Wayne – since I got the Park pass in July, I have been checking out all the offerings that this Park has to offer. They do have a camera club and it meets every other month. I think I will look into it because it seems that it is okay to be amateur to attend. I would have hoped to have been a little more proficient with the DSLR by now, but I’ve not used it the last few weekends due to the weather (either rainy or very hot or humid or storms threaten). Sometimes it is handier for me to use the compact camera (like I did for this post). This is the description of the camera club:
We absolutely love seeing all of the photos our patrons take of the park and all that it has to offer. If you are an aspiring photographer, are comfortable around a camera, or you are an expert; we have a program for you. It is called LENS CAP, the Lake Erie Nature Society for Cameras and Photography. The group meets every other month at the Lake Erie Marshlands Museum, typically on the last Sunday of the month at 2 p.m., and is full of tips, tricks and techniques for just about every situation. This is an excellent way for you to “up your game” or to help others that may have questions regarding photography. There is no fee for the LENS CAP program; but donations are gladly accepted.
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I knew there would be a camera club down your way.
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The other one had the members with the big lenses and this sounds more like something I could fit into comfortably. It is not that close to me, though, about a 40 mile round trip, but I can combine it with a walk and photo excursion. This is right at the museum where I was yesterday. We are having some bad weather again and I’m going to unplug and shut down til it passes. It is dark at night and torrential rain. They said 4:00 p.m. and I just looked on Accuweather – they say heavy thunderstorm for 71 minutes: https://www.accuweather.com/en/us/lincoln-park-mi/48146/minute-weather-forecast/338727
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people with big lenses often do not have a clue how to take pictures but need to present themselves as if they do.
posers…..
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I am smiling about that. I did okay yesterday with the compact digital, except my egret was a little too far away. When I went to the Farmer’s Market a few weeks ago, the person in charge saw me with the camera and asked if I was from the local newspaper and pumped my hand. I told him “no” and he looked disappointed. Rained like no tomorrow, and a lot of thunder … just looked at Accuweather and another storm in 39 minutes.
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a line of scattered storm cells is moving across from west to east.I think they will pass to the north of you but the rain will be falling.
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You could have a sideline Wayne – on the 3:00 p.m. news they said the exact same thing! And northern suburbs will be hit again. We are supposed to have another round of storms they said and that would make the third time for rain today. I went outside this morning – they predicted rain by 8:00 a.m. – looked outside and the sun was shining – this was 7:45 a.m. So, decided not to drive to any parks, just walk today to Council Point Park. I came out of the garage from running the car and it was 8:00 a.m. and it started to sprinkle. Went back and got the umbrella and stayed in the neighborhood (the Park is a mile each way) … sprinkled for about 15 minutes and then stopped, never rained again until this big storm. They have a big jazz festival in Detroit every Labor Day weekend. Three days of jazz artists from all over the world and it is free. They have shut it totally down for the second time this weekend – everything is outside at Hart Plaza. We have a lot of festivals this weekend, all having issues from the rain and in my part of town 14,000 without power. I am lucky so far.
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yes,but now I see that line of storm cells beginning to slip to the south.Which means you are defiantly going to be hit.
Better shut down & wait it out.
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I think I am going to just shut down for the night – it’s exasperating with this weather, but so far I’m happy for no damage/flooding and I still have power.
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goodnight Linda
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Thank you for the heads ups Wayne … we had intermittent thunder and also rain the entire evening – it is already 72 degrees, dew point of 70 and 91 percent humidity. We have unsettled weather through next Sunday … Friday is the one day we may see the sun.
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glad you didn’t get the brunt of the storm at any rate!
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Thanks Wayne – me too. I hope they get those people’s power back on – it is oppressive out today and we have a heat advisory now until late Wednesday, then we might get rain/moisture on the weekend from what will be Hurricane Gordon. It was a little foggy in places, very murky and oppressive this a.m. Came here to find my boss drove home last night instead of today because it rained a lot of the time at the cottage – figured he might as come home. Glad to see you got out last night and were successful.
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sounds like all of you need a vacation from that nasty weather! Lots of moisture in your air.Look on the bright side,no chance of forest fires down your way!
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We sure do Wayne … I just had to call to renew my annual A/C and furnace maintenance plan and book an appointment for the furnace inspection – I said “do you think by October 11th we will still be using the A/C or maybe using the furnace by then?” Yes, no danger of forest fires, but we did have grass fire warnings back in July when there were the almost four weeks of drought. It was a high alert and concern over grass fires.
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you were asking the furnace maintenance company for a weather prediction?
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No, I was kidding with her because I’ve been dealing with Flame Furnace for awhile now, and in the past I have scheduled the annual furnace maintenance visit and it has been too hot outside and we had to reschedule a few weeks. Also, in the Spring, we’ve had to reschedule the annual A/C inspection for early June because the furnace was still on.
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Some great spots today on your walk. Not seen Lilly Pads/leaves where the water has dropped at the stand up like that
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It was a very scenic and informative trip Andy. Those little pads they said are very invasive. I had to get the name of them for this post, so I Googled and discovered they are so invasive that they clog up the water and catch on propellers of boats, trapping boaters in the marshy waters. Not only the boaters, but the waterfowl, who also become trapped with their feet while trying to reach the plants that they can eat. This water level is actually higher than usual – we had drought-like conditions all of July, but have had substantial rain since then … we had 2 inches of rain in 12 hours this past Saturday into Sunday morning. I cannot believe it was the first frog I’ve seen on these pads … I sure knew they were out there. On a quiet morning, you can hear them croaking as you walk along the water’s edge.
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What a beautiful walk. 🙂 I especially love the photo of the little Egret. He had obviously popped out to say hello to you all. 🙂 xxx
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I think you are right Heather – he sure showed up in that tree … I wish he had been a little closer, but I was happy to at least have gotten this picture.
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I am glad you enjoyed meeting up with the coffee club for your walk. It is lovely to meet new like minded people.
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It was Zena and I wished I had looked into it sooner. Look what I have been missing!
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Once, at the doctors, they did allergy tests with needles of different allergens all over my back. I didn’t get a reaction from much of anything except Ragweed. It made half my back flare up!
Now i’m not too sensitive to it. I take MSM (for arthritis) and it, as an additional benefit, helps prevent allergies! MSM is totally safe; you can take tons of it an there are no bad side effects. 🙂 Swanson’s Vitamins sell a good brand of it.
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Interesting! I took allergy shots for ragweed, dust, pollen, mold/chlorophyll from 1975 to 1995 and the allergist retired, and said I no longer needed the shots. In 2002, the allergies came back, but in the Spring. I thought it was a fluke the first Spring (besides I only had allergies in August at the height of ragweed season) and the next Spring same thing happened. I was back on the immunotherapy again and won’t go off ever again. The allergist could not figure out how I had the needle test like you did, and I tested positive for the exact same allergens (except for ragweed) and I am only bothered in the Springtime now. Even though I’m on the shots, I take OTC “Alavert” 24-hour pill from April through June so I don’t sneeze my head off.
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I really enjoyed reading your post 🌳🌿 I could imagine myself standing and watching all those beautiful things. The pictures are also lovely (love the one with the tiny 🐸 especially- it’s so adorable!) and I wish to visit this peaceful place in the future as well 😊
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I’m glad you enjoyed it – it is so nice to just go out on a trail and immerse yourself in nature. Where I walk every day, at Council Point Park, it is much smaller than this Park, but the woodsy experience is just enough to make you feel like you escaped from it all.
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Yes – so true! 🌳 All this green color is just so relaxing and people sometimes forget that the most beautiful moments happen when you’re watching 📺 but when you’re watching and – like you mentioned- immersing in nature 🌿🍃
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It is a good escape from our daily life – I like to walk and have my mind a blank canvas as I set out and just absorb what is going on around me. I do wish I lived in a place where I could walk year around. Even though we are in this horrible heat and humidity pattern, which is 15 degrees above normal for this time of year, I still know that a few more months, Winter will be here … Winter with its snow and ice and cold. Though I complain about the cold, at least you don’t have to worry about dealing with the snow or ice for driving or walking. You can always bundle up … it sure is hard to think of bundling up now at 90 plus degrees!
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* do not happen when you’re watching 📺 but when you’re watching and – like you mentioned- immersing in nature 🌿🍃
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There is nothing better than the Metropark’s! I take advantage of our Metropark’s almost weekly. These days have been so hot haven’t they? 2 more days and we get a break. Since I am on the south end of Lake Erie we get pretty much the same temperature.
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This year I got a state park pass for the first time when I renewed my driver’s license and I assumed that covered all parks – it does not cover much and many of them are camping ground or far from me. Then I discovered Lake Erie Metropark – I wish I had known about it before. It is not all that close to me, but it is good to give my car a long run because I work from home and it sits in the garage most of the time. I would like to try the other parks that I can use on my pass, maybe next year I will explore a little more. Yes, this weather has been a real drag and today was so oppressive … there was some fog and mist and the grass and even the cement was sopping wet when I walked out of the house this morning. We had so much rain over the long holiday.
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Well hang in there, one more day and it should be perfect!
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Thank goodness – that is what I hear as well Diane.
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Wow what an absolutely beautiful morning!!! This actually make me very nostalgic because it reminds me of the Cuyahoga National park that I grew up in. Such amazing pictures of nature and wildlife. I feel at peace after reading this- thank you for sharing, Linda!
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You’re welcome Mackenzie – I felt peace here as well. A little sun coming through the trees on a morning hike. We are getting cooler weather tomorrow and I am so ready for it. Been “hiking” in the store the past few days and I am ready to hit the trail once again. Hope your studies are going well … week #2 already!
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Yes!!! Yay for good weather! And thank you so much!
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How fun to send time on this beautiful scenic trail and to meet new friends to boot! 😊 … The butterfly was beautiful, even if the leaf was not so much. 😂 … this makes me want to get out and go for a walk, but we have an expected high of 86 with humidify at 94% today; so, I may have to wait until evening comes along! 😉
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I know that butterfly was gorgeous and it seemed content to pose for long periods of time … that yellow leaf not so great and I wanted to pluck it off and move it over to the next leaf. We’ve had such horrid heat and humidity and tonight we’ll have a storm (hopefully not severe as it is a cold front coming in) and then our temps will be in the 70s – how wonderful. We’ve had that high humidity too, this morning 98% when I went out the door and temp close to 80. Even the evening walks are uncomfortable at that temperature and now the days are getting so short. I am ready for Fall to arrive.
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I am, too! 🍂🍁
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My husband and I recently did a nature tour where we were looking at butterflies. The guide was super knowledgeable and even though it was scorching hot outside, it was shaded and gorgeous. Since moving to the south I have been trying to enjoy nature a little bit more.
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Those butterflies love the sun and we have had so few sunny and beautiful days this Summer, that I’ve only seen mostly the Cabbage White butterflies so I was happy to see that one. Lucky you living in the South to enjoy the beautiful weather, though I have a few friends who moved to North Carolina to get away from the snow and they posted pictures on Facebook showing all their snow!
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How far did you have to go to ‘walk off’ the donuts? 😀
Here’s a link to my pic of some black-eyed Susans near my house. Love ’em too!
https://www.instagram.com/p/BnMnKGjFx3blLr1BDaYbBvIsErRPoP3UXyEv6M0/?taken-by=ell.the.belle
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Hi Ellie – well, the two trails were three miles altogether … 1 1/2 miles round trip for each. I walked afterward as I am chasing this goal.
I did not do donuts and coffee, not because I was antisocial, but because I have not driven in the dark in years … I used to do more when I was working on site, as I’d run errands at night after I got home, but now that I work from home, I never go out in the evening. There is crime in our city and according to the next-door neighbor, there are rats in the backyard. The very idea of that shakes me up, so no trips outside in the dark for me. I told them I’d do donuts and coffee in the Summer when the sun gets up earlier (even though I swore off sweets in 2011).
You have to send your link again as it did not display here. I love Black-Eyed Susans and I lost all of mine when we had that wicked Polar Vortex a few years ago – all my perennials gone in one fell swoop.
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Good morning Linda,
This sounds like my kind of group AND day! I would love to see the lotus beds in bloom. I just stumbled upon a guided trail hikes group here in FFG. Was a few days late of being able to sign up and participate in the yearly 26 mile marathon, but they have trail hikes all year long that I am interested in until the next marathon comes around.
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They were so nice and I felt welcome in their group … it was a beautiful day but very hot. We have dropped 40 degrees in the span of a few days – this morning I put on the heat. Our rainy and very oppressive heat and humidity weather has hampered some of my walking and I don’t have a treadmill. I was trying to beat my goal of 1,050 miles walked last year, even by one mile, but it has been tough. You must really be an avid walker to participate in a 26-mile marathon – you leave me in the dust! The most I’ve walked at one time is 6 1/2 or 7 miles. Those lotus beds are incredible and very beautiful and tropical looking.
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Looks lovely!! Egrets – seen some in Boca Raton when visiting my sis-in-law. Viceroy – just saw one recently, thought it was a monarch, but was re-educated on that score! 😀
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It was lovely Ellie, two back-to-back nature hikes. I was re-educated too because I said “ooh a Monarch!” Nope, a Viceroy but they look so very similar. Those egrets are beautiful too, all snowy white. I wish he had been a little closer. I remember seeing them in Florida as well, high up in the trees with the Spanish moss hanging down.
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What a lovely morning Linda!! I love that you did that. Have you done the morning group again since this post (Trail Mix)??
I’m curious about the treat made with the beheaded beautiful Queen Anne’s Lace!!!
As always the photos were the icing on the cake.
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Hi Jennifer – No, I’ve not gotten together with this coffee club group, but they only meet once a month, so their next group meeting and walk will be in October. I am hoping to hook up with them again and I understand they walk all year around, even in Winter where they will go out on the trail and look at and identify footprints in the snow. That sounded fun too!
I’ve never heard of eating fried Queen Anne’s Lace either but one of the bloggers I follow did a blog post on using wildflowers in her food, not only for eating but to be creative. I just Googled and what do you know … not only do you french-fry the “heads” of the plant, but you can toss them in salads. I’m a bit of a germaphobe and not sure I could handle this … here is what they say to do and the link is below. I’m glad you liked the pictures Jennifer because it was one stinkin’ hot day and I never usually walk that late in the morning and thought I might melt out there!
Using first year Queen Anne’s lace plants are recommended. Roots are long, pale, woody, and are finger-thin and are used in soups, stews and in making tea. First year leaves can be chopped and tossed into a salad. Flower clusters can be ‘french-fried’ or fresh flowers can be tossed into a salad. The aromatic seed is used as a flavoring in stews and soups.
https://www.ediblewildfood.com/queen-annes-lace.aspx
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I love the “elephant ears”, the hidden frog, and the Viceroys!! So fun to see all that you saw on the trek!
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Glad you liked the post – I did have alot of pics in there. It was a nice group of people and they’ve met once a month for years. No walking there right now – the trails are closed due to flooding.
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🙂
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