Wow, the weatherman aced it for the weekend weather. I sure am glad I flip-flopped yesterday’s agenda and made it today’s instead, because the morning started out calm and a little sunny, then everything turned ugly and gray and the winds picked up. Those winds were gusting mightily so I decided to just forego raking leaves – they were all blowing my way anyway.
I sure did enjoy that extra hour today and I’ve not changed the clocks yet, because I kind of like glancing at them and knowing it is really an hour earlier. Can we do this every Sunday?
This post will be Part II, a continuation of yesterday’s two treks. Today is exclusively Elizabeth Park, where I went after a quick morning meander down at Council Point Park to check on and feed my furry peanut pals.
Part I is here
Whew – I think I just about missed peak leaf-peepin’ time!
I sure am glad I went to Elizabeth Park yesterday because one look at the trees told me that today’s predicted high winds would likely strip every tree of its leaves. So, it was the swan song for most of the Fall foliage at Elizabeth Park.
You may recall I mentioned yesterday that I took way too many pictures because when I arrived there, the sun suddenly decided to dip behind the clouds and there it stayed for the better part of an hour. I waited a few minutes for the sun to show its face again, then decided to just go ahead and take pictures, sun or no sun.
This trek followed three days of rain and I’ve been here before after rain pools in low-lying areas and it was no exception this time. There were deep pools of water everywhere. A sick Sycamore tree was furiously dropping leaves and they were either submerged or floating in this pool of water.
I walked the big loop that encircles Elizabeth Park, which is actually a man-made island, then I went to the boardwalk that runs parallel to the Detroit River. I was just enamored with a stand of golden-yellow Lombardy Poplar trees which I saw in the distance and took many pictures of them. This is one of them.
The wind started to kick up a bit and leaves began fluttering down all around me. Once again I tried to capture their descent, but then I figured I’d better just hustle along faster to get closer to those Poplars before all the leaves were stripped bare. I told myself “one last picture” and was taking that shot when I saw a dark blob in my peripheral vision. I looked over to see a heron whizzing by me. I tried to focus on him on the fly and I just clicked away hoping for the best.
Considering I was a little slow, the photo didn’t turn out too badly. Had the heron announced his presence like the one at Council Point Park does with a screechy noise that could wake the dead, I would have been more in tune with its presence.
Where were the other waterfowl?
The waterfowl were not as plentiful as usual. Sometimes there are ducks galore – yesterday not so much. There were some mallards in the water, but too far away from me, and when the wind kicked up and the water was rippling, I knew my shots would be iffy at a distance. I saw these Pekin ducks and Hybrid Mallards snoozing together along the shore – they were in dreamland as they didn’t even stir as I walked by. Even the lookout drake was shutting his eyes.
Though I did get my goose fix …
I got a goose fix when a flock of Canada geese came in for a landing and skidded onto the surface of the water in a big splash – I mean a BIG splash and I’m glad I wasn’t too close to them, or I’d have gotten soaking wet. They regrouped and started paddling together, dipping and diving and preening along the way. Aren’t they beautiful with their synchronized swimming?
Then I spotted this trio of geese, looking so regal with their black heads and distinctive markings and plumage. I watched them for a while, noting that one of the geese held up its right leg the entire time. I hope it wasn’t injured, because while the other geese were grazing – this one stood there like a statue. I enjoyed watching them – one goose was grazing with its body plopped right on the ground.
I saw the trio silently looking out onto the water, perhaps searching for their friends? I wanted to tell them their friends were back at the first footbridge.
I scanned the sky for any raptors circling overhead but all I saw were seagulls, and very few at that. Not even any Cormorants taking an icy cold dip in the water either.
The sun returned – yay!
Then, “just like that” Mother Nature decided to turn on the Park’s light switch – the sun came out and shone brilliantly. It turned out to be a good shadow day as well, as you see a shadow picture of me climbing up the steps of Elizabeth Park’s largest of the three footbridges. I think I look as chubby as Parker and his pals in this picture. It was chilly so I was layered up and had a puffy coat on as well.
As I crossed the Elizabeth Drive Bridge, where the cars must enter and exit this Park, I stopped to take a picture of Old Glory flapping in the breeze.
When I stopped in my tracks, apparently I ticked off this squirrel as I strayed into his personal space and too close to “his tree” as you see in this picture. From his high perch he looked down at me, while wearing a very disgruntled look and then he chattered at me angrily. I tried not to take it personally.
Unfortunately I had given away all my peanuts earlier at Council Point Park so I had nothing to pacify this little soul. He posed nicely in the tree though, long enough for me to get these shots, then he shot up to the top, until I had gone on my way and it was safe to come down again.
Maybe he would have liked to chomp on these pretty berries.
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, the appearance of Ol’ Sol prompted me to do a walk around once again to recapture the images of all those stunning trees with just a hint of sun in the background.
My last glimpse of Elizabeth Park was when I reached my car after trekking 5 ¼ miles in and around this venue – a flock of geese was grazing under a colorful tree, with one of the smaller footbridges in the background.
Instead of making you scroll down looking at leaf pictures, here is a slideshow of my favorite foliage photos from Elizabeth Park.
I traveled the perimeter road that encircles Elizabeth Park twice and I went over the bridge, and along the boardwalk as well. After that long trek, I sure am glad I decided to do my leaf peepin’ today because after today’s blustery day and a gusty storm predicted for Election Day /Tuesday, these trees would likely be stripped of their leaves.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Beautiful!
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Thank you.
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I loved your glorious photos.
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Thanks Anne – I think that will wrap it up for the Fall foliage 2018 shots. Those yellows are just glorious.
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Miss Linda……………………………….nice photo of our GBH in flight………………………..good shot…………………..we should review these beautiful colorful pictures during January and February when everything is stark frozen white!
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Thanks Ann Marie – that was just plain luck as I was looking at the yellow poplars when he whizzed by. I agree that we should look at these bright and cheery photos in January and February where we will shiver with the cold and despair about the ice and snow.
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Wow autumn is gorgeous for sure there…
Love the goose shot and of course always a,fan of your squirrels
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It is gorgeous but fleeting, as those trees are at the mercy of Mother Nature. We had a blustery day yesterday and 45 mph winds tomorrow – those beautiful leaves are going to here, there and everywhere. I liked the goose shot too Michael – they looked regal to me … I think I can make anyone a fan of these Michigan squirrels. 🙂
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Those squirrels deserve their own blog 🙂
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You know that this may be an avenue to pursue … just like Teddy. 🙂 Not going there again today … it is pouring raining and the winds right now are gusting at 43 mph. We have an ugly day and it is mid-term election day. If the power goes out, the polling places will be restored first.
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Oh yes you’re all voting…we watch with great interest…
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God help us!
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glad your weather has improved Linda!
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Unfortunately it was just temporary Wayne … just enough to get a long walk in Saturday, another walk and some errands done yesterday, and now the bottom will start to fall out. A rainy evening and all day tomorrow, plus 45-50 mph winds. And, snow showers Friday and Saturday … I have miles to walk, squirrels to feed, pictures to take. Someone stepped on Mother Nature’s toes!
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well…..remember to enjoy it all or its just a quota.
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I was hoping for a little more Fall … at least you are having a nice Indian Summer, so savor it. No walk for me tomorrow morning – I might blow away to Kansas with Dorothy and Toto.
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I might come back early if the salmon have gone further upstream & or if the river is too high & fast?
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I wondered if you’d go and was going to ask but I thought maybe the river was still churning around like last time from all the rain. It’s a shame if you’ve got the sun and warm weather and the river’s going to get in the way.
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Being a wildlife photographer means that to survive both physically & photographically I need to go with the flow.
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As long as that flow isn’t like rapids! I know, you’re thinking it is the gasp of nice, Summer-like weather. That is why I seized Saturday. I had errands to do and outside chores and pushed them off because I was so damn sick and tired of the rain intruding on everything I wanted to do.
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lovely photos! I especially liked the Heron, whenever I see them flying around they are always so high up in the sky I could never get a shot but I think you did great capturing him as he flew by 🙂
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Thanks Ari – it truly was beautiful in this Park with all the golden trees. The heron was a lucky shot as I sure did fumble to get his picture as I was so intent on looking at those poplar trees. There is a heron in the Park where I walk every day – he generally bolts when he sees me. The only time I get a decent shot is when he is daydreaming and doesn’t see me. Have you ever heard a heron squawk? “My” heron, when it bolts, makes a horrible screeching/squawking noise as it flies away. It flies down a narrow passageway over top of the Creek and its disgruntled voice echoes throughout the entire Park. 🙂 Thank you for following my blog Ari.
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lol I like the idea of catching the heron daydream. No, I’ve never heard the heron call. I will have to visit our park where there is a heron hide and see if I can catch that squawk
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Well Ari, he likes to stand on this cement ledge overlooking the Creek. When I come around a small group of bushes, if he is scoping out the water for fish he fails to see me. I have had a few lucky shots that way … in this post below, if you scroll halfway down you’ll see what I mean. But then he sees me and he bolts down the passageway over the Creek. You’ll see that too. 🙂 They make a loud noise. Hope you get to hear it as you would not think such a scrawny bird could make so much noise. Enjoy your day at the park – we have a very rainy day today and the winds are gusting at 43 mph right now – I hope not to lose my power today. https://lindaschaubblog.net/2018/09/22/glimpses-of-fall/
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That squirrel is obviously unaware of your reputation of a very kind squirrel-feeder! Great picture of the blue heron, especially since he kind of took you by surprise! We have a local lake that is a staging area for waterfowl migrating north in the spring. I will have to take pictures in February or March. There are hundreds of thousands of snow geese and tundra swans.
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I wanted to tell that fractious squirrel that I am actually popular at Council Point Park, regardless of how he felt about me. It is exciting when you take pictures to see how they look when you upload them. I was really surprised I got that photo of the heron, plus I had another one as he flew away with his huge wingspan. I almost used it too, but had way too many photos already. That will be beautiful to see with the snow geese and tundra swans. I hope you will post pictures when you go? I see occasional swans here at Council Point Park. Here we have just mute swans, unless there are others in the Upper Peninsula perhaps that I’ve not seen. I was at Council Point Park on a Sunday and it was very quiet and still. The Creek was icy, and a mute swan was breaking the ice with its beak and its feet, trying to push ahead and it was moving laboriously … it cleared a path and then climbed up the banks of the Creek and onto the grass near the path to preen. It was as tall as me and I am 5′ 9″ tall. This was March 18th and the swan’s feathers were full of ice chips. It stayed awhile then went back into the icy water again … I never understood why it did not just fly away unless it was because its feathers were soaking wet. I did a post about it if you’d like to see how big that swan was – I was amazed and no one was there until a jogger came along and I told him about my experience. https://lindaschaubblog.net/2018/03/18/the-ice-cutter/
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Well, i did my good-deed-for-the-day… while at my mother-in-law’s place (at the assisted living place where she now lives) i noticed a squirrel that kept trying to get seed out of the bird feeder in front of her window. However, there was no seed in the feeder… but it kept digging at it anyway. I went out and put a lot of seed (including sunflower seeds) in the feeder and on the ground (for the furry fellow). My mother-in-law said that birds do not eat out of it. I told her we should just keep feeding the squirrel. 🙂
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That made my day Tom. Everyone is looking out for the squirrels – I feel badly as I’ve not been there now since Saturday and we have this torrential rain and very windy day coming tomorrow (people are worried it will impact voting as well possibly causing power outages at the polls) … I was more faithful to my furry buddies. This is not the time to forsake them – I hope to be back to the trail on Wednesday. That squirrel in the tree in this post was quite agitated with me … I could have made the comment “I’m a big deal too … in Council Park that is.” 🙂
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Your composition in your photos is exquisite. I’d adore that park if we had one like it where I live. Our trees have all turned to the not-so-pretty stage, so I’m grateful to see your photos with the lovely yellows and reds of the leaves. We’ve had the geese visiting us as well. They sure are strange birds. Thank you for stopping by my blog and introducing yourself – I’m following you now, so I’ll be back again soon to see what you’re up to!
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Thank you for saying that Shelley. Years ago I had a 35 mm camera and took some photography lessons as I used to travel when I was younger. But through the years, no more traveling and I just used a pocket camera for pictures for the longest time. I have tried to include lots of photos with my posts so people feel like they are traveling alongside me … my earliest posts in 2013 just had one small photo or a stock photo, so I’ve come a long way and hope to improve more. The geese have been missing at Council Point Park for months and as soon as their goslings fledged in June, they were gone. I usually get some gosling photos in Spring and shots of the whole family. This year we had a very rainy Spring and early Summer and I did not get a chance to see the goslings when they were cute and fuzzy .. more when they got to the gangly stage, like teenagers. But I still included them in my posts – I remember well my gangly, awkward years as well. 🙂 .
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Yesterday was the peak of color south of the lake but today the high winds have blown away a good half of their leaves! I think you sent all the birds this way. I was with my client at the waterfront and I have never seen so many ducks in one place ever! They must be migrating!
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Same thing here Diane – my neighbor’s tree was full the end of last week, just gorgeous all red and today we had very high winds. I went out for the mail after a day of raging wind – all the leaves are gone … just amazing. I bet it was a sight to see all those ducks – I like watching them and we’ve had very few at our Park and I miss their noise. At the Park they used to stay here and overwinter and lived under a storm drain, protected from the cold. The first year I walked at Council Point Park, I used to go take them crumbled up bread when I could get down there (they don’t shovel or sweep the path). I’d leave too knowing the Winter is coming – we are getting a touch of snow the end of the week, after they said we’d have an El Nino Winter … it is a bit of an insult. 🙂
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Beautiful……I especially like the geese!
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Thank you Joan and I am partial to those Canada geese as well. 🙂
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The poplars are gorgeous! I tried to get a picture for you of the heron in a tree that was on my walk yesterday, but didn’t manage to:(
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I thought so too AJ – I took so many pictures of them as they appeared to just glow whatever angle you looked at them. We had such strong winds today that I’m sure all the leaves are gone now. Sorry you didn’t get that heron … perhaps tomorrow. The heron at my Park likes to sit in trees too and because he is so pale he just blends in most of the time. I think he likes blending in!
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This heron stood out as it’s the only tree right by the boardwalk and he appeared way too big for his perch!
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It’s a wonder he didn’t fall off. I took this picture of a heron in the Park in the Winter. He looks like a statue: https://lindaschaubblog.net/#jp-carousel-8900
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Herons always look funny to me!
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They are really homely when you think of it unlike the egrets which look so regal, but same type of body structure. P.S. – Don’t tell any herons I said that though. 🙂
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Lol my lips are sealed:)
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always so excited to see your photos!!! These fall ones are just next level pretty!!
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I’m so glad you liked them Mackenzie – I know it might make you wistful a little for that nice Fall foliage, but we have some gusty weather and most of the leaves are now here, there and everywhere but on the tree!
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What a beautiful day with beautiful photos. I love the goose appearance you experienced. ❤
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Thanks Zena – the flock of geese just flew down from the sky and landed with a thud on the surface of the water – so beautiful swimming amongst the beautiful colors and that trio of Canada Geese looking out on the horizon. Such a peaceful site. 🙂
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It must have been so blissful to watch.
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It was – I felt lucky I happened to be there right at that moment.
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What a beautiful walk Linda! Great pictures, especially the first one with the floating foliage. We have lots of Canada geese here too with some being too heavy to fly! We’re supposed to have a week of mostly sunshine and I hope that the leaves stay on the trees a bit longer.
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Glad you like them Sabine – those leaves are one of my favorite things about Fall. We are about to transition into a mini-Winter for a few days. Cold, blustery and a touch of snow. When those geese land enmasse onto the water’s surface, they make a big splash and I was glad I was far enough way … no telling what is in that water and I’d have gotten soaked to boot! I hope you have some good walking and picture-taking weather!
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