I’m not going to write about today’s walk because it was abysmal. After enduring three days of ugly weather in the form of freezing rain, freezing fog, torrential rain, then still more fog and rain, I finally headed out around 1:30 p.m. today. The sun was out, but I had to look twice, because that bright spot in the sky looked familiar … but the sun doesn’t come around here anymore, so I had to double-check. I packed up some peanuts and stuffed them in my coat pockets and headed out in the 60-degree temps. Nope, not a typo, it was almost tropical out there, and I do believe we got our long-awaited Indian Summer we’ve been clamoring for. I won’t dwell on the fact that our Indian Summer is only here for about twelve hours, then poof, it’s gone again.
Halfway down to the Park, that sun that looked so promising as I peered out the front door, suddenly disappeared and a gray cloud hovered ominously overhead. I said to myself “it sure looks like a snow sky, nah – too warm for snow, but don’t tell me it’s going to rain!” I no sooner got the words out of my mouth, when the sky opened up and it poured. I won’t repeat the words that I said that time, once it started pouring down on me, because I had no umbrella. The weatherman had said the rain was done for the daylight hours. I turned around and trudged home, with no pep in my step because I was already soaking wet, so what was a little more rain going to do to me? The sun appeared again, even though it was still raining, and, after I arrived home and dealt with all the wet clothes, the sun came out full strength once again. Did all that rain really happen or did I imagine it? The least I could have gotten was a nice rainbow for my troubles. Well, I was not going back out again. No sir, you fooled me once, I won’t get fooled again! I figured I’m chasing my goal, and I’ll make it … but it will be Tuesday now to reach that goal.
However …
A week ago today I had a delightful walk at Council Point Park. Even though it was a gray day and there was a chill in the air, all my favorite feathered and furry critters were there and I got a six-mile walk done. I’ve written about “Marsh Madness” and the mallards from last Sunday’s trek, plus I teased you about an upcoming post about the Canada Geese whose honking ruled the skies, just before they skidded in for a landing on the surface of the Creek, scattering a mess of mallards and the cantankerous heron. Soon those geese regrouped and, though a few of them went hither and yon, there were seven geese that traveled in a semi-neat line down the Creek. It was a sight to behold and my photos don’t do that beautiful scene justice.
As soon as I saw these geese in the water, I was reminded of the holiday song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” and I was racking my brain trying to remember exactly what the geese were doing … it gets trickier the closer it gets to the end of the song. So, who was a-swimmin’ and who was a’layin’? I had to consult my most-trusty source, Google, and it was “seven swans a-swimmin’, six geese a-layin’” … well I figured those geese just wished they were swans, thus they were seven swan wannabes and I made up my own word: “swannabes”.
I followed those swans from their point of entry in the water, all along the shoreline of the Creek, trying to get as many of them in the photo at a time. Some geese wanted to hug the shoreline and some drifted away from their leader, plus it was a wee bit tricky because the metal chain-link fence posts at the rear of the building across the Creek, kept casting a reflection on the water … so how does on capture all seven geese within those wavy reflection lines? Well sometimes I had to compromise and get three in one shot, four in another shot. Those little rascals quit playing follow the leader and strayed away on their own. A couple of the geese had a little tiff as you see from the pink tongue a’waggin’. And one goose got very lost and away from the maddening crowd … but eventually, you’ll see that they all regrouped and then headed toward the Detroit River.
It was a stunning lineup of Canada geese … enjoy my favorite pictures from this serene setting.
[Note … the caption editor was wonky tonight – some pics came out with captions; some did not, so I retitled the pics this way.]
AT FIRST EIGHT GEESE PLOPPED DOWN …
JUST OUT FOR A SUNDAY SWIM.
I AM TOTALLY OFFENDED BY YOUR JOKE!
I AM TAKING THE HIGH ROAD AND JUST SWIMMING AWAY!
ONE GOOSE IS MOVING TO THE MUSIC IN HIS HEAD.
WHERE ARE THE FOUR SLOWPOKES?
HEY, SLOW DOWN … WAIT FOR US, WE’RE PADDLING AS FAST AS WE CAN!
OOPS, WE LOST ONE ALONG THE WAY!
I DUNNO – DID THE LEADER SAY GO LEFT OR RIGHT?
WHAT YOU SEE IS AN ON-THE-LOOSEY GOOSEY.
OMG – I’M REALLY LOST AND SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT A MAP!
WE ARE HEADING OUT NOW … DOWN TO THE DETROIT RIVER.
AHH – REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD!
AND THAT CONCLUDES YOUR SERENE SUNDAY!
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Linda
What beautiful captions to beautiful creatures. i wish some great traveler or geographic magazine would swoop and take your pictures for their site and they would get their due credits. I am sure you enjoyed looking at them.
Hope you got your clothes dried up and your Indian summer.
Susie
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Thanks Susie – that is nice of you to say that and I wish I had more close-ups of them. I can’t get too close to the Creek banks as I’m afraid I’ll tumble in, but they were such a beautiful sight to see those geese. It was such a sudden drenching rain and I literally watched the cloud going overhead and passing by and the sun was out and it was still raining. Sometimes that happens in the Summer, but not usually on December 2nd … tomorrow twenty degrees cooler and snow flurries. The weather is very crazy – I should not complain too much because some places got tornadoes yesterday and the weather is just ripe for it … unstable and stormy. I think the Indian Summer is already on its way out unfortunately. Here in Michigan and in the MIdwest in general, people look forward to a little Indian Summer for its warmth and beautiful days after the first hard freeze. This year we had our first hard freeze the end of September. I had to put the hose away in September – that never happens.
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The unpredictability of the weather is its beauty I think- to me it shows that God is still in control and that things go according to his plan and not ours. I hope you don’t get tornadoes.
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You are right Susie – we want to think we are in control of everything, when in fact we are mere mortals and God is still in control. They have not mentioned them for our area and I am relieved for that plus we will be 20 degrees colder tomorrow, so that will help out in that regard. Each season this year I have thought “please hurry and get to the next season so it can get better!”
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I love your story to go with the photos. Fun!
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Thanks Anne and I was bucking the trend with a one-word headline!
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That, too.
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Miss Linda………………those were some nice pictures of the “swannabes”……………we’ve had no geese here by us on our pond and am wondering if those 7 geese were part of our family of geese because they always were together ………………………………I’m sorry you got so wet…………………………yes I was freezing today because I left my coat at home and did some errands and then the clouds came in………………………
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They may part of your family of geese Ann Marie because we have not had any geese at Council Point Park – I saw the three grazing on Thanksgiving Day, but not in the water and no other times. The flock of geese came in all together …there were 8 but one went his own way. These 7 kept going down that passageway where the high marsh grass is (by the blue park bench) and on their way to Detroit River. Yes, it was deceiving out there and the sun – well, it left, the gray cloud came in, rained, left and it was still raining and the sun shining. Crazy!
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Beautiful pictures of the Canada geese! We have them here in the south in the winter, but have not seen any yet.
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They have been so scarce this year John … when they left after the goslings fledged around the end of June, this is only the third sighting and the first two times just a few of them and on land … these were beautiful … I think there were about ten in the air in V-formation, then 8 plopped down onto the water, and seven were in a line going down the Creek. I was running along the shoreline trying to capture their picture in between the bushes which were in my way … I managed to get a few pictures of them all together.
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So sorry you got wet! Glad you finally got to see the geese! Beautiful pictures as always Linda!
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Thanks Diane – I know I should not complain about the rain given the fact that there were tornadoes yesterday … after I heard that, I was glad that our Indian Summer was brief and not warm enough, and the weather not volatile enough, to spawn any tornadoes here … there seems to be no end to this unpredictable weather this year all across the U.S. and beyond. Those geese were just beautiful and I wish I had been able to get closer. There are lots of bushes along the shoreline … the geese took their good old sweet time “floating” down the Creek.
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“Swannabes”, I like it 🙂
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I did too Sarah because it fit them to a “T” – maybe I ought to submit it to Merriam-Webster!
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That sounds like a plan to me 🙂
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Cute and clever title Linda! Great photos and story as always! I hope your weather cooperates and doesn’t act too crazy on your winter walks. It’s going to be sunny and cold here all week. 🙋
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Thanks Sabine – they sure did look like they were the swans in that song, all going down the Creek in a row. I didn’t recall seeing that goose hiss and the other goose being taken aback and bending over to the side – the look is priceless, so it was a surprise when I uploaded the pictures and saw it. I knew I had to turn it into a funny post. I like when that happens. I think we have a couple of chances for snow this week, just minor accumulation though – this morning it was sleeting, just the day after it was a balmy 60 degrees! At least your rain has stopped for a while – hurrah for that!
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So sorry Momma Nature played that nasty trick on you! I have been caught out in the rain while running too. I sometimes make a mad dash for home, sometimes figure that I can’t get any wetter, so I keep going. Good thing you kept those “swannabe” pictures from last week since you didn’t get any today!
Here’s hoping for some sunny weather so you can get your walks in!
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It just sprung up and when that dark cloud passed, the sun came out and it was still raining – very bizarre! I almost turned and went back but I was soaking wet. Normally I’d have had my squall jacket on, but it was 60 degrees, so I wore a lighter coat and it was not water repellent. Yes, it was good I didn’t use the pictures the day I was down there because I was writing the post about the leaves – gave me fodder for two more post, actually three because I took all the squirrels’ nest pictures that day as well. This morning it was sleet and I think two snow chances this week, but minor accumulations. I should make my goal unless it is slick out … someone has stepped on Momma Nature’s toes!
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It’s so cold and damp outdoors that — now that i’m elderly — i avoid walking outdoors much in winter. I have rheumatoid and osteoarthritis and the cold and damp weather can do a number on me. I exercise on an indoor Schwinn bicycle every day and that is good enough for me.
Hopefully, warm, nice weather will arrive soon for your outdoor walks! 🙂
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That is how it was with my mom, who WAS elderly (you are only five years older than me so I would say you are middle-aged like me Tom). (When I graduated in 1978 with my B.A., our journalism department stylebook defined “elderly” as 85 and recently the local paper had an online story about an “elderly” man who was killed in a car accident – the man was 55. A lot of readers made comments to the effect that “age 55 was hardly elderly” … the paper rewrote the article to just say a man had died … didn’t even say “middle-aged.)
My mom had osteoarthritis and humid and damp bothered her, whether it was Summer, Spring, Fall or Winter … the Winter was difficult because of the cold and also because she was afraid of falling and rarely went out except for doctor’s appointments, or if it was totally clear and snow-and-ice-free. I do have an exercise bike in the basement. Years ago I used to ride 20 miles every evening, but I haven’t done that in a while. I do use it in the Winter months though. I will reach my goal tomorrow, then keep on going to see how I can rack up more miles before year-end. They actually said today we have only one incidence of snow this week and a whole week of clear and dry weather (they’ve been wrong before though) … I need to take my car for a few good runs before the snow starts flyin’ and stays, but I’m looking forward to getting a walk in every day!
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I loved the Swannabes and the captions are great too! Maybe you should be submitting your photos to magazines or entering contests…..they are priceless!
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Thank you for saying that Joan – I should try and see if I can put the captions inside the pictures again. I don’t know what happened – some had captions, some did not. I started just making this a post about the geese and how beautiful they were floating in a row down the Creek, then those two swans where one was hissing at the other one and the one swan put its head to the side like it was taken aback, as well as some of the other pictures like two swans going opposite ways, made me decide to go a funny route instead. I am glad you liked them!
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It was very creative!
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I am glad you liked it Joan – I am going to play with the captions this weekend – by then everyone will have read it here … I don’t want to mess with the post while someone may be trying to reach it. I wish you could have seen it in person – much more beautiful than the pictures show. Did you get your new camera yet?
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lol! The 12 Days of Christmas song always trips me up. And I agree with the comment above- your pictures are stunning. you truly capture the most serene, beautiful moments of nature!
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Thank you Mackenzie – I intended to make it a more serious post, just the nature aspect, until I saw some of the pictures of the geese and the post took a different turn then. 🙂
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I love the word play Linda – Ha Ha “Swannabes”. Thankfully we didn’t get the heavy rain on Sunday – just a few sprinkles but one really loud crack of thunder that sounded very threatening. It was much more like spring than December.
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Glad you liked that Ruth – I was trying to be clever there. I heard about that thunder that had been predicted for all the counties on Sunday, but we never had any thunder, just that pouring rain, even with the sun out. Our weather has been wacky indeed!
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Great photos and lovely story, Linda. :0)
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Thanks Pam – I am glad you enjoyed it. Those geese were so beautiful all lined up like that.
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I was watching them fly information yesterday as I walked the dog. I like how they take turns leading (because that’s the most tiring job so they don’t want anyone to burn out!).
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I have always been fascinated with watching them fly in formation as well. I see them coming in for a landing and regrouping once they hit the water … quite amazing. Have you ever read about the guy who flies with geese while they are migrating? I read about him in a “National Geographic” article awhile back – here is a story about him … this just fascinates me Pam: https://www.treehugger.com/conservation/meet-man-who-flies-birds-order-save-them.html
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I have not! Will check it out when I get a moment, Linda.😍
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😂 I love the descriptions to go with your pics.
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Thanks Zena – I’m glad you enjoyed them. I will have to go back and try to get those captions under the pictures – I don’t know what happened. Those geese were funny and I hadn’t noticed the goose sticking its tongue out and the other goose backing away when I watched them “live” … they sure are animated sometimes.
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Really cool shot, they are just floating. You always have your way around interesting photos. Great content and have a wonderful new week.
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Thanks Sharon – they really looked beautiful – I am really behind in Reader … I am not usually a gadabout but it was absolutely beautiful here today – sunny and 43 degrees and after the fog lifted, a beautiful December day. I’m no snow bunny, so I am making the most of these pretty days.
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