There’s a ton of phrases we use that encourage us not to procrastinate … some you might have heard from your parents when you were a kid, like “do I have to light a firecracker under you – get moving!” No, you didn’t hear that one? Maybe I was just pokey when I was a kid.
Well how about “you’d better get while the gettin’s good”? Or even “seize the day” … just to make something happen.
Well, because I’m a Winter Weenie, I knew that eventually Winter would ravage us with its snow and ice and brutal temps – yup, I have lived in a four-season climate my entire life, and, while the last six weeks of snow-free bliss have been enjoyable, it was bound to end sooner or later.
So, I ensured I went to as many of my favorite park venues as possible, and, I’ve been force-feeding Parker peanuts every time I was at Council Point Park, while anticipating the ice and snow. My favorite nature nook will soon be snow-covered and the paths are not plowed or brushed off. So we walkers will rely on the sun to melt the snow and ice, or we walk alongside the perimeter path. It works for us, but sometimes confuses the squirrels!
As I write this post, Michigan is part of the big Midwestern snow storm that will cross our area in the wee hours of Saturday morning. The forecasts have a wide discrepancy of anywhere from three to eight inches of blowing and drifting snow. Ugh.
So, now I am grateful for all my weekend meanderings to gain steps, glean photos and gather some memories to spin into blog posts. This is it … the remaining photos I have left to pair with a narrative, so hopefully I’m back to my walking regimen fairly soon.
Lake Erie Metropark.
This trek was taken on the first Sunday in January, and I was eager to use my new Metropark pass. I stopped at this locale after the quick trip to the marshlands at Point Mouillee.
The day was crisp and the sun was shining brilliantly, and forget the fact that you’re walking the shore at Lake Erie, with the breeze blowing, and the waves crashing against the rocks along Cove Point, nearly every walker or bicyclist I passed called out “wow, what a beautiful day!”
So, I seized the day and got a few pictures along the way. (I had way more but pared them down considerably.)
I started at Cove Point …
… and worked my way along the Lake Erie shoreline.
I like those big boulders, and if you squint with your naked eye, you not only see Canada, but the wind turbines lined alone their shoreline as well.
I saw a group of ducks rocking back and forth in the choppy water and thought I’d zoom in on them, but they heard my heavy walking shoes as I scuffed through the crinkly leaves near the shoreline, and in a heartbeat they vamoosed.
The winds were calm, but the waves were pretty wicked and came crashing over and over again on those boulders, repeatedly sending spray everywhere.
The grass on either side of the paved walking and biking path was saturated with water, so much so, that, at a glance, you’d think it was a full-size pond, but it was just the low-lying areas.
Tell that to the ducks, who believed it was their own personal pond, and they paddled back and forth, diving and bobbing along. I wanted to tell them that their efforts were fruitless as there was only grass beneath that fake lake, though they persisted in looking for breakfast anyway.
Aren’t these mallards beautiful with the water glistening on their feathers and dripping off their bills?
I walked the entire coastline at Cove Point and that took me to the lookout area.
Here is a better way to view Canada and the wind turbines, especially if you use their coin-operated viewing machine.
But I chose to view that shoreline with my naked eye, and, while I was gazing at my homeland, I heard a humming noise and wondered aloud “what in the world was that?” There is a guy at Council Point Park who often brings his drone to the Park. It hovers around overhead and makes a distinct low, humming noise. So, I associated that noise with a drone and was looking in the air to locate it, only to discover a pair of Tundra Swans right overhead. If my head hadn’t been swiveling around, I’d have seen them and gotten a better shot but this will have to do. It was my first sighting of Tundra Swans, with their black bills and sleek bodies. Once they passed out of my range of vision, the noise ceased, so I realized it was indeed the swans making the humming noise, not a drone.
Think Summer!
I next walked to the marina area. I’d not been there since I took the “Eagle’s Eye Nature Cruise” on the E/V Clinton back on a sultry day last August.
The harbor, with row after row of sailboats, was deserted and looked like a little like a ghost town.
There was nowhere else to go, so I turned around and retraced my steps along that three-mile Lake Erie shoreline, but once I arrived at my car, that brilliant sky and scenic venue held me hostage. I decided to stay a little longer, so I ventured to a part of this park where I’d not been before.
There is an area for kids and beyond that is their highly touted wave pool. I figured I might as well continue walking and check out what else I’ve been missing. Though I’ve been to this park many times, I keep gravitating to the same lagoons and marshland areas, or trekking along the Cherry Island Trail, knowing full well there are many other areas to explore in this 1,600-acre park.
I walked around and checked out the recreational area of Lake Erie Metropark, then headed back to the paved pathway to explore some more.
A flurry of white in the dull marshy area caught my eye, so I put some speed in my feet and hurried that-a-way. There were about a dozen Mute Swans frolicking in the chilly water – these two spent more time upside down while diving for lunch, than right side up, and were good for a giggle and a couple of pictures as well.
I finally decided it was time to head back to the car and decided this sign was perfect to end this blog post, and, when I raised the camera to focus on the sign, I noticed the former wasp nest embedded in the metal pole below the sign.
The inhabitants of that wasp nest are long gone, and, just like us, waiting on Spring which is now a mere 61 days away!
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
It was, “Do I have to light a firecracker under your ass?!” 😉
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Those were great pictures also!
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Thanks – glad you liked them! How’s your weather there – it is so crazy everywhere else, I figure you are getting snow too, but at least you know how to drive in it having lived here in Michigan.
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Honestly, besides being cold… We are getting rain and because the temps are just above freezing, we just had a bit of flooding to worry about. It is going to get VERY cold this weekend though, but we have just barely missed all the snow, we live in a valley surrounded by mountains, so it scoots by.
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You lucked out then Craig – I think much of the Midwest is getting this mini Polar Vortex on Sunday morning (it will be 0 degrees for us) … didn’t realize it would stretch to your neck of the woods. My friend lives in Richmond, Virginia and the flooding has been bad and she said it was 2018 was the wettest year in their history.
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Ha ha – it must be a Michigan thing!!!
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No one told us to move when we were little- we were always moving- rather they might have told us to “sit still”.
Canada was clearly seen in some of those pictures though the turbines- not so much. It is great to see your homeland from across the waters, isn’t it ? I felt your nostalgia.
The ducks seemed cheerier than the other day.
Hope Parker and Grady and sidekick are doing ok.
Susie
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lol, “sit still”, hahaha, I was told that too. But when I didn’t want to do some chore then, yes, I would hear the “get moving” …. jajajaja, but in Spanish!
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Ha ha – yup, our folks knew how to get us to move didn’t they? And I figured I heard that more as I got older and maybe a little braver about “talking back” than when I was just a little kid. Spanish or English … our parents meant the same thing!
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Susie – I was very quiet, born to parents who were already 30 years old – these days that is not old, but back then, that was old for people to be starting a family. I never had any siblings so most of the time I was sitting quietly to be honest, and my parents were very strict. But I did hear that expression sometimes – probably when I was older. Yes, I zoomed as much as I could and you could not see the wind turbines like sometimes when I’ve been there and used the camera with the long lens. I saw it with my eyes – the camera did a good job on it in this post for showing the turbines but by the time I resized the shot it was too small. It was so beautiful and clear that day. Those ducks were making me laugh – it was just a saturated area and they believed there was some type of aquatic plant life there and they kept diving down, with their feathered bottoms in the air, looking for food. It could not have been all that deep there – maybe a couple of feet? I did not go to the Park today Susie because we had a light covering of snow, but we also had a sleety rain/snow mix going on at the same time, so I went out and ran the car in the garage and came back in. But I lavished peanuts on Parker and the Park squirrels yesterday as I know it may get dicey with all the snow tomorrow and I don’t get down there for a while – they won’t find their nuts under all the snow for a while either. I’m worried about Grady and his sidekick – yesterday I took the car out for a little spin. When I was warming it up in the driveway, I saw two big hawks like I saw in the Summer … they were perched in a tall tree on the corner and looking up the street. I had already put out peanuts on the porch, but the “boys” weren’t there yet. I stayed a while and no squirrels. So perhaps the squirrels saw the hawks and are savvy enough to stay away. I pulled away in the car as one hawk flew off and I followed it down the street and got a good look at it – same as the ones in the Summer. Cooper’s Hawk – quite large and they go after pigeons, birds, mice and squirrels. I was nice and told the neighbors on both sides – they have small dogs – one neighbor responds he saw hawks in my backyard and his yard and one got a squirrel. I felt sick – I wish I’d not started feeding them now as they are coming here daily and I don’t want them to be sitting ducks. I’ll only feed them when I’m out there to watch from now on. Makes me mad and I don’t want them getting hurt. I was going to mention it in this post, but I didn’t want to sound too morbid about it.
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Oooh! Only 61 days until spring. Can’t wait! I hope your snowstorm is not too bad. They have been downgrading the amounts we are supposed to get. Maybe only 2 or 3 inches before it changes to rain. I am keeping my fingers crossed. Hope it’s not too long before you can get out and feed Parker again!
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Doesn’t that sound glorious Laurie – I needed a boost after hearing the weather reports all day – they vary, but Accuweather on my all-news station is forecasting 4-8 inches in the southern portions of our metro area – that’s me. But others say less – last weekend they kept downgrading the amounts and we ended up with nothing. My boss has been in California on business since Wednesday and it was 55 and storming the entire time he’s been there. And they had some fierce winds. He was bummed as this Hyatt in Garden Grove has no indoor pool, just an outdoor one, and they closed it due to the weather. He swims a mile every morning, sometimes more. I hope it is not horrid weather for your run tomorrow morning. Now they say freezing rain for Tuesday instead of the second snowfall – I’d rather have snow than freezing rain. I will just walk through the neighborhoods if the Park is not clear, so if it is just a neighborhood jaunt, there’s not much to write about there.
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Linda, we wound up getting a little dusting of snow, but now it has changed entirely to rain and the snow is being washed away. Whew! It is nighttime and I can hear the rain hitting our skylights. I ran the 25k trail race today (it went fine) and had a sandwich and an adult beverage afterward. I will sleep great tonight!
I am hoping that you get out to get your walk in. You have a big mileage goal this year! 🙂
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Glad you got the 25K done Laurie, and a treat afterward. Lucky you that the dusting of snow is being washed away – we have a prediction of mixed precip on Tuesday – hoping it is mild enough for rain to knock back the snow and it’s not freezing rain. Already worried about it. The snow just stopped a short time ago and was blowing and drifting all day – I need a warm vacation to bulk up my steps again.
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Ugh! We have all rain in the forecast. Thank goodness – no snow! It is going to be cold tomorrow though. Hope you can get your walks in!
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We have some wintry precip on Tuesday and all rain on Wednesday and 41 degrees – hope it melts the 6 inches of snow … I hope I can walk on Thursday but we are going back in the deep freeze Thursday and Friday after the all-day rain on Wednesday so I hope we are not left with ice everywhere … since they don’t plow at the Park it is dicey going there so I walk alongside the path, but with 6 inches of snow, it may not be doable … hope Parker and the boys can find their peanuts they have been hiding since August! I may not be down there for awhile sadly.
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They won’t know what to do without you!
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I know – I feel badly for them because I am sure I am not the only one who is a no-show. (I usually give them more peanuts … the others give them each one or two, but for me, I get a lot of enjoyment out of those little guys, so I give them a few more.) We have wintry precip coming in tonight and hazardous driving, overnight and early a.m., then an all-day rain, then bitter cold … not likely any trips to the Park for a while. I would not balk about going out in the cold, but the ice does worry me, even though I bought a pair of crampons to walk in the ice, reluctant to use them and they are better on thick snow and ice, not just glare ice, but I would make this trip on the weekend as I don’t have time during the work week and don’t drive the car down there if icy … I’ll shuffle and take baby steps out to run the car and back to the house again. If it lasts a while, I’ll decrease the length of my walk and build up my steps again – that’s what I have done in the past. I intended to come back here last night and decided to give my arm/shoulder a rest from the computer and went to bed with the chickens. 🙂 Hope you have a safe trip to Florida Laurie – you are picking a perfect time to get away from the PA Winter.
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Wonderful and breathtaking pictures of your neck of the woods, Linda. Is Lake Erie part of the Great Lakes? It looks like a real beauty there. 😍🏕⛰🌄
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Thanks Martha – this is a beautiful park and many wooden pathways and paved pathways so it’s big with bicyclists as well. Lake Erie is one of the Great Lakes and it is big because its borders stretch not only to the Province of Ontario in Canada, but also here in the U.S. in Ohio and Indiana which are close to here, plus as far as Pennsylvania and New York as well. (I just learned the last two states a few minutes ago – I knew the first three from school but wanted to verify there were no more – I also found it is the 12th largest lake in the world).
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U stay warm in that storm !
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Thanks Michael – after all these weeks of nice Winter weather, it is horrid to think of this cold and snow that Mother Nature is going to launch on us.
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Miss Linda……………………………….I got homesick for Erie Metro Park looking at all of your nice pictures that you took………………………..I think that I’ll be counting down from the 61 days till spring………….
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I knew you might be longing for a trip out there too Ann Marie – have you and Steven been there for a drive around the park yet this year? I ordered my pass back in November before the Christmas mail rush. It was beautiful that day I was there. The ducks in that makeshift pond reminded me of your beautiful swans in the pond at the apartment. I hope this snow and that freezing rain predicted for Tuesday exit pretty quickly and we can resume walking again … I just heard they may be decreasing the storm totals a little – that’s fine with me.
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Stay safe and stay inside Saturday!
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Thanks Diane – you too … not looking forward to this mess and it is a good day to hunker down inside, even if I’m just doing housework. I know Ohio may get hit harder than us – hope they are wrong.
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Thanks Linda! Looks like my hubby is going to have to stay at work overnight. I have 2 of the grandkids today and I doubt their mom will make it out this far to get them tonight. So it looks like it’s a grandkids and me kind of weekend…lol The snow is coming down hard and only going to get worse.
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Hope you had a fun and lively day Diane … we got about 6 inches and it was hard to tell as it was blowing and drifting everywhere. The real issue now is the temps which have plunged to -3 and even lower tomorrow and Monday. Are you closed for the MLK holiday Diane?
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No I am self employed. I only take off on major holidays. My developmentally disabled clients parents really look forward to me picking up their adult child so they can have a break. We are under a level 3 snow emergency. If we drive on the road they can arrest us. So no hubby tonight and my daughter can’t come out to get the kids. A little alone time with the grandkids…lol
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I see – I didn’t realize that. My friend who lives in NY is the guardian of her developmentally disabled sister. Their mother had a stroke and died immediately back in 2012 and was Mary Beth’s caretaker and now Carol is … she is able to get around on her own, and is in a day program like she was when she was here in Michigan. She goes there 5 days/week and is picked up by a bus. They also have attendees from a local group home go there as well, so quite a large group. They have outings and theme parties at the school, and for some they are part of a skating group where they use something that looks like a walker to navigate on the ice. But I know Carol has her hands full. Her sister is about 10 years younger than her (52 or 53). It is bitter cold out here and worse tomorrow with a windchill of -20 or more tomorrow morning and maybe through the day. Such a nice Winter has been ruined. 🙂
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It’s good you stocked up some walks for the bad weather. The weather here has been slightly downgraded so I’m hoping that it’s a bust. We may get 2 to 4 inches. Not so bad. It’s that cold snap afterward that I’m not fond of.
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Yes, that cold – just bitter cold and I commented to you on your blog post that it is gusting mightily and we already have below zero wind chills and have had them all day. There were 94 accidents this afternoon at the height of the snow storm.
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The first part of the storm angled north so we didn’t get much snow. I can see grass through it. High winds and cold snap predicted for this afternoon. I’m ok if that misses us too.
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Our official total was 6 inches and it was blowing and drifting – a real mess. The wind chill is pretty bad now and will be between -20 and -25 tomorrow morning. I have a small load of just old cotton shirts and I wash them in a small load throughout the day when we have this cold weather to keep the pipes warm … I had whole house insulation put in a few years ago, but you’d never know it. It feels just as cold as before to me. Are you getting that one-day warm-up on Wednesday … we will have 41 degrees and it would ber great if it melted the driveway before the next brutal cold wave comes in the next day. Think Spring!
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Linda, we’re right on the line of “may see some snow and may not”. In any case, it won’t be anything like you’re expected to get. Weather like this calls for a cup of hot chocolate and a good movie! I enjoyed you photos of Lake Erie. It’s a beautiful place!
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Hope Mother Nature was kind to you Rebecca, and I heard some areas of the Deep South were prone to tornadoes today … I heard that very early this morning. Hope you are safe in that regard as well. We ended up getting close to 6 inches of snow that took all day long to pile up and it was blowing and drifting everywhere. What is worse is the wind is blowing gustily right now and it is 19 degrees with a wind chill of -3. The windchill has been below zero most of the day and getting worse Sunday and Monday. Yes a cup of hot chocolate and movie sounds wonderful right now. Glad you liked the Lake Erie photos – it is very beautiful there, especially along the shoreline. It was very windy that day and the waves were really kicking up and splashing everywhere – I had to stand back a few times to avoid getting splashed.
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Sounds like you really got it! We only got 2-3 inches, but there is black ice under that, so not good for getting out and driving. The cold temperatures are what really hurts! Stay safe and warm!
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Thanks Rebecca – I only went out today to run the car – even with the trickle charger on it, it was going to be -20 to -25 wind chill tonight and through noon tomorrow and I worried about it. It really took your breath away … it was -13 windchill at 3:00 p.m. We get a few days respite Tuesday and Wednesday (41 degrees), then back in the deep freeze again. I’m already ready for Spring.
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60 days to spring 🙂
I find it cool that you can see Canada!
One of the things we did once was to stand on a road when you’re in 3 countries. I’m sure now there are all the flags up but then there weren’t (I think it was Austria, maybe France or Italy or Switzerland too. I know that to go into Switzerland we may have needed our passports on us – sometimes you’re stopped, sometimes not – so didn’t that day)
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That is so interesting Eliza and we have a place in the U.S. that is similar where you stand on a place and three or four states touch. But it would be great with the countries as they likely would have their flags flying so it would make it really fun and a fun picture. Did you take a picture of it?
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Unfortunately not 😦 actually I think we did but I haven’t seen the picture. Come to think of it, it’s been a while since I’ve been to that part of the continent. I’ll have to go there next time we travel thereabouts!
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Yes I think you should – it would make a very interesting blog post … we are still in the deep freeze … very cold and even colder tomorrow morning … wind chill of -20 degrees F (-28C) or lower … yikes!!!
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Stay warm Linda! I don’t envy you with that weather! 🙋
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No, it is not nice – we’ve had a mild and fairly nice Winter (November was a bit dicey) … but we got almost six inches of snow which came over 15 hours, much blowing and drifting. The wind chill was pretty brutal though – it was -3 degrees and forecast to be colder tomorrow and Monday. I am officially ready for Spring Sabine.
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I hope your snow won’t cause you too much trouble.
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Thanks Anne – my snow guy did NOT show up … heard a snow blower about 3:30 and it was Austin (Jeff’s son) snowblowing my snow. So happy for that as I went out and ran the car. I was worried about it a little because it was then -3 windchill. So thanked him as he was finishing up – came inside and got the guy’s phone number and left him a message “did you forget me?” Sigh. We have almost 6 inches of snow and it has been blowing and drifting and snowing off-and-on all day. Ready for Spring and tomorrow the daylight is almost two minutes longer.
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We had flaking (my word for desultory snow) from the time we got up until we finished eating lunch in Asheville after church. There is probably 1/8 of an inch of snow on my deck where the sun didn’t shine. All other snow melted already. I wish you had our kind of snow. Most of the time snow on the ground doesn’t last 24 hours.
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I would like your kind of snow Anne – we had some of that back in November as I never had to deal with it at all. We ended up with a 6-inch snowfall, the next city over was 6.2 … we have this brutal cold that much of the Midwest has … we have a special weather advisory, because before it is over we will get to -20 to -25 wind chill. It is pretty frosty out there now 2 degrees with a -11 windchill. Brrr. I’ve been doing small loads of hot water laundry to keep the pipes warmed and letting a small trickle come from each tap. Winter came back with a vengeance!
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We are letting the taps drip tonight, too. The temperature is already in the teens.
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I am about to go outside and run the car and take out garbage – we have pickup despite the holiday. I think the air temp did not go down below zero, unless it did after I went to bed, it was 1+ when I went to bed. Now 1+ but windchill -15. Yikes! I am surprised you get that low, but I think most of the U.S. has been hit with this cold that came in after the snow event.
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We get some low temps, but it doesn’t last long.
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Wish ours was short-lived … we have today, then a wintry mix which they are advising will be hazardous driving, then all-day rain tomorrow, then back to the deep freeze … I suspect everything will turn icy after tomorrow’s rain. I’ll shuffle out, baby steps only, to the garage to the car and run it and then back in the house again. I won’t worry about walking right now … plenty of time later.
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That’s good that you don’t worry about walking. Whenever we have to take a break of a few days, I always wonder if I will have the gumption to continue. That’s what keeps me walking!
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The longer it goes, the harder it is to get into the total swing of things. I thought about riding my exercise bike downstairs but it was so cold you could hang meat down there. I’ll be glad to get back to it. We have freezing rain right now – the driveway it very slippery looking, tons of accidents and they have shut down the airport. It was supposed to be over by 2:00 a.m. and just plain rain, but they now say 8:00 a.m. I’ll skip running the car if it is a sheet of ice out there – going to 41 tomorrow so the car will be okay. A 40-degree difference in temperatures in one day is a little crazy.
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Sounds like yo-yo weather to me. The ups and downs could make you dizzy.
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Yes it could – pouring now and it lulling me to nod off.
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LOL – Great photos of the park. I chuckled at the end of the post – a count down until spring! I’m a day late in responding so now you only have 60 days to go!!
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And I’m late responding back – soon to be 59 days and I saw when perusing the weather site that it is almost two minutes more daylight tomorrow (not that we’ll notice it due to the gray day and all the bitter cold) … we’re making progress, baby steps, but progress nevertheless.
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Lovely post Linda……as usual. I hate all those wind turbines, the whole landscape is littered with them here, a mistake by the last provincial government, no community wants them but it was a government decision, making clean energy when we already have a surplus we sell at a discount? What do the ducks, from your last post, eat in the winter? Does someone from the park authority feed them? Do you have to buy a park pass? I can’t imagine having a 1600 acre park, it must be lovely to have so much green space available. It would be perfect for cross country skiing or a skating rink in the winter. We need to learn to embrace winter as we have no choice! I thought all those tundra swans went south, as I know they have a big migration party for them near Point Pelee near Windsor, when they return in the spring? Or are they confused, and thought it was spring here all along? We have been spoiled for far to long. Waiting for my snow guy to come and shovel me out….it’s bitter cold out there so I’m happy I don’t have to do it.
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Yes, it makes the Canada shoreline look too modern – you can see them with your eye, but very clearly with a long lens. I did not have the long lens this time – just the little camera.
At Heritage Park, there are fish stocked in that lake – I probably should have said that. They have small fish for the waterfowl who live there and people can fish as well, but it just catch-and-release only. There is a man who goes to Heritage Park to Coan Lake and feeds a huge bag of cracked corn to the ducks every day. I was there one Summer day and he was throwing handfuls and I have pictures in this post of him throwing the corn and the ducks come from the other side of Coan Lake (there were more ducks than you can see in the photos – they came out of the water as well to eat it) … I will put the link at the bottom of this comment. There is no charge to go to Heritage Park.
As to Lake Erie Metropark, if you go there it is $10.00 to get in for one day, and I think a few dollars for that wave pool. It is cheaper to get a yearly pass for $35.00 and cheaper still if you are a senior – $11.00 off then. That pass is good for 13 various Metroparks in Michigan go. They do have cross-country skiing there and the other Metroparks as well. I was surprised to see the Tundra swans – it was my first time … we do have lots of the Mute swans, in fact the Department of Natural Resources considers them an invasive species which surprises me – I could see the Canada Geese since there are so many of them and they are often disruptive to golf courses, parks and even neighborhoods. I’m not happy with this weather – it is now 2 degrees with a real feel of -11 (-23 for you) and expected to get to -20 or even -25 tonight. Very brutally cold weather and we have a weather advisory through noon tomorrow because of it. We officially got 6 inches of snow – it was 6 inches of snow too many!
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I loved the duck post!
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Glad you liked it – that is part of the attraction for me at Heritage Park … not only the quaint surroundings, but the ducks as well – very sweet.
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Another lovely varied day out it sounds like. I have heared some of those sayings but a few were new. Thanks for sharing 😊
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You’re welcome – glad you liked it Zena – walks are halted for a while until the some of the snow goes from our 6-inch snowfall yesterday, and our wintry precip for Tuesday, including freezing rain, and we have some horribly brutal temperatures right now through Monday … at 10:00 p.m. Sunday it is -11F wind chill which is -23C to you. I am hunkered down and huddling like the ducks in the other post.
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Oh bless you. I really can’t imagine what it is like to have regular weather patterns like that. Here in Wales as soon as there is enough snow to stick (only a couple times a year if we are iucky), schools and businesses close due to health and safety reasons. I love to hear the children outside playing excitedly in the snow as it is such a rarity.
Hope the weather allows you to get back safely to your walking soon ❤
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That’s funny – I just commented to you that all our schools were closed today due to the ice – not only kids who go on the bus, but they also have to walk and it was treacherous walking (or driving this morning) … yes, we had to go to school in bad weather and we would play out in the snow at recess and come in with bright-red cheeks afterward. It may be awhile due to the freezing rain today, cold weather tomorrow which will likely freeze the sidewalks and streets s we had all the moisture today and then more snow on Monday. I may have to hang up the walking shoes for a while unless I am pleasantly surprised.
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I love how Countries that have such weather conditions find ways of keeping schools etc open. We have so much lots to learn from such places.
I hope hanging up your walking boots for a bit won’t be too bad for you.
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Unbelievable they closed all the universities today and tomorrow as well due to the extreme cold – I don’t know about Thursday as it may still be very cold – Friday will be normal Winter temperatures. I can’t imagine why older kids in university can’t go to school in the cold weather – maybe I am insensitive. Our school closed one time my last year of school and that was for the “Blizzard of ’78” where we had an enormous amount of snow which could not be cleared timely. If I am not walking for a long time, I usually scale back to avoid shin splints. One time it was almost two months (we had a blizzard, followed by freezing rain and this was the year of the first polar vortex and the ice remained a glaze on the driveway and sidewalk for weeks. I ran my car in the garage and I stock up on groceries for Winter and was fine except I went with my neighbor for some greens for my canary and more paper towels which I began to get low on … I could not pull out of the garage as my driveway was slippery, but worse than that, the snow plow had come along and plowed the end of my driveway, and left a pile of snow and the freezing rain made it an icy mountain … car did not come out of the garage until March! I started back with just a mile to walk and had to build it up again to my normal amount of steps/miles.
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Wow. That is such extreme weather. It must have been such a pain as you couldn’t leave the house.
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They cancelled so many events Zena – not just school for young kids but for university students – that amazed me. No mail delivery for two days, many businesses were closed … it was an unprecedented event. I hope my flowers and bushes survive that brutal dip in temps. I lost a lot of them for the prior Polar Vortexes which were in 2013 and 2014 and it was not that cold as this recent one. I will keep my fingers crossed.
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Positive thoughts being sent your way that it won’t ruin the beauty in nature too much ❤
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Thanks Zena – I appreciate those positive thoughts – the weather has been very disagreeable for over a year now, but I think that is worldwide as well. Tonight we have this ice storm to contend with – I am grateful to work from home and only worry about power going out and not having to deal with an icy commute.
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I’ve been reading about all the snowfall in the Midwest and eastern U.S… yikes! As cold as the air temps must be, can you imagine how cold it must be to swim around in that water? Water birds must have an extra several layers of fat. I love how those coin-operated viewing machines always look like smiley faces 🙂 Stay warm!
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Janis – between the snowfall on Saturday (all day long and sometimes sideways, but only added up to 6 inches) and this severe wind chill (yesterday -15) I don’t know how those birds stay warm. Yesterday when I went outside to run the car, I saw no birds, squirrels – I think they stayed up in their nests … but the water birds have no choice but to huddle together. I think they look like smiley-faces too … the weather has turned … tomorrow 40 degrees warmer, but we have freezing rain now til 8:00 a.m. – like a smorgasbord of bad weather. My boss was in Garden Grove from Wednesday through Sunday on business last week. He was bummed because it was 50-55 degrees and pouring raining the entire time he was there.
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The thing that really stood out to me in this post is the beauty of the water! It practically jumps off the page- wow!! The way you capture it almost makes it seem as though it’s moving!
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Thanks Mackenzie – the water was pretty active that day … waves crashing against the rocks like it was the seashore and really moving around. No boats out that might have made that wave action … just Mother Nature. It was such a beautiful day … we are back in the deep freeze after a 36-hour respite and another snowstorm on the way Monday. It likely will hit Ohio as well from what I am hearing.
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