I planned to go grocery shopping this morning, even though I wasn’t out of anything (especially since I found those peanuts). But, just like Friday morning, I dithered and dilly-dallied, trying to decide whether I wanted to waste a weekend morning going to Meijer. I figured I should buy more treats for my furry and feathered friends, and maybe myself too, since Fat Tuesday is coming up. Who knows what this week’s weather will bring? I’ve officially quit believing the weather folks, after four different sources predicted snow Saturday morning and it never materialized.
I got ready to leave and I just couldn’t do it … go grocery shopping, I mean, even though it was another gray and gloomy Winter day, I figured the car really needed a long run and I needed a diversion that was better than strolling past the canned peas. So, I went back into the house, and grabbed the camera. In the five minutes I was gone, when I went back outside, it was flurrying … hmm, well do I go or not?
I decided to just go with the flow and hope it didn’t turn into a snow squall that would slicken up the roads while I was out.
Road trip.
For some people, the phrase “road trip” means racking up a couple of hundred miles on their vehicle. For me … welI, I thought I’d aim high and go to four parks and that would be 35 miles of driving and about four or five miles of walking, while exploring and taking pictures for today’s blog post.
As I drove to my first stop, Lake Erie Metropark, I decided that four parks that are near bodies of water, surely deserved a blog post title of “On the Waterfront” – pretty catchy, huh?
The snow began twinkling down in earnest while I was driving. I figured it wasn’t sticking and besides … those weather folks said the snow wasn’t arriving until late this afternoon. But they got it all wrong yesterday. I am no fan of driving in the snow, but I kept driving.
Lake Erie Metropark – Brownstown, Michigan.
I arrived at Lake Erie Metropark, 16 miles from home. I thought I’d walk along the shoreline, at Cove Point, and get some photos of the waves lapping up against those big rocks, but first I stopped to see Luc, the resident eagle. I’ve written about Luc (pronounced “Luke”) before. He is about 15 years old and was discovered wounded in the Saginaw Bay, Michigan area. Because of Luc’s injuries (he is blind in his left eye and has an impaired right wing), he could not be released into the wild, so he has a permanent home here.
I’ve been to this park a half-dozen times since discovering it last 4th of July weekend. Every time I stop to say “hi” to Luc. Even though I talk to him, he has never made a peep, merely watching my every move. I suspect Luc doesn’t get many visitors in the Winter months, but he had one just as I arrived.
This beautiful bird had alighted on the railing and I was able to snap its picture before it bolted. I said “Hi Luc” and was rewarded with a large chirp. I’m not sure if he was happy to see me or it was a belated greeting for the cardinal who had just departed.
I meandered over near the boathouse around the corner from Luc’s enclosure.
The marsh water was frozen and a lone goose was wandering around on the surface. It was quite desolate and bleak looking.
I noticed that someone had gone walking on the ice in the marsh and left their calling card. They were braver than me – who knows how solid that ice was?
It began to flurry again and there was nowhere to dash under cover to take photos. I figured I had better forego the trip along the rocky shoreline and went to the boat launch area instead – who knows I might see some interesting raptors there?
Well, if you were wondering where the buoys are, they were scooped out of Lake Erie and piled onto a deck.
The only bird life at the boat launch were seagulls, and this one in particular was enjoying his high perch. He was there when I arrived and I got this photo of him, then I ran to the car for cover as I wanted the camera to stay dry.
Thanks to that sudden burst of snow, I had tucked the camera away in its pouch, in my pocket. That was bad timing because I witnessed another gull fly over and knock this guy right off his throne, er … perch. The two tussled a bit and the intruder left in a huff, and this gull was left to its woolgathering once again.
I sat in the car a few minutes, then left for my next park stop.
Elizabeth Park – Trenton, Michigan.
I drove seven miles down West Jefferson Avenue to lovely Elizabeth Park.
I wanted to walk along the boardwalk and there are two ways to do this: access it from the Detroit River side of the Park, or how I usually do it, walk along the water, over the big bridge and then along the boardwalk – that is the more scenic trip.
I stopped to watch the ducks and geese who were preening or paddling along in the icy-cold canal water.
Yup, it was icy cold – just look at the little floes drifting right by them. It made me cold just looking at this scene.
I walked along the water’s edge, then headed for the footbridge which crosses the canal near when it enters the Detroit River. Oops – the snow was not a problem, but many of the steps were icy. I didn’t feel like slipping over the railing and into the canal. They don’t salt the steps at Elizabeth Park’s historic bridges in order to preserve them – they are almost a century old. So much for that …
… so I retraced my steps, noticing the goose footprints in the snow.
I got about halfway around this park’s perimeter path and then it started to snow (again) – yup, the snow flurries were getting to be a pain, as to taking pictures, so the camera went back into the case again and I set off for my next stop.
Bishop Park – Wyandotte, Michigan.
I just stayed on West Jefferson Avenue and five miles later I arrived at Bishop Park. You may recall the last time I visited this park, three weeks ago today, I was so amazed at the frozen waves and water that were caused by the Polar Vortex. I had never seen a sight like that before. Sure, there are ice floes, but not solid ice as far as the eye could see. I captured that frozen ice here in this post:
As I drove to Bishop Park, I wondered if some of the ice had broken up and would be just large ice floes now. Unbelievably, there was no ice at all! It sure isn’t because we had a heat wave, that’s for sure. Likely the Coast Guard ice cutter came along and mowed through the ice and it broke apart. But here you see it is all gone at the boardwalk and near the pier.
Bishop Park is really prettier in the Summertime. I scanned the trees to see if I might be lucky and see another eagle like last time, but the trees were bare – not a single bird to be found.
I did notice something new in this park though – park benches with dedications on them. Two of the benches had interesting dedications on them and I smiled to myself at the first one …
… there are many people who park down near the water’s edge, and pass the time by watching the boats – large and small, as well as the seagulls who are always swooping and gliding about. The second bench was amusing as well. Now it was time to head for my last pit stop of the day – a short 2 ½-mile trip to Dingell Park to see if the eagles were in the trees or looking for their lunch by fishing from the ice floes.
John D. Dingell Park – Ecorse, Michigan.
Brrr it was cold right at this Park which is right on the Detroit River. When I was here three weeks ago, there were some small ice floes, but nothing like today. The header picture is of the ice floes in the channel between the land and Mud Island. Ice floes were everywhere, thick and irregular shaped. They floated lazily along, bumping up against one another and emitting audible cracks. I was the only one there and strolled along the boardwalk, but all the action was clearly back at the pavilion area. This small pavilion juts out over the shoreline and I had a bird’s-eye view of the mallards congregating in the water and on the ice floes hugging that frozen shoreline.
The gulls hung out together on this big ice floe:
I felt so sorry for my feathered friends on this cold day. It was 22 degrees F (-5 C) when I left the house. I watched this female mallard dipping its beak in the water, then preening its feathers, distributing the oil throughout, to keep her feathers dry once it plopped into the water again.
This drake was swimming along, watching the water, no doubt for a taste of shad, those small fish that they enjoy.
When there were none to be found, he decided to search under the ice – perhaps a fish was lurking there?
It was peaceful watching them paddling around or walking flat-footed on the ice. But, soon I was not alone as a woman came to the pavilion area holding onto a cardboard box. She tossed its contents onto an ice floe and a mad scramble ensued. I turned to her and said “you just made their day!” She laughed and said she brings them birdseed three times a week. All the mallards gathered on one large piece of ice where she had scattered the seed. There was no quacking, as they silently lapped up that seed – the only noise was me clicking off shots with the camera, like these:
Suddenly the woman turned to me and said “I’m going to my car – I’ve got something else for them” and she returned a minute later with a large box and showed me it was half full of popcorn and said “this is left over from going to the movies last night.”
The only problem was the popcorn was so light, it didn’t land where she aimed it, i.e. the same ice floe. So once again there was a flurry of activity as ducks dodged one another to grab a morsel of popcorn.
Well, the seagulls, who had stayed away up to this point, suddenly appeared and became party poopers as they tried to scare the ducks away from that prized popcorn. The gulls swooped and dived but the ducks were steadfast, laying down on the ice to cover that popcorn.
Soon the popcorn was gone and it was time to move on and go back to searching for shad. A few ducks were late to the party – see how they walked away rather dejectedly?
The sky was dark and gray and the day was rather bleak looking. I thought “hurry Spring – it is cold and a little windy out here.” But I know I share my pain with this pair of mallards … notice in the top of this picture how the female mallard rests her head against the drake. If there was a thought bubble over them, it would be her saying “next year, let’s spend the Winter somewhere warm, okay honey?”
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
I’m a big “Luc” fan! Get PETA to break him out! He needs a much larger shelter! That thing is like a phone booth.I bet he’s never been able to exercise his injured wing at all. Minimum size of his inclosure should be about the size of a barn.So he can fly back and forth at least!
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I don’t think I’ve ever shown Luc’s enclosure at a distance Wayne, usually I just take the picture of that turquoise worn building which you said was likely a boathouse. That makes sense, there’s nothing else out there, just the wooden plank, railing and the marsh. Luc’s enclosure is not big at all – the enclosure is tall, that much I’ll say, but you can see it is not wide, so no room to fly in here.
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When we do that sort of thing to humans we call it being thrown into the hole and its usually for inmates serving hard time!
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And it is usually deserving in that instance … we don’t live in a zone where we worry about mountain lions attacking an eagle who is unable to fly So, it would be more humane to put Luc into a larger area with trees and let him try to get around better. You’ll worry about him more now that you saw the enclosure at a glance. And it seems so dark in there to me as well. I’m sure that doesn’t help his well being.
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If he cannot fly he would still need an enclosure. You most likely do have other ground predators about,but we both know he will continue to suffer.His spirit is broken! Such a sad state for your nations national emblem and some how fitting at the moment.
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You’re right Wayne – we have fox and coyotes here. I should have thought of that. It is a large park and pretty dense, much more dense than Council Point Park, and we had that family of coyotes. I’m sure his spirit is broken – he sits there day in and day out. I know they take school-age kids there for field trips as they advertise it on their site. So they will pause there but that doesn’t happen every day. Not all kids are fascinated with nature anyway. I don’t see other people, kids or otherwise, stopping there. It is secluded because there is a trail nearby, but no one goes on that trail – it is overgrown and quite dense and the enclosure and trail are down the hill from the museum. You’re right about the national emblem – it goes hand in hand with our current situation.
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A big old barn is where he would do best and I might add with another eagle. I wish I was a rich man! I’d travel around saving these poor broken souls and give them some joy before passing! They deserve so much more than what they are getting! Its cruel and unusual punishment with what he is going through!
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I wonder why they can’t put another rehabbed eagle in with him – it wouldn’t be fair to Luc to be with an eagle who had the ability to fly and leave poor Luc behind … but a buddy sure would be nice for companionship, rather than days on end in the enclosure alone.
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that might not be possible Linda? Thats already way too small for just one eagle and he rightly believes its his territory. Adding another eagle might create conflict!
If they were both placed in a much larger spot (Barn) at the same time….yes it might work depending on their personalities!
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No, I meant in a larger area like a barn – but a barn with windows, not closed up and dark. I forgot they are real territorial … you said a pair does not like an interloper. Any new comer would be perceived as a threat to Luc.
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each animal is unique.I would put a net up between them and observe how they interact. If they get along I would drop the net,hold my breath and cross my fingers!
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I think people have to do that when they bring a new pet into the house – even segregate them into different rooms until they have gotten used to each other.
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yes but it becomes more difficult if one of them has already been there.
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Yes, it is their own domain then.
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if we think about them as being like humans….you would like to know the stanger who is going to be moving in with you.Some people cannot live with other people. Some people love company. So its more a mix and match kind of thing.
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What you say is very true Wayne … the older you get, in both the human and animal world, you become less adaptable.
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yep and that means that poor old Luc may not only have a eye/wing handicap but also a personality disorder?
But….if he at least had other eagles surrounding him he would improve dramatically so from the socializing!
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That’s right – the longer he is there and isolated, the harder it would be to introduce a buddy to him. I hope they have a vet come and take a look at him sometimes.
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by law they have to.I would like to chat with that Vet.
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I wonder if they use someone from the Michigan State Univesrity Veterinary College in East Lansing. I believe it is the only veterinary college in the state. When the Canada Goose flew into the baseball scoreboard clock last year, it was stunned and in shock. A woman vet was attending the game – she took it up there (an hour or more away) and had the goose looked at. They took x-rays, kept it a few days, then released it -wasn’t near its kin though.
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they are a social bird,it would keep joining different groups until it would come across a relation.
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That’s good – I wondered as it was far from home. It landed on the playing field, players chased it and it smacked hard into the board and fell into the crowd. Poor thing. They called it “the Rally Goose” as they did well and won the game.
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I follow a woman who takes photos of birds in her backyard – if you’ve ever watched a bird (domestic or otherwise) enjoying a birdbath, a puddle, even the water in the gutter, it is pure delight. Kathy has captured that delight perfectly here – it made me smile:
https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/17239565/posts/2193265233
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wonderful pictures Linda!
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I thought you’d enjoy them Wayne. A little smaller than your usual subjects (except the hummers). She gets some amazing pictures in her yard and always writes a nice narrative about what she sees.
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thats something I’ve always lacked in…….doing a good narrative. I’m more a visual person.
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That is good to be a visual person if you’re a photographer. You give us interesting tidbits – they are enjoyable to read and we learn more about behind-the-scenes stuff or about who/what you are photographing, the factual stories about eagle’s feathers for example.
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we all try to do the best we can
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I hope spring comes early for you out there.
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I hope so too Bryan – has your snow melted away yet?
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It’s still around but the roads are clear. Snow doesn’t last to long on the west side of the state. Being March it’ll probably warm up to 40 and rain a lot.
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That’s great – we are immersed in the Big Chill right now. I won’t complain after hearing about the devastation in the South – that is so terrible and destructive.
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Hurrah, for Luc – hope he gets food and is warm in his cage.
You got four parks covered one day- Linda you are amazing. But you left out Council park.
The ducks are looked after- it was kindness on the part of that woman-how many kind people there are in the world.
Good there were no hunters around or those ducks might have been sitting ducks.
Please carry bird seed for the ducks next time, Linda, apart from peanuts, salt cookies and popcorn.
Susie
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Yes, I covered a lot of ground and knew I was okay not going to the store as I have a half bag of peanuts (it’s a fairly big bag 20 ounces). I did leave out Council Point Park as it was noon or thereabouts. The squirrels don’t come out after 11:00 a.m. for some reason – if I go to the Park later in the morning, even in the Summer, they don’t always come down from their trees – they do all their foraging and visiting in the early morning. I’ve gone to the Park after work a few times and same thing. I was trying to get miles in, but the whole squirrel experience was not happening. I will take some bird seed for them – I have to get to the grocery store this week. They were really enjoying that woman’s treats.
– Linda
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Linda,
I have left a bag of bird seed outside so I can remember to feed some birds on the road outside. Yesterday I saw a huge bird party going on on top of the old cooking range( where I had left the bird seed). They had found the bird seed bag and split it open and were feasting. As a fond mother, I was thrilled.
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Susie – the birds don’t miss a trick. At the Park it is not unusual to see them swoop down and steal peanuts from the path. These birds at my house watch the porch like a hawk to see if I’ve put out peanuts yet … I think they are getting a bigger share than the squirrels are. We are very cold here … the squirrels won’t be able to access the ground for weeks! You are good to share seeds with the birds … these ducks knew her because when she arrived it was like me with the peanuts … a source of food and a friendly face!
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Very interesting post, thank you for sharing a glimpse of the parks in the winter. Great shots of the ducks doing polka dances (like the lady remembered on the bench, that made me smile too) and I love how you captioned the duck couple…I’m still smiling! Happy Monday to you, stay warm!
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Thanks Shelley – Glad you liked the photos. I was so amazed all that ice was gone … it was so solid and thick just three weeks ago. That last duck couple captured my heart. Out to deal with the snow …. more tomorrow, and it’s just small amounts of snow but I think it is 9 or 10 degrees and that makes it slick. Happy Monday to you too.
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Since grocery shopping is my least favorite task I can certainly understand your choice.
Sometimes I forget how fortunate we are to live in the Great Lakes State, being surrounded by great bodies of water – including the Great Lakes, rivers and inland lakes, creeks, ponds and such. Freighter watching is a favorite past time of many in our area but there are so many people in other parts of the country/world who have never even seen one. Are you familiar with Boatnerds? A group of people who are pretty much obsessed with the shipping industry http://www.boatnerd.com/ . They also have a baotnerd head quarters called Vantage Point in Port Huron on the Saint Clair River.
A few years ago we had a young friend visit us at the farm. His family had moved from Michigan to New Mexico in 2007. When they lived here going to the beach was a common summer activity. When he visited and was going to go for a swim in our pond he said he couldn’t remember the last time he had been swimming. That was a real eye opener for me.
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Hi Ruth – My mom and I started loading in groceries in the Fall years ago – it is nice for those cold, snowy/icy days in the Winter. I can usually get away with just going once a month to pick up up refrigerated items, but I’ve got pantry items for milk and bread, so could put it off – next year I’ll have to lay in more peanuts, but I was not counting on the porch pals and they depleted a lot of my stock. I’d have gone this morning but we got some icy snow after I got home yesterday and the driveway and streets were icy this morning.
I am familiar with Boatnerds Ruth, but thank you for sending it to me. Years ago I discovered this site and showed it to my boss so he could read about all the stats of our various marine clients freighters. You used to be able to track the various freighters and their ETAs at various ports. That was handy for him to know for work or pleasure (when he took his annual freighter trip on the Great Lakes). Robb always gets that book “Know Your Ships” as well, which has the info on the freighter’s smokestacks and their stats. I’ll bet you are familiar with that small book. I know some fellow bloggers have been fascinated when I have shown pictures of Lake Erie as they’ve not seen a body of water that large – as far as the eye can see is really amazing. Thank you again Ruth.
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Wonderful pictures!
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Thanks Kate. It was a lovely day, even with the snow flurries which got to be rather pesky.
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Very nice pictures of winter and ice…..we should review this post on some hot sweltering day in July!
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That’s for sure – we’ll remind ourselves in the heat and humidity that we were not happy with all the ice/snow/cold. At least you can make plans though in the Summer (most of the time – the bad storms … don’t like to be out in them).
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I got to give it up to you!!! your out there more in the snow than I am this year! I have to admit i’m a bit jealous of your travels. You hit some of my staple parks. Bishop is not far from my house yet i never go there nearly as much as I should.
Have you ever been to Gibraltar bay unit on Grosse Ile? not to keep giving more spots to go,, well maybe you do great coverage. but it’s near the airport and i’m not remember if you been there or not. it’s a little closer than Lake Erie Metro park. and for it being slightly secluded it seems rather safe. i just love the photo hut they let you use to look out to the mini lake/pond out there. and there are a lot of black walnuts there. and on Sundays they open the rest of the park between 1-4 pm not sure about winter timing tho i think it’s only in the summer. i’m not really sure.
anyway my new blog is almost ready to hit live status i can’t wait to share it with you. I hope you like it as well.
After this snow we are getting right now i have no motivation to get outside. However i did get out this last weekend prior to snow. out at the Holliday nature area http://www.hnpa.org/ near Westland. Happy hiking
talk to you soon.
pril
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Wow – I’ve done better than you – that might be a first Pril! But you had that bad cold too so that put you behind a bit. I looked at the Nature Center link you sent me – I have that on my little bucket list of places to go this Summer. I wanted to go there and Crosswinds and Sterling State Park but all that rain we had kept me from going there. Last year I went to Hines Park on one of their Saturdays when they close the park to all traffic (May through Labor Day I believe it is) and I saw a couple of deer – I was excited for that but will go again and see if I see anything else. Mostly bicyclists were there, more than walkers/hikers. I have not been to Westcroft Gardens on Grosse Ile and want to go there as well – they have been showing pictures of a Screech Own on the Detroit Audobon site. So want to go there this Summer to. I was at Grosse Ile last year and went to the Gibralter Bay Alpaca Farm – is this what you were referring to? The owners were nice and said to come back and watch them taking the honey off the combs. I sent them the blogpost I did as it had a lot of the alpacas’ pictures in it. They were great and I didn’t go into the pen with the owner and none of them decided to spit on me. Were you following me then – here is the post: https://lindaschaubblog.net/2018/09/23/alpaca-love/
I am looking forward to seeing your new blog Pril – will it be on WordPress so I can access it here, or I will just subscribe to it.
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The Alpaca Farm is nice I went there to get the fur to spin my own yarn. Yeah!!! it’s fun. But behind that place is Gibralter Bay unit.. it has a pond and looks off onto the water and it’s next to the airport in the back tho. you got to take a right on east river past the Alpaca farm. Sundays 1p-4p when it’s warm they open up the rest of the park where you can go to the old sea base and look at the water from a different angle.
I don’t think i seen that post of yours heading over their to check it out.
my blog is sort of up not fully life yet but getting some life to it. still using blogger due to most of my photos being easier to sync in.
https://weekendhikingadventures.blogspot.com/
BTW i’m open to suggestions i have an event page i’ll be working on for some guided hiking this year along with meditative hikes.
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I wanted to drive around Grosse Ile too, but around that time, the Island was doing a major paving job and I had not been to Grosse Ile in forty years at least and I figured if I got off the beaten track I’d get lost. I sent a Facebook message to the Alpaca farm and asked if there was a detour and could I find them easily – no detour. I sent them the link and the guy offered me to come watch him take off the honey, then he sent me a message later in the day and said the honey was done and he was going to clean the hives for Winter and to come back in the Spring. I signed up for the Grosse Ile lighthouse tour they have once a year, thinking it would be something to write about different and had to pay in advance and we had a torrential rainstorm the day of the tour … they do it one afternoon a year. They likely won’t do it this year as it got messed up and has to be repaired. I think it was a result of the Cyclone Bomb two weeks ago. I checked out your blog and read your two posts – you are adventurous going out in the icy snow and not knowing what you were walking over. I think that must have been the most snow we had this Winter. I saw you had asked about any hikes to include but I didn’t have any – I want to try a few more parks this year. I was going to mention the woodsy type area at Heritage Park. I did a 5K last year at Heritage Park and they veered off the trail at one point and I had never gone in thos trees and it turned out there was a trail that goes right into a wooded area – it was nice. I don’t know any other places off the top of my head though.
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Good for you, Linda. I’m glad you braved the snow and got out and about. Luc finally acknowledged he was happy to see you. You are now officially and eagle whisperer too. I hope Linden didn’t fall into the hole in the ice in the upper right-hand corner of the photo! I would not have been brave (or foolish?) enough to venture out onto that ice either. Those lucky ducks got to feast on some movie popcorn! I guess they don’t worry about their cholesterol. 🙂
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Luc never moves a muscle most days when I am there – he just stares at me. Sometimes if he is facing toward the wall, he’ll swivel his head backward to look at me, then go back to facing the wall. It is sad because he has been placed in an area off the beaten path, so he does not get any interaction. He gave a loud chirp when I said his name. Hmm “eagle whisperer” – I do like the sound of that Laurie This morning I went outside to see big bird tracks in the newly fallen snow on the porch – the jay or cardinal was not so enamored with me – I was late taking their breakfast and when I opened the door, the jay started to screech from a neighbor’s tree. I hope Linden didn’t fall in – we have so many incidents of people falling into the water, mostly riding their snowmobiles on thin ice. I would have not stepped onto that ice either, because you don’t know if there are reeds beneath the ice, not just solid water. We had a drowning recently where someone lost their way, and ran their vehicle off the road and into the water and got tangled in phragmites in a marshy area and drowned. It was dark and the guy made a 911 call but died of hypothermia because he was not familiar with the area and could not describe where he was. I was thinking the same thing with the ducks and the popcorn – it was in a large open box … I am sure the smell enticed them – who can resist the smell of popcorn, even when it is cold popcorn?
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What a lovely post. I love taking my clients to feed the birds too. When I get stale bread I freeze it and take my autistic client to our state fish hatchery and she feeds the fish.
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That is nice Diane – it benefits both the birds and fish and gives some enjoyment to your clients as well. This woman is a regular so they knew her – not as big of a crowd as that couple who feeds the ducks every day at Elizabeth Park and those ducks came running out of the water, up the hill and began greeting them and nuzzling their knees and calves. Glad you enjoyed the post … with the weather we’ve been having, I figured it was best to get out and enjoy Winter as it seems like it is bound and determined to stick around a little longer.
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Much nicer than going to the grocery store… and I’m sure the ducks appreciated having the “grocery store” brought to them. I understand wanting to keep Luc safe, but it just seems wrong to cage a bird like that. Nice that he greeted you (I’m going with that explanation for his chirp).
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I agree Janis – a little “road trip” is more enjoyable. It does seem wrong to keep Luc in that enclosure all year around – I am sure he has no visitors in Winter except the person who comes to feed him every day and that’s it. I like that idea that the chirp (and it was a loud one) was for me and not the cardinal. Hope you are not suffering with alot of rain – I keep hearing all the stories of rain and floods. The whole U.S. is dealing with erratic weather – that tornado yesterday was so devastating. We are soon entering our tornado season so always an angst-filled time for me.
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Your photos are always fantastic. I was amused at the ones I liked best — the ducks with their psychedelic orange feet.
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Thanks Anne – their feet seem to be so bright and their plumage so dull, especially with the female mallards. Their feet show up in the water as they paddle! Glad you liked the pictures – I was amazed I got that many as I kept putting the camera away due to all the flurries.
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Love your title for this post! 😁💕
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Thanks! I was trying to be as punny as you!
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Love the idea of polka dancing with angels!
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Me too Pam – this thought of their loved one polka dancing with angels must give the people she left behind comfort and a smile.
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🥰🥰🥰
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Miss Linda……………………………………….I did enjoy your wonderful pictures of the winter scenes at the parks………………………I’m always amused when I see the geese or ducks walking on the ice………………. ……………………. you have a good imagination and and an enjoyable writing style
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Thanks Ann Marie – I figured you’d enjoy the pictures of your favorite haunts – the geese and ducks walk on the ice so carefully, like you or I would … baby steps. I liked watching the ducks and seagulls floating down the River at Dingell Park.
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Thanks for taking us along on your road trip. And might I say, nice duck photos. They are goofballs with those big orange feet. Love to see them healthy and thriving, in spite of the weather. To me the sound of ice floes breaking apart is kind of worrying, but I suppose if you’re a duck you rise above that sort of concern.
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Glad you enjoyed that road trip Ally. I probably could have split that trek into several posts, especially since the weather is iffy this week (-15 windchill yesterday, today and tomorrow) but I decided to just do it as one post. Those ducks were so animated despite being in that icy-cold water. The ice floes were bumping up against one another like bumper cars and then the creaking noises would begin. We have many snowmobile riders who go across creeks or small bodies of water thinking they are more frozen than they really are – most of them are rescued, some succumb to hypothermia in a short period of time, especially if they are alone.
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I’m glad you got a chance to go out and visit the parks instead of grocery shopping! Love the photos, especially the one of the duck sitting on the ice! 😊
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I am too Sabine – there have not been all that many nice Winter days to savor. I did finally go grocery shopping this morning. The porch pets will be ecstatic … I was starting to ration their treats again. 🙂 Glad to see you back.
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The weather’s been funky everywhere! Thanks for checking in with me last week, Linda! 😊
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I hope our weather does not disappoint like last year Sabine. You’re so welcome – I thought it was unusual you didn’t post and I was genuinely concerned. 🙂
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💖
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I think this definitely deserves a title of a “roadtrip” especially with the crazy weather—bonus points!
Aw look at Luc! He was probably pleased to see you. Bet he doesn’t get many visitors!
Yikes- I have seen too many movies where people get pulled under the ice- the thought makes me skin crawl, so would never dare chance it like Linden!
I just adore these photos of the sweet birds & ducks. The one of the duck sticking his beak into the ice is too cute. I wish it was warmed for them too- that is just far too chilly.
I just giggled at your proposed exchange between the mallards hahah.
Thanks for sharing, Linda!
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I decided, gray day or not, I should venture out – I can probably count the number of days that we have had sunny weather. I ran some errands yesterday, fully intending to get out for a walk at the park this morning, but we had a sleety precip going on when I fed the porch pals, so will defer AGAIN to hopefully tomorrow. Poor Luc – he is a little isolated there and hardly any visitors in the Winter. I always stop and visit with him. The ice is so unstable and I cringed a little when I saw the footprints and a sign that someone had crawled down the banks of the marsh to write their name – yikes! Those poor ducks – they were sitting on the ice floes and looking for food and I could imagine their delight at that popcorn … I was shivering just looking at them. Glad you liked the exchange between Mrs. and Mrs. Mallard Mackenzie – I swear I see a dejected look with some of these critters over this Winter weather … perhaps I just have an overactive imagination?
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Awww no I don’t think it’s an overactive imagination- just a compassionate and intuitive soul!
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Thank you Mackenzie – that made my day as I get ready to suit up and go to the Park … no ice, wind or snow … all systems are go (that might be a good title for a post come to think of it!). Have a great day and weekend!
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Yayyyy! 🙂 yes perfect name for a post
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Glad you. the punster, liked it!
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🙂
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Oops sent too soon! This is what I get for trying this on the phone app 😆 have a great weekend too ! 😃
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Miss Linda…………………..I’m going to go to Erie Metro and visit Luc the lone eagle there……………..thanks for telling me…………………………….this morning early the sun was starting to come up and the sky was bright red……………it was beautiful…………………………so different than the bleak winter scenes we have been seeing all winter…………………………….
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I’m glad to hear you are going there Ann Marie – tell me how he is when you see him. I think he has very few visitors in the Winter and he will know you’re a “bird person” and likely give you a friendly chirp too. Only a couple more days of the sun getting up so early which is a shame – I’m off to walk shortly – should have left before now, but I’m anxious to visit at the Park as it’s been a week already.
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