… so that means we get to act a little silly or frivolous and we’re definitely lighter in heart (and on our feet as we hopefully need not trudge forth with snow boots until November … that’s a big draw for me anyway).
Yup, Spring is in the air … I just felt it this past week. And, it arrived officially just a few moments ago, at 5:58 p.m.! The fact that we might have a dusting of snow Friday morning, well … I guess I’ll just get over it. I really don’t care if it is cold and blustery because I’ll just dress for it, but snow and ice – it just gums up the works.
With Spring comes new life and hope.
The angle of the sun is different on my morning strolls and my distorted-looking shadows often give me a grin. Something tells me that very soon, when walking to and from the Park, I need to be looking up, not just straight ahead, (or down at the uneven pavement to avoid a trip-and-fall). I must be mindful of Mama Robins building nests in homeowners’ eaves troughs …
… or low-hanging branches at Council Point Park.
During the Spring of 2018, I enjoyed watching and documenting the miracle of life, from those beautiful blue eggs, to scrawny hatchlings and then watching those birdies fledge. I felt a little like I should be the proud Mama sometimes. I shared those photos and escapades on this blog and you delighted in them as well.
There was a touch of sadness after those fledglings left and I saw the empty nests. Then, one morning, you may recall, it was pure serendipity that I looked down on the sidewalk and discovered a baby Robin who had likely fallen out of the nest. He was fast asleep, his downy head tucked under one wing, but, soon he felt the presence of this tall human being gazing at him and he looked up at me.
Well my heart just melted. Long after I said goodbye to him, I fretted and stewed over his well-being since I saw no nests in any nearby trees that he might have tumbled from. Where was his Mama?! He desperately needed her to come along and gently nudge him to a safe haven until he was ready to begin flying lessons and take off on his own.
Soon the Canada Geese will build nests, lay eggs and in late April or early May, the sweet balls of fluff will emerge.
All too soon they will begin toddling around after their parents, and will develop an attitude, as those offspring will get as cantankerous as their folks, with all the histrionics of hissing and flapping their wings. It’s all good – you just take yourself off the perimeter path and give THEM the right of way.
Ahh Spring – as you unfold, you will continue to delight me.
My furry pals at the Park are similarly delighting in the slightly warmer temps and bright sunshine. This morning I watched a pair scampering after one another, enjoying a simple game of tag, not in the least mindful of me jiggling the bag of peanuts – even Parker hesitated just a tad before joining me on the path. Hmm – could it be a girl squirrel that my favorite furry friend fancies more than a handful of peanuts and me sweet talkin’ him? Parker, I’m crushed!
[Well that’s more like it!]
The squirrels may be full of energy but Council Point Park will continue to wear its Winter weary look because, despite the calendar date that says it is Spring, that drab and dreary existence lingers.
I broke off a couple of twigs – dry as a bone with no sap or supple bend to them, and nary a leaf on the trees yet. The grass is straw colored, but the geese don’t mind what color it is, or, even if it is flavorful – they graze anyway.
Jeremiah WAS a bullfrog??
Most of the blog posts I churn out are about the squirrels, waterfowl and those often cheeky birds that I see on my daily walks. On occasion, I even write about the underwater critters that live beneath the murky surface – some are seen, others just heard.
Last week I heard a story on the news. It didn’t get a lot of airplay as this nature news item was sandwiched in between the New Zealand tragedy and the four tornadoes that raced through mid-Michigan Thursday evening. I was sad to hear about the massive fish kill in our state’s creeks and smaller lakes. The Polar Vortex, and sustained, brutally cold temps throughout March, not only made us humans hunker down indoors more, but it spelled doom for the aquatic life that exists beneath the icy surface of the Ecorse Creek. I’ve been showing you photos of that icy Creek for the past month. The cold created a domino effect. Unfortunately, the brutal temps killed off the aquatic plants that the waterfowl nibble on, and when those plants died off, there was no oxygen beneath the surface of the water. The fish could not survive. As a result, last week the Creek thawed out and lots of dead shad rose to the surface. They piled up on the Creek banks, then the heavy rains and significant wind last Thursday pushed some into the water.
Unfortunately, I must don my rose-colored glasses to avoid seeing the ugliness Mother Nature created in my go-to nature nook. The lack of oxygen will also doom the crayfish, turtles and frogs. In Winter, the frogs hibernate underwater, tucking themselves away in a corner of a pond, not necessarily in the mud, as their metabolism slows down and they get their oxygen from the plant life in the water. But now the plant life is no longer there.
Though I’ve never been lucky enough to see Jeremiah*, the bullfrog that greets me every morning with his loud belches, I hope my little amphibian friend will continue his a.m. serenade and I am not forced to speak about him in the past tense.
So happy together??
Similarly, all the turtles go into a state of hibernation by burying themselves deep in the dirt at the Creek bottom. The turtles, unlike that big bullfrog, are silent on my morning jaunts, but there is something special about watching those painted turtles sunning themselves on a log on a warm Summer morning.
Last year I watched a snapping turtle dig a hole, deposit eggs, then cover it up. You and I waited 90 days to see if those turtle hatchlings would march across the perimeter path, or not, and we surmised they made their grand escape in the cover of night, after an empty hole near the nest was discovered.
Meanwhile …
The days will get longer, the path will be sweeter as the Park comes alive and goes full throttle again. The ground will finally defrost and the squirrels can dig up their nutty treasures they began burying last August when we had some chilly days, a precursor to the colder-than-usual Fall and at times, brutally cold Winter. Will my furry pals pretend they don’t know about their respective caches they have hidden throughout the Park and continue to beg mercilessly at my feet, or even straining to reach the mesh bag of peanuts that swings so merrily on my fanny pack and taunts them? Perhaps I will turn around and find them lingering at my heels, or following me around the Park like I am the Pied Piper of Hamlin? Only time will tell and my grocery store is helping out the cause – once a month they send out coupons for the items that their shoppers buy the most. The item you purchase the most is always free. Well, those algorithms are pretty smart as I got a coupon for free peanuts this month … good thing as I was considering putting all the furry pals as dependents on my income tax pretty soon!
I tried really hard to get to 142 miles walked thus far in 2019 by the first day of Spring. I am happy to say I made that goal this morning – it was a mini personal goal I set, so now I only have 1,100 more miles to reach my final goal of 1,242 miles (2,000 kilometers) by year end. That’s a lot of walking, so I’ll need Mother Nature to cooperate with me.
I’ll close out this post by sharing a video that I click on from time to time; it helps get me through those harsh, never-ending Winter days when I have my doubts that Spring will indeed grace us with its presence again.
Please take a few minutes and enjoy this beautiful video: Just click here:
*Yup, I’ve probably dated myself with the Jeremiah the Bullfrog reference … so, for the younger set, Google “Joy to the World by Three Dog Night” … 🙂
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Linda
I read and enjoyed the post. I don’t have much to comment on. I felt a little sad reading about little Parker and his probable girlfriend. Never mind- hope he has a family soon. How did you know if he was a male ?
I love the robin pictures. Sad about the fish and the water life that were the targets of a cruel nature. I guess if it was in our path, we might have gone about trying to provide the aquatic plants that made oxygen for these poor creatures that lost their lives this winter. if only there were aquatic plant food capsules available or oxygen capsules available that we could drop into the water and that would be slow release and release oxygen when these creatures needed it the most.
I am glad you get the peanuts free- is it just one bag or as many bags as you want ?
Susie
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Hi Susie – It is a joyous time here in a state which has four seasons and especially since we got cheated out of Fall last year. I actually meant to say that when I mentioned the squirrels were burying their nuts in August. I started walking at that Park in the Spring of 2013 and I never saw them bury their peanuts or other foraged goodies in August, but that’s when they started last year. We had a hard freeze the end of September – I never put the hose in the garage and shut off the water until late October – but I had to do that the end of September. You remember my roses covered in snow in early November – that was a first as well. It rained most weekends in Fall and I never cut them down until almost December. We were promised the El Nino Winter which, for you means extra hot weather, but for us means a mild Winter. It was not excessive snow this Winter, but very very cold, and a lot of wintry precipitation freezing rain events happening day after day … unusual and those three or four high wind events. So, it is a joyous thing when Spring arrives.
I know you asked me about distinguishing between the male and female in the squirrels. It’s hard to tell most of the time, and I have taken pictures of females who are on the ground, but still nursing their young in the nest … they nurse them for about two months before they can eat solid foods or even leave the nest. If I get a picture, I’ll show you.
The squirrels chase one another all the time, and they will go very quickly along the wire over the houses, never stopping, on a skinny wire, and never make a misstep. They chase each other up and down and around the trees and sometimes they are so intent on their playing, I can walk by and they won’t see me, then one will spot me and just freak out – as if to say “she walked by and I didn’t even see her!” I think they are more active with a small break in the weather and not necessarily mating season for them.
The fish story was sad – it was all those tiny fish you saw the mallards eating at the River. Those fish are everywhere and if had they stayed at the River, they would have been okay as the current is swifter and all the big ice that covered the water, completely disintegrated into smaller floes and floated away. But the Creek is too narrow and not deep so they had died. Of course, if a seagull, heron or a duck saw them, they’ would have died as well, but thinking it is sad that they couldn’t breathe beneath the water and suffocated. I actually took a few pictures of the dead fish, but decided not to use it in the blog. I feel badly for the turtles and the bullfrog. I’ve never seen the bullfrog, but I hear him every morning. I can’t say I hear another frog answering him and sometimes I’ll hear a big splash after the noisy “belching” the bullfrog makes, so I suspect he jumped into the water. The City has trimmed a lot of the bushes and saplings along the Creek’s edge last Fall. I really don’t like how it looks now, but it is supposed to be more open so we get a better view – they cut the trees after the leaves dropped so it was hard to picture how it will look.
Yes, I laughed when I got the coupons … that is the item I bought the most of so I usually get a $0.75 coupon off per bag and this time I got one free bag of them. I bought a lot of bags a few weeks ago and went shopping yesterday morning and got some more – after nearly running out, I didn’t want to let my furry friends down.
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Awesome photos Linda!
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Thanks Fred, I was hoping to inject a flavor of Spring into this post with these Spring-y shots from last year, even though the calendar is not necessarily coordinating with the weather.
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LOL!!! Ear worm. Did you see my recent post Linda? Happy spring!!!
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Yes, I wonder how many people thought to themselves “now Linda is naming a bullfrog Jeremiah?” I listened to it a few times myself – I have to admit I knew all the words and haven’t heard that song in decades Ruth! I am about to head over to Reader now. I had written today’s post last night, just adding the mileage amount when I came home from walking and launched it for 6:00, right after Spring’s arrival. Good thing as I had to stay late at work tonight as we had a little emergency. Happy Spring back at you – enjoy those daffodils Ruth.
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I remember Jeremiah well. When I was in grade school we sang that song in music class.
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Hi Ruth – I got to read your blog post after I finished up comments last night. I was late getting here due to a client emergency. I wrote yesterday’s post beforehand and just added my mileage in the morning and set it to publish at the same time as Spring arrived. Thank you for such a nice dedication to me … I am happy to find so many other nature lovers to share my treks with. Your responses, and that of others, makes me want to explore more, write more, as well as take pictures of what I see to share with everyone. As to “Joy to the World” … it was a fun song back in the day Ruth … um, I was in high school when I was singing it though. 🙂
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You are welcome Linda. It is fun making friends in the blogging community. Your writing and photos are awesome and your thoughtful responses to readers comments keep people coming back.
LOL! High school – grade school either way it still makes for great memories.
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Thank you for saying that Ruth – your nice comments will swell my head and I won’t be able to go through the door to get outside! I never experienced the blogging community and camaraderie until I was 4 1/2 years into my blogging, and I was used to just having the comments from a neighbor, a friend and the occasional comment from other subscribers. So it has been a welcome and fun time for me. It was the first year of high school for that song – they said it came out in 1971. I won’t make myself that much older than I really am! I graduated high school at age 17, just turned 17 actually. I grew up in Canada and kids went to school through Grade 13 and if you could pass tests they would move you to the next grade, like skipping what they considered the “repeat” grades. Most all of the classmates did the “skipped grade” – I was not exceptional. I skipped two grades (Grade 2 and Grade 4) and we moved to the U.S. in 1966. I was actually the youngest student to graduate high school in my class of 1973 and we had 613 students.
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You and my husband are close in age then. I was six years old and in first grade in 1971.
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I was five years old when I started kindergarten in 1961.
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Miss Linda………………………….thank you for sharing the beautiful video………………………I loved it
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Ann Marie – That video fills me with joy every time I watch it, especially in the depths of Winter. I knew you, a fellow nature lover, would enjoy it as well as we try to welcome in Spring the best we can. I hope all systems are go and we can get some traction on our respective walking regimens and that this Friday’s slushy snow is just a fluke.
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Rejoyce!! Thank you for making us happy, Linda>!!!>! Happy SPRING 2019 to all! 👌✨💪🌟
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Thanks Martha – those sweet babies just make you smile, and the video … it’s my favorite video ever, the music, the images, it just makes you feel good. Enjoy your first day of Spring Martha … we have some fog and drizzle … it was supposed to end overnight.
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The link to the mellow video is wonderful. Our weather here, despite it being spring on the calendar, looks nothing like what that video shows. I guess I’ll live on hope until then. Congratulations on getting so many steps in each day. Your total is impressive as is your yearly goal.
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That video is just the best way to mellow out and dream about Spring … even the music is inspirational. That music is from the movie “Cider House Rules” and is also the theme song for the “Pure Michigan” travel campaign. In my neck of the woods, we have a loooooong way to go to look like the Spring scenes portrayed in that video, unless we take a turn for the better soon. We have a soggy and foggy morning today – I’ll try a walk in the ‘hood but likely not venture down to the Park a mile away and tomorrow will be slushy snow, or that is what they say. Thank you Ally – I set a goal for year end each January 1st and have done so since I began the walking regimen in 2011. Usually that goal is merely one mile more than the year before, but a few fellow bloggers, some whom are avid runners, are trying to convince me to walk in the rain, something I have always steered away from. This goal is almost 100 miles more than last year’s goal and the odd number is because another blogger said make it 2,000 kilometers! Gulp! Last year we had 8 or 9 weekends of rain in a row and many rainy days and I worried I would not meet my goal. I just hope I did not bite off more than I can chew as we are closing in on the first quarter of the year soon and I have a lot more miles to get walked.
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Now I will be singing the Three Dog Night song all day! My husband thanks you! 🙂 Linda, I have a bad case of spring fever. I cannot wait to smell freshly cut grass, see the spring flowers and hear the hum of bees in the honeysuckle. Today it is raining with temperatures in the 40s. I guess I will have to be satisfied with your photos of spring until the real thing gets here.
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That’s funny and it was nice to hear a blast from the past wasn’t it Laurie? I find when the radio plays something that I liked and sang to years ago, that I surprisingly remember most of the lyrics, if not all of them. The brain is amazing sometimes. At this rate I will need some more RAM memory if I am going to retain all this info. I have Spring fever too and we had a soggy morning … I did go out, but just in the neighborhood and a touch of snow tonight. It stays cold for another two weeks according to the weatherman and we will have a lot of rain next week. I have not seen crocuses nor daffodils, not even tulip leaves in the home that always has the first tulips in the neighborhood.
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My hubby listens to the oldies station all the time. It seems funny to refer to those songs as oldies. I think of oldies as songs from the 1950s! 🙂
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I just found that new station a few months ago and like it as I can have it on during the day and there are very few commercials. Sometimes I’ll put it on and will know every single song, then a spate of songs will be on I’ve never heard. That seems strange to me. We have an all oldies station and they consider “oldies” the songs from the 80s and 90s … I don’t know whether to be insulated about that or not. I liked the songs from the 1950s. In high school/college, there were a group of us who hung around, all single and just friends. Several of the guys had formed a 50s “greaser band” and played at high school dances and other gigs. We used to go to their events sometimes and dress like that era – it was fun. I would have been happy having lived in that era instead of being born in it.
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I can feel your love for spring in your words! It will happen and you’ll meet that walking goal. And along the way, many furry little friends will make you smile, and we will smile too when you share their antics with us! Happy Spring Dear Blogging Friend!!
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Thank you Shelley my dear blogging friend – you give me confidence that Spring will spring forth, despite that sleety/snowy squall that hit me on the way home.
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Sorry I couldn’t prevent that, I can only predict spring based upon the calendar and the deer in my backyard. LOL!
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“All too soon they will begin toddling around after their parents, and will develop an attitude, as those offspring will get as cantankerous as their folks.” This made me laugh. So true.
It was fascinating to go on that walk with you.
Why do you have a walking goal? And what made you decide on that exact number?
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You know sometimes I wonder why comments end up in the SPAM filter or show up colored orange. So I asked myself what is in your message, besides compliments and a question and your smile? I am shaking my head over that and why it needed to be approved.
I just looked at your About page so I knew your name to write you back. OK, I’ll call you Goldie as you request. 🙂
I am glad you enjoyed this walk Goldie – I figured I’d better do something nice for our first day of Spring because Winter was certainly nothing to write home about, that’s for sure. So I compiled some of my favorite previous Spring shots … I sure hope I see these same sights this year as they made my day – who can resist these cutie pies?
I actually started the walking regimen before the blog. I started working from home, my same job that I had when I worked on site (legal secretary), but now at home and just was not getting any exercise. I plunked down in a chair in front of a computer screen for hours on end. I realized that even in our small office, I moved around more than I was in this house. So I started walking in the Fall of 2011. Just a block the first day and gradually increased my steps. Sometimes I will walk up to six miles on a weekend day. I’d get more miles maybe if I did not stop to take pictures. Since the beginning, I recorded my daily miles and vowed to top my total miles walked at year end by at least one mile the following year. Sometimes I wondered if I’d do it … like when we had an early Winter (2017) and then that Winter of 2017-2018 lingered into April (ugh). I missed a lot of daily walks.
This year I did something different – fellow bloggers said to walk in the rain (never did that before … too many years of slogging through the rain when I took the bus to work left me not too enamored with walking in the rain) and also a fellow blogger told me I should go 2,000 kilometers just for kicks … that’s almost 100 miles more than I did last year. I’ve got my work cut out for me, so I hope Mother Nature cooperates. Wish me luck please!
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My comments go to Spam every now and again. I think WP just wants to silence me, but it’s not going to happen.
As far as the approval/ moderation of comments goes, I think it is up to you and your settings. Maybe you have it set so that you have to approve everyone’s first comment?
Either way, thank you for catching my comment and pulling it from the trash.
Glad to hear you actually checked out my site. I’m honored you put in so much thought into simply addressing me.
I’m impressed by your ongoing (8 years!) walking regiment. I sit a lot because of my job, too, so I tweaked my desk a little, giving me the ability to stand when I want to. I think that helps. And I love walking whenever I can. You do have to remain conscious about it, though. It’s so easy to just forget it. It seems to me like a lot of people (young and old) take every opportunity to sit. I used to be like that – sitting down on a bus even if going down a stop, or two. Now I opt to stand, and have people looking at me wirdly.
Ah, so this year is a challenge. I see. That does sound like a big jump, but if you love challenges like me – you will be just fine. The walking in rain is ok, as long as there’s no wind. I don’t walk when it rains, because usually it means it’s also windy, and everything is just unpleasant.
GOOD LUCK!
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Hi Goldie – No, I have never done the “comment awaiting moderation” so I think WordPress just went wonky both times. I don’t have room to get a standing desk, as I work from my kitchen table (it is a small house, and the kitchen light is better, plus it is not so claustrophobic), but I do try to stand during the day if possible. All of a sudden, every other article you read is how you should not sit so much and get out and be active. I did walk six miles today, but that does not happen every day, five miles in the Summer on a weekday, more on weekends. A driving rain that threatens to turn the umbrella inside out and wind … not a chance I will go out in that either. Too many years of standing waiting for the bus and getting pelted on, despite a big umbrella and a full-length coat. Thank you – I need all the luck I can get after this slow start!
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Funnily enough the last article I read about standing up was about hemoroids. Supposedly there is a cause and effect there.
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What I read was about swelling in your legs from sitting so many hours … they say to elevate one leg at a time on a stool to avoid leg swelling … that is difficult to do though.
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Interesting post as always, beautiful photos I must say. Yaayyyyy spring is here, I’m sure you’re prepared and happy spring dear and have a wonderful day.
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Thanks Sharon – glad you enjoyed them. They look springier than it looks here, but I’m happy it is not the beginning of Winter – thank goodness. Have a great weekend!
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I don’t think I have ever seen a small young squirrel running around, have you?
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I have not seen baby squirrels either Diane – I understand they are born, and are pretty helpless for the first 8-10 weeks. They are nursed by their mothers, and don’t venture out of the nest til almost 12 weeks old. The only reason I can tell the youngsters apart from the other squirrels are they are very skittish and will not come up to you, despite seeing their parents or the other older squirrels begging and getting peanuts. They also have very skinny tails – that is the only way I can tell them apart. Are the squirrels recognizing you and your client yet so they start coming up to you to beg? Some parks I go to the squirrels don’t beg because the parks are just too big that they don’t get to know people on a regular basis. At Council Point Park, the park area is two miles altogether, two separate one-mile loops – the squirrels congregate in the first loop so in two areas where there are lots of trees, you cannot miss them and they can’t miss you. They still follow you around, but really hang out in one spot. They learn quickly who to follow. You feed them once and they’ll come back; you feed them twice, you’ve got a friend for life. 🙂
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Oh yes they walk right up to me. My client had autism and she freaks out when they come close so I have to stand between her and the squirrels.
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I was at the park (Council Point Park) one morning and Parker came running over and this woman was with a younger woman, (she may have been autistic), and the older woman was taking her into the bathroom area. All of a sudden she saw Parker and did the same thing … I said “he won’t hurt you –
he is coming over for me” … the older woman asked me to walk away with Parker far away from the two of them. (My computer is running very slow for some reason … I type and the words are lagging behind.)
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The young fledglings and goslings are extra precious! 🙂
It was so nice to see the first robins this year. Our winter has been terrible and i’m glad to kick it in the pants on the way out!
Excerpt from E.E.Cummings:
when more than was lost has been found has been found
and having is giving and giving is living –
but keeping is darkness and winter and cringing
– it’s spring(all our night becomes day)o,it’s spring!
all the pretty birds dive to the heart of the sky
all the little fish climb through the mind of the sea
(all the mountains are dancing;are dancing)
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Thank you for sharing E.E. Cummings poem with me Tom. I share his joy, and yours too, after this terrible Winter, as nature begins to come alive again. Those fledglings are sweet aren’t they? And the goslings are still sans an attitude. This year I am going to try to find a swan and her cygnets. In 2018, it was one rainy weekend after another all Spring, so I didn’t get much time to get out and explore.
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I run at a local lake and always get to see the baby goslings there. Unfortunately the parents are very nasty and I often run as fast as I can through that part!!!
That’s cool you got a coupon for peanuts!! Now Parker and friends can continue eating:)
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Yes they are really protective of those goslings. I rarely see ducks and their ducklings because the bushes have leafed out by early May, but last Fall the City cleared a lot of bushes and small trees away, so maybe this year I’ll see ducklings too. What I’d really like to see would be a swan and her cygnets – I’ve never seen that and have to go to a bigger lake I think or down to the River where one of the walkers goes regularly and says they hang out in the cove area near the pavilion – probably because people go to the diner next door, then feed the ducks, geese, swans, seagulls, etc. their leftover breakfast – not bacon though. 🙂 Supposed to be cold but sunny here today and tomorrow, then a chance of snow Sunday into Monday. Not a big snow event, but enough to slicken up the roads.
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A cygnet would be cool to see!!!
I will keep my fingers crossed for no more snow so you can get out walking
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I hope to see one or more this Spring. They ride on their mom’s back when they are really young. She fluffs out her feathers and they climb aboard. I saw a pair of swans at that very location – maybe they will be the proud parents later. The other park I went to had icy dirt trails and a glazed-over cement path. Even the grass was frozen in spots, but mushy underneath.
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Oh that would be amazing to see a baby on a momma’s back!!!
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Yes, I hope I see it. One of the walkers is retired and he goes to Dingell Park all the time to talk to the fishermen down there. He has seen the swans and cygnets and tells me about them. I hope to see them this year … the ducklings are sweet too, as they follow their moms in a nice and neat row!
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I know! I’m always telling my students to be sucks and not wander all over the hall!
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Linda, I hope spring has or is about to really spring in your area! We’ve had a few nice days of sunshine and the forest behind us is coming alive. It sure feels good to see the first flowers add some color to the bleak bare branches. I’ve never seen a baby squirrel either. I have however seen baby chipmunks. Our resident chipmunks have returned and in years past they have brought their young into the garden. They’re fun to watch.
Great photos, especially the goslings walking along with their parents!
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A fellow blogger from Tennessee posted pictures of all the flowers that are coming out there and now I read about yours. We had that recent cold snap and even the Snowdrops I saw a month ago appear to be still only about 1 1/2 inches tall and not blooming yet – I wonder if the buds are frozen? I wish we had chipmunks here – I’ve never seen one before. I’m glad you like the Spring photos Sabine – they were my favorites from last year. I hope to see ducklings and cygnets this year as I’ve tried to get photos of them the last several years and have had no luck. I went to a park today that had ice everywhere – paved trail, hiking trail. It warmed up during the day, but I like to go in the morning when it is quiet and more birds and/or critters are around. I tried going to the River to see the eagles, but I think they are done fishing since the ice floes are all gone and that was their favorite place to fish from. I did see some beautiful swans though.
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I didn’t know that you don’t have any chipmunks in your area. I watched two of them chasing each other this morning! Your snowdrops will probably be fine, just a little delayed from the cold. Hopefully you had a nice Sunday with a visit to your squirrely friends!
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No, unfortunately no chipmunks Sabine – I am going to try some new parks this Summer, once everything greens up. Perhaps I will see some there, but none around here. It was cold this morning, got to the 50s this afternoon – but a dull and dreary day despite them predicting sun both days – at least no snow. But I did get a walk in, visited with my squirrely friends, though most of them stayed up in their nests for some reason.
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It’s raining here today! But the chipmunks don’t care! 🐿
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Soon they will be peering in your door wall window like the squirrels – they know a friendly face when they see one!
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Thanks Linda!
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Oh my gosh!!! These photos are incredible!! How did you get so close to the birds and scout them out? So so cool. Happy Spring, Linda!
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They were all in the neighborhood or at the Park Mackenzie and I saw them on an everyday basis from the time there were just eggs. It was amazing watching them grow from hatchlings to fledglings … they got cuter the older they get. At 14 days old, they look like a mini-me of Mama Robin and are ready to leave the nest. Happy Spring back at you!
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Aww that is sooo sweet ❤ What an amazing thing to witness!!!
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Also, I loved the video! Sooo relaxing.
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Glad you enjoyed it – it is my go to video in the long days of Winter. That is the theme song from the movie “Cider House Rules” and the music for the “Pure Michigan” campaign.
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Oh that’s such an interesting tidbit!! I can see why they would choose it for the Pure Michigan campaign!
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It is a beautiful song/score – Tim Allen is our spokeperson for those ads since he is originally from Michigan.
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I’m surprised Linda,I know you’ve taken care of Buddy and Sugar I would of taken that Robin and brought it inside. You could of raised it till it was good to go. It would of been a heart warming endeavour! You both would of benefitted and I bet Buddy and Sugar would of chirped!
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You know I worried about that little baby Wayne. How I didn’t step on him I don’t know. He was so tiny and his head under his wing. I felt better when I saw a robin in the driveway of the home, but I don’t know if she nudged him to a safe haven or not. I think I could have taken care of him too. Grind up a worm or two and put it in an eyedropper. I think Buddy and Sugar would have approved!
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OK…promise next time you come across this scenario that you’ll invite it in for a hot cup of worms.
Your the best person I know to rescue something like this.Your not only have the experience but also care for all creatures great and small.
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I stepped away from him Wayne and instantly felt remorse … should I take him home, should I put him up high on a branch – no nests around, and no branches fairly low? Should I call Buddy and Sugar’s vets who are avian specialists and take it there? These vets (a husband and wife) board birds and have a parrot at home, so they could have the resources to take care of it. When I saw the adult robin I felt better, but maybe it was just another robin hopping around. I do promise I’ll at least offer it a hot cup of worms.
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the advice I’ve heard before is to leave it alone.If you touch it and replace it back in the nest I have heard the mother may reject it if it can smell your scent on it? I don’t know how the mother gets the chick back into the nest? Its a goner for sure with so many ground predators around namely cats.
I liked how it looked up at you and hope the little guy made it ok. Can you go back and see if there are any feathers around?
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That is what I have always heard as well – the mother will reject it due to the human scent on it. I Googled later that day and there were several articles that said if it was close to fledging (and they described it as being fully covered in feathers, wings and a short tail) they would be fine. It was worrisome to me that there were no nests … I looked nearby and saw no nests. It was so tiny and sleeping – I wondered if it spent the night out there? This post I did a week ago for the first day of Spring was a compilation of some of my favorite Spring photos from 2018. This robin post was last year. This baby robin did not have big enough wings to fly. I hope his mother pushed him behind a bush – that homeowner had a lot of large bushes out front. I did not go back to see him the next day – it would have upset me if I saw feathers or blood and I knew a predator got him. This was the original post:
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It must of been able to fly somewhat to get into a area where there was no nest about.
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I sure hope so Wayne. Or its mother pushed it into a corner behind a bush. When my friend was monitoring a robin’s nest daily on her back porch railing (from the eggs being laid to 13 days old … they are able to fledge at 14 days old), one day she went out to put her dogs outside, and saw a snake slithering away, and saw only one chick remained in the nest. Evelyn grabbed a garden rake, picked the snake up in the tines and deposited it in a large flower pot and put a garbage lid over it. She walked down the street and let it go in a rural area. While she was wrangling the snake, the mother robin was chattering and distressed and guarding her baby. Evelyn saw the mother/baby disappear over the railing into the bush beside the railing where the nest was. Evelyn surmises the baby couldn’t fly and she sought a safe haven for it, so pushed it out of the nest, into the bush area. Evelyn didn’t want to look for it under the bush as she figured the mom and baby were terrorized enough. They didn’t return to the nest and she took the nest down eventually. So that is what I hope was the fate of my little guy.
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Imagine coming home and finding your children all eaten! Poor thing must of been beside herself! I’m sure it was fine.
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Yes Evelyn surmised both parents had gone to get food for the babies who were pretty big and almost spilling out of the nest as it was a fairly small nest and four chicks in there. The female was always there with the chicks, the male sometimes showed up with food. Sometimes they went together, not often. One chick was on the porch floor as she startled the snake when she walked out of the house and the snake dropped it, but she thought it was dead as it was not moving. Two chicks were gone and one remained which she saw go over the side of the railing … thought the mom pushed it out. She said the noise from the mother brought another robin (probably the male) and the two of them were chattering and quite animated. It would have been horrible. She picked that snake up with a rake … sent me a picture of the snake, big black snake – she always has her phone with her and took the pic of the snake and the rake … she had been sending me pictures every day from eggs to their final day. I was sharing the pics in my blog.
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I wonder what kind of snake it was? So it ate three of the chicks?
I bet it was a “Black Rat” snake
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It was a black rat snake according to my friend Evelyn. One chick escaped, the rest of the chicks were eaten. Evelyn said the one was in its mouth and she startled it and he dropped it, but it was already dead. I am glad I didn’t see such a sight. Last Summer I warded off the Red-Winged Blackbird twice when it went after the Robin’s nest at the Park. After she was sitting on the eggs, every day that I passed, I looked up to see if there were hatchlings. First the Red-Winged Blackbird tried to push her off the nest to get the eggs. I rushed over and yelled and it went away. Then after they hatched, they were just scrawny and she was near the nest (getting food I assume) and that Red-Winged Blackbird came over and tried to get the babies. I made a noise and said “shoo” (yup, not a cat or dog, but it worked) and she came over and they tussled in the tree and he flew off. They are mean buggers. I have a post I did where the Red-Winged Blackbird attacked a Canada Goose who was leading his goslings out of the water …. he just went off on her, pecking her, then flew to the tree, all puffed up … it was an ugly scene – look how angry this Red-Winged Blackbird is in these photos: https://lindaschaubblog.net/2017/07/17/yikes-those-ol-bully-birds/
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Thanks for sharing such a beautiful post about the beauties in nature that come alive during the spring. Well done also on getting to your walking goal so far this year especially with all of the adverse weather that you have had. You are fantastic ❤
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Thanks Zena for your nice comments. Those were my favorite pictures from last Spring – I hope there will be others chances to see such beauty in nature with all the offspring. That video touches me because the music is soothing, as are the nature pictures. Nature makes you stand up and take notice.
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