The month of March leaves you scratchin’ your head sometimes. It makes its debut, either lamb-like or lion-like, and it’s anyone’s guess how March will exit – sometimes it doesn’t exit quickly enough! Here in Southeast Michigan, it could be wild or mild. If it is not the March winds a’blowin’, it is still icy and dicey, or there is snow and a few times I remember people wearing flip flops. Yesterday, I was walking home from Council Point Park and the sky started to darken and my thoughts turned to “oh-oh, what’s next?” In the space of a few minutes, rain splattered onto my coat, followed by icy pellets that pinged off my sleeve. I picked up the pace a little and by the time I turned the key in the lock, there were dime-sized snowflakes twinkling down. March madness is not just happening on the basketball courts.
The weatherman promised us two sunny days so I was glad for that. I had planned on trying at least one new park this weekend. But a rainy Wednesday and Thursday, coupled with Friday’s sleety/snowy blip, made me rethink that idea and just head to a tried-and-true venue where I knew a paved path would be a safer bet. (Or so I thought.)
I decided to head out to Lake Erie Metropark, a good run for the car, and a long, paved walking path for me. But the pathway had huge patches of glaze ice that formed from pools of water that had frozen over the cement, just like Heritage Park last Sunday. The rain cannot saturate into the frozen ground and it has nowhere to go. Likewise, the Cherry Island Trail was a little icy in spots and the grass had a spongy feel to it, what wasn’t frozen. I managed to get five miles walked there anyway and will write about that trek in a separate post.
Dingell Park.
When I left the house it was just 23 degrees F (-5 C) but when I arrived at Dingell Park, almost four hours later, it was a balmy 40 degrees F (4 C). A few fishermen lined the boardwalk, poles in hand and looking hopeful. Several boaters cruised the channel between Mud Island and the shoreline.
I was surprised to see all the ice floes were gone. It was just three weeks ago that the Detroit River at this venue was filled with chunks of ice which floated along, carrying seagulls and mallards which had hopped aboard for a free ride.
The reason I stopped at this park was I hoped to catch one last glimpse of the eagles who live on the Island before the trees leafed out, but the trees were bare, with no eagles.
Not a single seagull showed up, likely because no one was tossing out any treats. There are always waterfowl in the cove and pavilion area, but surprisingly, there was only a pair each of swans and geese, plus one duck, a Canvasback, which was all alone.
Speaking of ducks, let’s talk about ducking, shall we?
Though the ducks were scarce, a whole lotta ducking was going on beneath the surface of the water. The shad must have been running, as the geese and swans in the alcove spent more time with their feathery behinds in the air, than sitting squarely on the water’s surface. I could have filled an entire post with such photos.
Because the geese were either intensely gazing at one another, or diving for shad, they didn’t provide many Kodak moments today.
Swanee River.
Thus, the swans became the stars of the show – for me anyway. I saw a few swans earlier at Lake Erie Metropark, but none were close up. These two beauties graced me with their presence as they glided along the Detroit River.
I’m not sure which profile shot was more flattering of these lovely creatures, but for sure it isn’t the last one!
P.S. – I walked another mile at this venue, thus adding another six miles to my tally.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
I have never seen a canvasback! How gorgeous!
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Yes, aren’t they? I only see them at this park.
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Great work, Linda. Hearing about the snow flurries at your place gives me hope that winter may not be gone yet- unusually for us, we are having mild days.
The swans are beautifies and how they balance themselves while nearly toppling over to get food, is amazing. Where were they this winter, I wonder?
Is Parker ok ? Does he have a wife ?
I am glad for your six miles- you inspire me and I am serious about my weight now.
Susie
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Thanks Susie. The snow flurries are a pain, yesterday especially, as it was a wintry mix and I got wet walking home and it was cold out. The swans are pretty amazing the way they go upside down like that for their food and don’t fall over. The swans do stay here all year around.
Most of them stay in the water where it does not freeze over (like larger bodies of water with a swift current).
I am going to see Parker tomorrow … if he does have a mate, they may not come down together to ground level at the same time, especially if they have young in the nest … the mother may stay up in the nest if they have young. They are defenseless the first 6-8 weeks and cannot eat food, their mother must nurse them.,
I had to give the car a long run as it is still cold and we had rain two days, so I took it to Lake Erie Metropark first and was there for over three hours walking around. Then drove to this park looking for eagles, but saw none there. I will do the post about Lake Erie Metropark separately. I did not take a lot of photos, mostly geese and a few swans (but not closeup for the swans) … it was a sunny day but very icy. You were walking for a while, especially on vacation … the problem with walking is unless you do it really early in the morning, or late at night, it is way too hot where you live to enjoy walking. The only other option is tl walk at a mall maybe? You told me that you walk a lot at work – did you get a pedometer to measure how many miles you walk? A friend of mine got a smartphone recently and never had one before, so she decided to get a Fitbit to measure steps during the day. I just use a regular pedometer which I’ve had since I first started walking in 2011. Anyway, she discovered that just a normal day in her two-story home, she was getting five or six miles in. You might be surprised how many miles you walk in one day at work. [I know you said you wanted to do it when you are at lunch or a break, I am mindful of that as well.]
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Linda
I am a bad person at work- once I sit on my chair at my desk, I sit put- it is a great deal for me to even stand up and stretch myself or even walk to relieve myself. I can’t remember when I got this way- or how. It was gradual after getting to this job and the way I am stuck to my chair is directly reflected on the size of my behind. The bigger that part is, the more lazy one gets is my observation. And I used to be really flat there before. Anyway something has to pop sooner rather than later and it may be my heart or my own self.
I enjoy your outdoorsy posts and I want you to keep doing them because at least I can live an outdoor life through your eyes.
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Try short walks at a mall or big air-conditioned indoor venue Susie. I have, in the heat and humidity of August, gone to Meijer, my grocery store, which is a very large store, and walked laps there … sometimes it is just too hot and humid to enjoy a walk. I hope to delight you in more outdoorsy posts, especially once everything is green and more critters return. I’ll look for Parker this morning, unless he finds me first and will say “hi” for you.
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Linda , We do not get Canvasback ducks in the UK but they are very similar to our Porchard Ducks.
added a link which you may like.
https://www.birdguides.com/articles/species-profiles/focus-on-common-pochard-canvasback-and-redhead/
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Thank you for sharing this site Andy … yes they really are similar, aren’t they? This is the only body of water I’ve ever seen the Canvasback ducks in and unbelievably no mallards there yesterday – there are always lots of mallards congregating in this little cove. I did not get close-ups like you did of the swans, they were busy diving and didn’t surface for air too much.
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Great photos Linda! I have never seen a Canvasback duck and only seen swans in our area a couple of times several years ago.
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Thanks Ruth – this is the only place I’ve ever seen the Canvasback ducks and the closest I’ve seen them … and just one at that. I saw swans earlier in the morning at Lake Erie Metropark, also diving more than swimming, and got a few pictures for a later post. The last several years I’ve tried to get a photo of the swan with her cygnets – hopefully I will get that this year down at this venue – it’s in Ecorse, on the Detroit River, and just a hop, step and a jump from Council Point Park, but a busy traffic area, so better to drive there, rather than walk.
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YAY! 6 miles is awesome. Those photos of the swans are beautiful. Spring is teasing you and soon you’ll be getting all those miles in you’ve been longing for. I’m keeping my fingers crossed for you!
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Thanks Shelley – I think Spring is teasing as well. Those swans are beautiful and they were close up, the Canvasback not so much. We got above 50 today – that’s a start!
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YAY!! Swans and birds are great for the zoom lens! Enjoy the warmer weather!
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The “S” word is being bandied about for the weekend … rain on Friday, snow flurries on Saturday. Sigh!
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Robb is a good example of keeping fit as you get older to stay healthy. Onward we go Shelley, because gettin’ old(er) ain’t for sissies!
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Oh NO! Sigh is right!
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6 miles is a lot of miles, by my reckoning. Good job! I don’t see many swans around here in our parks. Nice photos of them.
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Thank you Ally – I have to get cracking to make up for lost time. Today was not as pretty, even though they promised us sun, but I got five miles walked – looked like it would pour raining, so I left. The swans are very beautiful and I was lucky to see them up close. Last year, I was taking a picture of a pair of them in the middle of Winter. It was a beautiful sunny day. I did nothing to encourage the male to come up the Creek bank, huffing and puffing, snorting at me and marching toward me with those big webbed feet. Remember how we joked about how I always have peanuts in my pocket? I was walking backward and prepared to climb up onto a park bench when I threw him some peanuts – he calmed down and ate them and I got the heck out of Dodge! You can see his picture if you scroll about halfway down this post: https://lindaschaubblog.net/2018/03/04/brr-burrs-and-birds/
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Another 6 miles. Good for you! Your description of the ice storm reminded me of something I saw this weekend. Bill and I went down to VA to run a race (I will write a post about it sooner or later). We ate an early dinner on Friday so we could get to bed early. As we sat in the restaurant eating dinner, I happened to glance out the plate glass window – it was sleeting to beat the band! Just coming down in sheets! Luckily, by the time we left, it had stopped and the sleet, which had coated the ground, quickly melted in the 50-degree temperatures. So sorry you got caught out in the ice storm. That can hurt!
Too bad you didn’t get to see any eagles. If they nest around there, you may get to see them, even after the leaves unfurl.
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I remember you went to Richmond, VA to run a race before – is this the same one as last year Laurie? I know you don’t like to repeat marathons except the Marine Corps marathon. I have a good friend who lives in Richmond – I have never met her in person, but after the merger with her firm and our law firm in 2000, her boss was head of the labor attorneys there, and my boss was the only labor attorney, so we were in touch quite frequently. She’s gone from that firm and my boss/I moved out on our own, but we keep in touch all these years later. Her husband is real active in bike marathons – in RVA and other venues. He’ll ride 100 miles at a time – Evelyn has to go pick him up at the end of the race. That sleet was pinging on my face – actually stinging. You got caught in that in late Fall – it does sting, and it quickly turned to snow.
I will try to get back down there because I have heard that the swans live in that alcove and people have seen the mother carrying the cygnets on her back – I would love to see that! Maybe I’ll be lucky to see the eagles too. Yesterday might have been a slow day for them.
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Yes, this is the same one as last year. It is not a marathon. It is only a 10k. Bill and I have run this race lots of times. It’s like a 6-mile moving party. Lots of encouragement, bands, people dressed up in costumes, etc. Very fun!
Yes, I did get caught out in the sleet in our unexpected early snowstorm. It HURT!
I have never seen a mother swan carrying babies on her back. I hope you can get pictures!
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I know my friend tells me that any time there is a big race, running/walking or bikes, that thousands of people will line the route, etc. It does sound fun. We might get some rain the end of the week and it could turn into snow, not measurable though. I’ve only seen pictures of it – all lined up on her back when they very young. She says “climb aboard” – I hope to get pictures to share too Laurie.
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I never thought about Parker having a wife/girlfriend/significant other – could there be baby squirrels on the way! I walked yesterday, it was a cool wind but the sun was so bright and lovely. Today I will be walking around an art gallery, which I don’t think counts.
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I never think of it either, because when they are down at ground level, or run down from their tree/nest in their tree, they always come solo. Even on the ground, they might be “hanging around” with one another, but not like a pair of geese or swans that might be mates. They often disperse pretty quickly once they get their peanuts, then return to finish them. The baby squirrels stay up in the nest for about 8 weeks until they can eat regular food and that happens after they are weaned. I’ve never seen babies, but the younger squirrels are quite skittish and run away until they get used to you. They have really skinny tails and are quite slender. That sun was beautiful yesterday – glad you got out and enjoyed it. Today was promised to be sunny as well – it was dreary the entire day and we had some rain early in the evening. You’d be surprised how many miles you can rack up when you don’t think you will. I always wear my pedometer when I go grocery shopping and can rack up the miles in the store and schlepping in just one bag at a time.
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I should buy a pedometer to see. I ran errands for 5 hours on Friday, had to go to five different stores to find landline filters for my phone, apparently no market for them anymore, so hard to find…..I definitely racked up some miles.
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When I came home today, I worked in the house most of the day – I am sure I racked up two miles, running around, up and down the stairs – think of it, when you do laundry … up/down/etc. unless your washer/dryer are on the same floor in a utility room. It all adds up. If you buy a pedometer, just get a basic one. The model I use has been discontinued, but I had Googled around to find the best one to get (and I’m not one for a lot of gadgets, more to go wrong) and several walking sites advertised my model because is was easy to use, change the time and not a lot of bells and whistles to go wrong. It still is going strong after 8 years, just needs to replace the battery every so many years. Treat yourself Joan – an early Easter present. Mine is an Omron who makes the blood pressure equipment. And get yourself a pedometer leash in case you move and knock it off your waistband. It is just like wearing suspenders so your pants don’t fall down. This is the site I ordered my pedometer from – I think they were out of stock at Amazon at the time and I got the leash there as well: https://www.pedometersusa.com/products/pedosaftleash?variant=4644200453&dfw_tracker=10593-4644200453&gclid=EAIaIQobChMImsLCtKOc4QIVWJ7ACh3sLASZEAQYASABEgLYafD_BwE
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Thanks Linda…..I’ll check it out. I am curious. My laundry is in the basement but I also have a two level house, so lots of up and down the stairs. My friend has deluxe Fitbit but I can’t see spending that much money. We have Omron here.
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I just looked around in my computer to find the model I have and see if maybe they resumed making it again – according to Amazon is it still unavailable, but I see at this link, there is another comparable model available. See the botom of the picture and it has a link to the comparable model.
This is mine: https://www.amazon.com/Omron-HJ-150-Hip-Pedometer/dp/B000MNAXRA
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Thanks! I will check it out the next time I’m shopping. Have to stay home tomorrow and wait for Bell to come back and fix the static on the phone, as the filters did not help at all. Of course the Bell phone message says, please be accessible in case the technician needs to access your house. But they don’t say when. So annoying.
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I know it Joan – all service techs are late or forget to call and say they are on the way. I had a problem with my landline about 3-4 years ago. Suddenly it didn’t work, and I have two phones on the table … one is a cheapie little phone, just to pick up if my hands are wet and the other is a bigger phone … I got a speakerphone so that when my boss calls in to dictate, I put him on the speakerphone and I don’t have to cradle the receiver. I noticed when I came home from walking one day that the red light was blinking on the smaller phone. I don’t have an answering machine, picked up the phone and the line was dead. Did a “contact me” online to AT&T and they fixed it the next day, but did not have to come to the house. What they told me was that the phone line was old – the phone line was not at my house, but instead a series of lines (like a bundle of lines) at one of their sub-stations/hubs (I don’t know if I am using the right terminology here) … apparently there is a covering over the lines to protect the lines, and they referred to it as a sheath covering, and it had deteriorated exposing the line and it made the phone active, but not good to incoming/outgoing calls. I see you are testing your gravatar and I will respond to you. A fellow blogger told me about 2 years ago to “like” my own About page, and if I did that, my gravatar would reflect my bio found in the About page. I didn’t know that and apparently he just wanted to find out about my blog … I usually just go directly to their blog if someone follows me, but he said “no, it’s an easier way for people to find out about your blog by hovering their mouse over the gravatar picture” and your bio/blog info comes up. I went to bed around 9:30 last night. I didn’t get to bed until 12:30 a.m. Monday and had to work until 6:30 and spoke to my boss on the phone until 7:00 so I was a little scarce on here last night.
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The voice message on Monday said, “a technician has been sent to fix it – please be accessible in case they need to enter your residence.” The didn’t show up Monday, so when I called this morning, they said the tech won’t be there until Wed! But I believe they are trying to fix it remotely, as it seems better. For a phone company, Bell has very poor communication skills. Another day wasted……well laundry awaits!
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I’m shaking my head at that – well I hope they fixed it remotely and don’t have to ruin your Wednesday as well!
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Wed – 3rd day waiting for someone to show up….oh well, I will try and be productive around the house as I can’t even go out for a walk.
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That is terrible – I feel for you especially as it was nice today. Hopefully they did come this afternoon and you could squeak in a walk. Tomorrow is not looking good for us and Friday afternoon we’re getting an inchof rain – crummy Saturday as well. I hope we are not going to go into a rainy mode on weekends like last year.
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I did manage a short walk but not until almost 5pm. The Bell tech was a smart guy – he installed a new jack just for the modem, and removed the new filters I just bought – he said I didn’t need them, as their is a filter in the basement where the line comes in! All that running around last week for nothing. So, static gone for now – I hope it stays gone. Too tired to read tonight. Is your arm better now that you are not posting as much?
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Can you return the filters then (hopefully) – that is so annoying but glad the static is gone for you. Glad you got a short walk in as well. No walk this morning – raining unfortunately. I did intend to do a post last night – something I saw at the Park yesterday morning (a beautiful birdhouse someone had placed on one of the memorial trees) … didn’t have time to upload the pics before I started work and was busy all day, didn’t leave until almost 6:00 again and I had two days of Reader to catch up on … I still did not finish and have to finish tonight. Decided I should wait til today to do my post. Thank you for asking about my arm because I have not posted as much, used the wireless keyboard and the elevated monitor (still not tried the vertical mouse … work schedule has been hectic) and done more exercises. I still do not have good range of motion, but I have very little pain, so I am kicking myself for not beginning this new configuration sooner. I am excited to tell you that I slept on my left side for the first time in at least five months. I am not a back sleeper and never sleep on my right side … just a force of habit. So I think I am making progress … I really don’t want to go to Physical Therapy – there is no point if I can do it at home and I really haven’t decided whether to go to the doctor – their recommendation will be for PT and I’m not having surgery … I should have gone in October or November, but it all of a sudden happened and I kept thinking I was sleeping the wrong way as I never injured myself. How could I sit and be hunched over a keyboard for many years and it just happens suddenly? I also blamed it on the mattress. I Googled to see how long mattresses are good for – figured I should get a new mattress, though I see no dips in it. From all my research, I am not the only one who suddenly experienced a loss of range of motion and what they term “frozen shoulder” and they say it can take up to 18 months to get rid of it, some sooner, if you correct the problem. I still can’t touch both hands behind my back and I can’t wave at someone with my left hand … waved at someone yesterday – arm won’t go much higher than my chest.
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That’s good the pain is better! Pain would be the worst part (and not sleeping), although less range of motion is not ideal. I don’t know much about frozen shoulder, will have to google it. Do you think it’s because of less blogging or the new setup? I know you type for work, but not blogging in the evenings, would give your shoulder time to recover. But I do miss your blogs! Errands today, but I won’t be returning the filters, they were only $5 each and I opened the packages. Regret the hours and gas spent looking for them more. Did you get your new computers/Windows for work?
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Yes, I’m happy no more pain at night – I didn’t want to take the Tylenol or Aleve. Did for about a week, worried about the side effects from taking it, so didn’t take anymore. I bought a small travel pillow and was propping my arm on that all Winter, but even the weight of the blanket hurt and moving the blanket getting in/out of bed – yikes! But there is such little pain, that I have no complaints. Just the range of motion – worrisome to me, and my boss had that shoulder injury back a few years ago when he fell off his bike and got the 3rd degree shoulder separation. He was advised to use resistance bands. He said he keeps them in the office, car and at home and does those exercises religiously. I got a set (they come in a package in three different sizes according to tension) but when I had the pain I was reluctant to use them and cause more pain. I am thinking I’ll start them on April 1st. There is a site on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and a website for Bob and Brad, a couple of physical therapists. They have exercises for almost everything you can imagine and they do a good demonstration as well. They advised using a booyah stick, something they sell at Amazon (over $50.00!) but suggest using a broomstick which will do the same thing. They use it to do different exercises, so going to try that as well. I was reluctant to do any harm. I totally believe it is from sitting here all these hours – work was fine, and the blogging was fine when I just did my blog and wasn’t here a lot more hours … so I am sitting in this position from 11:00 a.m. until nearly 11:00 p.m. – that is a lot of hours. I am trying to keep my arms tucked close to my body, which is so much easier with this wireless keyboard. I was stretching my hands over the the area in front of the laptop’s keyboard at an awkward angle. I still do need to try the vertical mouse (I haven’t opened up either of them). We are getting the computers in two stages now – the new server should be arriving in the next week to 10 days and our new laptops at the same time. The computer guy says we can still use our Windows 7 laptops to access our workstations – the server works for Windows 7 and Windows 10, so now I can just learn the Windows 10 at my convenience (but before the new workstations arrive for phase 2 of the upgrade). I hope I can learn it during the day. I was busy at work the last week and this week and got behind in Reader and comments. The screen will be bigger (17 inches) so that will be nice. I do like typing on the keyboard as I can go faster and no stretching … I wish I had configured everything in the Fall though … maybe it would have been better by now. I don’t blame you for regretting the time/effort and gas for looking for those filters only to not use them – annoying and exasperating.
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Well that’s good to hear that it is better…..and also that you don’t have a deadline to learn the new Windows! It was a beautiful day, and I wasted it running errands again – oh well, first day driving with the car windows down!
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Yes, I am glad I can ease into it more – initially it was going to be everything done at one – they split it up into two phases due to the cost. I don’t know why he was so fired up to get it done right now – I told him Windows 7 does not expire until January 2020!
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testing out my gravatar
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You are changing to your name and not your site name?
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I noticed when I googled my site that some of my comments were coming up too! So I thought by changing my public name to y name, that might stop? Also when I set up my blog it was anonymous, but I noticed many people have their name showing when they comment. I wondered if the changes I made would affect anything else, but it was late when I did it last night, but I don’t think it affected my website???? Let me know if you notice anything weird.
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I went onto your website and didn’t see anything weird. Don’t forget to “like”your about page and then it will show your blog profile in your gravatar. A fellow blogger told me that. I wrote back that I felt funny “liking” my own About page, but he said “do it – it is easier for people to get a synopsis of your blog.”
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I think it’s a great idea, but my About page has way too much info on it, so I will have to edit some of it first! It’s 3 paragraphs.
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I don’t think it matters – it will bring up your site. This is the comment the blogger wrote to me on my “About” page and he referenced a link he had written:
Hi 🙂
I hope you don’t mind me reaching out in a comment — I couldn’t find a way to contact you privately (you can always delete this comment…)
I noticed that your Gravatar doesn’t link to your blog. This makes it more difficult for others to find you. Please take a look at my blog post linked below, which explains the easy steps you can take to fix this 🙂
https://wibble.blog/2018/02/27/using-gravatar-to-build-traffic/
Happy blogging!
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It doesn’t seem to allow me to like my own About page?
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That is strange – I was only going by that blogger’s suggestion to me – it is on my “About” page … he made a few more comments about it because I said I did not really want to “like” my own page – I thought it seemed silly to do so …
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Maybe I don’t have it set up right? When I click on my name or my gravatar when I am commenting, it does take me to my website, and my website is listed under the gravatar, so I’ll just have to be contend with that – it’s not like I have tons of traffic anyway.
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I wouldn’t have messed with it if the other blogger didn’t point it out. One think I did tinker with was the font size on my blog. I have a theme from 2010 and it has been discontinued (as to new people wanting it – they will keep it around for awhile … hopefully) and I picked the simplest theme when I created the blog in 2013. Anyway, I know the typeface was darker and larger – not my imagination. One day I went to post something and the typeface was very pale. I figured I had hit something (like my mishap with the italics I just wrote about in another comment) … it was noticeably lighter and I wrote to WordPress and asked if I had done something and to look at the prior posts as they were a larger/darker typeface. The person wrote back “no difference” … well it was a discernible difference to me and I knew I didn’t imagine it, so I went ahead and tweaked the size to be bigger. Now it is a little too big and really I should change something … I’ve left it for now, but at least it is more readable.
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I hate the font I selected with my theme – I guess I didn’t pay enough attention, as a summer student at the library picked the theme out for me – the font is pale and thin, so I Bold everything to make it easier to read. The Happiness Engineer said if I change the font (and I’ve played around with it a bit), then ALL the previous posts changed to the larger font, so then I’ll end up with Bold and Big print, which didn’t look right. Maybe I am too fussy but it bothers me……
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Mine bothered me too – very pale font and I saw it right away – it hit me like a ton of bricks and they said “nothing has changed”… right. So I enlarged it – maybe too much. but all the pictures with the pale font didn’t look pleasing to the eye. We are not fussy – we just put a lot of time into writing out posts and so want it to look appealing overall.
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I’ll have to play around with it some more…..sometimes I’m afraid to do things on here, as I don’t know how to undo them!
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Oh that worries me too. Joni. I one time, several years ago, did a blog post and I used to like to add a quote to my posts … not every day, but if I saw a quote I liked and it pertained to the topic. I have a Word document with lots of quotes that I’ve seen and liked, most to do with nature. One day I did a post, put the quote, and I always did the quote in italics. The next post I did everything was in italics! I could not turn it off at the beginning of the post … I type all my posts in Word and cut-and-paste them over. So I closed out of the draft, and started again – same thing. So I wrote to WordPress and said it was italicizing and I didn’t click on italics. They found a code in the last post I did … for some reason a stray finger or something had created a code and it was embedded into the text – the Happiness Engineer admitted that I would likely not have found it. I don’t like messing with anything either. I did a gallery of my favorite pictures on my home page and wanted to add more pictures to the gallery – have wanted to do that all Winter and not gotten it done yet! I hope I remember how I did it.
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testing gravatar two
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Got this one two with the name “Joni” – your alias. 🙂
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It’s a nickname. I used to get called Joanie, after Joanie and Chachi on Happy Days. It’s such an old-fashioned name. I never liked my name. So I spell it Joni as in Joni Mitchell.
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I thought of Joni Mitchell before Joanie (Erin Moran) … but I listened to Joni Mitchell and watched that show, as did you, since we’re from the same era. I’ve been calling you Joan all this time after asking you your name. So Joni it will be hereafter.
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You can call me either, as Joni is just a nickname. I just needed to replace thehomeplaceweb as my public display name, as all my comments were coming up on google.
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OK, sounds good and I was Googling something one time – can’t remember what and was surprised to see my post come up.
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Yes it’s weird and very sporadic/random what it brings up!
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Canvasbacks are so beautiful! I haven’t seen any in a long time. Crazy weather still in your town, Linda. It’s warming up here and seemingly over night a whole bunch of my bulbs are blooming! That and the returning chipmunks makes me happy!
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I love when the blooms start to pop – it’s very dull here. I like the flowering trees – my neighbor’s Magnolia bush has buds but this tree is all off – it flowered three times last year. It’s never done that before. I don’t know why the Canvasbacks are only at this part of the Detroit River. It is like the Pekin ducks – they are only at Elizabeth Park and they are huge and they also have the Mallard Hybrids at that Park – do you have them Sabine? They are black, brown and white – the first time I saw one was in this post: https://lindaschaubblog.net/2018/04/08/up-with-the-sun-gone-with-the-wind/
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We have the mallard hybrids here but no Pekin ducks! We have a small pond and waterfall at the bottom of the hill where we occasionally get some visiting mallards. My neighbor’s magnolia is about to bloom. They are beautiful in bloom!
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The mallard hybrids are so unusual looking and like the Pekins, only found at Elizabeth Park, maybe at other parks I’ve yet to explore. The Pekins are so large and they’re very friendly – remember them nuzzling against the legs of the couple that were feeding them a few months ago.
They were able to pat them on the back or the head. I follow Dingell Park on Facebook and there are many photographers that post the waterfowl and eagle pictures. They have posted Wood duck and Merganser photos in the past. I think they might just be passing through as I’ve never seen those types of ducks in any of the parks where I frequent. The magnolias are so beautiful – they often bloom and a big wind will send the blooms scattering onto the ground. It is a shame their beauty is so fleeting.
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We had pet mallards when I was a kid. They were very messy, but so much fun. One of them actually would come into the house. Seeing them at the park is al to better! 😉
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I have read how much like regular family pets that ducks can be – also the messy factor. I follow a blogger who has a small farm in Virginia. She has free-range chickens and they come into the house, almost like pets. They are very friendly and sometimes she has photos of them sitting on her husband’s legs (as he has his feet up on the recliner) or in his lap. Kim has a fun blog and here is the link if you get a chance to pop in sometime Sabine – I usually come away with a smile: https://reddirtcottage.com/
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Thanks for the tip, Linda! I’ll have to check it out! 🙋
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You’re welcome Sabine. I enjoy Kim’s writing and her photos as well.
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Thanks for sharing such gorgeous pictures here.
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Thank you – I am glad that you enjoyed them Moushmi.
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They’re back out! Without ice in the way this time 🙂
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You’re right – just water at this park this time Eliza. That’s because it is on the Detroit River and the current is swift and the weather has been cold, but not cold enough for the ice to stay … the ice floes were interesting though. But earlier in the morning, while Lake Erie was free and clear of ice, there were huge puddles that formed in the grass (we had a lot of rain on Wednesday and Thursday and the water had nowhere to go since the ground was frozen) and a few geese tried to land, thinking it was water, and made a rather ungraceful and cold slide on their bums on the ice. I hope to publish that post this week – been busy at work the last week or so and leaving later than usual.
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Canvasbacks are very rare in our area but Canada Geese are everywhere; there are a lot of Mallards too. Cold and very windy here today. However, recent mild weather has had the little birds singing songs of spring-celebration (which is so nice to hear). Plenty of Robins makes it really feel like spring despite today’s cold snap. 🙂
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It is nice to hear the birds singing, especially the call of the Red-Winged Blackbirds in the marshy areas at the parks where I go. Our Robins have been back for a while and I’m sure they prefer to have stayed away somewhere warmer. We had high winds today as well and cold. Is Marla recovering nicely so you might steal a few minutes to go fly the kite in the March winds that you sent me the video of last year?
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No kite flying time now! I’m busy installing a new kitchen and living room floor. Additionally, i have a lot of aquarium projects i’m working on. 🙂
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You’re busy and ambitious Tom – better get those projects done before the flowers and critters emerge and you go out with your macro lens. 🙂
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Beautiful swans! Glad to hear your temperatures are beginning to warm. Spring will be upon you before you know it.
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Thanks Rebecca – I was lucky to get so close to them. I would love to see the Mom with her cygnets so I’ll return here again and perhaps be lucky enough to see them in a month or two. My fingers are crossed that the snow and cold will soon exit.
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That sounds like a great photo opportunity. I hope you get to see the cygnets.
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I can’t help but chuckle at your “balmy” 40 degrees. I have grown so soft living in CA, just so soft, I tell ya!! I just adore the photos of the swans… you always capture nature in its most natural and truest state . The animals feel like they can just be 100% themselves around you– So fun to see!
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Yes, how sad to be excited about the balmy 40 degrees. 🙂 I always remind myself in Winter that once it gets hot and humid in August, to remember how I whined about the cold and ice. It’s the deal maker.
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It’s hard to think of 40 degree temps tempting anyone to venture outside, but I guess it’s all relative. Of course, having such tranquil scenes greet you on a walk would be a nice motivator. And, 6 miles… good on you!
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Thanks Janis and funny, I just read a comment from a fellow blogger who lives in California (but will be moving to Austin, TX this Summer) and she was laughing when I mentioned “a balmy 40 degrees” … the enticement of a peaceful walk helps to get me out in the cold. I need all he miles I can get as I set a higher goal this year.
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Birds in that position always give me a giggle!!! Good for you for sneaking in six miles between weather fronts. The rain is supposed to start here tomorrow
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Yes me too! The last time it was a lot of ducks like that … orange feet in the air. I had to include one picture, as silly as it looked. 🙂
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