Last week I wrote about all of Spring’s nature offerings and how this season doesn’t disappoint … image-wise anyway.
But down at Council Point Park, Spring is still MIA. The desolate and barren landscape remains. Those buds I spied a few weeks ago remain closed and the weeds and reeds that line the Ecorse Creek are still as dead as a door nail.
Yesterday I was enjoying my fourth straight trip to the Park with no precip, knowing that lucky streak would stop this morning, beginning with three days of rain and soggy weather. Like the past few visits at my favorite nature nook, to avoid any juggling acts in the still-cold morning (25 degrees F/-3 C), I just kept the camera tucked inside my zippered vest under my coat, plus I left the flip-up finger gloves behind. So, I traveled light, just my Ziploc bag of peanuts and a separate bag of bird treats that I scrounged up for the sparrows that watch my arrival every morning from their perch on the pavilion roof. Yes, I see them every day, their expectant faces registering a silent plea for something to eat. Peanuts aren’t the usual sparrow fare, so I made them a goody bag they’d like, even though there were no seeds to speak of, unless you want to count those sprinkled throughout the seedy bread. I spread my offerings along a picnic table and soon those sparrows were feasting on crumbled-up bread, crackers, oatmeal flakes, raisins and Craisins.
As I ambled along the perimeter path, tendering peanuts to the usual bounty of squirrels scrambling to get my attention, it was a peaceful and quiet walk. Admittedly a few things piqued my interest, and, had the camera been readily available, I’d have taken a shot of the Red-Bellied Woodpecker drilling into the tall tree, or the Red-Winged Blackbird trilling in the marshy area. A male Cardinal tweeted to me, eager to announce his presence so I might spare him a peanut or two (which I did because he would have swiped a few from the squirrels anyway).
That beautiful streak of bright red on the bare branch almost made me lunge for the camera, as did Stubby, the squirrel missing half of his tail, who contentedly noshed on a nut on a low branch in the same tree.
But I kept on walking, camera still tucked away.
When I was on the second loop of the perimeter path, I noticed something blue nestled in between some branches of one of the memorial trees, that I’d never seen there before. It looked like a birdhouse.
I got close up and checked it out and what a beauty it was and very sturdy as well. Here is an up-close look at it.
I wonder who will occupy this fine residence … and when? It is something else for me to monitor on my daily trek around the second loop.
I next looked to the ground to determine whom the memorial tree was dedicated to and discovered this plaque in memory of James Gordon Compton, Jr. and its inspirational message:
(John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”)
So … was he a “James” or a “Jim” … maybe a “Jimmy”? Was he a nature lover, perhaps partial to our fine-feathered friends? Sadly, he was only here on Earth for 27 short years.
I hoped to gain some insight about James Gordon Compton, Jr. by Googling around for an obituary notice, but there was none to be found, in fact no information about this gentleman out there on the internet.
I took my photos, then continued on my walk. I kept the camera out, deciding to just deal with my frigid fingers and retrace my steps to capture those images of the male cardinal and Stubby, but both subjects were long gone.
All I saw were the same drab-looking reeds and weeds …
… and crumpled brown leaves at the base of the trees.
And a pair of mallards paddling in the Creek.
As I departed the Park a lovely contrail bisected the now-brilliant blue sky and became my parting shot.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Linda, we just have to believe that spring will get to both of us sooner or later. I have been laid up most of the week with a bad cold, so I have not been getting outside as much as I would like, but tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful day with temperatures well into the 60s. I am hoping I feel good enough to get outside. I do notice our lawn is starting to get greener. Spring is not here, but she is giving us some hints that she is close.
As always, the critters in your wake must be glad you passed by. I am sure they appreciate your visits!
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Sorry to hear about your bad cold Laurie.
I heard the flu has resurfaced (a different strain than the earlier height of flu season) and we have a measles epidemic in our state as well. My allergies started up this week and, even though I’ve been on allergy shots (pollen, dust, mold, chlorophyll) for decades, when the trees start to bud, I go on the allergy medicine. The trees in the neighborhood are maples and starting to get red buds. I just do OTC Alavert, which works well, but makes my eyes dry and a little sleepy until I get used to it.
Spring at the Park still has not arrived – we had 60 degrees today and a lot of rain, and rain tomorrow and Saturday so I’m wondering if Spring will show up after that. I had to do something for those poor sparrows – they sat on the roof in a row, sometimes sitting on the picnic tables, as if trying to peck the wood and hoping for a morsel of food somewhere in the grains of the wood.
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I think I have to say after today (it was in the 60s) spring is finally here. The grass is green, birds are singing and flowers are beginning to bloom.
I’m sorry to read about your allergies, Linda. I never heard of an allergy to chlorophyll before! Can you eat green stuff like broccoli?
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That sounds very inviting … it was pretty mild this morning and I got a walk in, despite hearing pouring rain when the alarm went off and resetting the alarm for later figuring I was not walking. Thank you – my allergies I’ve had for years and what is interesting Laurie is that I got tested in 1975 as I sneezed all Summer. My grandmother had hayfever and Summer allergies and so I went to the allergist. You start the immunotherapy every week, then every other week, every third week and finally within one year you are on maintenance phase – one visit per month. My allergist retired in December of 1995, my 20th year of getting shots. He said to me “you can go off the shots, no need to get shots after all this time – you’ll be fine.” (Notice he didn’t say that while I was still going to him before he was ready to retire.) He was very nice and said the doctor that bought his practice would not be open the same extra hours as him (one night a week and Saturday until noon and he was open at 8:00 every morning and stayed until 6:00). The new doctor’s office hours were 9-5 so I would need to take off work to continue my shots (I worked in downtown Detroit.) Based on his recommendation I ceased the shots. Bad move! Nine years later, 2004, it was Springtime and I started sneezing my head off. With allergies, it’s not like a cold. You sneeze repeatedly, short sneezes – you have to catch your breath, plus itchy eyes, nose and throat – you feel like you want to scratch your throat (I used to eat Grape Nuts cereal). But this was Spring and my allergies were only in late Summer. I thought it was a fluke and ignored it. In 2005 it was back and so I saw the allergist – sure enough … same allergens for me only Spring allergies – trees now … no trees before. The chlorophyll is in the grass and leaves only. Eating greens is okay. I did the regimen for a year to get to maintenance phase and won’t quit now … I tell anyone who has allergies to go for shots. I get shots and still take an OTC pill because I am out walking and there is pollen everywhere. What I have now is minimal, compared to before. (Of course I would complain years ago, but still go to outdoor concerts with friends at Pine Knob and have lawn seats.) (My mom reminded me of that occasionally when I would whine about it.) 🙂
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It was world house sparrow day a few days back- seems like house sparrows are fast disappearing. I am glad you gave them something to eat- I put out bird seed for the few birds I see around our house. I do love sparrows but have never paid them much attention. Have you seen butterflies on your walks too ? We don’t see butter flies here and I miss them so.
I am glad the furries got some food and you got your walks and the rain and snow stayed away for a few days. We have had a few rains these days- wonder where the water is coming from. I am grateful for each day of cold here. Are Grady and his pal and the cardinals still visiting from across the road?
Have you seen Parker again ?
Susie
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Susie, sometimes the sparrows here are referred to as “brown bombers” as they are actually a little mean spirited to the other birds. My friend Marge had a lot of bird houses on her back deck and she had them positioned on the railing and tucked in the corner so the small birds had a safe haven to raise their young. Two sets of wrens moved in and the sparrows chased them away and took over the birdhouse. I have had sparrows nest in my metal rolling shutters and last year I had to have mesh installed over the opening permanently, to thwart them from doing this … the first year they did a nest was in 2017, I could hear all this noise in the bathroom as they went up into the blind, taking nest materials. They would jiggle the metal blind each time they entered/exited. So, I didn’t know what was going on and one morning in the quiet of the morning … no outside noises, I heard the twittering of baby birds. But, I know these sparrows at the Park were hungry so I felt sorry for them. They would peer into the garbage cans – no one has picnics there this time of year as it’s still so cold.
We will have butterflies once it gets warmer … I have seen Monarchs and the Tiger Swallowtails down at the Park. I used to have a butterfly garden and planted flowers to entice butterflies, had the houses and rocks for them to encourage them to stay, but I don’t have it now.
Grady and his friend, and now two new pals … two black squirrels, all still come by daily for peanuts and the cardinals and jays are still coming too. I have shells all over the place out front.
I did not see Parker yesterday, but saw him on Monday. I have not been taking out the camera as it is so cold and hard to feed them and take pictures in the Winter. In the Summer I have no gloves on, and am less encumbered. On the weekend, I’ve been taking more pictures as I can take the time with the cumbersome gloves on. I don’t know where Parker went – he does not go to the entrance of the Park – our ground is still frozen as was the Creek in some places – I meant to say that in my post and forgot. I hope to see him tomorrow. It won’t rain in the morning (they say) but an inch of rain in the afternoon and all of Saturday more rain.
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Linda:
I am always amazed at the literary mileage you get out of that park. It is a good lesson for everyone. There is something to see everywhere.
Fred
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I am amazed too sometimes Fred – especially this time of year. When the real Spring surfaces, there will be more color and “new life” to capture in photos. It is just stunningly stark down there for the tail end of March, but we had a wicked winter cold-wise and it has lingered.
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Miss Linda…………………………..any minute Spring is going to bust out of every tree branch and blade of grass and roots in the ground…………………………….I can feel it in my bones…………………….as I walk bundled up for winter temps each morning………………………………..
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Ha ha – yes, I love that first day when all the trees open and everything seems to glow in the sunlight, bright green leaves. You and I walk so early that a day like today when the weatherman says he was surprised it go to 60 (they did not predict that as it was to be cloudy from the rain) … we miss the pleasing temps and go out in the freezing temps!
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I think you feed the critters better than yourself! I have never heard of so many memorials at a park before. How many do you think there are? Makes me wonder if the ashes were spread there too.
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I think you are right Diane. 🙂 I will count and see how many memorial trees there are and let you know … I never thought to do that. Years ago the City wanted to plant trees, and our City was mired in financial problems and offered people to buy the trees. I want to say they were $150.00? They may have put ashes there as well – no one would know if there was no one watching.
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Ahhh so they bought the tree and can put what they want on it. That is so cool!
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Yes, they get a memorial plaque and it is engraved. Only a handful of people decorate the trees – this was a first for this tree. I looked today from the pathway when I was there to get an idea of how many memorial trees to tell you but I have to look more closely because the grass was soggy and I noticed not all trees are memorial trees. The people get the trees when they are young – they don’t get existing trees. So I will have to count to see. Our high school class got a memorial tree for the kids who have died since we graduated in 1973. I pass that one every day as well.
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27……….the common age most famous musicians died at and they were mostly from drugs.
I’ve never heard of a Park that sells out spots for plaques. Kind of sad actually.That money is so tight some kind of creative money venture was dreamed up to run a Park.
I came across a plaque out in the wilds once dedicated to someone who had died. I was really offended. I do not like hiking miles back into the bush only to come across someone else’s personal pain. If everyone did something like that Natures visual scene would be eroded like some cheap commercial.
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Yes, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix are two I can think of – there are probably lots more of them. They did that as our City was in dire straits at one time, so they sold trees I believe at $150.00/apiece.
They have a lot of them, but the City does not maintain them … people bring their own mulch, fertilizer and any flowers they plant. Most people do not plant flowers, one does bulbs – the young girl who died and I’ve spotlighted a few times. It is kind of sad to do that … Parks are supposed to bring joy.
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A shame the Parks have turned into memorials. I prefer just parks myself.
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I agree – there are many trees there. Lions Park is about a mile away and runs along the same Creek. I walk there sometimes but the path is out in the open. They raised money to build the park for disabled and blind kids (they have a garden with plant species’ names in braille) by selling memorial bricks – one brick is $150.00 and you put your loved one’s name on it. They made a brick pavilion area and raised money for the park that way. A little sobering in any event.
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Starting to see a few glimpses of Green in there and looking forward to the colourful explosion soon
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Me too Michael – we are in slo-mo here … a few buds but nothing more than that as it’s been so cold. We have three days of rain, so maybe we’ll see a little green.
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Looking at Facebook photos this time last year it was thick snow here and it’s quite lovely today
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I remember how cold and snowy your Winter was last year and then you had an overly hot Summer as I recall. Hopefully weather history does not repeat itself this Summer Michael. We have a really crummy day tomorrow – an inch of rain tomorrow. We had rain every weekend for 9 weeks starting in April last year – I hope we don’t get that this year.
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The painted birdhouse is charming. I’ve seen markers commemorating a person under trees in our local parks and wondered who the person was. I never dawned on me to research the person online. Sorry that you couldn’t find out if James was a Jim or a Jimmy. Somehow, I think he was a Jim.
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I thought so too Ally and it really stuck out in the blah park surroundings. I hope no one swipes it – it appears to be wedged in between the two branches. We have a lot of memorial trees and when someone does something different with them, I try to do a post about them. This and a young girl named Erica who died young – nothing on the internet about them. I once researched a memorial wreath placed under a big fir tree in the Park and discovered it was a young marine who had died after a drunk driver hit him and I wrote a post about him. Someone told his parents, or they saw it in the local newspaper (they have me on their blogroll) and the mom followed me (still does by e-mail). I used to see her come to the tree in the morning, but I did not identify myself, much as I wanted to. The tree and marker gave her peace and I felt badly and didn’t want to disturb her.
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Fascinating. What a wonderful story considering the circumstances surrounding it. I’ll make a point of doing a bit of online snooping about the names I see on those tree memorial plaques.
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I thought it was too Ally. This post I did was about a memorial wreath and it was not a tree that someone had purchased through the City. They had simply brought a grave wreath with the name of the deceased and a ribbon that said USMC and placed it at the bottom of a huge fir tree in the Park. So I did the research. I included the newspaper story in my post- very sad. My blog also appears in a hyperlocal paper for Wyandotte, Michigan (a nearby city) and that’s where the parents live. I’ve spotlighted quite a few memorial trees where families decorate the trees. One guy died young and loved hockey … I did a post about a Christmas wreath with hockey ornaments on it. Plus they have a special plaque that shows all his hobbies fastened to the tree. I understand from other walkers that his family gathers at this tree every so often. I’ve never seen them though.
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I’m always impressed at the treasures you find on your walks. That birdhouse is bright and fun, I hope a bird adopts it as their home. Interesting that people can place memorial stones in the park. Do they have to get permission? Such a short life for Jim. Maybe he enjoyed that place in the park? I love how you’ve made a special mix for the sparrows. Your critter kindness is so heart-warming. Hope the weekend provides more opportunities for you to venture out and about!
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This time of year, when the Park is a little bleak looking, I wonder what new things I can write about, especially if the weekend will be soggy like tomorrow (and probably Sunday as well after all this rain). I still haven’t done a post on last Saturday’s trek. So this kind of fell into my hands. Interestingly, the birdhouse was turned around the other way today, and it was suspended from a branch, as opposed to being nestled in the tree branch the other day. It was a good fit and I don’t think it would have fallen out, so that puzzles me unless his family came to check on it. I thought it was fun too and such a burst of color in the otherwise bare tree and drab park. I wondered about this guy as well – did he walk here? Love nature? You know I think I’ll do a post about the trees – maybe after they leaf out. There are a lot of memorial trees that people buy and included in the fee is an engraved memorial plaque beneath the tree. Some people have special inscriptions but most have date of birth/death and their name. They do this at Heritage Park (the park with the little red schoolhouse and mill and pond and ducks) as well, but they have bigger plaques and the name of the tree species is on it. I want to say the trees are $150.00. I don’t get the local newspaper anymore as the I follow them on Facebook for the highlights of the news. But the City does not take care of them – you mulch, weed, fertilize yourself and they don’t water them unless they are newly planted. Our high school class planted a tree there for all the classmates that have died – they did it the year of our 40th class reunion. You know I felt sorry for those sparrows … don’t think for a minute that the other critters that don’t get handouts don’t know what happens in the park … the haves and the have nots. So I see their sad faces … it was a healthy treat too!!!
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Wow, that’s a pretty cool idea about the trees and memorials. It helps keep the tree population up and with minimal cost to the city/county doing it that way. Like I’ve said, all the critters – haves or have nots are lucky you’re looking out for them. I love how you see their individual personalities!
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Yes, the City did do some good with this program and I have to Google around and see what I can find out before I do a post on the trees so I am accurate … I thought at one time they discontinued the memorial trees as there was no room for more, but I remember one being planted last year. This Park will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year … I was thinking about asking the City if they are doing anything to promote it? I have to rethink that idea, as hopefully they don’t think I am volunteering to work on a celebration. Last year I sent a councilman an idea for a fun run/5k walk to be done during our annual classic cruise event … I suggested we raise revenue for the City’s Memorial Day parade (they are always having fundraisers to keep it funded as they shut it down for several years when our City was in financial straits). I said why not have runners/walkers dress up in clothes from the 50s and 60s and pay to run/walk in conjunction with the event.
No need for teeshirts or medals and the like, so low budget and a local oldies radio station always broadcasts at locations along the cruise route which goes through 4-5 cities (depending on that year’s road construction). I got back an e-mail suggesting I chair the committee, make an appointment to meet with the police chief and mayor and he’d be my first volunteer … whoa, that spun out of control quickly. I have no time as it is … now, truthfully I would not have minded to do this. In college I was in student government and on the college newspaper and I worked on several events brought to campus as fund raisers, but I also remember it taking a huge chunk of time from my schedule. I was working weekends, in school full time, on the newspaper which required a lot of extracurricular time, plus student government. I politely declined and said I’d support the 5K … I did not get a response back to acknowledge my message.
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With all that you’ve got going on, you’re so SMART to limit your volunteer work too! That is a great idea, by the way, they should’ve run with it. Maybe you’ll see it happen this year!? The tree memorials are a cool idea, I hope they keep that going!
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I thought it was a good idea too Shelley. I’ll be curious to see if they run with it this year. We had no Memorial Day parade for several years, so they have various fundraisers throughout the year. I might have considered spearheading it after work was in the rear view mirror, but I won’t bring it up again with him to be honest.
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I hope spring comes soon!!! Here there’s blue sky and I saw buds on one tree but not on any others yet.
Love, light and glitter
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I hope so too Eliza – we have a very rainy day tomorrow, beginning tonight. The weatherman says “find an indoor project to occupy yourself all day Saturday because you won’t be heading outside” – ugh. Love, light and SOGGY glitter being sent back to you. 🙂
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Did you find an indoor project?
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Well … can I count sleeping in, catching up on Facebook, e-mails and doing a blog post an indoor project? 🙂 I was productive Eliza, but probably not in the best way.
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But of course you can!
I’ll need to still read that blog post 🙂 I haven’t yet caught up on my reader.
Do you ever scrapbook?
I was watching figure skating and double figure skating…. if you never have, check it out…
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I figured it was a long week, but sleeping in that late (around 9:15, much later than I usually do) kind of killed the morning. I am behind in Reader at least a day and replied to comments about 11:00 a.m. today, but have more. I have never done scrapbooking, but know people who do it and love it. I used to follow figure skating for years … all the Olympia hopefuls, watched them almost every Saturday on Wide World of Sports. The mens and womens tournaments … liked it alot. Sweet dreams Eliza – I see your other post in my notifications that are going to bed now – bloggers never go to bed early … I know I never do anymore.
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I see you are still up … well at least I was honest!
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Yeah, heading to sleep now. Super tired and falling asleep. Hope you have a good rest of the evening…
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We don’t always catch up in “real time” due to the time difference untess you are a night owl … I hope to not be here as late as you and ruin all the extra ZZZs I logged in this morning. Sleep well.
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I’m SLEEEEEEEEPING!
I actually just was writing a post on my journal thread on a forum. And I’m up way too late.
Yeah the time difference is weird. Although we’re changing the clock now. I’m not usually a night owl.
Scrapbooking may be fun
I’d never watched figure skating before. I found it incredible! Like completely incredible. The skill. It’s dancing on skates. The couples skating is even more cool, 2 people dancing in tandem.
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My mom and I used to follow it – I don’t know any of their names now. We would follow during the Winter Olympics too. We loved it all, the costumes, the programs and the ice dancing was amazing. We have a couple right here in Michigan that won gold at the Olympics for their ice dancing. Honestly, they said their names every day for months and I had to Google it … Meryl Davis and Charlie White: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meryl_Davis
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I’m looking forward to see it.
I found them all so incredible.
Someone sent this to me too (gymnastics) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gChWtvPZqPs&feature=youtu.be
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I’ve never watched gymnastics, but watching this young girl, Gabby, wow – she makes you dizzy just watching her with the handstands. I couldn’t personally see the mistake they said she made – her performance looked flawless to me. The grace of these athletes, and if you think about it – they practice so many hours a day, just to display their routine which takes a few minutes … their raw nerves could make or break what they practiced all those years for. Thank you for sending this to me Eliza. I just finished another long post so here I am … late again, and not too productive again today (except on WordPress). 🙂
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🙂 You’re productive just by living and being……
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That is so true Eliza – you have a good day – half of which is over already. 🙂
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I meant it!!! You’re always awesome 🙂
Lotsa light 🙂 to make up for the dreariness abound…
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This made my day Eliza and I am sorry you’re not there “in real time” to read this. There is dreariness everywhere – as I am going through Comments from the bottom up, I just said something similar to Laurie. It is not just international, national … it is local too. There’s no escaping it unless you live in a bubble. Thanks again for your warm thoughts on a cold day. Lotsa love back at you!
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If you want, I can create a bubble of love, light and glitter
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I may need it to guide me on my walk this morning Eliza – it is very dark – no “snain” but the sky looks like it may open up any moment. I’ll take a chance anyway … yes, a bubble of love, light and glitter will help me out immensely. 🙂
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I get a lot of sparrows here. They will eat the sunflower seeds alongside other birds. With 4 feeders and some on the ground there is enough food to go around.
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I didn’t realize they could eat the big sunflower seeds. I sure felt sorry for them … I know the bread is not good, but they often hang around the pavilion area as people picnic there … but it’s not nice enough for that yet, but those sparrows are hopeful I guess. I have to get sunflower seeds in a smaller bag … they only had them in the 20-pound bags at my grocery store. The porch pals are leaving all their peanuts there – the birds take them to go. One of the guys at the Park told me the peanuts in the shell will draw rats. I found that odd and Googled around – yes rats eat peanuts, but I can’t see that happening. You feed your squirrels peanuts in the backyard … I did too before we got rats from the neighbor who left his dog out 24/7/365 – I never saw rats at that time. I won’t cut them off while it is still cold out and I think the whole neighborhood of jays, cardinals and a few more squirrels are showing up now.
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I am thankful we did not get the rain yesterday or today. It stayed to the south of us but it looks like we will get it tomorrow for sure. What we really need now is a good thunder storm with lots of lightning to green things up.
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We had rain yesterday and early this morning – in fact I shut off the alarm as it was pouring and rolled over for another hour … got up and noticed it stopped and just cloudy so I got out after all. There is absolutely nothing green here either Ruth. I see some red buds on the maple trees around the neighborhood but that’s it. I hear we will get an inch of rain tomorrow and it will be ugly for 36 hours. The meteorologist on WWJ said to find an indoor project to occupy our time as we would not likely venture out all day Saturday. Your muddy roads will be in bad shape after this gulley-washer!
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They are already bad – Our muddy roads will be in worse shape.
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I now hear we are getting two inches of rain … originally just one inch and may end up in a slushy snow. Do your vehicles ever get mired in mud or you just follow the ruts Ruth?
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When it’s really bad the other edges of the dirt roads might get soft enough that we could get stuck in the mud. We avoid that by driving closer to the middle but that is where the very large/deep pot holes are. It’s best just to idle down the road (5-10 miles an hour) bumpity, bumpity, bump.
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That’s awful Ruth – you must dread Spring rains or the snow runoff in a Spring thaw.
It’s been an ugly day and I did not accomplish a lot to be honest. But I guess you need days like that sometimes. I understand we could get an inch of snow over night – you too?
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Yes up to an inch of snow. Thankfully it shouldn’t stick around long. The road conditions are probably the worst part about living in the country.
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Yes, I think it gets to the 40s and will be gone, but still … the all-day rain was dreary enough. Yes, those country roads are the only drawback to living in the country.
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I know… sad that I didn’t even go out of the house today. 😦
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Me neither Ruth – I didn’t even go out to run the car as I figured (at that time) I’d go somewhere to give it a run tomorrow, and I don’t think I’ll be doing that either.
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March going out like a lion? or April showers getting a head start? 🙂
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A little of both – the grass ought to green up after this weekend, but it sure has been an out-of-the-ordinary year of weather.
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I know any second beautiful flowers and greenery will start emerging for ya!!! I just feel it in my bones, hehe.
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That is one very beautiful birdhouse! We sell memorial bricks here along the river trail, one brick was $100, so fairly pricey for a single small brick, but no memorial plaques, unless it’s on a park bench. I did see some maple buds on my backyard tree, but my Knock out rose stems still look very very dead……daffodil and tulip tips are up though, and I saw some crocuses in front of the library, and some snowdrops in my neighbours yard….maybe a post next week. Snow or freezing drizzle forecast this weekend…..ugh….hope it misses us.
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I’m “liking” for the daffodils, tulips and snowdrops but the thought of freezing drizzle – ugh. My sentiments exactly for the weather and they have upped the rainfall to maybe two inches here – originally just one inch. Tomorrow is not looking good for a trek anywhere – even at Council Point Park, and a chance of wintry precip for us too. I stupidly decided not to set the alarm as all weather forecasters called for a total sog fest … it always sounds like a good idea to sleep in, until you realize you wasted half the morning. I was a little productive but not much … off the regimen totally! I hope to finally spin last Saturday’s trek into a blog post.
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Linda – that little birdhouse addition is the sweetest – I sure hope some little bird makes their nest there. I wonder about that person the tree is dedicated to and there not seeming to be a digital trail of his life. I like what one of the readers said about your literary trail and there is a lot to see everywhere. Go away brown come along green. xo kim
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I really like that birdhouse too Kim and it is big, so will accommodate a lot of little birds – I hope they discover it before the tree leafs out. Yesterday I noticed someone turned it around the other way and it was hanging from a different branch; the day before it was wedged tightly in between two branches. I was puzzled too by no digital trail, just like the young girl I wrote about – she died in 2008 and nothing about her online either. I have spotlighted several persons who have memorial trees so this puzzles me too. That was nice what Fred said about the literary trail – there is plenty to observe with the senses, though pickin’s are slim right now. We’ve had an intense rain all day to be followed by a covering of snow – the weather is not nice and exiting like a lion, the same way it came in,
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We have (in areas I’m familiar with out west) “Memorial Benches” in many parks. Personally I kind of like the benches, and trees as well, because they contribute to the improvement of parks without an extra burden to the tax payer! Great post, Linda!
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Thanks Sabine – I am glad you enjoyed it. That is about the fifth person I’ve spotlighted from the plaques on the memorial trees. I like to do backstories on my posts sometimes and the memorial trees provide that opportunity. We have only one memorial bench in this Park and the seat has been warped for years … it looks out of place here because the rest of the benches are just benches to sit/rest and blue metal … I don’t know why the City has not fixed it. Here is a picture of it – in those days, five years ago, I wrote shorter posts and used one picture. 🙂 https://lindaschaubblog.net/2014/06/13/freaky-friday-and-perplexed-by-the-park-bench/
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I’ve seen some of those posts, Linda. The fixing of the bench could be part of the greater government budget issues we have in this country. If we, the people, budgeted like this we’d be broke and living in a tent. 😳
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Very true.
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Lovely post ❤. What a lovely piece of writting attached to the memorial tree.
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Thanks Zena – there are so man of those trees. In fact, my graduating class from high school bought a memorial tree for all our classmates who have passed away on the 40th anniversary of graduating high school. We had a large class (613 students). I really liked that birdhouse and hope that it gets some nice inhabitants to share photos about.
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