I wish I could tell you that the small snow event we had Sunday was Winter’s last gasp. But alas … the weather forecasters are all aflutter, while trying to firm up whether Opening Day will remain as scheduled for this Thursday. That’s because we might have “snain” i.e. a little snow, a little rain, showing up Thursday morning. Isn’t that special?
Here in Southeast Michigan, as Mother Nature refuses to pay attention to the calendar, the seasons often collide. Yesterday, as I walked home from the Park, the snow was still evident, as were the many icicles, either bulbous monstrosities, or delicate icy fingers with pretty prisms shooting through them from the bright sun. Even though it was still frosty out, the sun was melting those icicles that lined up like soldiers along homeowners’ gutters. Occasionally one would come crashing to the ground, shattering like glass when it reached the cement.
I decided to take a few photos of the dregs of Winter while walking through the neighborhood on my way home yesterday. I hope to give you a smile when you view these paradoxical images. While I might have simply called this post “Snow and Spring-y Things” I’ll just file it under “Tuesday Musings” for now.
(Unfortunately, my picture editor for captions was not working once again – only one caption appeared, so I had to improvise.)
Monday morning, April Fool’s Day, a veil of ice and snow was all that remained from Saturday night’s surprise snowfall.
Many robins were hopping around in the snow, but this Robin Red Breast, with its icy feet, had a quizzical look on its face. Where is Spring? Why didn’t I stay in Florida with the rest of the Snow Birds? Where the heck are my worms?
Ahh … a smidgen of color from Crocuses and Snowdrops graces this still-barren garden.
Day lilies have suddenly sprouted up; they were just tiny nubs last week, that all-day rain on Saturday no doubt helped out a bit.
Amidst a light layer of snow on the mulch, here’s the first Easter decor I’ve seen … is the rabbit pedaling away from Winter and moving forward into Spring? Good luck with that!!!
Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble. The water flowing out of a homeowner’s drain spout just froze in place. Oh-oh … it looked like the seam was cracked a bit where the ice expanded.
The icicles were dripping down and when the sun caught them just the right way, there was a prism effect.
Icy dribbles on the eaves trough were lumpy and bumpy looking.
The bird feeder was empty … that was a good thing, because the birds might not have enjoyed the icy drops that were dripping from the feeder roof.
A decorative butterfly shies away (more like recoils) from the light covering of snow.
The magnolia bush is in bud. The fuzzy buds reminded me a little of Pussy Willows which we used to gather in the meadow near my childhood home.
It’s likely no rainwater was traveling to this homeowner’s rain barrel – notice how the trickle of water from the gutter was frozen solid.
Snowdrops have pushed through the still-frozen ground, while last Fall’s leaves languish in this garden.
Where have I been that these tulips got this high? They’re not ready for prime time, nor tiptoeing through just yet.
Hmm – There is something just wrong with a sign stuck in the snow that advertises grass maintenance.
My neighbor’s crocuses have put in an appearance, just as they have for many decades … now there’s tenacity for you.
P.S. – By the way, the sun looked good in the bright blue sky, but it wasn’t effective as to keeping me warm, but it did melt all the snow … yup, I peered out the door and poof, it was gone by day’s end.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Bet you next week its roasting!
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Yes, the adage here in Michigan is “wait around a few minutes, the weather will change” … thought of you today Michael because of Ferrero Group buying Keebler brands – Billion (with a B) dollar deal … that is all those folks eating Nutella! https://www.forbes.com/sites/noahkirsch/2019/04/01/italian-billionaire-to-acquire-keebler-girl-scouts-bakery-in-13-billion-deal/#47edad940fbc
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Great photos and captions Linda. Whether he is heading away from winter or toward spring I think we need to catch a ride with the rabbit. LOL
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Glad you liked these photos Ruth. The sun glistened on that ice and snow and made it look beautiful (of course, I might not have said that if I had to shovel or sweep it). I think we’d better catch a ride with that rabbit too … if he looks at Thursday’s weather forecast, he might just head down the rabbit hole the way things are looking right now.
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Well I’m glad the snow is gone now, though I won’t tell you about the fact our magnolia trees are in full bloom
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Oh wow – I love magnolia trees and bushes and it always seems as soon as they bloom, a big wind or a big rain comes along and scatters the blooms all over. These buds have a long way to go before being pretty blossoms like yours.
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My friend that I put into your blog had just posted a picture of her magnolia tree on Facebook the other day. It was gorgeous! It always amazes me how one tree can be out but two streets over another tree isn’t near ready yet.
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I just followed someone new about 1/2 hour ago – who also had pictures of a tree in her post, but I remembered you said she was not a WordPress blogger. That always amazes me too because how much difference could there be temperature wise? We had some magnolia trees that I see on my walk, that I’ve seen for decades and they are still growing strong.
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I know- there must be many micro-climates around!
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Ahhhh Spring is sprung! Now if I could just open my windows. Our septic tank pump failed as did the warning buzzer! My basement is covered in septic liquid that seeped through the walls! It has been a LONG expensive day! We had a new system put in 6 years ago! It never should have done this. Happy Days
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Oh Diane – you have my sympathies. You really wish you could open your windows, more than just for a small breeze of Spring air! Wait, I just unclicked the “Like” button.
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And my husband may have torn his rotator cuff so he couldn’t help me very much. So glad this day is over!
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That’s terrible too Diane – did he injure it before this incident or during it? All in all a day from ______, well you know ….
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He hurt it Sunday, two days earlier. I spent most of the day with my client today. Took our walk and visited 3 parks. Much better day. Maybe if I ignore the work in the basement it will go away! 😂🤣😂🤣
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I hate having big messes – two years ago I had several plumbing disasters and had insulation put in (whole house) … I felt like I did nothing but clean up the second half of the year. Watch when you are walking you and your client don’t get too near any goose or swans nests – a student at a college here in Michigan got too near a nest (I couldn’t see the nest in the video) and the goose flew up and tried to knock him down! Sorry to hear about your husband’s shoulder – I have been dealing with a shoulder problem since last Fall and I’ve read up a lot on rotator cuff injuries; my mother had one years ago and we did PT and got some things like TENS units and hot packs afterward – it did not subside for a long time. I heard not long ago that rotator cuff surgery is not a good option … I hope PT and exercises can help your husband. I have been following some exercises on http://www.bobamdbrad.com (look under shoulder injuries) and reconfigured my working area … it seems to help, but I have no range of motion in that arm.
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Oh Linda how awful! Thanks for the link I will give it to him. Once he gets an MRI we will know more. No openings for 2 weeks though!
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You’re welcome Diane – really two weeks – wow! I had to take my mom for a MRI … years ago, before they had as many places that did MRIs. We drove to Ohio for it and I want to say it was in Sylvania. We went therer for the same reason … they had a quicker turnaround time. They dropped the ball as we drove there and they forgot to transmit the results. We might as well have just waited and got it done here in Michigan. I don’t know what is wrong with my arm … it is now just a dull ache … the range of motion is worrisome. Good luck to your husband. The recovery from rotator cuff surgery is long – a fellow blogger went through it last Summer (before I had any issues with my shoulder, etc.) I was amazed … it was outpatient surgery and she had a special chair and could not sleep in a bed for a very long time, could not pick up anything heavier than a fork … I don’t remember the time period for those two things. I’ll look for her post if you want … she went months without posting anything.
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So glad you are finally getting a little spring! Love the bunny. Soon you will be putting on the miles!
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I hope so Kate. I was going to put my wreath up the other day, but the wreath looked way cheerier than it did outside at the time, so I left it downstairs.
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Oh, Winter, just go away! We are so tired of your cold heart and your icy emotions. We are ready for Spring’s warm sunshine, flowers, and bunnies. Spring will show her face. Soon!
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It sounds so appealing when you say that Laurie. I have not seen bunnies in ages and we used to have a lot in the neighborhood and at the Park. I hope the hawk is not to blame. I like seeing them at the Park in the morning, the sun shining through their ears, making them almost translucent.
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The Robins in our area are having a feast. There are gobs of worms in spots in the streets just waiting to be eaten.
My brother-in-law has found baby rabbits in his yard, cold and not doing well. Strange that rabbits would have a brood so very early in the year. I hope that they pull through…
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I will have to see if our ground/earth is still frozen because I’ve not seen any worms on the sidewalks, unless they are still hiding in the dirt/mulch in homeowners’ gardens. The robins have been back for months – I cannot imagine what they are eating. That is very early for baby rabbits. My neighbor found some a few years years ago and fed them a formula that the pet shop nearby recommended. She used baby bottles and kept them in the basement, but none of them made it despite her TLC. I just remarked to another blogger about rabbits – I have not seen any in ages, even in the Park. I hope the hawk that glides overhead is not getting them. I would hate to see that.
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Awww we have barely had any snow. I love seeing your winter photos. Though, those icicles too deadly!
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We did not have much snow this past Winter either Ari, nothing like last year. Some of those long pointed icicles looked like daggers and you really have to stay clear of them. Here in Michigan, they have certain expressways that have fenced-in walkways over top of the road. It is not uncommon for water to build up in the railing areas and drip down so they have an “icicle crew” all Winter that goes around all the expressways, with a long pole that breaks off the icicles so drivers don’t get one falling onto the windshield. Deadly indeed!
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Beautiful photos of the dregs of winter. That’s a great phrase, so perfectly descriptive. I find crocuses to be pretty and hopeful, but they don’t grow around here. The deer eat them, so I’ll enjoy the flowers via your pics. Also, those icicles are something else entirely. Good gravy.
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That is how it appears to me to Ally … Winter’s leftovers. I have a high-efficiency furnace and despite the steam blowing out all day long, it will not melt the icicles which will form on the PVC pipe … every morning I have to check it and break it/them off. Some of the icicles are downright deadly and look like daggers. We have a crew on the expressway that their sole job in the Winter is to go around and break off the icicles that form on the pedestrian walkways over bridges so the icicles don’t break and fall down on unsuspecting drivers. Oh the joys of Winter. Glad you liked the flower pics … I don’t usually go this route home but a fellow blogger, Laurie, has been capturing pics of Spring flowers and I told her one homeowner has a beautifully landscaped lawn and plants cold-weather pansies before Easter. I went to take a picture – he was smart, and hasn’t planted any yet. He plants many flats of them, then rips them out and plants other annuals after Memorial Day. They are beautiful, usually a yellow and purple combo.
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Now there’s a skill to add to your resume: Icicle Demolition Specialist. 😉
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Ha ha. And employment experts tell you “soft skills” are important to have these days … what do they know?
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You’ve identified wonderful examples for the popping up of Spring. I love your captions for the photos too! I remember pussy willows when I was growing up, too. Happy Wednesday!
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Yes, and that snow melted as if it hadn’t even been there. Is your snow all melted now? We would mix Pussy Willows and Forsythia in a tall vase and I’ve seen them together at Michael’s in a wreath. They do have gorgeous wreaths made up in that store, but my door and house are small, so I need to be careful not to overwhelm the door with a gargantuan wreath, so it must be a petite wreath.
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No, we still have some spots of snow. It gets down to below freezing some nights, so it’s still taking it’s time to melt. That combination sounds like a pretty wreath. I wonder if they sell it at the store near me? That’s so funny you mentioned a wreath for the door. I have one that I made when my kids were little and it’s kind of tiny compared to the space by my front door, so I was thinking I should buy or make a bigger one. Oh well, it might snow again, so I’ll wait for a warmer day to decide. Hope you find one that you like for your door!
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We didn’t get our “snain”, but it is ugly looking right now. I’m going out anyway, but they had predicted ugly weather so I slept in a little later – got up and the weather forecaster said: “guess what, we’ll get the game in – no precip til this afternoon!” I’m leaving shortly. I’ve bought wreaths that are too big … had them up on the door for a while, thinking they were okay, but they overwhelmed the door, so I strapped them onto the chain-link fence and that worked well and looked “homey” … the Easter wreath I have now is really Springy and no Easter decor, so I can use it well into Spring – I’m holding off for now as it looks more like Winter with the dreariness … we have about 36 hours of rain starting this afternoon, heavy rain on Sunday … I’ll be lucky to get one day of walking/photos on Saturday, so I’ll have to make the most of it.
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I keep my fingers crossed for you and the weather. It sure sounds frustrating!! It was 24 degrees here this morning. Still waiting to see what the day will bring. We’re supposed to have rain all weekend too. Hang in there!!!!
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One weather forecast says Sunday is good til late in the day, another says rain comes in mid-morning. 24 degrees is cold – we were a tad warmer, but very dreary looking out this morning.
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April showers bring May flowers and MILES of MILES of walking outside in the sunshine!! We can make it to nicer weather, yes, we can!
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That will be my mantra Shelley … bummer today as we have still another rainy morning and foggy tomorrow morning … sigh. I think my comment last night on yesterday’s dog post might be in cyberspace … I will leave another one later, if it can’t be found.. I am zipping off a quick post this morning. Might as well make myself useful if I can’t walk. 🙂
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It’ll be mantra too! I’ll look for a missing comment…sorry if it happened again. Good for you, quick posts are fun too! It’s rainy and gloomy here too, but we need it to help melt the snow and turn the grass green.
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I’ll redo it if it’s not there – I was trying to be funny – just gave you a shout out in my post 🙂
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I don’t see one that hasn’t been approved…! Thank you so much for the call-out, you’re so sweet. And I’m happily celebrating “National Walk to Work” day too!
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Hmmm – I’ll redo it for you. I had that happen to me earlier this week too … maybe a stray pinky move? I’ve got to check my own SPAM filter and my comments before I head out. I have a long day ahead of me work wise.
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OK, I just tried to redo it – got an error message Shelley. I could do part of a screen capture. When I tried to capture the second part of the message, it flies off the screen. I sent you a sample of what happened, and what I wrote in an e-mail. When I posted a comment last night, I don’t believe I got that message, otherwise I’d have mentioned it to you. Grrrr.
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Miss linda……………………….those were awesome Spring/Winter pictures of mother nature………..enjoyable
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Glad you enjoyed them Ann Marie – I hope we are on the way to Spring as we get through April.
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That’s a great picture of a Robin. I’ve been trying to get one all week, and they always hop away. On Monday I was out for a walk and there was a close up Robin posing in a garden bed which would have made the perfect picture except I didn’t have my camera with me! Spring is coming soon….
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Thanks – he was up close to me – I was hoping for a robin hopping in the snow, but they were too far away. Spring will spring soon hopefully!
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Snain snain go away, come again another day! This post is showing that spring in Michigan is just begging to come forth!!!
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Ha ha – Looks like the snain will stay at bay for the home opener … and my walk – yay … (leaving in a few minutes … running late as they predicted crummy weather, so slept in a little … big mistake). Yes, it is nice to see the green and color coming through isn’t it?
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I’m so glad to hear- and It definitely is!!
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Oh, these pictures are just amazing, true colours of the nature!
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Thank you – it is very welcome after a long and cold Winter!
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Great photos of the winter into spring transition, Linda! Hopefully this this the end of wintry weather for you! We’re in for a week of rain here. ☔️
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Thanks Sabine – there was something special about seeing snow and Spring flowers, even tiny ones … a little glimmer of hope that Spring is on the way. That’s a bummer about your rain … they played their baseball game without rain or snow, but tomorrow and Sunday are rainy for us.
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We do need the rain! Much of Oregon is in a drought!
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Oh, I didn’t know that – I hope you don’t end up like California … all that drought followed by all the non-stop rain. At least California’s nonstop rain yielded all the beautiful wildflowers.
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We do get more rain than they do in California, but the last few years we’ve had nowhere near the regular amounts. Especially in the summer. The wildflowers were so spectacular that they had to close off the road because way too many people came and trampled the flowers in search of the perfect selfie spot! 😳
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I didn’t realize you more rain than California Sabine. I recently started to follow a blogger in Eugene, Oregon. He followed me first – he is a novelist, but writes a lot of funny posts, not all related to writing. Anyway, he was mentioning a lot of rain as well through the Fall/Winter. That’s a shame about the wildflowers – perhaps they should have just cordoned them off, but it was such a large area, that would have been impossible. I Googled to see the photos as they mentioned it so much on the news. Breathtaking!
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I saw pictures too and thought “wouldn’t it be great to go see this”, but the crowds would deter me. Plus it’s a long way away from here. Eugene is about 2 1/2 hours south of Portland. It’s a beautiful city and we once looked around there for a possible move. But somehow I just care for the traffic there since it’s not much better than here in my opinion. But I do like the liberal vibes of the town!
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I wouldn’t care for the crowds either – you’d be interested in seeing it, plus taking photos – it would be nearly impossible to do either. I had never heard of Eugene until Bryan and then the train that was stuck there in the snow several days.
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Right! I’d forgotten about the train! It’s right along Interstate 5!
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It ended up being a nice camaraderie for the passengers (or so they said).
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😊
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I’m glad I finally got to read this (been living in my head recently)
I love the last pictures best (really the one with the shoots through the ice – coz’ it’s so, what’s the word, inspirational I think)
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plus those icicles are awesome!!! Though they’re meant for winter and it’s already April!!
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Aren’t they amazing … very pretty in the sun, but lethal and we have “icicle crews” … highway workers that go aorund and knock the icicles off so they don’t fall from the overpass of the expressway onto the cars. Some of the icicles are huge and weigh many pounds.
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I learn something new from every post you write.
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Thank you for saying that Eliza … the ice is heavy and like a dagger. Those were just little ones. I looked up an old post … my next-door neighbor had these dagger-like icicles hanging off the gutter … you have to scroll down a ways to see them, but they are lethal … if one fell on your head with that point! So imagine an even bigger one falling on your car windshield. Here in the U.S., and in our state, people have thrown a rock or a brick over the overpass and it has landed on a person’s windshield killing them. They either lose control of the car, it strikes them or glass from the windshield causes an accident … several deaths already.
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I’ll check it out. Gosh, I never knew such things really existed outside museums…
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Oh these are horrid and you don’t want to stand too near to them as they’ll break off and they are heavy and sharp.
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Thanks, I am glad you liked it Eliza. Those crocuses shooting through the snow … they have been at that garden for decades now and never fail to come back every Spring … tenacity!
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