I’m glad I took this little jaunt to Heritage Park to view the Fall foliage the weekend before last. I knew waiting until “peak color week” in early November wasn’t going to fly because of the predictions for incessant rain and windy days on the horizon. Even mediocre Fall foliage is not a spoiler at this venue, because there are always a few feathered friends’ images to capture at Coan Lake, which is in the middle of the historic village.
You all know about my affinity for seagulls and I wondered if this was my seagull friend, Jonathan, from Belanger Park, as he posed nicely and made sure to show me all his best sides – he was a bit of a ham. While it could be Jonathan, I tried not to read too much into our photo session. 🙂
I had to have a goose fix because the Canada Geese made their return to Council Point Park in late September, then promptly disappeared again. So, I was lucky enough to see my feathered friends goose-stepping around Coan Lake …
… as well as giving me the side-eye and shooting me a look of disdain for daring to take a photo without asking first.
Although the geese featured in the header image took flight shortly after I arrived, they weren’t necessarily migrating to warmer climes. Here in Southeast Michigan, our Canada Geese hang out in the Mitten State throughout the Winter. You may see great Vs in the sky which are likely geese from colder parts of Michigan who are just passin’ through, or “local” geese taking a notion to fly to another park.
The ducks were their usual spunky selves, strutting around the grounds, or giving me coy looks, as well as even paddling and diving in the icy-cold water, while I watched, a cold shiver traveling through my body.
This Mama Mallard was on the move …
… I know how she feels walking on the wet leaves this time of year.
She eventually caught up with her friend/mate as you see below. Or perhaps he caught up with her?
As mentioned above, the reason I hustled up to Heritage Park was to see some colorful trees and this venue never disappoints, even though it had just rained a few hours before and the sun was a pale imitation of itself. Here are some of my favorite Fall foliage shots, albeit not at peak color:
We’re quite frosty these days, with a little wintry precip to boot. All too soon, I’ll be posting photos of an iced-over Coan Lake with a contingent of ducks huddled together to keep warm and seagulls and geese riding companionably together on mini ice floes. Can we please skip right to April or May?
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
We barely had any Canadian Geese around here this fall, too. I like your photo of the birds flying in formation. Coolness.
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I wonder why that is Ally? They quit spraying the grape concentrate at Council Point Park by Labor Day. I’ve not heard of any diseases that would reduce their ranks any. Perhaps they anticipate a cold Winter and have gone South. The squirrels were burying peanuts in August already, second year in a row. They have an innate sense that Winters are not like we’ve had in the past. Glad you liked the geese flying in formation – I am always amazed by them, especially large Vs and perfect synchronization.
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Especially loved the duck photos. We have Canadian Geese year round here. There are a lot of corn fields and other agricultural areas where they can find food.
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Thanks Kate – that female Mallard was on the move. She was waddling all over the place before plopping into the cold water. We’ve not had many Canada Geese at my regular Park, so I don’t know if they migrated South or went to a bigger park – we had that algae bloom for a while that may have kept them away permanently.
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Yes! April or May works for me. 🙂 Love the picture of the caboose.
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Me too Ruth. I like that caboose too. It is called Fitz’s caboose and across from it, (you can’t see it though), is the boxcar, also bright red. Did you get much snow? We got an inch and it all arrived and settled down in about 15 minutes. It has since melted or blown away – it turned out to be a cold, but beautiful day.
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We only got about 1/4 inch -maybe less and it was gone pretty quickly. I think we are good now until Monday then it may be time to get out the shovel.
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Same here Ruth – Sunday to Monday morning is not looking great at all, not to mention all the cold!
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I hope winter treats you well and that you get stocked up… including with peanuts!!!!
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I hope so too Ellie, however Winter is already intruding bigtime – we are below average temps and had an inch (2.54 cms) of snow this morning. First real snowfall of the season, not much and we had some Halloween, but it blew the snow away. Next week we’ll be in the deep freeze – as much as 30-40 degrees below normal temps and more snow!
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I enjoyed seeing your photos of the seagull, even if it isn’t Jonathan. Why do seagulls always have a “disgusted” look? 🙂 So sorry to read about your wintry precipitation. It is raining here today, but they are forecasting a cold snap beginning tomorrow and lasting most of next week. It does seem like we went right from summer to winter in about 2 weeks!
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Thanks Laurie – I think I like seagulls as they stay put in one place so I can actually take my time to get their photo taken. They do have a perpetual scowl! The wintry precip was here and gone in about 15 minutes, leaving an inch of snow and lots of accidents this morning, one fatal. The State Police came on the radio to protest, saying: “people slow down – did you forget how to drive and remember that your SUV slides just like a small car, so please don’t be fearless when driving it!” It’s all melted now, but we are getting that cold snap too – they are calling it a Polar Vortex, the first of several we’ll have before Spring arrives. You’re right – it was a poor showing for Fall except for one gorgeous week.
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Oh no! I bet you are glad you don’t have to commute.
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I am Laurie – on the really crummy days, my commute is to the garage to run the car and up and down the hall and that’s it. I had so many years of taking the bus in bad weather so it is very welcome to work from home.
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Your lovely photos were a treat, especially since you’ve already had snow.
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Thanks Anne – they were much more vibrant last year – you really liked the red maple leaves especially. If I waited til last weekend, very few leaves. I took pics of this morning’s snow which has melted by now. It was very pretty actually – snowed like crazy for 15 minutes and that was it (my kind of snow … even that is too much).
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I like the NC kind of snow — rather slow and quick to go.
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NC would suit me just fine Anne! When our family friends first moved to Inman, South Carolina after living in Michigan many years, they marveled how the snow arrived in the morning and kind of faded away in a matter of hours … I told my mom we needed to move there as it was my kind of snow. Now all the southern states often get snowfalls that close schools and have people hunkered down at home. Our temp now is 23 degrees, with a real feel of 18 – it will take me 15-20 minutes to get dressed to go out, but thankfully there is no snow/ice. What is coming Sunday night into the following week is not nice at all, 2-4 inches of snow and a mini Polar Vortex … way too soon for that.
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I wonder if the weather in the South is any worse than it used to be, or if it is more widely reported.
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You’ve got a point Anne. It could be more widely reported, especially after the first year of measurable snow when they thought it was an anomaly, but now they realize it is more or less the new norm. I first noticed the erratic weather here about four years ago. I likely would not have noticed if not for peering at the weather sites all the time to see if will mess up walking. But those friends in Cary, NC and Evelyn in Richmond, VA are also posting pictures – sometimes it is worse than Michigan!
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If we get any snow worse than yours, I’ll be sure to let you know. You’re going to wait a long time.
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I know that’s right!
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Miss Linda……………………………….did you walk this morning before or during the “big snow”??…………………..and maybe that picture of the goose is our “Mr. Meany”.?……..from our pond
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Hi Ann Marie – I walked after the snow. I wanted to take pictures of those snow-covered pumpkins I put in today’s post and some of the snow-covered leaves and within a half-hour’s time, first the flakes were coming down like crazy, then stopped, I took pictures, ran the car and went on a walk. I did not go to Council Point Park as it was later – didn’t stop snowing I think til 9:00-9:15, so I just stayed in the neighborhood. Did you walk – I know you walked even if it was snowing as you have a routine. The weather is crazy and I think you’ll be doing the treadmill in the exercise room by early next week. That was a huge goose that is in these pictures – it very well could be Mr. Meany. He was by himself. The geese in the air came down in the lake rather ungracefully. They tried to take flight a few times and kept bumping into each other – I don’t understand why and a woman and I were discussing it. I took some pictures as they made two or three attempts to leave the water and go into the air before they finally ended up grazing nearby. I looked at the pictures, but it looked like a jumble of feathers so I didn’t include the photos. They have removed the old barn at Heritage Park … I kind of liked it for pictures, especially where the big lilac tree and the white fences were in the foreground and the old barn in the background. Oh well.
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Wow the birds all cooperated for you! The pictures are gorgeous and beautiful colors! Now they will be turning white…ugh!
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Ugh indeed! We had some snow yesterday and I took pics for today’s post and it melted or blew away by noon when the sun came out. It is 23 degrees with a real feel of 18 this morning – likely you are the same. We have 2-4 inches of snow next week and an Arctic Blast coming they say. Already not liking this Winter-like season. Thanks Diane – glad you liked the pictures … the seagull is a ham. He stands there while I click away … probably figures I brought seagull treats!
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Great photos, Linda! Your fine feathered friends sure cooperated! I love the Canada geese in flight!
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Thanks Sabine – I love to watch the V-formations. This was a smaller V but I have seen some at the bigger Parks and it is amazing and beautiful to watch the synchronized flock land on grass or water.
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Yes, the V-formations of geese are fun to watch. I love how they take turns at the front where it takes more energy to fly. I’ve been seeing them fly over our area here as well.
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I saw a formation last year which had to have 100 in the V-formation. There was a video I saw a few years ago of a man who had a flying machine (looked like what the Wright Brothers used) and he flew alongside the geese while they migrated. I just Googled and found it if you’ve never seen it before … this is amazing: https://youtu.be/5QAjfH05IUE
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I love the pops of red you captured. The expressions you captured on the birds are wonderful! We have the geese that stick around too. I wonder if they could talk would they be cursing the weather forecasters too!? Glad you were able to get another walk in before winter takes official hold of the area.
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Thanks Shelley – I loved those red leaves – liked the red leaves with the snow even more as they were wet and seemed more vibrant looking. I like coming home from taking pictures and finding out I have some animal or bird faces where they are looking at me with disdain or pleading eyes. I got some fun squirrel photos at the Park this weekend … I got a lot of miles walked this weekend due to the snow that will mess me up for getting steps done.
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Red leaves are my favorite too! I’m like you, its fun to see what is captured in the photos! We got to walk one day this weekend – it was chilly, but wonderful! After this cold blast, there may be a few above freezing days to get out and enjoy!
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Maybe end of the week for us before it is above freezing. I have really red maples on either side of me. My Japanese red lace-leaf maple usually turns a vibrant red but it has not turned color, nor dropped a single leaf yet!
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Wow – this fall-winter thing has even the trees messed up!
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I looked out this afternoon to see what damage the snow plow did and it is windy today and the snow is covered with leaves – looks almost polka-dotted as the snow is not powdery so the leaves aren’t sinking into the snow but laying on top.
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You’ve stepped right into full blown winter. 😦
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Glad to see you out and about with Jonathan (or not) and friends. You always are surrounded by beautiful living beings ❤
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I do feel blessed to be near nice parks and get out to enjoy them Zena. I try to get the most of the weekends with longer walks, as well as the daily walks, as I know Winter will soon be rearing its ugly head. We already had some significant snow here in SE Michigan on November 11th … 8.8 inches/22 cms. of snow and then ice. We are supposed to have a very snowy and cold Winter so I am enjoying each snow-free day … I hate Winter and leave my car in the garage as much as possible and am glad I work from home.
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Colorfull beautiful photos Linda, 🙂
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Thank you Sandra. I had to look back which post this was. See, we discussed liking seagulls and I said I liked to take seagulls’ pictures as they pose so nicely. This was one instance. Heritage Park is a real nice place to take pictures – in the Winter the mallards all huddle together in the ice by the covered bridge. The little village with its different vibrant colors is quaint as well. Like you, Fall is my favorite season – all those colorful leaves.
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Those were great pictures of the seagull. They do take great photos. Yes, fall is my favorite. I like the beginning of winter for the change of seasons. But I just dont like the cold anymore.
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Thank you – he was up close to me so I joked he was Jonathan – every seagull I see, I call Jonathan, so there can be some continuity in my posts sometimes. 🙂 What was amusing about this seagull is his coy look and he seemed like he would face each way like he was showing me his “best side” – made me smile. I am okay with the cold, but do not like the snow or ice; the older I get, the less I like the snow and ice. I guess we would feel differently if we enjoyed Winter sports.
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Yes, I am not into any winter sports, and the really cold weather is hard on the camera.
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I know it is and unbelievably I’m on my third set of batteries for the digital compact since I got it in 2015. I get two Canon batteries each time I order them from Amazon and I alternate them each time I go out and take pictures when I take the photo card out, but three sets of batteries in under 5 years for goodness sake. This little Canon compact is a workhorse. I took a lot of photos at the Park and in the neighborhood the other day – bitter cold outside. It was not slow in the least – I have had that trouble in cold weather where it takes forever to take the shot.
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That is the trouble I have with the bridge camera, but it isn’t as heavy duty as my other camera.
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I bought an extra battery for the DSLR and rotate them as well, but since I don’t use it as much, I’ve not had to replace them yet. I just got it in June of 2018 though. They had a great sale for Father’s Day – half off the kit, so I hurried up to Best Buy to get it.
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The cannons are great cameras also. I have herd good things about them. I already had a variety of lenses for the Nikon, and my camera was real old. So just upgraded the camera. I need a better tripod for the smaller camera though, it moves a little with a light wind.
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That’s what I had for the 35mm and had a smaller compact digital with 4X before this small one. I only got a new one to get better zoom; it had nothing wrong with it. I am not usually that frivolous but my neighbor (who had the hummers) had 12X and I saw her pictures of the same scene. What a difference.
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That is what I did also. I wanted to get closer to the birds so I could really see them. What a difference. I am seeing details and colors i did know they had. Especially with Starlings. They look like regular black birds in the back yard. But when the sun light hits them and the camera picks it up, they are shades of florescent green, purple and blue. Just beautiful.
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Yes those starlings are pretty with the sun’s rays on them – otherwise ordinary. Even the mallard’s teal heads – in the sun, they look the same way with the teal heads, almost sparkly – very striking.
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So striking, amazing the color of the males.
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Yes, I like the mallards. We have many of them in the parks where I go. My park too, but not as many – the water is not as clear as the other parks. But I was there in December and got some pictures of the ducks diving and frolicking around in the water – I had the big camera that day – the same day I saw the geese eating the peanuts. Lots of action at 9:00 in the morning! A male and female diving for food, then disappearing and reappearing – got the water after they dived in.
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Those are great photos to get, with water movement, I live trying to get the wing span on geese also. You had a good shot of that I saw. Very nice.
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Yes, I have a few of them which I’m going to say “now you see them, now you don’t” … I had never seen a cormorant until I was at the park one day and this funny-looking black bird was diving and surfacing – I say funny looking as I was trying to figure out what it was and it was too thin for a duck, but it had a long neck like a goose. Someone saw me taking pictures and told me what it was and then I saw them at Heritage Park a few weeks later – three of them, sitting on a platform and they hold their wings out – they look like a vampire in a way the way they stand and flap their wings. Thank you, you know I look up in the air, every time I see geese coming or overhead. Thankfully the geese are not at the park to bother the squirrels’ peanuts right now as the grass was covered in snow.
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I have seen the cormorants, they are different looking. I dont have a photo of them yet.
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Yes, rather plain and they have a long beak with a hook on the end of it … and the way that they stand with their wings outstretched to dry them is particularly odd. I think I have pictures of them from Heritage Park in a post, but they are not that close up – I was across Coan Lake when I took them. They have a man-made lake and it is fairly large – divided by a covered bridge. It is a picturesque place and many people go there for prom or wedding photos and even family photos for Christmas cards. I think there is always a professional photographer there taking photos when I go. In fact there is a very old house, over 100 years old, right on the park property and a photography studio is there and it is often those photographers who are taking pictures in the park. Lots of engagement pictures too as I see the poses with the hand showing off the ring.
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My husband was a portrait photographer, but times started changing, and people were using cell phones more then hiring a professional. And business just started slowing up.
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I have heard that before about professional photographers. Not only are people using cellphones (which cut a big part of the profit of DSLR or GoPro cameras) but once people had editing software, especially Photoshop, they figured they could do it ALL themselves … I can see how that happened to your husband.
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Yes, and people I guess are not buying as many prints to hang on their walls. Or family photos either. I print alot of my own photos and hang them.
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You’re right – many people have those picture frames and they load them with digital photos and they constantly move … people now want huge TVs that take up most of the wall space, not photos, but mostly, it is as you said … they take their own photos and that’s it. I store my photos on Shutterfly and they have every type of way to use your photos that you take – different sizes for huge prints on a wall, or things like a pillow, afghan/throw – cups, puzzles – there is no end to what people are doing with their pictures … so they don’t want a professional portrait anymore. When my grandmother was here visiting, my mom wanted a three-generation photo so we had a sitting by a professional photographer …he took a photo of the three of us and also each of us separately. He did a nice job on the photo. I have the three of us, as well as the individual photos framed. In fact, I have shown the photos in my blog after I got the scanner of the three generations.
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You can not beat a professional photographer for portraits. They can control the lighting and my husband is really good at getting people to look up, so you see there eyes. He still takes small jobs here and there.
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I agree – he made us look good in the photos with the lighting, especially the individual photos. My mom was really pleased – she had always wanted a three-generation sitting … my mom showed the photo to our neighbor many years later and suggested she get one done with her mom, her, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and she was not interested in the least. I never understood that as you always have the photos to cherish. This photographer closed up shop many years ago and his studio stood vacant for many years and last year it caught fire and there was a bad fire as he had a darkroom and never took all the chemicals out – it burned almost to the ground and was on fire a long time due to the chemicals they said on the news.
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My husband had a studio with his dad. With a beautiful back yard with a pond and all the extras for outdoor photos. Times change though. Onto other work for him.
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That is a shame – well at least he can still keep his hand in it, so that is good.
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Yes, he does a wedding now and then and graduations.
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Well that is good – it would be a shame to have all the photo equipment and not use it. And now, you don’t even need a darkroom or that equipment.
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Yes, he grew up with making the photos. And you had to have the right settings the first time. You could not take hundreds of photos like they do now with digitals.
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Yes, and it’s not like he could see the picture right away like you can with a digital camera and not like he can call them back and say “hey, I made a mistake!” Much precision back in those days.
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She’s back – at 7:29 anyway.
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That is so cool, so tiny. I just went back and looked. I will save it on the computer tomorrow so I can watch more.
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Glad she came back before you left – I’ve saved it too to watch and see the babies – I wonder how they feed the babies? We’ll have to research it a little before the bundles of joy arrive.
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Yes, I will have to look that one up. The doves I photographed, said they actually had a milk glands they were able to feed the young with from there beaks I guess.
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That is interesting Sandra – my neighbor mentioned watching them up close from her doorwall. The baby dove grew up so fast. I’m wondering with that long beak how she feeds them – hopefully they don’t move as they’d be hurt. She just flew off the nest again.
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I writing to you on my phone, I cant open both at the same time, well, I probably can, just have not figured it out yet.
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I am amazed when people write on their phone with no keyboard but the phone keyboard and it’s so small. Bella has been flying off and on it … I know because the video has background noise and when she returns, she makes little cheeping noises.
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I will have it on when writing post, it is easier to do on the computer. Writing on the phone is harder, sometimes it picks the word for me if I dont double check
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Yes, it is like the auto-complete in Word if you don’t watch out. The audio for the web cam is good because it is so sensitive that it picks up the beat of her wings when she flies off or arrives back. I admire you writing this much on the phone and so quickly too.
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This keypad is a little bigger, so that helps. My computer is pretty big, to lazy to open it at night.
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You are fast on the phone keyboard. I am using a laptop, but when I started having the trouble with my arm a year ago, I bought a one foot “riser” (just some wire storage boxes) to sit the laptop on, and a wireless keyboard, to sit a different way. I can go like the wind on this wireless keyboard, as it’s got a light touch, and much faster than I could on the laptop keyboard and hunching over it.
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I can tell, you are answering pretty fast. I love typing, I had a job that was typing only, you had to be pretty fast to even get the job, but it was night shift and I would fall asleep sometimes while typing. Had to quit that job.
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I have been typing for so many years and began on a non-correcting typewriter. You made a mistake you had to use this white chalky stuff to fix the error – no White Out then and if you used carbon paper, well you had to type perfectly and I was not a perfect typist. With a computer it corrects as you go along, so it makes you type faster, I think anyway. On February 11th I will be 40 years as a legal secretary. Lots of years, lots of typing. I like to type too – this keyboard just has a perfect touch on it and I barely move my fingers.
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That was my dream job when I was young to be a secretary. But I ended up working in factories instead. Had the one job typing for a short time. Congratulations on your wonderful career. They say if you like what you do, you never work a day in your life.
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I went to school and could not find a job and took a job in an advertising agency – that was fun but we lost our major account (Chrysler Corporation) and half of the people there left. I did as well and started as a legal secretary in 2011.
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That is nice that it is just you and your boss, working with a lot of people can be hard. Factory work was very hard, hard on the body. I worked 12 hour shifts. I am thankful, it was a good living and I would not be here now if I had not done it. Things have a way of working out.
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I agree. After the merger in 2001, the firm that acquired our firm was based in Richmond, Virginia and they changed everything – and they ended up closing the entire Detroit office, in December 2004 as they said they were not profitable. They gave everyone two weeks’ notice. We left on January 31, 2003. There is all the office drama – it is the same no matter where you go, so it was nice to just be the two of us. It is nice as there were no rules and regs and also I can work from home. I’ve not worked on site since April 2009. I don’t think I got get used to working a regular job anymore – it’s been too long.
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Sounds like a great way to work and a good boss. That is hard to come by.
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It is fun to go backwards on your post, I get to visit Autumn again and see all the pretty leaves.
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That’s why Fall has always been my favorite season. Spring is nice, lots of rain, but the blossoms on the ornamental trees and flowers, especially like daffodils and tulips, do not last very long. Fall … a normal Fall anyway, has beauty that lasts longer. My tree out front has still not lost its leaves due to that November 11th snow storm and rapid freeze around that time. It is confused.
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I think everything is confused, the trees and animals. The last couple of years have been different.
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Yes indeed – we are getting a little snow now – they say 46 degrees later so I am going to need to wait until later as the roads are still slick. I wish it had done this yesterday morning. I had the news on in the background and the Groundhog did not see his shadow – an early Spring. Let’s see what Woody the Woodchuck out of the Howell Nature Center says – she is more accurate. 🙂
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Early spring sounds good to me. 🙂
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Me too – they’ve taken the “shovelable snow” out of the Wednesday forecast, but it will be a wintry mix Tuesday through Friday, so that’s not always good if it happens in the morning which is my time to walk. I have the heavy treads on the boots, but if it dips below freezing, then I have to be on the lookout for black ice, so doesn’t make for a easy walk. The sunshine is now going to happen today but late afternoon – like you, I like early morning. The Park critters were not around yesterday when I got there, they’ll be even scarcer by late afternoon. I intended to go there first, then the River.
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I always take hiking sticks with me also. They do help a lot. Not on ice as much, but they are good to have.
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Maybe I will do that because hiking on uneven ground can trip you up sometimes. My boss’ wife was out in their backyard a few years ago and there was a small indentation in the grass. She didn’t see it under the leaves and tripped and fractured her little toe just a few days before they were going on a family vacation – she was in a walking cast. You have to watch for everything when outside unfortunately. My backyard had two huge oak trees and they got carpenter ants and we had them taken down and as much as I have filled it with dirt, there are still deep indentations there –
I planted the butterfly bushes there, but they all died during the polar vortex back in 2013-14, so now I just put a yard ornament there so no one steps on it if they have to go into the yard. Now DTE/gas checks electronically so I don’t think anyone goes back there anymore unless Comcast has to check the internet cable.
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The hiking sticks have saved my feet and ankles numerous times. Makes a big difference. It was pretty rocky trails in Texas, very hard on the ankles. I would not go out with out them. I think I will get another one. I saw a lot of people hiking with two sticks.
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Hi Sandra – finally back here and thinking I could have used a hiking stick or two today as the west wind was 16 mph and gusting to 18 and I was down on the water so it felt much windier. But we got to 54 degrees today! I wonder if the Groundhog had something to do with that? Looking at the terrain you show in some of your photos and videos, I can easily see why you said the hiking stick is good and also why you like the support of the boot to the ankle. It took me three years to break those New Balance boots in, but they are now comfy and I feel secure in them should there be wet pavement. My walking shoes feel like slippers to me but they are not good traction wise. But since they are so comfy, I would not opt for another style. So how do you carry the walking stick if you want to take a picture – you lay it down or do you have some type of hook you hang it on (like clip it to a belt or your coat)? So I thought of you today – I saw a Canada Goose with a fish! I’ve only seen that one time in all the parks I’ve been when geese are in the water. That was a minnow-sized fish, probably a shad. This was a huge fish and the goose had a difficult time and it kept flipping out of its beak and back into the water – he’d dive for it and come up and bite it again – he dropped it several times and he finally killed the poor fish. I wanted to go cut it up for him to make it easier. 🙂 So that was a fun part of my day and at my regular park where I went first. At the River, no waterfowl at the first park and the second park, well the eagles were out and they spent more time in the trees. I got a few shots but they look fairly small as they were quite far away, even using my long lens. I’m not sure I can cross “eagle” off my 2020 Photo Bucket List yet though. I will make a post with it maybe next weekend. I have a lot of pics to pick through and spent a long time doing Wednesday’s pony post yesterday and need to catch up in Reader as I’ve not been there since Friday.
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Sounds like you had a great day. The warm weather should have melted some snow then? My hiking stick has a loop on the end, so I just drop the stick because it is looped on my wrist. Seems to work good. I wonder if a goose or duck have actually eaten a fish. They sure keep trying. It will be fun to see your eagle photos no matter how far away they are. My sunrise was not that spectacular, there were a few eagles again. Far away for me to, I have not looked at them yet. We have left Texas and heading to Colorado for a couple days and then back to Iowa in a couple of weeks. There is a little snow here.
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I wondered if there was a way to carry it. Years ago I had a hiking stick when I went with my father to Germany – all the Alpen hikers buy a sturdy stick and every town they hike through in the mountains, they get a metal shield about 2 inches square and they nail it onto the stick. The stick had a point on the end. A friend of our family broke his ankle and my father gave him the stick so he didn’t have to buy a cane – he cut the pointed end off. It would come in handy now, although I was probably shorter then – I am 5′ 9″ tall now. It was fun to see the pictures of the eagle though only two were identifiable as an eagle – thank goodness he had his legs hanging down or you would not know it was an eagle. I have seen ducks eating small fish when I go to the River, but not usually in the small Creek where I walk everyday. This was quite a surprise – a heron maybe, but not a goose. Safe travels on your continuing journey Sandra – Colorado will be nice, hopefully not more snow there for you than you have now.
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We are not staying long there, not the right time of year to be there. I have never seen the mountains, so it will ne a first. Just driving by them, and from there it is a straight shot east. So far the weather has been ok.
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That’s good – a fellow blogger has family in Colorado – I can’t think of the name of the place, but it is a well-known spot. They go from Pennsylvania to Colorado twice a year to visit them/their grandchild and no matter when they go, they always run into a lot of snow. Their grandson’s birthday is in April I believe and they were there last year and have to travel through a snowy pass to get there and said it was a white-knuckle drive and her husband does not mind driving in the snow. Their daughter-in-law is a park ranger; I think their son is in computers.
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I have never been up in the mountains, I can imagine it would be nerve racking to drive in the mountains with snow.
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Yes I don’t like snow as it is. My mom and I went on a little trip down South and left the day after the Kentucky Derby, so it would have been the first week in May … we wanted to go to the Smoky Mountains and not have to worry about bad weather. We went to Kentucky Horse Park (lots of fun and many foals there), and through Tennessee, so ended up in North Carolina the second week in May. The ice in the mountains was bad every morning – we were advised to wait until late afternoon to go there as way too slick to go … after that, I was not even keen to go in the afternoon as it was my first time driving in the mountains.
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The mountains are beautiful but I like the flat land also.
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Me too (more in my comfort zone).
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