After a wacky week of weather, today everyone collectively cheers “TGIF!” I am sure the drivers who dealt with three or four white-knuckled and treacherous commutes, in as many days, are glad to just stay hunkered down at home for the weekend.
Finally, the brutal Arctic Blast has subsided and the snow machine has stopped which is all good.
But glancing out the window, or merely stepping outside to trudge to the garage to start the car, or knock those spindly icicles to the ground, I must remind myself the season is Fall, not Winter. I am a wee bit conflicted as I see snow everywhere, yet the leaves are still fluttering to the ground, littering up that not-so-pristine snow. It is a sight to behold, like gigantic polka-dots or a connect-the-dots game gone wild! Will the snow melt to rake up those lingering leaves before our last yard waste pickup Thanksgiving week?
Strip tease, er … Strip trees!!
Mother Nature wreaked havoc on our Autumn with incessant winds, cutting short the time for leaf peepin’ and admiration. Those trees did a strip tease of sorts, shaking off those vibrant-colored leaves, letting them drop slowly, eventually ending up bare and shivering in the cold.
I watched over the course of about ten days’ time as the trees, which wore cloaks of gorgeous Fall colors …
… quickly dropped their leaves onto the ground.
At first it was a few leaves scattered here and there …
… and then at a fast and furious pace.
I loathed the locust tree we had for many years. It dropped little leaves and stringy things all over the driveway and sidewalk – everything got tracked into the house. Seeing this locust tree brings it all back to me. 🙂
This maple WAS so exquisite … going, going, gone.
When all was said and done, many of the dazzling trees were bare …
… and the squirrels’ nests were suddenly exposed and big enough to show up on Google maps.
It’s all part of this annual trek as we inch from Fall toward Winter. Speaking of treks, I’m hoping to visit this very spot, Council Point Park, on the weekend, if the ice has melted in the ‘hood.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Winter did come early this year. We haven’t had snow yet but will within the next month.
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Well, no snow for us for a few days, but it is in the teens again tonight … they said 50 degrees next week. I hope so and this ice will melt –
we have lots of ice in the streets.
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How did you determine those are squirrel nests? I haven’t ever seen one before!
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Hi Sarah – I have lots of trees on the street behind me and see the squirrels all Winter in their nests which are exposed due to the bare trees – in fact, since I’m feeding a few squirrels in the neighborhood, I see them come, eat nuts and sometimes then take some to “go” right up to the tree. I have a post from last year which show nests at the same Park. They live in the nests all year around and that is where they sleep, curled up against one another, on the cold Winter nights and days when they don’t come to ground level. We’ve had some brutal weather this week, 8.8 inches (22 cms) of snow on Monday and then temps near zero (-17 C) (do you still think Canadian or American now?) … anyway, the nests are huge and well made. I researched it before (mud, leaves grass – how the heck they get mud up there I don’t know, but robins do that too if you watch them build a nest). Here is the former post showing the nests up close. How are your gray squirrel studies going? https://lindaschaubblog.net/2018/11/30/home-sweet-home/
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I hope Momma N is good to you this weekend, Linda so that you can get out and about. Our neighbor has locust trees too and I am with you – really dirty. I see lots of squirrel nests up in the trees too and huge wasp nests. I always want to knock them down and kill the queen. I think she is the only one who survives the winter.
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I hope so too Laurie. I will go out mid-day both days, which is what I usually do in icy weather – the warmth of the sun will help melt the ice. I went out this morning to a park a few blocks from me. There is no path, so it is basically walking laps in this huge park. But, I walked on the cross street which had been salted – our street was plowed, not salted and it is very slick, so I walked baby steps to get to the cross street and then stayed in the middle of the street to get to the park. Not a great idea, but not going to go through ice either.
Boy, I hated that tree – it was pretty all Summer, but the strings and leaves – you could not keep them from getting into the car/house and when wet, the stringy parts were slippery. We got carpenter ants and we were advised to cut it down before it became infested. We lost two oaks to carpenter ants.
I had something different this year – Great Black Wasps. Never heard of them at all and they look like flying ants on steroids … huge and they made a small nest on top of my screen door, yet not a wasp papery-type nest per se, but a hole they were diving into and living there. Plugged it up – the kinfolk were not happy and buzzed around for a while then left. I learned that Michigan has its own Great Black Wasp (well don’t I feel special it came here to my house?)
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You are dedicated to go out in the ice and snow to get your miles in! Do you have some kind of countdown going to your goal miles? Once on New Years Eve, when my kids were still at home, I added up my miles for the year and found I was 4 miles short of some milestone (I don’t even remember what it was anymore). I went out running so I could get those miles in before midnight. I ran 4.1 miles! 🙂
All those wasps and ants make me squirm. One good thing about the cld weather – we don’t have to worry about them until spring!
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(For some reason this went to SPAM – go figure??) I went out this morning Laurie, but walked near my house in that park and getting over there was icy, so had to walk in the middle of the street to get there, then felt more secure once on the grass. The City won’t plow the big lot until the Christmas display begins on 11/30 – I have finished off my goal in the past by doing this – it’s a little boring but gets the job done! I do have a log and keep track and will do a countdown as I near the final days of the year … and if I make the goal beforehand (unlikely this year due to weather woes last Winter/Spring and this week which put me behind), I will crow about that too!
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I should check my spam folder. I almost never do, but I know I should.
I will keep my fingers crossed for you. I can imagine walking around and around a lot would get pretty boring. Do any of your critters come out to visit you? Have we ever talked about YakTrax? I wear them to run in the winter because I hate running on the treadmill. They would probably allow you to walk when it’s snowy and/or icy too.
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I don’t know why the comment went there Laurie – it was not “spammy” … the critters did come right away today and likely they were hungry as the ground was frozen earlier in the week. Most of the Creek was still frozen, so I don’t imagine they could dig up any of their nuts. The snow had melted and I could see grass. I do have the YakTrax Pro but have not used them. I got them when I was still working on site, the last Winter before I stopped working. This was because it was very icy going up the street to get the bus. The reason I didn’t try them was we had some bad ice events and our mail carrier said she used the same style and fell twice that Winter … she was laid up with a bum ankle for a long time. I did buy some crampons at the suggestion of a fellow blogger, and had them with me today in case the snow was crusty and never had to use them. I went to the Park toting a bag – gloves with flip-top fingers, peanuts and the crampons. Then I got there and it was plowed – a nice treat.
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I like the colorful leaves but will admit that I also like the bare limbs on the trees after the leaves come down. It’s a more spare kind of beauty, I guess.
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I agree with you Ally. I have been out walking where there is fog or mist in the distance (I don’t walk when it is pea soup around me) and that would be mostly in Fall and all you see are these dark bare branches reaching up to the sky. Interesting looking then and also against the stark white snow and gray sky of a Winter’s day.
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Love these photos – autumn leaves really are pretty but I’m honestly so excited for the Christmas festive season now!
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Thank you CoffeeandCream (sorry I could not find your name on your blog). I am glad you liked them. I think this taste of snow we had this week has many people longing for the Christmas festive season!
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I really hope it snows where I am this year too:)
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If it doesn’t, I’ll be happy to share. 🙂
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Gorgeous fall colors, Linda! I love the documentation of the trees changing until only the bare branches are exposed. Winter sure arrived with gusto in your town!
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Thanks Sabine – I decided to try something different this year with the trees that are the most vibrant and drop their leaves first – there were still a few green trees as of last Sunday. Winter sure was a bully this week and hopefully the snow will stay at bay and we just deal with cold only … also, I’d like it better if we had no ice.
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Ice is no fun! I got some attachable spikes for my boots last year to prevent slipping. I’d didn’t really care for how they feel underfoot and they kept coming loose. But I didn’t slip! You might check some out! Stay warm! ☃️
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Ice is scary, the older you get. Taking a tumble when you’re a kid is one thing. I have some spikes from years ago Sabine – they are a rubber strap and fit around the toe and heel of your boot, and I wore them to work when I was still working on site and taking the bus. They were fine on the ground/pavement, but once I stepped onto the bus, I had the feeling my feet would slide and my legs would go out from under me and I’d land on the floor. I also have some YakTrax Pro- my mom ordered them from a outdoors catalog the Winter before I stopped working on site, and I’ve not tried them. But our mail carrier told me she used the same YakTrax and fell on the ice twice during one of our Polar Vortex events where we had ice everywhere for weeks. At the suggestion of Wayne (Tofino Photography), I ordered a set of crampons from Amazon to walk at Council Point Park. They do not shovel or plow there … my thought was that I could get down there and just use them on the unplowed path or on the grass. They have massive “teeth”/cleats and will be very secure, but last year was same as this year … ice everywhere on the cement. You would not want to use them on cement as it will grind down the “teeth”… I’m frustrated and the cold is not an issue. I took the bus to school, then work downtown for many decades, so I have the warm weather clothing and lots of polar fleece, all very toast – unless it is a dangerous windchill, if it is clear out, I’m going to walk. I will walk as did yesterday – nearby but not a great “getaway” and leaving my furry and feathered friends peanut-less.
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I simply can’t imagine the size of those nests, visible on Google maps!!! Great word picture!!
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Glad you liked the word picture – initially I intended to say “now our squirrel relatives will know if we are home if they come calling” but I thought that might not be nice to say that. 🙂 They are huge nests Anne and I did a post last year wherein I zoomed in on the nests to show people how they look and did a little research about those nests. I send this link of that post to a fellow blogger – Sarah is in grad school and collaborating on a project with another student on gray squirrels. She had not seen squirrels’ nests, so I sent her this link yesterday. They build them high and the same nests are there from year to year. https://lindaschaubblog.net/2018/11/30/home-sweet-home/
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Rose and I laughed yesterday when we both wondered if several large blobs in the trees were black bears. No, they were squirrel nests.
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They have to sleep the whole squirrel family in there at one time, so they are pretty big … I took some pictures from the backyard of the icicles next door and you can see the nests in the backyard behind – they are huge trees and full of nests.
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Miss Linda……………………………..it’s actually wonderful to see all of the autumn dry coloorful trees………………………..as opposed to what we are witnessing all over now……………………………………leaves trying to fall on heaps of snow and ice!
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They sure look funny on top of the snow don’t they Ann Marie? For years Marge had two pear trees on the City property – they did not drop their leaves until after yard waste pickup and then would drop these dark purple leaves all over the snow, all Winter. I am hopeful this snow melts next week if it gets to near 50 degrees – the ice out front of my house is treacherous. They did not salt, just the cross streets. I walked a little yesterday but no Council Point Park – maybe tomorrow/Monday?
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I love how you captured the action of the change in season. It is amazing how quickly the leaves go through the phase once that first real hard frost hits them. Google maps…squirrel nests – you’re so funny!!!
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Thanks Shelley, I thought I’d try something different and show the “going, going, gone” aspect of the leaf drop because it is always the same trees that seem to light up the Park with their vibrant colors and then they drop their leaves first. We had a week that was absolutely gorgeous, perfect for picture taking of those vibrant trees. Yup, those nests are huge there and the trees behind my house as well.
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Your take on it was wonderful! I hope you’re weekend has allowed you more outside time. Ours hasn’t been that great. And it’s snowing…
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We originally were slated for some precip tonight into tomorrow – they mentioned freezing drizzle this morning but have changed it to just snow showers. If it hits 50 with rain on Thursday, my fingers are crossed all the snow will be gone. I hope to now bulk up my steps again, having lost four days last week – grrr. Sorry to hear you have snow again … if it keeps it up, that means it’s here to stay til Spring right? You have my sympathies Shelley.
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The colors this year were amazing! I haven’t seen that much red in a long time. Your pictures are gorgeous Linda!
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Glad you liked the pictures Diane – yes, the reds and yellows too on those maples and I included the locust just for you as we were discussing the leaves and stringy things not too long ago. It brings back memories of what a mess that tree was. We had a birch tree there and it got a birch disease, so we waited a few years and planted the locust, but we got carpenter ants in the oak trees out back and they recommended cutting it down before it got ants too.
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Oh my I never looked for ants on our Oak Tree! They destroyed my peach trees. Birch is probably the only tree I haven’t grown. They are so beautiful!
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We had a birch tree in Canada and my parents wanted another one when we moved here, but this one was diseased – likely birch borer disease which is bad in Michigan (or was at that time). We had carpenter ants in two oak trees. My mom liked hanging her clothes out on the clothesline and used a pulley to reel the clothes in/out of the yard. The pulley for each of the two lines had been secured in the tree and the ants would walk along the clothes line using it like an expressway. We had all three trees cut down and then I had just put landscape ties all around the perimeter of the yard the year before – thank goodness they were wolmanized wood because they could stay in place, but the bark had to be scooped up and thrown out – many bags I put there and hauled them home in the back of my Pacer (hatchback). They had to be removed, let it sit for a year, then replace with cedar chips or cedar mulch, best type to repel ants. I got mulch about four years ago – ordered it from a landscaping company and they delivered 36 bags. Put them on the back porch til I could place it all around. When I went back there on Memorial weekend to do that job, the patio, underneath the bags was running with carpenter ants. Called the landscaping supply company – they said it happens all the time, don’t worry. I worried, but no, they did not come inside or chew anything – whew. I need mulch again and not sure what I’m going to do. Panetta’s is a reputable landscaping company so it was not them that was the problem – yikes!
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It’s so strange being on the other side of the world to be reminded that it’s cold and snowing somewhere else as we are slowly heating up! It makes me look forward to Autumn again though – that maple tree is an exquisite photo, well done for catching such a beautiful autumnal moment.
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Thank you Jenny – my favorite trees are the maples. My neighbor’s maple tree is always a gorgeous bright red by October and it lasts like that about two weeks and then it drops all its leaves at one time. This year, we’ve had so many big wind events, that the leaves were down earlier than ever. I decided to try taking pictures of the most-colorful trees since I’ve been walking in this park for six years and there are certain ones that are more vibrant and lose their leaves earlier. So a kind of time lapse photography. Lucky you in Australia about to go into a Summer season … as an avid walker, I despise Winter and we do not usually get weather like this until December … we set all kinds of records for cold and snowfall this week. Autumn has always been my favorite season.
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Linda…..I was unable to click Like on your post, because the long list of Likees was obscuring the star. Anyone else having this problem? Is this some new feature? It’s too late tonight to complain to WP, but I will be!
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That’s odd indeed Joni – but I noticed the other day that now, when you are in Reader, when your mouse is hovering over “Likes”, you can see the name of the blog/gravatar which has liked this post. Just noticed that within the last few days … that’s strange, but thanks anyway for “Like” … I wanted to showcase these trees, so over a few weeks took various pictures. I was originally going to call the post “Going, going, gone.”
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I’m not, but I use wordpress app on my phone and the wordpress site on my laptop so it’s probably different on the site itself ….
Love, light and glitter
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I see – I don’t have a smartphone so don’t know how the app works. Love, light and glitter back at you Ellie.
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Thanks Eliza…..I’m wondering if it’s just the trackpad on my computer or maybe the browser? I’ll have to experiment.
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Hmm, I don’t know. I tried opening it on google on my phone and google on my laptop and didn’t have any issues…. I hope you can figure it out…
Love, light and glitter
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Gorgeous!!!
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Glad you liked it Ellie. I tried something different this year – I decided to show the “going, going, gone” … it happened quickly this Fall as we had many high wind events that took the leaves right from the trees faster than usual.
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It’s sad to miss them…
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It sure is – it means Winter is on the way bigtime!
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brrrrrr….
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The fall colors were truly beautiful this year but seemly gone too soon. We were noticing all the leaves that fell on top of the snow too. It seemed an unusual sight. We have discovered two squirrel nests high up in trees on the farm.
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Yes, our whole Fall season was way too short – today was not too bad due to the sun, but we had such a small window of opportunity to enjoy the leaves turning color. Those leaves looked funny on top of the snow – I saw it at the Park yesterday as well. Those squirrels’ nests are really big aren’t they?
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Any idea how many squirrels might live in one nest?
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Last year I did a post on squirrels’ nests and did a little research on those nests – I went back to look if it I put how many the nest sleeps and it did not, but it is large, as big as two feet in diameter. I know they build them large to hold the parents and the youngsters who are nursed by the mother for ten to twelve weeks after birth, so it has to accommodate them. When they sleep, they do so with their bodies curled up together like a ball to maintain body heat and keep warm. As cozy as that sounds, when the weather is brutal like last week, I cannot imagine they are too warm!
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I remember that Linda, there was not much for Autumn colors last year. One of my favorite time of year. And it went by so fast.
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Another thing we have in common Sandra. Fall has always been my favorite season, even if it means that Winter will soon be on the way. The colors just have not been vibrant the last few years and the leaves have hung around through Winter the last few Autumns.
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I have noticed that, even up north. Two years ago I missed autumn completely up north. Last year there was quite a bit of color in places. Where my cabin is I had some very nice maples turn color for awhile. There seems to be more maple trees up there now then pine trees. They have harvested alot of the white pine out. But it is still very pretty.
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I think of all the trees that the maples are the prettiest – they are the ones that seem to have the most vibrant colors around me. The red leaves you see covered with snow are from my neighbor’s maple tree. It will drop all its leaves quickly and 2/3rds of them go onto my lawn. It is too bad they harvested the white pines for Christmas trees or replanting in other places – do they reseed again after harvesting?
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I have seen acres of land reseeded, but it just takes so long for them to grow. And the land they harvested looks so bad. Big stumps everywhere, I am not sure how long it takes to grow again. There is still a lot of forested areas up there though. At least up there I don’t have to rake leaves anymore. I let them fall where they may. Good coverage for winter. 🙂
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They took down a lot of trees at Elizabeth Park. I could not believe all the stumps they left – someone said they were clearing another path, but if so, why did they leave the stumps – looked bad. Yes, that would be a big plus to not rake leaves. I have only the ornamental tree (which still has not lost its leaves) and all the leaves come from around me. My handyman says he has no other customers who have as many leaves as I do yet have no trees. When we were having that big rainstorm two weeks ago (2.5 inches of rain) in advance, the weatherman recommended ensuring your downspouts fit properly and were empty – we had mildish weather, so they weren’t frozen inside. I looked and each one was fully of leaves – Jim was just here the day before Thanksgiving, and got a full yard waste bag of leaves. I am thinking of looking into gutter guards.
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Gutter guards would help, that is funny, you have the most leaves and no trees, I never did rake much in town any way, I thought the leaves were good for the ground. But there is a tree in back that has the helicopter seeds. Those are a mess.
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Yes those helicopters are a mess. The maple tree next door is quite big and drops a lot of leaves. About 20 years ago, a young couple moved next door – it was their starter home and one of those helicopters fell and landed in the grass and a little “tree” began. I was doing yardwork, when the two of them came out and arm-in-arm, they admired this seedling and they next dug a hole and put a glass jar over it so they wouldn’t mow it down or step on it by accident. My mom and I joked that it would never survive the Summer, let along the Winter – they kept getting bigger and bigger jars for it, then staked it and then covered it with a styrofoam cone over the Winter That seedling was soon a sapling, then a tree – every time I rake those leaves I wonder why I never yanked it out – it was on the City property at the time and close to the property line. They moved before they saw it got as big as it is now. It makes for nice photos when the leaves are bright red and snow is on them.
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Oh my, I know those seeds grow so fast, I could not keep up with them in my garden. They sprouted to fast. The squirrels would eat the seeds, I saw them a few times. But there were to many for them to eat.
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I have no choice but to recruit more squirrels around the house to help me out then. I didn’t know they ate them. I have bark, volcanic rock and river rock in the garden beds – the maple seeds are bad, but the elm seeds are even worse – they are tiny and sprout in the bark in a manner of days once it is hot and humid. I used to pick them out, one by one, now I just turn over the mulch and spray Dawn soap mixture into the rocks.
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It is hard to stay ahead of those. The squirrels hopefully can help.
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I hope so too – I never knew that.
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