Did you know that Michigan is known as “The Trails State?” Not all of those rustic or asphalt pathways are bunny trails however.
I’ve not seen any bunnies at Council Point Park since last Summer. Then they will magically appear once the dandelions and clover carpet the grass. I do see lots of bunnies in the ‘hood, including Chloe Cottontail who enjoys her simple hideaway, a/k/a as The Cottontail She-Shed. You might recall how poor Chloe looked during the Winter as she hunkered down in a homeowner’s front yard. I captured that image, poor Chloe likely shivering away under that coat of fur, exposed to not only the elements, but any raptor that might be gliding overhead.
Now that the blanket of snow is gone, I still see her sometimes. Yes, her brown fur blends into the still blah-colored landscape and similarly colored grass.
Because Chloe had gone for a wee hop to find breakfast and left her hideaway unattended, leave it to me to take liberties and I trespassed onto this homeowner’s property a wee bit to capture this image of Chloe’s digs, admittedly, not much in the way of warmth or protection.
I will be checking the lawn on my daily walks to see if maybe there are young’uns, since Cottontails nest from late March through September.
Will the real Easter Bunny please stand up and take a bow?
Last year Easter was on April 12th. The weekend before I agonized over whether I should suspend my walking regimen at Council Point Park as COVID-19 raged, spiking stats here in the Mitten State and across the nation. I decided to take a pause, then did eventually return, but put the camera away to eliminate fussing with my hands about my face.
To that end, I missed doling out the usual goodies to the squirrels at the Park. So, since I strive not to sully my title of “Peanut and Snack Angel” my mission was to ramp up their 2021 Easter treats.
Making treats … just a hint of drama for this venture.
I’ve skipped the images of the prep involved in making Easter cookies for two reasons. I have been giving them Nutter Butter sandwich cookies over the last year – same treats, same decorative icing and then nuts jammed into the icing to look and taste appealing. This is the finished result.
The cookie-decorating process was not without incident however. The *&^$ lid on the icing tube is always difficult to pull off and this time was no exception. You have to knead the tube, then supposedly twist off the cap. Nope – that didn’t happen, so I had to snip the cap with scissors to access the icing. When wiping off the scissor blades, I sliced into my pinky finger. I had already put the icing tubes on a napkin near the cookies and they began oozing pink and yellow icing all over the counter, simultaneously with the blood which was oozing out of my finger. Oh no! I ran to the sink to wash my hands and was appalled at the depth of the cut. In trying to staunch the bleeding, out of the corner of my eye I noticed the icing making a slow crawl along the edge of the napkin and onto the countertop. Half an hour later, with icing ooze and bleeding stopped, it was finally cookie-decorating time. Originally I planned to decorate two dozen walnuts with a few swipes of icing to look like festive eggs, but decided to serve them plain instead. I gave the cookies 24 hours to completely dry, then set out to be the Easter Bunny.
Along the proverbial trail …
Well you know I have two locales within the Park where I feed the squirrels and birds. Here is the first stop … The Safe Haven Tree.
I had brought along a Ziploc bag of leftover pecans to treat the Chickadees, Jays, Cardinals and Rex, the Red-Bellied Woodpecker (who unfortunately was a no-show that day).
I spread the treats under the tree, then watched and waited, but it was NOT a hoppin’ place for a few minutes.
Walnuts are always savored by my furry friends, even sans pink and yellow icing flourishes.
This sweet Chickadee pondered over pecans versus sunflower seeds and opted for the tried-and-true black oilers.
The squirrels glommed onto the peanuts and sunflower seeds, but I got a blurry picture of Fluff making a quick getaway with a cookie.
Meanwhile, across the Park at the stump and fallen log alcove …
I spread out the treats …
… soon a squirrel or two or three popped up to scope out their favorite snacks. Looks like someone had already snatched a cookie when I wasn’t looking.
Several Jays and Cardinals zipped over and scammed a peanut or two from the squirrels. (There were also some unwelcome guests helping themselves to the treats and I have pictures of those intruders and they will be the subject of a future post.)
The cookies were given the “sniff test” …
… then finally disappeared, but only after the peanuts and sunflower seeds were gone.
I hope you got tasty treats for Easter too. Happy Easter to my Peeps! Click here for a greeting from me to you.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
This was such a perfect post to read for Easter Sunday, I hope you have a lovely day:)
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Thank you Coffeeandcream – glad you liked it. Happy Easter to you as well!
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It was interesting getting a peek at the bunny nest. And those very lucky squirrels. 🙂 The chickadees aren’t doing too badly, either. 🙂 Love your peeps. Thanks so much for the e-greeting card! Happy Easter, Linda! 🌷
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Happy Easter to you too Barbara. Glad you liked the post and the e-card. The squirrels are lucky, even though they snub my cookies until the very end when the rest of the treats are gone. That’s fine as they are just an occasional treat for them. They now have competition for the food and that will be a post down the road. The chickadees were brave and going down to the ground to enjoy the oilers. I liked how the chickadees seemed to eye the walnuts, as if there was any chance they would carry one off. 🙂
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At my last house I put out blueberries when I had picked a lot. I didn’t get many takers even though they are supposed to be a fav. Never tried cookies because of the sugar but your guys seem to survive and even I them.
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I can remember taking cherries that had worm holes or taking a small peach or plum for Parker and it just sits there withering away, while the peanuts are eaten. I have one small tube of white icing left … not sure I’ll use it. The Nutter Butters are right up their alley … peanut-flavored wafers and peanut butter in between, but just a treat for the holidays.
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Happy Easter Linda! This was the perfect post for this day! 🐣🐰🐥
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Thank you Sabine – same to you. Glad you enjoyed this Easter post. I will be writing about the critters who are messing with the birds and squirrels in a later post. It is a little funny, though it makes me angry.
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I can’t wait to hear/read about this!!
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I enjoyed seeing the treats and the lucky recipients.
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Glad you liked it Anne. A good eatin’ time was had by all (and then some who were not invited to the “table”).
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Miss Linda…………………………………I enjoyed your Easter Bunny blog today…………………………………and………………your special video animated card……………………………you are so clever
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I am glad you enjoyed it Anne Marie. You make my head swell. 🙂
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I like the Cottontail-she shed better without all the snow! Great Easter post! I hope your finger is better.
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Glad you liked the Easter post Joni. I was amazed the Cottontail-she shed is flattened down so much. I am hoping to see baby bunnies but I think they look for food at night from what I read in the past. My finger is better now, but I sliced it pretty deep. It was pretty stupid of me to wipe the icing off that way … I’m sure the look on my face with my finger and the icing was priceless!
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You spoil.those fur balls…:) wonder if they know how good they Have it?
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Yes, they are spoiled and I said now that it is warmer, I’ll cut back a little, but then I see them running toward me in anticipation … I give in and spoil them a little more. They did have it perfect, but the geese and ducks have started stepping up and eating their treats. I have some funny pictures of them eating together to share in a few weeks. A duck and a squirrel up close munching away.
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They’ve developed a palette for thei finer things in life now I reckon. Dare to go back to nuts and they will be sending around a lynch mob to your house!
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This is true! I’ve truly spoiled the little buggers! I always suspect if I miss a few days, they will come looking for me!
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You need to get into the cookie decorating business Linda! Lol
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Yes, no-bake, no-muss and no-fuss decorated cookies (as long as you don’t cut yourself in the process). I don’t think I’d better hang out my shingle yet. 🙂
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I didn’t know Michigan was the state of trails. You certainly find the best ones. I like your animal action shots. The virtual card is lovely, Linda. Hope your Easter was pleasant. And filled with chocolate?
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I didn’t know that either Ally before I read the article and tucked that info away. I was thinking there are bigger states than Michigan with more wooded areas. I am going to be in a virtual 5K “Run/Walk for the Trees” and so I was looking around for a new woodsy spot to go. So discovered Michigan is the No. 1 Trails State in the nation, with more than 12,500 miles of designated land trails and over 4,280 miles of locally-designated water trails? We have a new trail being built in Michigan that goes from the Upper Peninsula to down in Detroit. It is called the “Iron Belle Trail” and when finished will be 1,273 miles altogether and to be used for biking/hiking. It is only 69% complete right now, but that article mentioned that factoid. In fact, one portion of the Iron Belle Trail encompasses the new Wildlife Refuge/Humbug Marsh. Glad you liked the photos – I was pleased with the Chickadees which have become eager to grab the sunflower seeds I’ve putting out. My Easter was pleasant and I did have a chocolate bunny – hope yours was pleasant as well.
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What an event to get the cookies frosted. I have days like that quite often. 🙂 It was nice to see a squirrel with a cookie though after all the effort you put in to make them. The Chickadee by the walnut was a great photo. Shows how small they are.
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Yes, I was happy to get one squirrel running off with a cookie though he was a big blurry. The best cookie shot was Parker with the heart-shaped sugar cookie and he also ran away with a Christmas tree sugar cookie but that was pure look. It was a stupid trick on my part to slice up my finger. It is healed now. The Chickadee almost looked like he was pondering whether it was edible or not – they are so little and cute.
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Wow, that was quite an Easter spread! I wonder how the squirrels are able to get into the walnuts… do you know?
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I usually just do it for holidays and the rest of the year, if I treat them extra-special, I use pecans or almonds sometime and the walnuts. They have no trouble cracking the walnut Janis. In fact, from what I’ve read, their front teeth grow constantly so they forage for natural food which whittle down their teeth (like bark). They had no problem cracking it open and getting the nut meat inside.
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Awww…great photos of Chloe Cottontail. I hope a hawk doesn’t find her. We had a rabbit that built a nest right in the middle of our yard. It didn’t seem like a very good place to raise bunnies, but Bill mowed around the nest for weeks.
Oh, no! What a terrible mishap. I hope your finger has recovered from being cut with the scissors. Blood and icing all over the place!!! The things you do to treat your furry pals. I hope they appreciate it. I can’t believe they take the cookies LAST! I would think they would be the first treats to go.
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I just saw a story on social media to watch your lawn before mowing due to baby bunnies. My next-door neighbor had a nest as well. I saw Chloe this morning, hopping around so the “nest” was unattended, but empty. I think they all appreciate their treats – the birds too, but now the waterfowl have been helping themselves the last few weeks. I have some cute pictures of the ducks eating alongside a squirrel who is okay with the intrusion. I will be doing that post in a few weeks … I didn’t want to inundate people with the squirrels. They approach the cookies cautiously and only eat them last and only after giving them the sniff test – they smell the peanut butter and nuts and deem them worthy. 🙂
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Happy Easter to you too, Linda!! I love how you bring special treats for your furry animal friends on special occasions.
Great close-up photos of the Chickadee bird and squirrel friend hugging the walnut. Those guys have lots of personality. We found a duck pond nearby and we took some rolled oats to feed them. It was a wonderful treat for us to see them eat. Elliot told me that we should come back the next day to give them more oats. Then, as we were walking around the pond, we see a sign “Do not feed the wild fowls.” Disappointed. We want to feed ducks!!!
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Happy Easter to you too Esther! Did you and the kids have a break from classes last week or this week for the Easter holiday? I always have a little fun when I am doing my holiday treat ritual and I used your expression “Peanut and snack angel” as I really liked that moniker. Oh that’s a shame and you were enjoying feeding them. At Elizabeth Park, they have a sign not to feed the geese, but there are lots of ducks and squirrels there and it says nothing about feeding them. That is too bad as it made a nice outing for you.
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Ouch! I hope it wasn’t too deep!
Thanks for the greetings card. I’ve had an account with JacquiLawson.com since roughly forever. I use it all the time… but never realised that it was possible to link to the cards like that, I was under the impression the only way to ‘send’ them was by email. More fool me, and thank you for the education! 🙂
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Hi Colin – I love Jacquie Lawson cards too! I especially like the Christmas Advent card. What I do is create a card with the person’s name on it (or in this case “all”) and send the card to myself. Then I just copy and paste the link into my post. Or you could do an e-mail or Facebook and just copy and paste the link that way. It works like a charm! My finger is better now … it was pretty dumb on my part. 🙂
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Easter treats! I love it, Linda. Here’s an Easter joke for you:
What do you call 10 Easter bunnies walking backwards?
A receding hair line.
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After Lent was over, I got to have the rest of the package of Nutter Butters and they were plain … just the best for them. 🙂 I love that joke Pam!
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😂😂😂
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Too cute Linda! And sorry about your finger. These things always happpen, when you have other stuff on your mind … Rude Fluffy though; could’ve posed for a photo! 😉
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Glad you liked it Jeanine – that little Chickadee is starting to rival the squirrels for cuteness. I swear he wanted that walnut and just didn’t know how to take it “to go” so he just had seeds. Yes, I agree … a cookie deserves at least one pose!
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Maybe Chickadee will work it out? I’ll stay tuned
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I’m hoping so – I fed him on the pathway today. The big birds will come down to the pathway, but not usually the Chickadee as he’s so tiny. But I put out some sunflower seeds and he went down to the pathway to eat them.
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Hi Linda. I seemed to have missed this post. I didn’t know that Michigan was known as the trail state. It seems a bit ironic to be known for having great trails and also be known for having horrible roads. LOL! Boy your friends really enjoyed their Easter treats. Also wanted to let you know that even though you and I can’t see that bunny trail it is still there. If you don’t believe me just ask a beagle. LOL! 🙂
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Hi Ruth – I was surprised to learn this tidbit too – the “Great Lakes state” maybe, but being a trails state too? However, I was looking for new places to roam around and I knew that the Iron Belle Trail was at Humbug Marsh and it stretched out to several Metroparks, but I learned that Michigan is the No. 1 Trails State in the nation, with more than 12,500 miles of designated land trails and over 4,280 miles of locally-designated water trails. So this “Iron Belle Trail” when finished will be 1,273 miles altogether and to be used for biking/hiking. It is only 69% complete right now.
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