Over Fourth of July weekend, I had a heart-to-heart chat with myself after spending an entire rainy day wading through my computer’s photo folder. I had amassed a ton of photos taken on weekends and daily jaunts in May and June. My two, most-trusted meteorologists predicted a steamy and stormy remainder of the Summer. I knew I had plenty of photos for blog posts to carry me through mid-September, when hopefully the weather would settle down. So, I decided for July and August, I’d walk only at Council Point Park, bulking up extra steps in the time not spent driving to larger park venues. An added bonus would be I’d be home earlier to hunker down for some much-needed housekeeping chores.
Well, it sounded good in my mind, and, of course, I always had my digital compact camera strapped to my fanny pack just in case a photo opportunity and blog post happened my way. One such incident intrusion fun and meaningful event marring my good intentions was the duckling rescue, which, albeit on a work day, took my focus away from working in the house. Why? Because it rained on a Saturday morning, I didn’t walk and it was way more fun to go through my photos, write the post and share it here than do housework. So much for good intentions.
Similarly, on the morning of July 31st, I put blinders on to my household chores and headed to Lake Erie Metropark instead. Quite honestly, I felt I needed the break to clear my head, from not only a busy week at work, but also a volatile and worrisome weather week, which began with severe weather the previous Saturday. Four tornadoes hit Michigan on the 24th, none in my proximity, but I sat on pins and needles as the severe weather ravaged as it headed southeast at 35 miles per hour. My weather alarm went off four times that evening, each with a prediction of impending doom. Luckily, I remained unscathed, but just a handful of days later, a similar weather scenario erupted, with a forecast of tornadic or derecho conditions, hail and flooding, all to arrive at 3:00 a.m. Thursday. I went to bed with the flashlight under my pillow and much trepidation, fully expecting to be dashing to the basement in the wee hours of Thursday morning after another weather alert was sounded. But, nothing happened … in the entire state of Michigan, despite all the severe weather warnings! All weather stations and their meteorologists proclaimed we had dodged a bullet and blamed quirky weather models for the alarmist prediction. Whew!
So, when Saturday, July 31st dawned clear and bright, not a chance of bad weather to mar the day, I gratefully headed out. The car needed a long run and I needed to be sprung from my self-imposed commitments, so I sallied forth. My sunglasses served as blinders to dust bunnies and disorganization.
It was time to roam at Lake Erie Metropark.
There are 13 Metroparks in Michigan; this is my favorite and it is a 30-mile roundtrip from my house. There are nearly three miles of nature trails in this 1,607-acre park. I generally write about the northeast portion of this venue, since I enjoy hiking through its wooded areas, across the canal overlooks, alongside the marshes and visiting the small boat launch site, where migrating raptors pass over every September through November.
But, ever-mindful of the overabundance of ticks, the presence of the sometimes-deadly Asian Tiger Mosquito in my county, plus possible flooded trails due to the 20 inches of rain received in the past six weeks, I opted to change my routine and roam the length of Cove Point, a picturesque path that runs parallel to the Lake Erie shoreline. It would give me a chance to peek at the Water Lotus beds to see if they were near peak yet. Last year I made multiple trips to this venue before finally seeing blooms.
So, I spent three hours strolling along the Cove Point paved path, while enjoying the cool breeze off Lake Erie. Happily, there were no crowds and I came home with a treasure trove of photos.
As to the Water Lotus beds, some flowers were in bloom, but not quite peak yet. I’ll include those photos for Wordless Wednesday as this post is already picture laden.
The wooden overlook where I had a bird’s eye view of the lotus beds was swarming with Barn Swallows. They swooped and dived, skimming over the green surface of this lagoon which is already covered with algae bloom as you see in the below photos, taken from opposite sides of the platform.
The natural beauty of Cove Point’s boulders.
Huge boulders line the entire length of this route, all the way to the south end of the park where the paved pathway ends at the Marina.
Kindly volunteers have built and erected wooden Bluebird nesting boxes along this route. This is one of them.
I saw very few wildflowers, but I liked this one growing between the boulders.
As I neared the Marina, I could see the tall masts of the sailboats through the trees.
I made a quick detour to the observation deck, to see the endless vista of Lake Erie and have a glimpse of Ontario. Very few pleasure boats were out and I saw no freighters on the horizon.
As I entered the Marina, I saw the boat used for interpretive cruises. I wondered what happened to E/V Clinton, an identical-looking boat I rode on the two interpretive cruises I’ve taken in the past. Was it simply renamed? A Google search yielded no results.
All was still in the harbor area which surprised me … a simply gorgeous day, and not one person readying their boats for a day on the water? Here are a few more scenes from the Marina.
Time to head back …
The sun was bright and it was getting warmish. I had a long journey back to the car, mostly without shade. I turned around and in the marsh I saw this fallen tree, long bleached by the sun’s rays and went to get a closer look. Was it left there for aesthetic purposes?
And, then my focus turned to a deer, standing in murky marsh water up to its knees.
We made eye contact and I wanted its picture, because, as longtime followers of this blog know, deer and owls are elusive to me and I really would like to get some photos of each. I didn’t move a muscle, yet a split second later, the deer bolted from the water and disappeared into a thin line of bushes along the Marina’s parking lot. Suddenly, a head and a large pair of ears appeared in a small opening and we scoped one another out through cover of the bushes.
We were maybe 20 feet apart, but I daren’t get any closer for fear of spooking this beautiful creature. I decided I would wait as long as it took. But the wait was short-lived, as a car pulled up, a door opened, someone coughed, then slammed the door shut. My deer buddy bolted, but with no clear path through the bushes, it returned to the marsh water, bounding through the muck and mire with loud splashes, then it returned to land once again down the road, but too far away for me to try and catch up.
As I rounded the bend, I glanced over at the marsh, hoping for one more glimpse of my deer buddy, but no such luck.
This time I was heading back to the car for sure.
Following this deer-sighting debacle, I was now ready to leave, retracing my route … and then some.
Along the way, I heard a heron overhead, screeching at no one in particular. It landed on this rocky platform …
… and wasted no time scoping out the water hopeful to soon be scooping out a fish.
I was surprised to see Poplar tree leaves littering the pathway. The weatherman said the trees will turn color and drop earlier this year due to drought conditions in the Spring, then an abundance of rain in the Summer. He added that the trees are stressed just like humans.
I finally reached the car, but decided to get a photo of the Cove Point road sign, so I walked another quarter of a mile to the main road to get that shot.
I stopped at the fishing overlook to see if any waterfowl were there – nothing! I wondered aloud “where were the egrets and swans?”
Weary and warmish, I reached the car. It was time to head home. I may have pushed the housework aside, but a slew of weeds awaited me and there was no convenient excuse for pulling them on such a beautiful day. I knew appearances matter outside the house, even if I was forgiving to my transgressions inside.
As I rolled out of the parking space and onto the main road, I saw a flash of brown in the bushes … yes, those same bushes I had just passed ten minutes before. Whenever I’ve seen deer in clear view, I was driving and pulling over on the side of the road within the park is discouraged, so I was forced to move along. But, there was a parking lot near the fishing site, so I was all in. I swear that I parked, hopped out of the car and pulled the camera out of the pouch in a heartbeat.
Mama deer loped off across the field, into the marsh and out of my sight. But her fawn had its own agenda. It posed while gracefully grazing and alternatively staring at me with those big brown eyes. I cooed softly and clicked my tongue, while calling it a host of enDEERments. Lucky for me, the fawn was content to stay in the limelight, literally, with lots of lime-green Water Lotuses in the marsh behind it. I couldn’t wait to share those photos and they were the subject of last week’s Wordless Wednesday.
Here is one more photo …
I was ecstatic and I know I floated home. 🙂
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
The deer photos are super!
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Thanks Anne – I couldn’t resist putting in one more shot of the Bambi. That was so exciting seeing that fawn up close. The deer in the marsh had beautiful eyes and those big ears!
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What a beautiful diversion from housework! I’m so happy you got to see deer and the fawn too. I’m sad to see the empty trails and the boats at the docks – where are all the people on a beautiful day like that? Thanks for sharing the beautiful photos with us!!
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I was easily persuaded Shelley! I needed a break, whether I had good intentions or not at the house. I don’t usually walk here and they are going to be doing some renovations at the shoreline and other natural maintenance items starting in September, so I’m glad I went now. I really don’t understand where people were – it was the second day of a string of cooler days with no humidity and I figured it would be busy. The marina is what surprised me the most … not a single boat out of its slip. Yet I’ve heard on the news that between the RVs and boats, the dealers cannot keep them in stock since the pandemic began.
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Housework is never done. Walks are great medicine.
Wow – yeah, I heard RV’s and boats are in high demand. We had a boat once…it’s like throwing money into the water. 😉
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Yes, I should never have imposed the restrictions on myself Shelley, though it had been such crummy weather for May and early June, that is why whenever we had cooler days (few, but we did have two weeks in a row, with three days of good weather for each week), I left early during the workweek and went exploring in my favorite haunts. I hated for this weekend to end … good weather for two solid days and I made the most of it as we slowly creep toward Fall, then Winter. Ugh!
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Yay – keep on enjoying the beautiful weather days. Take tons of pictures to review over the winter when we’re stuck inside!
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I’d like a do-over of the Summer of 2020, but come Winter I’ll be wishing it was Summer … just a malcontent. 🙂
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We call 2020 the black hole, we don’t remember much of it at all. I’m only thankful a couple silver linings for the coming up winter, we won’t need to shovel snow for my little dog and he won’t be freezing his toes in the ice and snow. 🤔😢⛄❄
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Yes, 2020 won no prizes but 2021 has not been great either. We thought we’d be sittin’ pretty with this pandemic over by mid-Summer and instead look where we are. Sigh. Yes, that is sadly true – the snow can pile up on the back porch and you can make time-lapse videos as it will stay pristine and white, with no yellow splashes in it.
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We went to our favorite 5 mile run yesterday to watch our daughter run it. It was their 40th year and the crowd was so small. But one guy who had ran every race, even the virtual one last year, was there. I look forward to races getting back to normal someday! Yes, we’re in quite the stage for 2021. We do plan on watching the snow pile up and not have to go out in it. We’re thankful for Copper not having to do so – he never liked the cold!
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Yes, hopefully races/walks do get back to normal again someday. I’m not doing the Mutt Strut this year as it is a group walk, but I have signed up for two more virtual 5Ks this year, one in September and one in October. I think you’ll see a lot of snow pile up – the long-range weather for the Great Lakes and Midwest were for a lot of snow and cold weather. The perfect complement to this hot and steamy Summer!
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Yay – you have virtual walks to look forward to. I’m afraid you’re likely right about the snow predictions. We had a lighter winter last year, in honor of Copper I like to believe. Weather does tend to even things out. This summer has been HOT! Stay cool and safe.
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Yes, and Fall is my favorite season. Hang in there with this heat that is back and we have a little severe weather tomorrow. Hopefully it fizzles out. Same to you Shelley.
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This is quite the day at this park, so many things to see. The water makes one realize how hot it is with the muck on top. The boats were so colorful and so many of them. I bet those are pretty when they are out on the lake. Another great park.
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[I thought I answered this comment yesterday Sandra – I am sorry. My internet goes out sporadically about 20+ times a day so I am getting a new modem for it to see if that is the reason; plus today there was a Comcast outage, so I lost internet while at work. I probably replied and the internet failed and I didn’t notice.]
It was such a gorgeous day and I’m thinking I should be walking more on this side of the park while the mosquitoes and ticks are so bad as it does not go past the swampy marsh where the mosquitoes like to hang out. Lake Erie is bad for algae bloom and it was recently in the news that it was already bad and it was just early August, because we’ve had so many hot days. I am amazed that every boat was in its slip and not out on the water either. I took the two interpretive cruises and the last one was in the Fall and we saw two freighters up close and it was a windy day, so many sailboats out as well.
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I love the full face shot of the deer peeking through the branches!
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Me too Kate. It seemed like it was checking me out while I was checking it out, especially the size of those ears!
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Thanks for taking me on your delightful stroll. You do have to wonder about that expensive flotilla just parked at the marina.
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Glad you enjoyed the stroll Eilene. It made no sense to me as it was a simply gorgeous day, after such a long string of hot, humid and often rain, why boat after boat remained in its slip.
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You did a excellent job covering all the interesting points Linda! Your becoming the Park Journalist!
Fantastic shot of the Fawn to close on too!
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Thank you Wayne – another post to be the “Ambassador of the Trails. I think I’ve only posted this part of Lake Erie Metropark on one occasion before. That sweet fawn – I had to use this opportunity to showcase it once again.
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the Fawn is a sweetheart! I bet you keep a eye for it now!
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I will Wayne! We are having a coolish day Saturday – I’m had planned to return over Labor Day to get another look at the flowers, if they might be at peak. Now leaning toward going there again. The car gets a good run as well and no mosquitoes or flooded trails as it’s out in the open. We had 2.73 inches of rain in the last 24 hours (4:00 p.m. Wednesday through 8:00 a.m. today)
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That’s a lot of rain. It seems like so many places do not have enough rain,while others get way too much!
The balance has been altered.
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Yes, altered and not for the good as you know. Today, I read it was the hottest Summer on record. Old records being shattered all over the place. I saw an article today that said that the 2020 wildfires helped contribute to many deaths from COVID. I went to two sites to read the story, but they were pay sites to finish reading the story.
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I wonder why the forest fires helped Covid?
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Well, now I found a story because the story in “The San Francisco Chronicle” and “The National Geographic” were a pay-to-read and a sign-up-to-read respectively, so I didn’t read them. Here is the story:
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wildfire-smoke-increase-severe-covid-19-cases-death/story?id=79380391
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I think the reporter is trying to get attention. Forest smoke has always been known to affect the breathing! People who have had or are recovering from Covid have lungs that are sensitive and diminished. So It’s not surprising to find that people with compromised breathing (for whatever reason?) would have trouble breathing.
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When I heard the story on the radio, it was just a short piece and so I looked for more info. I thought they were going to say the particulates of the wildfire co-mingled with the germs of someone with COVID and was ingested in other people’s lungs … that was what I got from the story on the news, but it was not what I got from this story.
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What a great place. On the River Hamble here – you seem to see more boats moored than at sea.
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You would definitely enjoy this park Andy – it’s the best view of Lake Erie too, the marshes and the water look really deserted don’t they? Like the River Hamble, there were a handful of boats far away, but no boats out of their slips on a gorgeous weekend.
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Asian Tiger Mosquito? This is something now? I don’t think I even want to know about them, but I suppose I should. I like your photos of the marina. I see bodies of water but never any boats on them. Boats are cool beans.
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We just started hearing about them this year Ally. Last year it was the EEE (Eastern Equine Encephalitis) caused by mosquito bites, and other sickness which grew into encephalitis and we’ve always had West Nile issues, but these mosquitoes are in our county now. These Asian Tiger Mosquitoes are black with white spots and a bite could give you encephalitis. Many years ago, I went with my mom on a long weekend to visit my grandmother in Toronto. When we returned I went in the backyard to water and found about eight or nine dead blue jays. I called and they picked them all up and later confirmed they died of West Nile Disease.
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What a beautiful picture of the fawn. Your persistence paid off!!! You are lucky to have such a beautiful place to walk, even though it is 15 miles from your house. It seems like you always find something interesting to photograph at the Metropark. The walnut trees that border our backyard have started shedding their leaves too. They must be stressed just like the poplars near you.
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Thank you Laurie – I was excited to find it after all these years of walking the trails at this park. Now I’m eager to go back again, but it was pretty special. I’ve not gone this route in several years. After our very hot weather week we’re going to have, the leaves will be more plentiful on the ground for sure.
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We will have a bunch of leaves to rake when we get back from Alaska! I hope you see more deer on your next trip to the metro park.
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You are having the Summer of your life Laurie – is the England trip still on? I hope so too – I am always on the lookout for deer and owls. This year it is butterflies as I’ve not seen a single butterfly this year.
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Wow Linda! Really impressive photos….I love the look of that park, and everything so green and vibrant looking, even if some of it is algae. And the deer were the icing on the cake. Forget the housework – it looks like you had a great day instead! PS. As I mentioned before I see very few boats out here either – I think people must not want a crew onboard or the weather is just too darn hot and humid even out on the water. These last few days have been brutal. Have you been able to walk?
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Thanks Joni – glad you liked the photos and I am so glad I took that route instead of my usual route. The algae is bad at Lake Erie and it was just written up at the beginning of August as the algae bloom had arrived earlier than usual due to the heat. It was bad in the smaller areas and large areas along Cove Point. The Water Lotuses are in tomorrow’s post and they will be bigger and bloom more but I figured, the way this weather is going, who knows if I make it back there again before they’re done blooming for the season? That does make sense to not go out on the water in this extreme heat and sun. I have been walking, but yesterday it was at the grocery store. They are remodeling the store, so it’s a mess and I was running around trying to see where they moved different aisles and items. I always park my cart in one spot and go to retrieve items for the steps. Today I had an allergist appointment, then went to the Park afterward, so got three miles. It’s not been an enjoyable Summer at all and we are having cool weather this weekend, for two days, so we’ll have to get out and make the most of it as we’ll dream about these days in the middle of Winter. You’ve taken a few days off of walking due to the heat then? We’re having severe weather in the overnight and again Wednesday – Friday. Is there no end to endless bad weather?
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My brother is home for a visit now, he’s staying at my mom’s, but I’ve managed a few walks in her neighbourhood, in the late evenings when it’s marginally cooler. Can’t wait for cooler temps on the weekend. I don’t have a blog ready to post this week, but it is what it is. I feel bad about that, but I’d rather take my time and do a good one, then just throw something up. I have ideas, just no time and no pictures. I’ve not been going out otherwise as heat warnings here.
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I meant to ask you how long your brother was staying for is visit. That’s great that he has a long visit. Even in the evenings it is hot and humid these days, although we had a severe storm rumble through at 4:00 p.m. today and it dropped the heat 10 degrees to 76. The heat index had been 97 before the storm. We have another storm tonight after 2:00 a.m. – not looking forward to this one either with its possible tornado, hail and high wind prediction. The weather alarm went off twice for this afternoon’s storm … first a “watch” and then a “warning” – there are already 400,000 who lost power from the 4:00 p.m. storm.
I agree with you Joni – you spend a lot of time compiling your posts – don’t rush through it. You can always use pics from Pixabay too. I was doing that for many posts before my blog starting to become more nature oriented. Before that, it was a mixture of posts of things I saw in the neighborhood. The thought that this is our weather for our remaining years upsets me. I never wished for Fall to arrive, but this constant heat/humidity and severe weather threats makes me wish that. We had one, maybe two, severe weather days each Summer back in the day – nothing like this.
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I’m not sure how long he’s staying – a couple of weeks anyway. He came last Wed, and we’ve done a lot of talking since then as we haven’t seen him in a year and a half pre-COVID. It’s been hot and humid with heat warnings the past ten days so we haven’t done much. He wants to go fishing when it’s cooler, and I may tag along and get a post out of that. I haven’t been getting as many likes on my posts lately anyway, so it seems like a lot of effort to put in. I hardly slept last night for the rain and thunder and wind! Will need a nap for sure today.
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Maybe you’ll get a fishing trip in this weekend – it is now supposed to be nice Saturday through Monday, then getting more humid, but not as much rain, which is good as I need to get steps in – lost them today and tomorrow morning too as it’s supposed to storm. The weather is nothing special and we had 3/4s of a million people lost power just in SE Michigan – lots in northern Michigan as well. And the torrential rain and rumbling around of thunder. The weather alarm went off twice today, the first time at 5:30 because of flooding and local creeks and rivers cresting – we had 2.73 inches of rain from 4:00 p.m. last night through 8:00 a.m. today. Crazy weather. You could do a post on your brother’s visit – use some old pictures like you did in another post that you had the kids and a dog and a little produce stand … then, also do the fishing post too. Do you need a license to fish? Here they have two or three free fishing weekends a year, the rest of the time you need to have a license.
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He has to get a license….and a rod. He took his car in this week, and it’s been too hot otherwise. I’m taking mom shopping on Sat, to take advantage of the cooler weather, Sunday we’re doing a barbecue, and Monday I have the maids in for both my house and hers. I booked them six weeks ago, that’s how booked up they are, but I just can’t handle the dust anymore, nor do I have the energy to maintain two houses. I also have the furnace guy here next Wed, so I hope that goes well – just for maintenance. The following week, she had chiropodist and eye apptments – I’m trying to get all these things in before the 4th wave hits which I’m sure it will in Sept. when the kids go back to school!
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It’s unfortunate your brother picked such a hot week to visit Joni – he’d have had no way of knowing the way this weather is. In fact, I just heard today that this has been the hottest Summer on record! You should go fishing with him – it will be fun and make a fun post. I have Comcast in on Sunday for a new modem as I’m losing my internet 20+ times a day. It is four years old. I still have to have the plumber in for three things, all small, but want it done before the 4th wave too. I still have to take my car in for the A/C issue – I would have taken it in, but because I had heard that extreme heat is as bad for a battery as cold weather, I’ve held off, but unless it is a coolish day, it gets hot in the car. It has to be something wrong with the A/C as I just got it recharged last year. All the little things … still not sure about seeing if I can move my October 18th dentist/dental cleaning appointment a month earlier … or maybe that’s too late already as the wave will start when kids return to school. Sigh.
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All these appointments are just another way to spoil our summer, which has already been bad enough! Last night when I went for a walk after summer the wind had swung and it was refreshing. Now two nice days and back into the humidity next week….
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I know it – I cringe at every appointment I have to make. I would like to do the plumber on a weekday, but I don’t know if there might be a problem, or a mess, so going to do it next week. I hate having all the appointments. Yes, the heat and humidity back Monday afternoon. I did make the most of the cooler weather today – three different parks and the last was to see “The Healing Wall” which is the traveling Vietnam Memorial which is 3/4s of the memorial in Washington. It was very large, almost 60,000 names inscribed on this large wall. I decided if it was crowded I would not go, but it was not crowded at all – people were spaced out and no one near me. Got lots of photos today and enough for two long posts and a WW. I dread the heat/humidity and volatile weather returning … some people here still won’t have their power restored until Monday night. Thankfully, they get a break with the cool weather, but food is lost and they’re still in the dark.
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With so many unpredictable storms popping up so suddenly it is understandable why you’d be on pins and neddles when your weather alarms go off. Better safe and alert than sorry and caught off guard… The Cove Point path looks so serene and beautiful. It’s nice that there are benches where one can sit and enjoy the scenery and get lost in thought. I wonder if you get any tree swallows in those bluebird nesting boxes? That’s what sometimes happens around here. That’s an amazing portrait of the deer from behind his hiding bushes. 🙂 I love watching the great blue herons fish. Pretty little fawn. I think it has an injury on its back right leg? Looks like it might be healing up all right, though. What a lovely day. That’s the thing about housework, most of it can be postponed indefinitely and it won’t take any more time to do it, no matter when you get to it. Except the laundry and dishes. Those keep piling up. 😉
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It was a nice trip along the shoreline and I think I will do it again as our mosquito issues are getting worse. A horse had to be put down for the Equine Encephalitis disease transmitted by a mosquito bite – that made the news today. I loved watching the deer’s head through the trees – so exciting and the fawn was the icing on the cake. I also thought it had something wrong with its back right leg, but it ran okay when it finally took off for good (after looking back at me one last time). Yes, I have to just get past the housework dilemma … I know I should be more diligent, but this time of year is difficult – I know it will be shorter days and then ice/snow, so I go out while the goin’s great! The unpredictable storms are worrisome – we have one overnight and I have no doubt the weather alarm will go off as it will start after midnight to 2:00 a.m. and last another four hours, then the next few days through Friday (the 13th). The news has downplayed Friday the 13th as they deal with rising COVID cases.
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Those blasted mosquitoes carry so many horrible diseases. (CT tests mosquitoes for 8 viruses every summer.) One of many reasons I stay out of the woods and in the house in the summer. Fortunately we don’t seem to have the little pests down at the beach. Now I wonder if they spray for them, although I’ve never heard anything about that. It’s a wonder I never caught anything from them growing up and playing in the woods all summer. That high-pitched whining sound they make as they look for a place to land on your face… That’s so sad about the poor horse. 😦
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Between the ticks and mosquitoes this year … sigh. The mosquitoes will be even worse here – it’s our second day of rain with more overnight ,then two more days of rain and storms. We had a severe storm rumble through at 4:00 p.m. with winds clocked at 62 mph at Detroit Metro Airport and another storm on the way overnight, with a possible tornado. The first round caused 400,000 to lose power. I’m so ready for Fall, or at least cooler weather. I don’t think we have that many mosquito viruses as you do – they mostly discuss just three here. Like you, I grew up playing near a field with a creek and nearby small wooded area. We never slathered on sunscreen or bug repellent and I don’t ever recall getting sunburned or bitten. Nature will never be like we remember it as youngsters, or even just a few years ago – it makes me feel badly, especially as I near retirement age where I could spend more time outside without the restriction of work. Yes, it is sad about the horse and now they are saying it was under-vaccinated for this virus.
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Miss Linda………………………………I enjoyed your adventure through Lake Erie Metro park……………………………I get homesick because we are no longer able to go there because my husband can hardly walk anymore……………………….so thank you ……………………………and that;s a perfect fawn picture……………………………………
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Ann Marie – glad you liked this post about the other side of this beautiful venue. The deer, especially the fawn, made it a perfect day for me. I’m going to suggest you get a portable wheelchair for Steven. They weigh just 25 pounds and fold flat to go in to the trunk. We got one for my mom so she could take trips to the mall, or even day trips, as walking on the cane was too hard on her – then you two could explore and even go fishing off the big pier at the new wildlife refuge.
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Especially like the deer and heron shots! Great captures, Linda! 🙂
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Thanks Tom – it was a great walk. This is a huge Metropark and I think I’ll be returning to this side more often, especially after a week of rain and tropical conditions. The mosquitoes will be brutal and the trails will be flooded, so this side is wide open and paved. I was excited about the deer peering at me through the bushes, then to see that fawn not long afterward was even more exciting. I got lucky with the heron too, even if his body blended into the rocks. 🙂
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Herons and deer are just so elusive around here, in rural Illinois. Probably due to the fact that there are large numbers of trigger-happy hunters (willing to shoot at just about anything).
That fallen tree has its own intrinsic beauty! Too many people pass such treasures by, giving them little attention. So cool that you were appreciative of it! 🙂
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We have the trigger-happy deer hunters up north, but the duck hunters are not far from this park at Pointe Mouillee. In fact, I was walking at this park in November a few years ago and a group of ducks descended down onto the marsh. A fisherman quipped “well, they know they are safe here – five miles away, the shooters can take ’em!”
Glad you liked the fallen tree Tom. It was interesting to see it partly submerged in the marsh, having lost all its bark long ago, now bleached by the sun. The deer was not as fascinated as me though. 🙂
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So much to enjoy here and the tall wildflowers is my fav image today for composition and beauty
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Thanks Yvette. It was a very nice walk along the Cove Point shoreline. I bought a Michigan Wildflowers book and was at a nature center where I photographed only wildflowers. I tried to identify some of them and couldn’t, so next year, I will take the book with me and try to I.D. them on the spot … I really liked how those purple wildflowers were just growing and flourishing in the boulders.
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When I taught youth science in San Jose (years ago) there was one part time teacher who knew all the plant common names and Latin names – I still remember her always identifying them so formally – and as nice as it was – not sure any of us remembered any of the names she told us!
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That is some feat! I could tell you a few basic wildflowers or trees, but never their Latin names. We had 24 new trees gifted to Council Point Park by an organization within the federal government. Volunteers planted them one morning and they put tags on all the trees that shows their common and Latin names and some facts each tree.
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Those tags are a great idea –
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I thought so too Yvette.
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Tornadoes… in Michigan? Who knew? I thought you lived too far north for that kind of weather nonsense, Linda. More of a Kansas/Oklahoma occurrence in my book. Dorothy Gale and all that 🙂
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Oh Dave – we’ve had a horrible Summer and had four tornadoes in Southeast Michigan a few weeks ago. Lucky for me, I remained unscathed, but listening to the weather radio reporting how far away the tornadic conditions were and how it was heading southeast was very scary. Last night when I went to bed , we were under a tornado watch for the whole SE Michigan area. It fizzled out overnight. We’ve had a few mild earthquakes the past three years too. I thought of you the other day, having heard a story about the annual Tarantula migration in your state.
I’d have to stay in the house, holed up until it was over with. 🙂
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Now that I think about it, “Brilliant Viewpoint” (who lives in Chicago) said much of the same thing about her weather patterns this summer. Tornado alerts would keep me awake the way wildfire threats do in our state. The tarantula migration – mercifully – happens even further south in Colorado than where I live. Sounds like something straight out of the Book of Revelation. I have no desire to see the tarantulas (let alone blog about them). It would be hard to “unsee” something like that!
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It’s been a brutal Summer Dave and I’ll welcome Fall with open arms. I heard today this was the hottest Summer on record and I wouldn’t dispute it. I am happy I got the weather radio for a bad weather event bubbling up in the middle of the night. Flooding alerts have gone off two mornings in a row in the 5:00 o’clock hour. Glad you don’t have to see that tarantula migration – I couldn’t handle it either. I don’t like regular-sized spiders, nor centipedes either. Anything that has a lot of legs and moves faster than me is not welcome inside nor outside the house!
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You must get so much stress relief from your amazing walks Linda….I’m so jealous! However, I could never handle the hot and humid days like this week.
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I do enjoy my walks Diane and look forward to them and they are a great stress reliever, especially since 2020 and 2021 were/are so off-kilter. It is very peaceful to go earlier in the morning so it is still cool and quiet there, whether it is Council Point Park or the larger venues. But that said, this Summer has not been nice, nor fun, for walking though. The heat and humidity is beginning to wear on me and I used to go walk, not necessarily shop, at Meijer grocery store in the past if we had a prolonged heat spell, but Meijer is remodeling, so they have endcaps and store shelves all over the place these days. So not a good option.
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