#Wordless Wednesday – allow your photo(s) to tell the story.
Linda Schaub
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Linda Schaub
- Who is that masked man, er … raccoon? #Wordless Wednesday #My new furry friend at the Park – NOT!
- “Spring is sprung. The grass is riz. I wonder where the birdies is?” ~ Anonymous
- Bewildered and bedraggled Snowdrops. Angry Robin bemoaning frozen worms. #Wordless Wednesday #Weary from Winter #3 years of Wordless Wednesdays for me!
- Ahh – Spring arrives today!
- Why a Duck? Why not a Seagull? #Wordless Wednesday #Marx (Bros.) Madness!
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FIFTY FAVORITE PARK PHOTOS
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- Parker noshin’ nuts
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- Fox Squirrel
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- Black Squirrel
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- Parker, my Park cutie!
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- Pekin Duck
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- Mallard Hybrid Duck
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- Midnight munchin’ nuts
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- Mute Swan
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- Goslings
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- Mama Robin
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- Seagulls on ice floe
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- Great Blue Heron
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- Parker chowin’ down
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- Mallard Duck
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- Northern Cardinal
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- Great Blue Heron (“Harry”) fishing for shad
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- Parker: shameless begging
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- Viceroy Butterfly
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- Great Blue Heron
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- American Goldfinch
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- Seagull
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- Robin baby (not fledged yet)
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- Mallard Ducks
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- Robins almost ready to fledge
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- Parker angling for peanuts
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- Robin fledgling
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- Parker making a point that he wants peanuts
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- Parker smells peanuts
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- Parker with a peanut
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- Red-Winged Blackbird
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- Seagull
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- Red-Bellied Woodpecker
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- Pekin Duck
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- Starling
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- Canada Geese family
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- Canada Goose and goslings
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- Red-Winged Blackbird
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- Parker says candy is dandy.
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- Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly
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- American Goldfinch
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- Hunny Bunny
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- Parker looking for peanuts
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- The pier just past sunrise
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- Mute Swan
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- Parker in the snow
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- Parker and a treat
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- Great Blue Heron
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- Me and my shadow (a/k/a Parker)
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- Fox Squirrel
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- Seagull
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- Canada Goose
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- Mallard Ducks
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- Mute Swan
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- Fox Squirrel – Parker
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- Northern Cardinal
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BADGES
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- 02-02-2018
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- 03-13-2018
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- 03-25-2018
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- 03-26-2018
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- Year #6!! 02/2019
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- 04-13-2019
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- 11-21-19
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WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
So many of them! Lovely! 💙
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Glad you liked them Barbara. I’d like to go again to take that same walk along Cove Point – it’s been two weeks and with this hot and tropical air there might be more blooming by now. I will decide by the weekend when it will be cool for a day or so.
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The pale yellow color of the flowers is pretty.
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Yes, they are very beautiful Ally. They only come in this color at these two lotus beds. I’d like to go back at peak blooming and intended to return Labor Day, but with this week’s tropical weather, I’m thinking more lotuses may have bloomed, so it may be earlier than planned.
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Lovely photos. Easy to see for my challenged eyes.
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They are easy on the eyes aren’t they Anne and pretty large. You are still recuperating from your cataract surgery?
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Both eyes are set for distance now. I couldn’t see to read, so now I’m making do with readers from Dollar General. I wasn’t prepared for this part of the recovery.
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I see – now that surprises me because when my friend Ann Marie had the surgery, she was on the computer that night and driving the next day, BUT … I don’t ever recall seeing her in glasses before that surgery, so perhaps that’s why she breezed through it so effortlessly. Yikes – something for me to dread down the line.
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Every surgery is different, even on a twin body part. Don’t bother dreading cataract removal. By the time you need it, they will probably have an entirely new process.
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OK, thanks for the reassurance Anne. I was lumping everyone together. I hope it is a while for me, though when I started with this eye doctor, after the other one retired, he told me I’d likely face cataract surgery within five years – I was worried about it and that was a few years before I lost my mom, so at least 14 years ago. That eye doctor is gone and a new one bought his practice.
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I trusted my eye doctor to tell me when to have cataracts removed. She said it is easier for the surgeon to do it earlier rather than later.
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Yes, that’s best. Easier to make the adjustment I’m guessing.
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The lotuses are uplifting and joyful! 🙂
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Yes they are Tom. I think they will peak earlier this Summer due to this tropical-like weather we have been experiencing the last week. The lotus beds only have this color, but they are stunning.
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Those lotus flowers are so pretty. You captured them at the perfect time!
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I think all this tropical weather has made them bloom like crazy Laurie. I timed it better this year. Last year I visited the lotus beds three times before they were blooming.
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beauty shots Linda! Out of curiosity is there any flower scent from those water Lilly’s?
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Thank you Wayne – I’d like to go visit there again when they are at peak bloom. They do smell, but I couldn’t smell them from the shore as not enough of them had bloomed. But, when I took that interpretive cruise, I learned a few things about them – it is illegal to pick them, even to take one of the massive leaves, even if it is floating in the water. Plus, at the end of the blooming season, all that is left is these dark-brown, dried-up seed pods. They are tall and stick out of the water and look like periscopes. It is also forbidden to take the seed pods, even though you can go into any craft store and buy a seed pod from the exact same flower for under $5.00 to put into a dried flower arrangement for example. Their show-and-tell on the cruise was interesting (except for the tern impaled on a stick in the plastic case which I waved my hand and said “no thanks – give it to the next person.”
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I found out that Water Lillies are only protected in designated Wildlife refuges. Everywhere else they are fair game.
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That’s interesting Wayne – so our two beds at Lake Erie are protected and that’s why you can’t pick them or harvest the seeds from the seed pods – interesting. I am sure people in a kayak or canoe may be able to get near to view them up close, (as there is no swimming allowed on this Lake Erie shoreline), but the area is full of reeds too, which would cause the paddles to get tangled up in them. There was a woman yesterday got reeds near the motor of her boat, so she reached underneath to clear the grate and her hand got caught inside the grate and pulled her in to the water. She was okay – just shaken.
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She tried to get the weeds off of the prop while it was moving? She should not be on the water. She’s an accident look for a place to happen!
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We have so many drownings here in Michigan. A 44-year-old woman, an experienced canoeist, went for a ride last night, canoe washed up on shore and she had told a friend she was going out, but never returned. So she called police – body found this morning.
Here’s the story on the woman who tried to get reeds off her jet boat (they don’t say jet ski, they say jet boat):
https://www.audacy.com/wwjnewsradio/news/local/woman-rescued-after-getting-trapped-in-lake-st-clair
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I see now why a grate was mentioned. Jets boats have a grate over the intake to stop debris from getting near the blades. She should have shut the engine off and then tried to dislodge the weeds. She shouldn’t be out on the water.
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Glad I could find the story for you – I heard it early this morning and sometimes they take the earlier stories of the day off their site.
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Well done leading us fro the placid water into the blooms and then the last photo has that curled leaf – smack center and all vibrant and lit up – just love it Linda
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They are just gorgeous Yvette. I want to go back and see if they are peak bloom now – we have had a tropical-feeling week, so they just may be. Their leaves are the size of an elephant ear and rising out of the water, sometimes up to two feet! They are the largest and most-accessible water lotus beds in the State of Michigan.
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So stunning
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Beautiful photos! Muted colors that emphasizes the water and the greens. It is a marsh?
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Thank you! These are the largest and most-accessible lotus beds (there are actually two but look like one large one) in Michigan. These photographs are beds in Lake Erie and though it is a little green like a marsh here, that is the algae bloom. However, they have smaller areas in this Metropark where it is marshy and there are water lotuses growing there two, but not in beds, more like clusters.
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Amazing lotus beds! Learning so much about nature from you. Had no idea algae blooms.
I’d be happy to even visit the smaller ones…not one near us.
Looking forward to seeing more your nature pics in Michigan!
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Glad you liked the photos Esther. They are American Lotus plants and the beds are large. In the Winter if there is ice on the water, the leaves don’t remain, as they wither and die, so all that is left are the tall stalks where the lotus bloom was – they are filled with seeds and rise above the water like periscopes. I was at my regular park, Heritage Park (little red schoolhouse and all the ducks) and went to see the Healing Wall, the traveling Vietnam War Memorial which was very interesting and moving. I’m pooped but it was finally a little cooler so nicer to walk.
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Amazing features of these plants: had no idea they were filled with seeds. Summer brings an abundance of flowers and colors, and winter brings on a whole new ambience. I’d be sad to see the bare stalks in the winter although that’s how the life cycle goes.
Thanks for sharing about the “Healing Wall” event. Sounds like a somber, reflective, and educational event to visit. I wish they stopped by the bay area but they are only going to SoCal this October. Only virtual tour is available. humph. It’s on my radar now, so maybe next year they’ll stop by here.
Hope you get good rest tonight! Hugs…
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Yes, it is amazing to see how they look, unadorned and stark looking against the ice and gray sky. You wouldn’t know it was the same plant at all. Yes, the “Healing Wall” event was very reflective and they had lots of stats which just amazed me – I took some photos of the stats to include in the blog post as they were staggering. I have heard there are more than one replica of the “Healing Wall” that criss-crosses the country, so maybe you will get to see it soon. My head did not even hit the pillow before I was asleep – the cooler weather which we deserved after a very severe weather week and we have a week of stormy weather every day this week … at least it is not severe and mostly in the afternoons. I’m so ready for Fall (if it brings cooler weather).
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The weather in Michigan is volatile! Hot, stormy, cool…It’s affecting people, animals, places, and a whole host of things. sigh…
I’ll have to keep my eyes open for the “Healing Wall” coming to our area. Thanks for sharing about that event.
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Yes, and it wasn’t always like that Esther. That is too bad – I think to myself that just as I near retirement and would like the freedom to visit more venues without glancing at my watch, now this … what, if anything will be left? I just looked at the schedule and it looks like they are not in California the rest of this year, but keep the link – maybe in 2022?
https://www.vvmf.org/The-Wall-That-Heals/2021-Tour-Schedule/
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Beautiful! I’m missing my pond flowers this year!
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I can see why – I was always envious of your pond. Beautiful to look at, though I know you don’t miss the maintenance of that pond, but do miss those cute frogs, even the fishing heron.
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I love how where I would see weeds, you see flowers.
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Well JP, when you step away from the lotus beds and go around the corner, amongst the icky algae bloom, you see some invasive frogbit, (which are tiny pond lilies), growing in the marsh, and that is everywhere – you would recognize the invasive stuff from the beautiful stuff if you saw it in person. I chose the plum places to go with my camera. 🙂
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Miss Linda………………………….I love the greeness of summertime……………………..I didn’t know they were called Lotuses……………………………
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Yes, I always thought all the plants in the water were the same too Ann Marie, just a flower on a big leaf sitting on the surface of the water, but they are not. Those are pond lilies and these lotuses rise out of the water, as do their leaves. They do come in other colors, but not at this park.
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Wow that is amazing Linda to see so many of them. My neighbour has two or three, both in pink. I’ve never seen yellow ones before. How long do they bloom for?
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They are beautiful Joni. The first time I saw them three years ago, most of the lotus beds were in bloom – beautiful! But picking when to visit is dicey – last year it took three trips before I was lucky and most of the beds were full of blooms. When I took the interpretive cruise we were told that even though the roots in the lotus beds can last for decades as they are perennials, the actual bloom only lasts a couple of days. It opens slowly, then begins to wither and die the next day. This is because the actual bloom rises above the leaves, it sticks up in the air, so it is not protected from the sun by the leaves – so it is out there in the scorching sun. They are only cream-colored at these lotus beds. I had thought of going tomorrow, but we had all that rain and there was another storm today and the Monroe area took most of the brunt. So there is flooding everywhere and lots of traffic lights still out of service from power outages … going to just wait until things are back to normal. I hated to pass up a coolish day.
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Enjoy the cooler weather today and tomorrow!
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You too Joni – hope you got out and went fishing. My friend Ann Marie and her husband used to go fishing every Wednesday. He’s not able to walk very far, so no more fishing expeditions unfortunately.
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He hasn’t even bought the rod yet! He’s still researching the best types…..so the fishing will be awhile longer!
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I didn’t know he had such an extended vacation! I will stay tuned then.
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He’s retired now. He quit his job out west half way through the pandemic and moved back to Ontario.
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I didn’t realize that Joni – well how nice for you and your mom to see him more often now. It didn’t dawn on me that he could be of retirement age.
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Yes, it’s nice for us. He’s 60, but his workplace downsized during the pandemic.
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Well that’s too bad, but he’ll enjoy early retirement, just like you.
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PS. I’m wondering what the squirrels do in this heat – do they still come out?
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Honestly – I did answer this but it must have been when my internet kept going out and it didn’t send. I’m sorry … I now have a new modem so it has not gone out so that is wonderful. It got really bad the last few weeks. Yes, the squirrels do come out in the heat, but not as much – most of the time, even in the morning when it’s a little bit cooler, they are not as active. Most of them are high up on a branch with their legs dangling down or laying in the grass where it is a little cooler. They are lethargic but they were perky yesterday and today, that’s for sure.
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I wondered how they were surviving this heat!
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Well they are full of energy now – tomorrow, a little less energetic and worse as the week progresses, just like me. There’s a walker there, a couple of years older than you and I, and I’ve not seen her in three or four months. She drives to the park from another City, then walks with a flashlight to take advantage of the cooler weather and also because her mom lives with her and she worries about her getting up without her there. I think she walks a little later in Winter. I’m not that brave.
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Um….walking with a flashlight, doesn’t sound safe to me anywhere!
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No, me neither. There were three women who used to walk before they started work about five years ago, so safety in numbers there. No, I would not walk with a flashlight either Joni.
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I always wanted to get a canoe and pull out a couple of these for my small ponds. Lol They are very beautiful but seem to be kind of invasive. They tend to take over huge water areas leaving nothing to see but them. I bet fishing wouldn’t even be possible where they grow. Glad you were able to see them in bloom.
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Well, they are really invasive and so spread out that these are the two largest water lotus beds in Michigan. They do grow in the lagoon and the marshy areas too at Lake Erie Metropark, but not as big of clusters of them. Believe it or not, they are considered protected plants, so it is actually a crime to pick them, whether as blossoms, or after they go to seed. When they go to seed, they are dark, dried brown with seeds in them – they look like shower heads sticking out of water. That’s a crime to take the seeds too. I took one of their interpretive cruises and we went over by the lotus beds and gave a tutorial on them (including show and tell on how big the leaves are). Yes, I was lucky (my lucky day with the deer and fawn sighting too) as last year I went three times and they were not ready yet … then, once they open, they die within three days.
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Stunning images, Linda! A friend of mine goes out kayaking and has told me a number of times that the most important rule of this sport is to never go out on the water alone.
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The kayakers often have issues in these marshy areas with lots of invasive reeds or coming near the lotus beds. Their paddles get tangled up in the roots, especially if there is lots of gummy algae on top. Interesting about your friend’s rule because here’s something to share with him/her. Four days ago we had a party of seven kayakers get into trouble in the waters and all needed to be rescued. The water was moving fast and the water level was four feet higher than normal. They all tipped and fire rescue personnel had to help them to shore. Safety in numbers seems logical but didn’t work out for them. Pretty scary and it’s been like that all Summer here due to all the torrential rain we got.
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