I saw this 5K event advertised on one of the park sites I follow on Twitter. After signing up, I gleaned a few factoids which I’m going to pepper throughout this post, like this one: did you know there is a national wildlife refuge within an hour’s drive of most metropolitan areas?
I participated in this virtual 5K event on Saturday, October 9th. As you can see from the header image, although I had from October 9th through October 16th to participate, since Mother Nature’s wily ways had wrecked several planned weekend excursions already, that day’s weather was sunny, albeit hot, so off I went on day #1 of the event.
To say it was hot was an understatement. As previously mentioned in another post, our weather folks had cleverly coined our unusual heat wave as “Augtober” or “Octoaster” – it was 15 degrees above normal in the morning. I left the house in short sleeves and before I would return home, having walked a whopping 7.4 miles altogether, the weather was downright sultry. It was 72 degrees F (22C) when I reached the car to drive home in the early afternoon.
I stopped at Council Point Park earlier that morning to walk and I did that one-mile loop to feed my furry and feathered friends. I knew I would plan on being gone at least four or five hours, as I wasn’t trying to win any accolades for my speed in completing the 5K, especially as I planned to meander along, taking some photos and dealing with the heat.
This 5K was in conjunction with National Wildlife Refuge Week.
When I registered for this 5K, I had to designate the wildlife refuge where I would participate. There are 500 such wildlife refuges across the nation. I chose the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge (DRIWF)/Humbug Marsh in Trenton, Michigan. I have been there several times since it opened in October 2020. There was a suggested route to complete the 5K (3.2 miles), but I knew I would likely double it to bulk up my miles.
I parked and headed toward the Visitor Center to see if any notices about this event were posted. There were a few signs, including this one about the starting point and another regarding distances.
First you needed to hike down to the end of the Korneffel Fishing Pier. I took this photo to show how the walkway seemingly goes on forever – it is a whopping 700 feet (213 meters) long and juts out into the western Trenton Channel.
From the very edge of the pier, I noticed many dark-colored birds in a few trees. There were 28 birds to be exact. My interest was piqued and initially I couldn’t tell what type of birds they were. Were they Crows? Turkey Vultures? I zoomed in and recognized the profiles and hooked beaks as Double-Crested Cormorants and confirmed it as one took flight.
Traversing the Monguagon Delta.
I’ve posted about this DRIWR venue multiple times, but focused more on the nature aspect, rather than where the venue is located. The Fishing Pier and the Old Growth Forest are picturesque, but the Delta area is close to busy Jefferson Avenue with a view of an industrial plant and down by the Pier you will glimpse the not-so-picturesque, twin smokestacks rising from the Trenton Channel Power Plant.
The DRIWR is not unique in this regard. There are actually 101 urban national wildlife refuges where natural green spaces allow finned, feathered or furry wildlife to thrive amongst urban and industrial areas.
I usually have some luck getting a few photos at the Delta and today was no different. From the walkway I saw several Great Egrets, but only this one was close enough for a photo …
… and I got one shot of this Great Blue Heron before I spooked him and he took off screeching.
This Painted Turtle was lazing on a huge rock in the warm sun.
Happy to have had a few wildlife encounters and coupled with the hot sun, I knew it was time to make my way to Humbug Marsh, the 410-acre wetland and shady, 300+ year-old forest, BUT that leg of my 5K walk was halted for about an hour due to some unanticipated drama.
Drama at the DRIWR.
I had noticed the delivery van from the local Wild Birds Unlimited store parked in the lot. I know the owner as he was my HVAC service tech for many years, before he retired from that line of work and bought a WBU franchise. He and his wife run the Woodhaven, Michigan WBU. He made several runs to my home to deliver bags of peanuts and hummingbird feeders/paraphernalia during the early part of the pandemic. I decided to keep my eyes peeled for Phil and Therese on my excursion.
Suddenly, there was a cacophony of barking dogs and the sound seemed to be originating from the forest area. On the back patio of the Visitor Center, a group of people stood gazing into the forest and talking animatedly amongst themselves. What in the world? Your Roving Reporter had to investigate.
I could see birdhouses on the table. Phil must have another one of his seminars on bird feeding that he conducts at various parks. But where was the teacher? Hmm. I went to join the group and learned that during Phil’s class, they heard barking and yelps. It seems there was a woman walking two pit bulls and one of the pit bulls attacked another woman’s small dog. The bully bulldog went for the smaller dog’s face and injured it, plus bit its hip. It turns out the person who saved the day was Phil, who heard the commotion, grabbed a bottle of water he had handy, dumped it on the pit bull’s head, then pulled the pit bull off the smaller dog. Yikes! Phil was lucky he didn’t get bitten. Suddenly, along with the others in the group, I watched in horror as the woman with the injured dog was crying and while I did not see her dogs face, I did see it was limping badly and I saw the blood on its fur. Phil gave interviews to the police and soon a fire truck and EMS arrived to check on the small dog’s owner. I chatted with Phil briefly – he was visibly shaken and said the owner of the two pit bulls left the area before first responders arrived. I left to keep plugging away at this 5K in the almost-oppressive heat and turned around to take a picture of Phil at the seminar.
I resumed my trek by heading to Humbug Marsh.
I returned to the suggested 5K route, the Orange Trail, then the Green Trail. Here are a few shots around the Old Growth Forest. Our Summer-like Fall caused our leaf colors to turn and fall in late October, so there were no peak colors to observe.
We’d had significant rain, so many of the raised walkways were flooded, including near the murky-looking Vernal Spring Pool.
The pathways were full of gravel, walnuts, acorns and a few crispy leaves that crunched and crackled under my feet. I kept watching the path for Eastern Fox Snakes which are known to be in the area and I also looked for beach roses which were supposed to be at this venue – I saw neither.
As I was leaving the forest area, I chatted it up with one of the uniformed park rangers who was putting out more signage for the Walk for the Wild event and the weather came up. He said “’scuse me ma’am” as he darted into the shade of an information kiosk and removed his ranger hat. He said “if I’d have known it would have been this hot, I’ve have worn my shorts!”
Here is the finishing sign.
October 9th happened to be Global Big Day, the second ebird.org day for counting birds in 2021, so I was counting birds along with miles walked. I saw Seagulls – nothing unusual there, but the 28 Cormorants were something special, as were the 21 Killdeer making a huge noise buzzing around nearby – no pictures of them as I’d tucked my camera away already. I submitted my finds to the ebird.org site as you see below.
There was some fun swag – a tee-shirt, plus a bib you could design yourself. The finishing medal is heavy and has a powerful message on the back.
I got 7.4 miles done that day and the walk seemed as long as this post. Thanks for sticking with it if you’re still here – I know it was wordy and picture laden, but I didn’t want to leave out anything!
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
It has been an excellent read! Well done.
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Thank you Anne – it was long but there was so much to tell that I didn’t want to leave any details out!
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Enjoyed your many pictures and your explanation of your long walk. The dog incident is sad. I am not fond of pitbulls. You put a lot of work into this post and I commend you.
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Glad you enjoyed it Peggy. There were a lot of details in this post and you are right – it did take me a long time to compile the photos and narrative for this post. I do type out a quick draft the day of a big walk to help me remember what happened and then match it up to the photos. I had a lot to write about, especially the dog incident which really touched me. The poor woman was crying hard and trying to make arrangements for the vet. I like dogs, but also am not fond of pitbulls. We have many around here and I know they are sweet with their owners, but I still fear them.
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I think your did an excellent job on this post. We do not have a dog. We gave up on having a dog years ago. There are several breeds of dogs I think are dangerous. I understand the lady being upset about her little dog.
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Thank you Peggy – when my posts get this long, I think to myself that I have to cut out some pictures (which I did) but there was nothing I wanted to cut out of the story. We had three dogs when I was growing up, each more problematic than the last one. The last one was a poodle which died when I was ten years old – my parents said “from now on, we’re only having parakeets as we are lucky with them.” I worry when I’m walking through the neighborhoods to/from the Park that I’ll encounter a pit bull, or other dangerous dog on the loose. I felt badly for the woman with the dog … what a traumatic scene to witness.
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I suppose taking a walking stick with you to ward off a dog bothering you might be helpful or even pepper spray. I have had a couple of encounters in my life where I thought I might be eaten by a dog. Take care on your walks.
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Wow – that is scary for you Peggy – that scares me thinking about it. You have a good idea about the stick – I know they sell them in the grocery store in metal. I do carry pepper gel – it’s more effective in the Summer when I don’t have a coat on – now, by the time I unzipped my coat and had to fumble for it … not good.
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A wonderful walk punctuated with a dog fight! I enjoyed all your photos.
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Glad you liked the photos Anne – the dog fight was the only bad part of that long excursion. I felt sorry for the poor dog and its owner.
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I thoroughly enjoyed coming along with you on your long hot walk, Linda! I’m sorry you didn’t see any beach roses but am glad you didn’t see any fox snakes. It was interesting seeing all those cormorants in the trees. I’ve never seen one in a tree before, only sitting on the rocks or breakwaters at the beach. That was terrible and frightening about the dog attack. It’s too bad some people don’t know how to train and control their dogs. But your local national wildlife refuge is a wonderful place for connecting with nature, even in the midst of civilization.
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This would be your kind of walk for sure Barbara. I went back in early November to see if the cormorants were there and all I saw nests – no birds. I was fascinated as I’ve only seen them in the water swimming or drying their wings while perched on a rock. I am worried for those snakes and that’s in the forest area, so I’m always looking down at the ground a little uneasily. I prefer the elevated platform if possible, but some areas are on a dirt trail through the forest. One day I hope to see the beach roses you photograph and they advertised as being at this venue. I felt sorry for the dog and its owner – the poor woman was sobbing. I am glad Phil was there to come to the rescue.
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I’ve heard of Cormorants perching in trees before but never seen it? They have webbed feet,so I thought they would not be able to perch in trees?
That Pit Bull incident is sad to hear about. I put the problem on the owner for not training their dog properly.
You did have a warm Fall this year! I’d say that’s strange but these unusual weather events seem to be more common!
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Rebecca, who I believe follows/comments on your blog, did a post once of Cormorants in a tree – she lives in Tennessee. So when I saw the profile and hooked beak, I realized that’s what they were. I have only seen them in the water or on a rock or shore drying their wings, never in a tree. But that one was flying – never have seen them flying before either. I felt sorry for the poor woman with the injured dog … I am sure she was petrified for both her little dog and herself. I’m glad Phil was there to come to the rescue.
Our weather is so crazy … 45F this morning when I left the house and tomorrow morning a windchill in the teens. It was very warm that day – except for the forest which is not very dense as you can see from the photos, it is all out in the open.
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So many wonderful photos, where do I start, I love the Cormorants in the tree, I have never seen that. One would think they could not stand on a branch, how interesting and a very unique photo Linda, all my favorite birds and good job on the walk. I love it when they put board walks in swampy kind of areas. Otherwise we would not be able to walk back in there. 🙂
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Thanks Sandra – the Cormorants in the trees were something else and I went back to this venue in early November, hoping that the leaves would be gone and I could see the birds better from the pier. The birds weren’t there but there were many nests. Interestingly, on Grosse Ile, which is about 10 miles from me, they have a rookery of Great Blue Herons. They have lots of trees and they nest in the trees and raise their young there. Only once have I seen a heron in a tree and I was so fascinated that I was staring at it and a police car came along on the perimeter path and I never saw it. Fixated on that heron up in the tree. 🙂 Those board walks do help as it is a wetland and soggy enough without all the rain we’ve had this year. I do worry about those snakes though.
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Great miles, Linda! You had an exciting excursion that day. You got your miles in and reported some birds too. I hope the little dog recovered from his wounds. How close are you to your yearly goal? I just checked my miles for the year. I need to get 92 more miles before January 1st to hit my goal. It’s gonna be close!
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Hi Laurie – it was an exciting and long excursion. The Killdeer were buzzing around and flying back and forth and I’d never seen that; usually they are running on those stilt-like legs as fast as they can. The tree of Cormorants was interesting too! I hope the dog is okay too – poor little thing and I felt so sorry for the owner as well. As of today’s walk, I have just 47 miles to go, but like you, it will be close. Sure we both have a little over three weeks, but the weather is so dicey this time of year. We started off at 45 degrees this morning and will have temps with a windchill in the teens tomorrow morning. I’ll finish without a hitch if there is no ice to deal with. We had freezing drizzle once already. Then we both rest on our laurels on January 1st right?
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It got cold here too. Bill and I will go to running club tonight, so I will get more miles in then. I figure I need to do about 30 miles per week for the rest of the year. You are right – a rest on January 1. Until we figure out what our goals are for 2022! 🙂
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Are you still going to the health club Laurie? I remember before COVID, you mentioned being on the eliptical sometimes – I thought you might use their treadmill there if the weather turns bad. I heard it will be mild a good portion of next week here, so I will really push myself in case things turn bad in the latter part of December. It was brutally cold this morning – 25 degrees colder than yesterday morning. Yes, we are crazy as we put our goals out there the first day of the year
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I still go to the rec center, but the weather has to be REALLY bad for me to run on the treadmill (or dreadmill, as I sometimes call it). It was chilly here, but not brutally cold – low 30s. Good running weather!
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Or just use it to get to your goal – it would be boring I think. Years ago, I went downstairs every night and rode my exercise bike for 20 miles. Same here – a little warmer today – the sun was even out briefly!
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Wow Linda, just wow. So much to enjoy about this post. Hopefully the little dog is ok. Congratulations to you too.
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It was a full day – that’s for sure Kim. It is a nice place to walk and I returned a month later, and didn’t see anything … there are days like that, so I had some frozen leaves pictures for that trip. I hope the dog is okay – poor dog and its owner was crying. Poor thing – out on a trail, I’d be hysterical. Someone in the neighborhood forum on Facebook took a photo of a coyote walking past one of our parks this morning. A little too close for comfort.
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It was an interesting day. Sure hope the injured pup recovered and I hope the owner of the bully dog understands that he needs to get his dogs trained or keep them at home! Love the birds too.
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I hope so too – I felt so badly for the owner and her dog. Very scary to have that happen on the trail. The birds were a real treat and I went back a month later and saw nothing.
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Great post Linda. I have only seen a flock of Cormorants once in a tree caught me out at 1st.
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Glad you liked it Andy. I’ve only seen Cormorants in the water or standing on a rock drying their wings (like only they do). A fellow blogger, Rebecca, had pictures one time of Cormorants in a tree on one of her walks. She lives in Tennessee and I marveled at her photos at the time.
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A few years ago driving along the M4 in Wales we had fun counting the Cormorants sitting high up on the street lights over several miles every light had one sitting on the top!
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That would have been quite a sight Andy – not to mention looking odd, but the symmetry of the all the black Cormorants sitting on the dark (most likely black) street lights up and down the street.
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I admire your multitasking skills — walking, taking nature photos and counting the birds. Sounds like a fun, full day.
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Thank you Rebecca – I sure didn’t win any prize for speed and a hot day like you might have in October, not here in Michigan. I finally have this post published after telling you about the Cormorants awhile ago – I remember seeing your post about the Cormorants in the tree and being amazed at that photo.
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I remember those hot days well. 🙂 I’m glad for the cooler weather that we’re presently having. I noticed last time we were there that the cormorants are back at the lake now. They seem to show up about the same time as the white pelicans.
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Our temperatures are on a roller coaster again, fluctuating as much as 25 degrees in a day – just crazy. I may complain about the heat, but I sure don’t like Winter. I’ve still not seen white pelicans … one day I hope to. I went back to the Refuge in early November but just saw the cormorants’ nests – not them unfortunately.
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Boy, when you sign up for an event, you don’t go halfway! I enjoyed traveling along with you. Don’t see cormorants in trees too often, though I’ve seen anhingas. A shame about the dog attack. My dogs have been in the receiving end of such, but fortunately no bloodshed. Hope the injured party recovers. Shame on the pit bull owner taking the cowardly way out.
One of these days I need to get more active on ebird. All the citizen science is making a big impact.
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It was a whole event that’s for sure Eilene. It was a first for me with the Cormorants – I’ve only seen them in the water or drying their wings while standing on a rock – never have seen them flying either. I just Googled Anhingas – they sure resemble Cormorants.
I felt badly for the woman and the dog – thank goodness Phil was able to get the attack stopped. We do have some issues in the City with pit bulls attacking dogs while people are walking them. Very scary.
I did the last Global Big Day in February too … this was a good bird day. I went back a month later and saw nothing, not even a Seagull!
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Awesome job finishing in a day Linda! That poor dog and the owner, how devastating. The only dog I was bit by, when I worked as a service person and went into houses, was a bit bull. I know owners say it’s how they are trained but ever since that I have never been a fan.
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Thank you Diane – it was a long day, that’s for sure. I could have used a little of that heat this morning – with a windchill in the “teens” it was 25 degrees colder than yesterday and Saturday it is in the 50s again. The weather is crazy. Pit bulls worry me for when I am walking – I follow a neighborhood forum on Facebook and often people find them wandering around or people say their’s is on the loose – so that is worrisome to me. I don’t blame you for not liking them – I hope you did not require stitches or rabies shots Diane. We have had several instances here in the Detroit area of kids being mauled to death by pit bulls.
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Unbearlivable 🙂 It is lovely to see how much thought people put into these events. Luckily, not everything is cancelled this year! I am looking forward to your annual step count! Keep the good work up
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Yes it was unbearlievable! Thanks Jeanine. Yes, it is good they still have these virtual events as it raises money for various good causes and we can still do them without any worries of gathering together with COVID. My state (Michigan) is back to being #1 for COVID stats again. We dropped to #2 for a few weeks. As of today, I need 43 miles (69 kilometers) to get to my goal. We are going to have a warm-up next week which will give me a big push to the goal … sometimes by early December I’ve been way ahead, but we had many mornings of soaking rain this Summer/Fall which I stayed inside.
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Hi Linda, my steps dropped with the cold weather 🙂 Oh well, better try than not having any goals at all! Good luck. You can still make it!
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Weekends is not so bad as I can go later in the morning/early afternoon – on weekdays it is mornings only and it’s icy then. I’m happy we will have warmish/dry weather in the next week to make my final “push”.
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What a fantastic idea! Glad you had fun, Linda. 🥰
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Thanks Pam – yes, I racked up the miles, had fun, plus this was for a really good cause. Today I got an e-mail for an event scheduled for 2022 already.
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You’re awesome!
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Your comment made my day Pam!
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Glad to hear it, Linda.
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Great shots of those big, magnificent bird species, Linda! 😁
I’m so sorry about that poor smaller dog being attacked. The owner of the pit bulls should not have left; that is leaving the scene of a crime! My cousin’s one dog was recently attacked by someone else’s big dog, and they are liable for the big vet fees. Yes, it’s good that Phil did not get bitten! Some dog owners… geesh!
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I was surprised they left Tom, but there was likely so much commotion they just disappeared in the woods – however, as you can see, the woods is not all that dense. I hope your cousin’s dog is doing better. I wondered if the vet bill would be taken care of by the other owner as it should. I follow the happenings in our City on Facebook and there have been some episodes of pit bulls going after smaller dogs while owners were walking them. Phil took a chance that the dog did not turn on him after it got past the shock of having the water doused on it.
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Yes, Phil did take a big chance, but a heroic one! Pit bulls… why on earth do people own dogs bred to be meaner than mean? 🙄
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Yes – he did and didn’t think twice. I don’t understand that either Tom as we’ve had a few maulings by pit bulls resulting in death already. The scary thing is one was a family pet that went bezerk … your own pet? I don’t have a dog, but like dogs, but always have to remember that despite being domesticated, any dog is not that far removed from being a wolf.
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What an interesting and dramatic walk! I enjoy your pictures each post and you identifying the specific birds. This helps me to learn in seeing pictures in real life than in the books.
The organization made some cleverly worded signs.
Awful dog incident; I couldn’t imagine seeing something like that. People need to train their dogs and keep them on tight leashes. A friend’s husband got attacked by their neighbor’s German Shepherd last month. I like the comment about considering a walking stick in case of some crazy dog acting out. There was news of a mountain lion and her cubs on a neighborhood street seen in the afternoon; what the heck?!
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Yes, very dramatic with the dog attack Esther. I heard the noises and thought at first it was some type of dog event at this venue. I hope your friend’s husband is doing better now. A German Shepherd is such a large dog – it could knock someone down in a heartbeat. I liked their signs too and went looking for them to take pictures. Have you ever gone on the Cornell website to see various birds – you can see the birds as juveniles or adults, hear their song and see lots of good stuff. I remember Sixty Minutes had a piece on how mountain lions were escaping from the forest and getting to residential neighborhoods, just by crossing the expressway or an overpass. They got in one woman’s basement through an open basement window!
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That was a nice tour Linda, with lots of variety. Hope the little dog is okay. As you can see I’m 5 days behind in comments…
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Yes, I hope so too Joni – I’m guessing you got your computer back. I caught up last night after being three or four days behind for a few weeks.
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I may get caught up tonight if I stay at it. Computer seems okay, and I-Tunes. Hope you didn’t get blown away today in the wind and no tornadoes your way? I couldn’t walk today, it was too dangerous with all the tall trees blowing back and forth.
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I think people posting less as you said a few weeks ago – people have other activities going on, despite COVID and the weather. I did not walk today Joni as the high wind advisories were up from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. We got to 64 mph winds at the airport (about 15 miles from me). A couple of times it felt the house would go airborne, but no power outage and thankfully no tornadoes this way. I have lost my landline though – I Googled around and there is an AT&T outage throughout Michigan. I hope I don’t need the cellphone – I’ve never read the book, just the basics. It will be windy tomorrow, but only 35 mph to 40 mph – that is bad enough. My metal shed blew over, tumbled across the yard and fell apart in a 39 mph gust about five years ago.
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It’s a good day to stay inside until this weather blows over! I’m tired of my Christmas urn blowing over….
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I agree – supposed to get another bout of high winds the end of next week, so keep it laying gently on its side.
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I feel so bad for all those people in the path of the tornadoes….such a tragedy. The world seems like one disaster after another. All caught up now, I read fast and didn’t comment too much. Tomorrow I really need to do a blog for next week! Hope you get some book reading in this weekend!
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Me too Joni – I cannot fathom a 226-mile tornado. I watched some aerial views of Kentucky. I planned to go to a bigger park today but we had an inch of rain so they will be soggy and there may be downed wires, so just to Council Point Park today. It will be windy again today. I did this week’s posts yesterday, so may do my two Christmas week long posts today; the Wordless Wednesday will be a miles report so can’t finalize it. I’m going to finish the DS book over Christmas and read Nicholas Sparks’ book (“The Return”) over New Year’s weekend. I have to set aside time for TV and reading … I just get so far behind here and trying to get more sleep.
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Wow, that was quite the day. 7.4 miles YAY!! Great photos – thanks for sharing what you saw that day. Aw…I’m sad to read about the dog situation. I’m glad Phil was okay, but the poor little dog. I’m tearing up…
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Thanks Shelley – it was a long day, made longer by the heat, but I got it done. It was sad about the little dog. I wonder how it is – I follow the Refuge on Facebook but no mention was made later as to the dog or the owner who was sobbing and very upset and everyone felt badly for both of them. Phil was a hero and lucky he didn’t get attacked.
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Yes, being out in the heat does make for a long day. I’m glad all worked out in the end. Now you can plan for next years’ adventures. If I’ve missed your post updating your mile goal, sorry, may I ask are you there yet?
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I haven’t posted my miles since late October Shelley – it was 1,122 of 1,256 miles. I have 14 more miles to go as of today … I am going to post a total next week for a countdown. If the weather cooperates I hope to finish up soon … we may have rain tomorrow and Thursday morning and a rain/snow mix for Saturday so maybe not. I don’t know if I’ll be many miles over my final goal like in the past. The weather has been a big force in getting out every day this year.
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I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you’ll be able to get out walking. You’re right, the weather has been so weird. The winds are crazy – makes the walk not so fun. Tell your boss you’d like a treadmill for a bonus? Maybe you could tell him that the doctor ordered a walking workstation?
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I like the idea of a walking workstation Shelley. I didn’t walk this morning and I think the winds may be too gusty tomorrow morning as they will be 40 mph after 4:00 a.m. Sigh. Good thing I am dwindling down on miles to meet my goal. We are supposed to get to 60 tomorrow and this high wind most of the day. Crazy weather indeed – my favorite meteorologist says this is the new norm with rain, warmer temps and less snow for late Fall. Unfortunately Wisconsin didn’t get the memo. 🙂
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I have a standing work station, I’d be lost without it being able to sit, stand, move throughout the day. I hope you’re able to get a walking one so that I can hear how it works for you!
OMG – the WINDS are horrible. It has been a crazy night listening to them howl. We’re waiting for daylight to see if there’s any damage or trees down. Stay home and don’t venture out!
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I do worry since I sit so much Shelley… that was the reason for starting the walking regimen a decade ago, but I should have really gotten a proper desk or a standing desk at the same time. I am just sitting at the kitchen table with my laptop – not really a good option at all. Our wind “advisory” (which went to “warning” during the course of the day) has finally expired. I only ventured out to run the car and scurried back. I didn’t go out yesterday as it was pouring rain. Tomorrow is sunny and 30 degrees colder than today!
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Any position that is repeated for too many hours in a row isn’t a good thing! You’re wise to walk as much as you do. With all the work you do and your blogging time, I hope you can find a way to change up your work station.
I’m glad you’re safe – the storms we had were mighty scary. I heard more wind last night and worried they were going to start up again! It’s only 11 degrees here today – such a difference from the 62 it was before the storms hit.
Stay safe!!
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I wish our climate change would wipe out Winter as we’ve known it Shelley and I’ll bet 100 years from now that might come to fruition. Our sleety Saturday weather is still on schedule … it is a small price to pay when you know what others have endured this week weather-wise. I just read this weather factoid on Twitter you will find interesting: “Across the U.S. this week we had 356 Severe Thunderstorm Warnings, 221 Tornado warnings and 15 Flash Flood Warnings. To say this week (and month) will go down in the history books is an understatement.”
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I hope someone 100 years from now reads our blogs and is impressed with the thoughts we shared about this weird weather!
That’s quite the historical record. My daughter lives in Rochester, MN and she said this past storm they broke 3 records – first tornado on that day, the warmest day, the largest temp change, and strongest wind gust of 77 mph. I agree the week (and month) has made it’s mark on the history books!
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Yes, I hope so too and what a day of wacky weather for your daughter. That is something else. We have had a lousy day of rain and sleet. I am glad I’m nearing the end of my goal as I’ve never had so many weather events hold me back from walking in one year. And from listening to the meteorologist/climate change expert, this is just the beginning and the weather will have more unstable periods and erratic weather changes down the pipeline.
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We had snow yesterday, on and off. Its only 15 degrees, so it’s been chilly!
While the weather is erratic, the experts can’t predict it well, IMHO. I’m more worried about the cost of heat – holy smoly I just opened the electric/heat bills……………………. that should scare everyone!
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I waited until later to go out today – looked out and didn’t see snow, but it looked like freezing fog. I encountered that a few weeks ago where it looked fine at my house, but at Council Point Park, just one mile away, the leaves had a touch of frost and the walking path was slick with patches of ice. My electric/heat bill jumped $40.00 in one month. I “get” that it was colder and I raised it to 73 degrees from 72 degrees, so I lowered it again. I sit in one spot for many hours or I could have it lower if I was moving around more.
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The freezing rain and fog this year is crazy. Do take caution when you go out. We walked this week after the rain/fog and there were/are plenty of black ice spots. More snow expected for tonight!
I was shocked to see the electric bill – compared to last year. We’re keeping layers on and blankets sitting around the house to cover up with. Stay warm and cozy, Linda!
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Oh, I had freezing fog again this morning Shelley. They said it was further south, closer to the Ohio border. I didn’t have it at the house or at the Park, but then I got to Grosse Ile which is 10 miles farther south and the wooden walkway was slick with frost as was the grass, so I had to improvise. And tomorrow’s post, which walk was three weeks ago – same thing with the freezing fog. It is dangerous – thank you! We are having a wintry mix tonight and for the next few days. I’m glad I finished up my miles on the 21st – freezing rain not good. I did walk over 6 miles today – it was gorgeous and sunny and 40 after I left the woods. At least December’s almost done – if we’re lucky just three more months to go and you always have it so much worse than me.
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We had the freezing rain again. It’s kind of pretty how it glazed the snow that came before it. It’s mighty cold now though, so we’ll stay in for our walk on the treadmill.
I’m so happy you made your goal and that you’re being safe. You’re right, just a few months of this to go! We.Can.Do.It!
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I thought of you this morning Shelley. We had a dusting of snow early Monday morning, but the dreaded freezing rain but it dried up, so I ventured out this morning. I did not feel comfortable walking. We had fog last night and there was freezing fog and it was slippery. I got one block away and turned back. We have snow now and will get freezing rain three days and again on the weekend. I’m happy I made my goal as it’s not looking good for walking much this week, nor feeding the critters either.
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I think of you every time I walk – inside or outside. You’ve inspired me many a day to keep on going.
I’m glad that you chose the safe plan for the day. The critters will be there when you can get out again.
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Thank you Shelley. Amazingly I walked today, despite them calling for snow and sleet. It was dry and a great day for December … tomorrow morning good too; better savor them as the weather does an about face Saturday afternoon.
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Way to finish out the year!!!
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