Colorful leaves were the highlight of this Sunday stroll at Heritage Park. I really hesitated to use “Halloween excursion” as this post’s title since we are now immersed in the Christmas holiday season, but this trip did indeed happen on Halloween.
I had been monitoring the foliage colors on the Facebook site “Heritage Park Photo of the Day” and it looked like the red, orange and gold of those gorgeous Maple trees were finally at peak.
We’d had a solid day of rain Friday, then scattered rain most of Saturday, thus no walk for me either day. So I began my morning by hustling down to Council Point Park to feed the squirrels and birds. Those peanut eaters were eager to see me, especially the squirrels which scurried over for a meet-and-greet-and-eat as quickly as I could get the peanuts out of the bag. Yep, I got it – two days away while all of my furry friends were trying to sock away peanuts for Winter, so where the heck was The Peanut Lady? I did two loops (two miles) and chatted with fellow walker Joann, then hightailed it to Heritage Park.
Any port, er … pond in a storm.
Due to the recent rains, I certainly was NOT surprised to see the makeshift “pond” was still a draw for the Heritage Park waterfowl. Some Mallards were still napping on the fringes of the “pond” or paddling around and the Canada Geese were enjoying their morning swim or grazing nearby …
…then a few crossed the road, holding up production, to join their dry brethren who declined a chilly water splash. There was a passel of them, but these were pulling up the rear.
The sun made for pretty reflections, just like the last time, of the church.
Me and mud don’t mix.
I knew any of the big parks would be a soggy mess and I hoped the “pond” would be the only low spot that collected water, but that was not the case. There were many large pools of water on the asphalt path …
… forcing me to walk on the muddy grass – check out my shoes.
And, as my heavy walking shoes sank into the muddy grass and brown goo oozed up, I was thinking “oh dear God, please don’t let this be liquefied goose poop!!”
I gritted my teeth with a grimace that I’m sure mirrored that of this teddy bear pumpkin near the covered bridge.
I found a patch of clean, wet grass that seemed to be minus mud and/or goose poop, and, using a curb like a boot scraper, mercifully those shoe soles were almost pristine again. Whew!
I decided no straying over near Coan Lake. Nope, I was not a fan of mud puddles nor mud pies as a kid and I still am not.
By the time I finished taking photos at the “pond” the sun was in full force and from the parking lot the colorful leaves seemed to take on a glow.
Some leaves still had raindrops.
One of the reasons I love Fall is the colorful leaves and trees ablaze in orangey tones – they were plentiful that day.
There was an event two days before called “Hallow-Palooza” and it was celebrated despite a driving rain. I saw the photos on the Facebook site Saturday and there were a lot of Halloween touches here and there, so I hoped the décor was left intact. I was especially interested if I could photograph “Skelly” the Taylor Historical Society’s resident skeleton, who is often artfully posed in various historical buildings for special park events. Skelly was adorned with a costume in this FB post but he was definitely MIA on my visit.
But one of Skelly’s cousins was peeking out the old Log Cabin at me.
Here is more Halloween decor at Heritage Park, the Petting Farm and Botanical Gardens.
The Petting Farm had some eerie sounds blaring from their barn loudspeaker and some cute decorations.
The Conservatory & Botanical Gardens had removed about 90% of their potted flowers, so it was a bit bare minus the tropical plants which are overwintered at volunteer’s homes and returned to this venue in the Spring. There were a few rose bushes still blooming though – this was one.
At last year’s Autumn visit there were gourds of every variety tucked amongst the flowers …this time, all that remained for harvest season were these mini pumpkins on a garland.
It was a perfect day for a Sunday stroll at one of my favorite parks. I added 4 ½ more miles to my early morning two miles, so 6½ miles for the day. I returned to Heritage Park the first weekend of December to get some shots of the holiday décor and those photos will be this week’s Wordless Wednesday post.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Now those are some bright colored leaves. People have such wonderful imaginations when decorating there yards. It is fun to look at them. I know rain can make a park look so bad but the geese never seem to mind. 🙂
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Sandra – the sunlight literally made them look like they were on fire. It was amazing. I picked the peak time to go to this park. Interestingly, I have been there at peak time before and the maples were all red – this time orange or yellow. They had that event and it was pouring and everyone showed up – I know I am not made of sugar, but I would not have wanted to go sloshing around. I liked the decorations and that teddy bear pumpkin was really cute!
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Lovely!
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Thank you SaaniaSparkle!
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Beautiful park. Love the Fall colors, the very green grass, the reflections in the water and the birds. Glad you got most of the mud off those white walking shoes. Great post which I know took much time to compile.
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Thank you Peggy – you are right again. I had so many pictures, winnowed them down and then got rid of another 5-6 as the post was so long. I do love this park, especially in the Fall with the leaf colors. I had a real sinking feeling with the shoes in the mud that I’d never get them clean again. And the geese, when they are not at the little makeshift pond, congregate on the grass by Coan Lake so stepping that way to avoid the puddle made me think it was not all mud I was stepping into.
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Yes, there is a small lake we go to where the geese are all over the grass and you step carefully watching for the pooh the geese drop everywhere. Maybe black shoes. Ha Although you would never be sure they were clean.
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You’re right Peggy – in the Spring the geese and their goslings like walking up and down the path and blocking the walkers as well. It is funny and we just step over onto the grass, but I spend a lot of time stopping and checking the bottom of my shoes when I have been looking around and my eyes weren’t on the path. I’d better think about black shoes … I have a few pair of walking shoes in the style I usually wear that I bought when they were on sale last year … all white.
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I loved makeshift ponds! Your colors were gorgeous, quite a contrast to the drab trees now. Great post!
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I do too Anne. It’s probably filled up again in that low area as we had over an inch of rain on Friday. I thought of you when compiling this post because when I was there a few years ago and did a post you had liked the ruby red Maple leaves and this time, the leaves were predominantly orange and yellow and just gorgeous.
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Yes, your leaves were gorgeous this year, too.
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As always, I love your critter photos. Your captions are delightful. Wow – the pops of colors are gorgeous. I love the reflection photos too. With all that rain, it’s fortunate you were still able to capture those photos of the trees. I bet they’re all gone now!
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Thank you Shelley. I had more ducks and left them out as the post kept getting longer and longer – how does that happen I wonder. 🙂 Yes, I went back there last weekend – all the trees were bare and the Conservatory was very bare bones except for the tall Christmas tree in the middle.
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You’re welcome. You’re like me, there’s potential in every photo we take!
I’ve been finding that the woods look so intriguing now that the leaves are all gone. We’ve been watching the deer paths through them. While we’re sleeping nature keeps on keeping on. Do you see deer tracks where you walk too?
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Yes, there is – I love seeing surprises when I get home and upload photos … like a bonus from the original walk. Shelley, unbelievably I have actually never seen deer tracks in my walks. They are somewhat dense forests, but I was over the moon to see the fawn in the Summer.
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Yes, that’s so fun to see how the photos turn out. Wow – that’s amazing that you haven’t seen deer tracks. The fawn was adorable, I remember that post.
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Last week there was a coyote running along River Drive about 1/2 mile from Council Point Park. Now if I saw his/her pawprints on the asphalt path or snow, I’d figure it was a husky or German Shepherd. I Googled deer tracks after you mentioned it so I will recognize them. That fawn had my heart, that’s for sure.
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It is hard to discern paw prints. We think we saw a coyote track in our yard with the big snow. We have so many different animals that go through the yard, it could’ve been a coyote, wolf, fox, or runaway dog. I’m sure there’s a way to tell, but I haven’t dug into it to figure it out.
I hope you get another chance to see a deer or a fawn. I caught one nibbling on the grass by our tree last night. She was stunned when I turned the light on her and said, “Hello, Deer!” She ran off into the darkness.
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I would love to see a deer in my yard – I only had the possum this Summer and we both stared at each other with a look of surprise. No camera on me – I was in the yard looking to see if there were any sticks stuck in the A/C unit grille before I turned it on as we’d had some severe weather and gusty winds and there are lots of trees. When I saw the big footprints in the snow on the Creek last year, I posted them on a FB site called: “Animals Don’t Cover Their Tracks: Animal Track Identification Help Group” and they helped me ID them. They are really serious about identifying tracks, have their own lingo, etc. and they were very nice.
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I’ve only seen the possum on the trail cam. Last night at about 11:30 I looked out in our yard – with the full moon (almost) and snow covered yard, it’s easy to see animals. They must’ve stopped by and had left by that time, none were there to see.
That’s an interesting FB group, I’ll have to track them down! No pun intended. LOL!
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It was huge and of course, after I got over gawking at it, I said “wait here a minute” and I ran into the house to grab the camera and it was gone by the time I got back. It said to itself “she’s not bringing me breakfast – she went for her camera, it’s not my first time at the rodeo.” Yes, they were a fun group and really into tracking. Very punny Shelley!
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Aw, I love how you can bring animals to life with you words!
BTW – I joined that group on Facebook that you recommended. It’s fun to see the photos and comments. Now I can’t wait to find a new print in the snow to have them comment on!
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Aw, thank you Shelley. I pictured him thinking that and my thoughts were racing too like “do you live here in the backyard … what are you eating to get so plump?” My Monday post which I worked on today will give conversation to the squirrels … I sure am glad I did their year-end Christmas treat earlier this month as the weekends were not the best weather-wise for a photo shoot.
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🥰😍💕 Your intuition has been paying off for you! I’ll be back to check out your Monday post!
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Hope it gives you a smile Shelley.
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Your posts always make me smile, thank you!
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Thank you – tomorrow you will smile too (if you like Parker). 🙂
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Yes, I’m smiling – Parker is so adorable, you did a great job capturing those photos! And telling a fun tale at the same time. xoxo
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Thank you Shelley. Tomorrow’s Wordless Wednesday is critterless, but a topic you are familiar with.
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You’re welcome. YES – I loved your empty nest post, very clever!
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I always love how ducks find huge puddles in fields and lawns. They take opportunity when they see it!
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Yes, they do and it strikes me so funny that they have the huge Coan Lake just for them – there are no boats or watercraft allowed, no swimming – it is just for the waterfowl to enjoy and then they go to the big puddles on the lawn. 🙂
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Wow such stunning colours!!!
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It was amazing that day with all the leaves at peak color – I’ve been there some years and it’s more red, but the oranges and yellows were so vibrant. We’ve had a lot of rain this year, so any sunny day has been most welcome.
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So nice to see some color, even though it’s still fall-like temps out today. I love the Halloween decorations too, esp those two scary ghosts on the door, and the visitor in the window!
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PS. Good you got your shoes that clean – I hate geese goop!
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Yes! I was worried it would seep into the crevices of the soles and leave them with a brown tinge. These shoes have rather high soles, so if they were regular shoes, they might have been a lost cause!
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I love Fall for those leaves – once they fall off and the trees are bare, there’s no comparison. Everything here is bare now but my neighbor has a couple of magnolia bushes and I noticed last week when we had another warmish few days, that they are in bud. They bloomed two or three times in Spring and then in Summer. Her magnolias bushes only bloomed once – in Spring. Then a big wind would come along and all the petals landed on the ground. They had some cute decorations left over from their event – next year I’m going to try the Scarecrow Stroll. It is outdoors and I was wavering on whether to go and it poured that morning so Mother Nature made the decision for me as I didn’t want to go when it was busy. The Petting Farm had eerie noises coming from their loudspeaker. I have to pass it to get to the Conservatory. The scarecrow they pose and put him in different spots which is clever. Now he is in a Christmas outfit per their Facebook page. (I follow the Taylor Historical Society on FB.)
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Re magnolia buds….I was wondering with the warm temps if that would happen. I should check my daffodils and tulips. It’s been a beautiful sunshiney week…..nice for mid-December, and if it continues should shorten the winter up considerably.
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I’m amazed about the magnolia buds and I have to remember to look when I go outside tomorrow – it was so warm, I wonder if they would open? That is one good thing about this weather … cuts down on Winter and my favorite meteorologist who is an expert on climate change says these warmer temps, rainier and windier weather this late in the year is our new normal. You are likely getting the high winds after 4:00 a.m. Thursday like we are – more worries about power outages. Some people just got their power on late last night here in Michigan.
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Yes, the forecast tomorrow is wind again, but I’d rather mild and windy than a blizzard and windy! I finished my draft today – yea!….but no blog this week either…oh well, I’ll get back at it eventually. I find as long as I comment on my regular readers blogs, they don’t notice I haven’t posted since Nov.24….
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The wind is going to be bad across the Midwest, almost as dangerous as last week – not liking this severe weather this entire year. Well that it good and you are right … people may not notice as they’re busy with the holidays right now.
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PS. Did you see Diane had nutterbutter cookies that looked like Santas?
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I did Joni – they were so cute! I told her not to tell the squirrels because I never make them Santa Nutter Butters, (but now I want to make them for next year despite my saying never again with the icing). I’ve already done my photos and I have to finish the post up for the annual holiday squirrels post. They were cute for Christmas. I bought some googly eyes one time, but then though maybe they might choke on them.
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I have thoroughly enjoyed this walk around the park with you!
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Thank you Anne – glad you enjoyed walking with me, muddy shoes and all. I am a sucker for those beautiful Maple trees when they are at peak and I was lucky enough to pick a perfect time to get there.
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Trippy to see autumn colors now that red & green are EVERYWHERE. I like the skeleton chasing the Jeep [or ATV?] as if that skeleton will ever catch it.
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Yes, all those beautiful autumn colors and all we have is bare trees and dull landscape now. With the recent high winds, there shouldn’t be a single leaf hanging on for dear life. I think it was a Jeep Ally and the smaller skeletons in the back suit were funny to see too. That skeleton was 10 feet tall!
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Such a colorful post – reminded me of childhood days when I lived amongst the deciduous forests back east. I just don’t see these kinds of landscapes anymore. Thanks for the lovely stroll.
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The deciduous trees are gorgeous aren’t they Eilene? Glad to take you back to your childhood days. All the trees are bare now, especially after our huge windstorm on Saturday … the landscape has become quite blah as we await Winter, despite our near-record-breaking warm temps this week.
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You always get the best reflection pictures Linda. I’m glad you got your shoes all nice and white again. Isn’t there goose poo on the walkways? It is usually all over ours.
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Thanks Diane – I love the reflections on the water, whether it’s the birds or trees or this church. My poor shoes – I had to take the picture of all the mud (hopefully) on my shoes as it oozed everywhere – thank goodness they are thick rocker-style soles.
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Love that grumpy carved teddy bear pumpkin. What a lot of water you had on the ground! It was fun seeing all the skeletons and ghosts and the orange leaves on the trees. Autumn passes all too quickly. Thanks for letting us take a peek back at it. 😉
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I loved that pumpkin’s face too Barbara. I collected teddy bears for years, so I thought it was so especially clever. I hope I can go in person to the Halloween event next year. Fall is so fleeting – you blink and the leaves are gorgeous one minute, then heaped up in piles waiting to be bagged the next. You’re like me and would love to step back into Autumn instead of creeping closer to Winter.
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I am not a fan of mud either, especially when it’s in a place meant for walking. Glad you didn’t ruin your shoes.
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Yes, it was oozing and creeping up. Mother Nature has given me a run for my money for my walking regimen this year JP.
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Miss Linda………………….you saved this blog at a good point in December…………………..it’s nice to see some refreshing color to our cold December……………………….I’m always delighted when I see ducks make a pond out of a large puddle somewhere………………………………no one likes mud…………………..I just had to wash my boots working in the garden last week……………..
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Ann Marie – I am still catching up with Fall walks and after the holidays, will have some walks taken in November … it did cause us to relive those beautiful Fall colors once again. The ducks looked pretty happy in their tiny pond paddling away. My shoes I thought would be permanently tinged with brown!
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You got some beautiful fall photos, Linda. It seems like the trees turn colors later and later each year.
Your poor white walking shoes! I hope you were able to get all the mud/goose poop off of them. When we were out in Oregon, I think I told you about the poop-laden trails we ran on in Bend, but the sidewalks and trails in Corvallis, where our son lives, were also dirty. Fallen leaves rotted on the paths and made our shoes a mess. I actually put one pair in the washing machine when we got home (after removing the insoles) but they still did not get completely clean.
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Laurie – Thank you – it was a picture-perfect day and those leaves looked to be on fire! I thought of you when I did the paragraph and photos about the dirty shoes. I know it was mud for sure, but given the fact the goose population congregate there, it likely was a combo of both – ugh!! We’ve got a lot of those rotted leaves too as our leaves hung on for so long before they dropped, then we had a lot of mild weather and rain so they didn’t blow around, just sat there, sometimes in muddy areas.
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Wow! what a beautiful day! Your pictures are wonderful.
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Thank you Ruth – it was so picturesque with the colorful leaves at peak – a Pure Michigan day for sure. Glad you liked the pictures.
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This post is kind of a “Nightmare Before Christmas” movie! I have A Nightmare Before Christmas for my 3D capable TV and it is awesome! 👀
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They sure like to add touches around this park for this special events Tom. I really like what the Historical Society does with their resident skeleton “Skelly”… they’ve already had some fun pictures of him posing for Christmas.
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“Liquified goose poop”… gee, thank you for the lovely thought, Linda. Also, I had to look up “passel” (great word!) And finally, your F-F-F title for this post is a perfect “fit”!
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It was quite a description for a visual wasn’t it Dave? I had that sinking feeling in the muddy grass and could hardly wait to go somewhere and get rid of it. I worked with Southerners at the diner and they used that expression all the time – I love it as the word “group” is so boring and there were a lot of geese. They all climbed out of the “pond” and waddled across the street after one another, forcing drivers to stop for them. I do love my alliteration – glad you liked it!
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Hi Linda, I missed this one … That was a really fun walk! And I love a good headline 🙂
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Thanks Jeanine – I figured it was perfect for all the colors in this post … orange was the flavor of the day!
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Nice job getting the mud off
and the rain drops on the leaves were my top pics in this post – so pretty
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That was my favorite pic too Yvette, even more than all the colorful leaves. I was mortified about the shoes, given the population of Canada Geese at this particular park and it has been uncharacteristically soggy at this venue since June.
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😊
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I’m glad you were able to get your white sneakers clean again. You did a good job scraping it off on the curb and grass. The picture of raindrops on the leaf is pretty. Something about water on nature.
Skelly is very fashionable…his cousin needs a makeover. lol
Lovely pictures again.
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I didn’t think I’d get them clean again after sinking down so deep in the mud (whatever … I prefer to think it was mud). Of course, after my initial irritation, I took a picture. 🙂 Glad you liked the photos Esther. I liked the leaf with raindrops too … even more than the colorful leaves. It was peaceful looking. The Taylor Historic Society is a building located within Heritage Park, so they decorate Skelly for all the outdoor and indoor events and post pictures of him. The cousin was rather a “Plain Jane” wasn’t she?
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