Today is the fifth anniversary of my friend Marge Aubin’s passing. I want to honor her memory, not only as a good friend and former neighbor, but also, as many of you longtime followers know, she is the person who encouraged me to start this blog in 2013.
To be honest, I really was not enthused about starting a blog, but did so because she persisted, nudging me on a near-daily basis by flooding my e-mail inbox with links to blogs she followed. I finally relented to keep the peace and make her happy. Marge’s reasoning for me to start a blog about walking was my responses to her daily e-mail queries of “what did you see or do on your walk today Linda?” I would dutifully “report” on something I saw in the ‘hood that day, or, after uploading photos taken on my morning walks, I’d forward them to Marge. In those days I had not yet discovered my favorite nature nook, Council Point Park – that would happen a few months later, in the Spring of 2013.
So, here’s a belated “thank you” and a nod to Marge for being a pain in the butt about beginning this blog.
Unlike the sad tribute I wrote with eyes blurred by tears on the date of her passing, this post will be a light-hearted reflection of some shared memories we had before her chronic COPD and heart issues kept her tethered to her oxygen tank the final few years of her life.
But I had a conundrum – what photo should I use for today’s post?
Just like my fellow bloggers, this blog is a labor of love. I’m often thinking of places I want to go, pictures I want to take, or jotting down headlines or notes about where I’ve been after returning from a walk. Yes, a blogger’s brain gears are always spinning.
So, for several months I’ve dwelled on what photo would grace today’s tribute, i.e. should I use the same photo as that August 14, 2017 post? It was Marge’s own photo and I properly attributed it to her. This is the photo in question and my tribute to her, “Last Sunrise” can be found here.
At first, I thought the perfect way to memorialize Marge was to simply take my own trip to Bishop Park to watch the sun rise and photograph it, like my good friend did every day for many years, but I admit that leaving at dark o’clock to steal down to the Detroit River is out of my comfort zone these days. My worries are not unfounded as crime is running rampant in the Downriver area, even in beautiful Downtown Wyandotte, the site of Bishop Park.
Between the years 1976 through 2009, I finished my last two years of college in Midtown Detroit, then worked in the City of Detroit. Neighbors saw me walking to and from the bus stop during those years and would say “aren’t you afraid to go Downtown?” I was not afraid as I was always mindful of my surroundings and, in over three decades, there was only one incident that unnerved me a bit, when I was pushed off a City of Detroit bus in broad daylight when I asked the driver to stop. In the Wintertime, just like most of you, I left for work in the dark and came home in the dark. I didn’t even carry pepper gel, nor a big whistle in those days. But leaving the house in pitch dark does NOT appeal to me now and I finally decided I was NOT going to leave before dawn to go to the Detroit River. Perhaps working from home all these years has made me more wary than usual.
If my good friend Ann Marie reads this post, she will say “I’m hurt you didn’t ask me to pick you up and take you to the River because I know how important Marge was to you.” Ann Marie brought me flowers after Marge died – she is a person with a heart of gold, an exceptional soul who goes out of her way to help people. Yes, she will be angry with me. But, nevertheless I didn’t ask her.
In further pondering the photo to use for today’s post, my next idea was “how wonderful to use the watercolor paints and to try and paint Marge’s sunrise for the header image!” But no, my lackluster or lame effort would fall short of my expectations – perhaps for the 10th anniversary?
Instead, I made a compromise. I used a photo Marge had sent me from a trip to Bishop Park taken shortly after sunrise. While I was loading that photo to this post, I wondered “hmm, did Marge fall asleep at Bishop Park and missed the early sunrise photo that day, or did she hit the snooze bar one too many times and was late leaving the house?”
Some fun pics Marge shared with me through the years.
Marge enjoyed taking pictures and she loved nature – perhaps that is why we got along so well. I often used her photos in my blog.
She surrounded her home with many hummingbird feeders. She was always taking pictures of her Ruby-throated Hummingbirds which she usually sent to me. This was one of them.
It may surprise you that even though Marge has been gone five years, those hummingbirds still hover at the living room window where she placed several of her shepherd’s hooks with feeders. Her son Jeff tells me they watch him intensely. People use the moniker “bird brain” to label our feathered friends – that is simply not true. Those hovering hummingbirds and one female who blitzed by me one morning were the reasons I put up feeders a few years ago, but I have never had as many hummers visiting my feeders.
Marge didn’t just cater to the hummingbirds in the yard. Like me, she fed the birds and squirrels for years. “Sammy” was our resident squirrel, spoiled silly, just like my favorite Park peanut pal, Parker. “Sammy” not only noshed on nuts, but Marge shared whatever treats she was eating or baking. I can remember once seeing a batch of slightly burnt sugar cookies lined up on the deck’s top railing and “Sammy” sitting contently feasting on them.
“Sammy” knew he had a good thing going and made sure he was always hanging around, stretched out on the wrought-iron railing of the gazebo, so he didn’t miss a handout, like in this picture.
Even in the dead of Winter, “Sammy” knew he could find peanuts (or cookies) at our respective houses to tide him through the snowiest days of the season.
Marge’s deck and gazebo had birdhouses, bird feeders, a solar birdbath, thistle socks, suet holders and the aforementioned hummingbird feeders. Here are a few of the winged critters and “Sammy” who came to dine on Marge’s treats. I made this collage for one of my blog posts.
There were other “deck pets” like this baby dove. A dove laid an egg in an ornamental wire basket and Marge documented Mom AND Pop incubating the egg, the birth of the baby a/k/a a squab, up to when it fledged. This is one of the pictures, a view from the top of the baby. I did a blog post about the baby and its parents.
Before COPD sapped her energy and spirit, Marge would often drive to various nearby parks, which names you will recognize from my posts, like Elizabeth Park, Bishop Park and Dingell Park. She would forward her favorite images from those morning jaunts to me, some which I also used in my blog posts.
Here were seven swans a-swimming that I used in a blog post at Christmastime.
Sometimes on weekends, Marge would be driving and see me walking in the neighborhood. Like early one Sunday when she honked and pulled over and rolled down the window. “C’mon – get in Linda, we’re going to Elizabeth Park.” So, there were a few less steps walked that morning as we took a mini road trip to enjoy a little nature together.
Once we arrived at our destination, Marge parked on the perimeter road that encircles Elizabeth Park. This gave us a good view of the little valley where a lot of the geese hang out near the canal and we also had this view of the Boardwalk, Detroit River and Canada.
Like a couple of gunfighters at the O.K. Corral, we each pulled out our digital cameras simultaneously, ready for a photo op. Marge handed over her camera and asked me to take a photo. I did so, then took a similar photo with my camera – you can see my hand and camera reflected in the passenger mirror.
Then we cruised around Elizabeth Park a few times, then onto West Jefferson Avenue. Marge turned to me and said “I don’t feel like going home, do you?” I told her “no” and added that an extended drive was a welcome change of plans from the yard work and housework that awaited me when I got home.
So, we would go on to visit two more parks that day ….
We stayed on West Jefferson that turns into Biddle Avenue until we arrived at Marge’s favorite haunt, Bishop Park. She pulled into what she called her usual parking spot. We watched the row of anglers along the fishing pier, as well as seagulls wrangling for treats tossed to them. We talked for a while and took a few more pictures.
Then it was on to Dingell Park, just 2 ½ miles down the road.
When Marge pulled up in my driveway she promised to send me her photos and I said I would do likewise. I blew off the yard work and housework as I was eager to see my photos. Marge’s cache of images arrived in my e-mail inbox a short time later … they looked nothing like mine where the grazing geese were teensy blobs and Marge’s geese were … well they looked like geese. “Why??” I wondered. So I asked and learned about the wonders of zoom. Where had I been all this time?
I had bought my digital camera in 2010 for the sole purpose of taking pictures of the front and back yards where I labored many hours daily. My butterfly garden especially was my pride and joy, so I wanted to take photos of the beautiful butterflies that visited. It never-ever dawned on me that my 4X zoom camera was no match for Marge’s 12X zoom camera. I admit I was not savvy about such things.
So, that outing was quite enlightening for me and led to a post entitled “I must admit I had zoom envy.” That revelation also motivated me to head to Best Buy and get a 12X zoom camera, (which was frivolous as the other camera had nothing wrong with it). But, thanks to Marge, it awakened my interest in photography that I had abandoned for many years and I stopped buying stock photos for my posts.
The next excursion to Elizabeth Park was on a cold and windy day in November. Once again Marge picked me up while I was walking in the ‘hood, head bent down, swaddled in a scarf, hat and gloves, wind wiggling up my coat sleeves, with thoughts of Winter looming large. Then, like now, my camera was always with me, tucked in its pouch on my fanny pack.
At Elizabeth Park, the gorgeous oak leaves had already fallen and were scattered on the ground; the landscape looked a little forlorn.
Marge parked and took pictures from her side of the car and posted them on Facebook the following week. Evidently I had been enamored with the critters on my side of the car as you see in my Facebook comment.
That would be our last nature outing together. Marge made me promise to never leave the house without my camera and to always take lots of pictures. Well I have certainly taken my fair share of pictures, though I have left the camera behind on occasion if it looked like rain or snow, only to hightail it home to collect the camera and hope the row of ducklings trailing after Mama on the soccer field were still there, or that jam-packed Creek full of dead shad hadn’t budged.
This was a very long read about my Marge memories and I’ll conclude by stating that thanks to her prodding, I am publishing my 1,747th blog post today.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
What a wonderful, heartfelt tribute to your friend, Marge. It does sound like you two were birds of a feather. Everyone should be as lucky as you to have a good friend to share adventures with! It sounds like you and Marge brought out the best in one another.
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Thank you Laurie … I decided I should do something special for this fifth anniversary. It doesn’t seem like it could already be five years! Marge was a good friend and we did have a lot in common despite our age difference. I am so lucky that she encouraged me to start the blog because even though I like to write, starting a journal or a blog was not anything I ever thought about doing.
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What a lovely tribute to your dear friend Marge, Linda. I especially appreciated the stories about your nature outings together, and the last one. Memories can be very comforting after we lose someone so important to us. You were lucky to have each other and I’m glad she insisted on turning you into a blogger. 🙂 I know you miss her very much. The picture of Sammy stretched out on the railing is priceless. 💙
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Thank you Barbara. I decided that five years was a big anniversary and I would do another tribute to Marge. She was very special to my mom and to me as well. It is funny, because as much as I like to write now, it never occurred to me to keep a journal or start a blog about anything, let alone my walks. So I am glad she pushed me into starting a blog and I’m forever grateful. I wrote the first very long post and sent it to her to review and comment before I published that initial post. I am sorry Marge never got to see this blog morph into so much nature photography as I began the blog, just writing about my walks in the neighborhood, then Council Point Park (which venue opened up a whole new world for me after just pounding the concrete pavement in the neighborhood).
I’m sure Sammy is long gone now, but if either of us opened the door, we had better have a treat for him or he’d sit by the door and wait until we “produced” something. About 15 years ago, Jerry, a neighbor across the street, retired and he had been a boilermaker on a day shift, so was used to getting up very early. It was Summer, so Jerry started sitting on his front porch once it was light to have coffee and toast and read the paper. Sammy would check out our house and Marge’s house and then he discovered Jerry eating toast so he’d beg for some. Jerry gave him peanut butter on toast every day. One time was all it took and Sammy was back every day and if it rained, or Jerry slept in, or once it got colder and he didn’t sit outside, Sammy would pace back and forth on the front room window ledge looking in the window at Jerry. He would get up and bring out cookies for him to eat. Marge would see him from her living room. I thought I had pictures of that, but couldn’t find them. This picture of him is priceless and shows just what he was like. 🙂
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I enjoyed hearing about your neighbor, Jerry, and his interactions with Sammy. 🙂 The connections some people make with wild creatures is heartwarming and beautiful! Too bad you couldn’t find those pictures but you do have the memories. 🙂
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As someone who appreciates wild creatures, I knew you would like that story about Jerry. Sammy had this three-part treat stopping to do every morning to ensure he didn’t miss out. I thought I’d kept those pictures but maybe not. I know in later years I did keep them all and used many of them in blog posts so Marge could see that I had.
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This is a lovely post, such a nice tribute to the woman who got you to blog. Marge sounds like the kind of positive influence we all need in our lives. Such good memories you have. I like the photos with Sammy, of course, but am drawn to “Snowy backyard” because of its serenity.
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Thank you Ally. I have often said I had no inkling to start a journal or a blog, even though I like to write. In school, we never kept journals either, so I am glad Marge prodded me. I wish she could see how my blog has morphed with longer walks and picture-laden posts. She would be happy. Sammy was a character and between our two houses and a retired neighbor across the street who shared his morning toast with Sammy every morning, that squirrel made out like a bandit. In sorting through the many pictures Marge sent to me, I included “Snowy backyard” for the same reason, peaceful and serene.
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Love this so very much! I used to walk to work years ago in downtown Kansas City. No choice, no car at the time. I carried my ID on me in case something happened- ha ha. Luckily, nothing did. There’s no way I’d do it now. I’ve never been to Detroit.
Love hearing about Marge and her nudging you to blog and take your camera everywhere. All of the photos are beautiful. Loved reading about your guy’s park time and adventures. Love the squirrel and bird pictures. I’ve never seen a baby dove.
Sorry for your loss. It’s hard to lose those we love.
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Glad you liked this post Jessica and thank you. Something else about August 14th I didn’t mention, but I will never forget Marge’s death date because for years I took a vacation day from work every August 14th if the date fell on a workday. My mom and I would use the day to go out shopping or go to a movie, then out to eat somewhere special. We did this as my mom’s birthday was on February 14th, Valentine’s Day and mine is April 14th. Unless Valentine’s Day was on a weekend, we never went out to celebrate her actual birthday so we celebrated it six months later when the weather was warm, no ice or snow as her mobility was not great in later years, plus we could get in with no wait as it was not a special holiday, etc. So, the August 14th date was already bittersweet, then Marge passed away on that date.
I liked stirring the memory pot here for my good friend and neighbor Marge who meant a lot to both my late mom and me. I never thought about starting a blog and had never even kept a journal, so I didn’t understand her insistence and now I am glad she nudged me to do so. We did have some nice nature excursions and she was all about taking pictures of her “yard and deck critters” and sending them to me. The dove parents incubated the eggs (there were two eggs, one never hatched) and raised their baby on the corner of the deck, so Marge could monitor the goings-on from the window/door wall. She took lots of photos and I did a blog post on the dove family and Marge was sad when the baby fledged.
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I was just thinking a couple days ago about how lucky I’ve been to have two different good friends as neighbors. At our house before this one, my neighbor and I were besties for 8 years!! This house has given me a great friend across the road. How wonderful that Marge was your neighbor and friend. These days it seems knowing neighbors doesn’t necessarily happen much anymore.
Ohhh, a Valentines’s baby!!! Love that your mom’s birthday was February 14. Love that you guys celebrated in August- makes birthdays last longer than the 24 hours or less that we are awake on the actual day.
Dates/anniversaries of loss seem pretty hard. Memories kick up and the missing them more kicks in.
I was never going to blog- that’s what I’d always said. Then, in 2015, I had a huge health scare and bought my first blog in the middle of the night. Been blogging ever since. I’m glad you followed Marge’s nudge. Blogging is a great avenue for creating and expression.
Glad she had her “yard and deck critters.” Animals sure can be entertaining.
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Marge was an exceptional neighbor for both of us, me especially after my mom passed away. Nowadays, neighbors who were living here when I moved here five decades ago have one by one passed away and the only reason I knew is that a “for sale” sign went up and I Googled their name hyphen obituary notice. Very sad state of affairs there. I can remember a neighbor would make the rounds collecting for a card and an arrangement and neighbors always paid their respects at the funeral home.
It will get easier with time Jessica, as I mentioned to you in my comment on your blog post about the recent passing of your mom. You have the holidays to get through this year – it will be tough.
Well, I am glad you were prompted to begin a blog, but I’m sorry you had a health scare to do so. I really wonder if maybe she thought I should have a hobby for down the road when I eventually retire? Maybe she was thinking ahead – she said to me “write about what you tell me you see on your walks.” I thought “not very much really” so thankfully I discovered Council Point Park, just a mile away .
We fed the birds and squirrels for years but luckily for Marge, she had glass sliding doors that looked out to the deck, so she had a great view of her “deck pets”.
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I’m sure Marge is smiling today Linda. Her legacy lives through your action, words and love for Nature!
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I am sure you are right Wayne. I am sorry Marge is not here to see how this blog has morphed from simple walks in the neighborhood, to long walks in the many parks and lots of nature photos to go with the writing. She would be pleased and I am so glad she insisted on me starting a blog.
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It’s a beautiful tribute to a friend who left you a legacy! You now have a blog with wonderful stories and beautiful pictures thanks to her.
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Thank you Kate. I am so glad I listened to Marge and started my blog, though I was kicking and screaming a bit at first when I spent an entire weekend setting it up and writing that first, very long, post. I hope to be writing a very long time and am sorry Marge can’t be here to see these nature-filled posts as she would approve.
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This is a beautiful tribute – Marge has left you with an abiding interest.
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Thank you Anne – I am glad Marge poked and prodded me, because as much as I enjoy writing and taking pictures, I can’t say I would have been interested enough to start a blog, or even a journal.
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You write really beautiful tributes to your friends. How lucky you have been to have these women in your life. And one who got you to blog which brings much into our lives.
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Thank you Zazzy. I really do love writing, especially about someone as special as Marge was. Months ago I mentioned her to you and said I was uneasy about going to the River in the dark to make my own sunrise pictures for this five-year tribute. I mulled it over for a long time and decided using Marge’s pictures could bring her to life again for this post. I am very grateful she pushed me to begin a blog because I had never even kept a journal and it has been a wonderful experience to be part of our blogging community.
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Well, I sure am thankful for Marge nudging, prodding and pushing you into blogging. This is a lovely tribute to her.
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Thank you Ruth – I am eternally grateful to Marge for her insistence. Keeping a journal or writing a blog had not interested me in the least, so I’m glad she kept prodding me.
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So lovely, Linda. Storytelling of a dear neighbor and close friendship that both are so rare to find in a life time is certainly love.
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Thank you very much TD. It was easy to write about my friend as we enjoyed some special times together, whether just talking on the phone, e-mailing, messaging back and forth, or taking these mini-excursions – it was all nice. I am so glad she encouraged me to begin this blog.
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Everyone needs someone like Marge in their life — an encourager and influencer. I know that you were the same to her as well. Thanks for sharing her story and photos, and congratulations on your 1,747th blog post. 🙂
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Yes, she was very special Rebecca. You are right, she encouraged me to start this blog, because without her nudging me, I never thought to do something like this on my own. Now I cannot imagine not having blogging in my life. I am thinking as to my posting schedule of two posts a week, I likely will hit 1,800 posts by the 10th anniversary of my blog next February.
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What a wonderful post today Linda, I am glad Marge got you to blog as well because this is how I met you and as I have said before, you are such a good writer. This world needs encouraging words and stories from the heart that you share here. And I hope to hear of you writing that book someday. 🙂
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Thank you very much Sandra for all the nice compliments. I do love to write and sometimes I am surprised that I never thought to start a blog. I never even kept a journal. I am glad that Marge insisted I start a blog and am now sorry I inwardly rebelled doing so. Now, I cannot imagine not having this blog in my life. A friend of mine once suggested I compile some of my favorite blog posts and call it “Strolling Downriver” – I’ve remembered the name he picked all these years and would like to undertake such a project – maybe down the road?
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What a great post. Loved those first two pictures of that beautiful sky. The squirrel laying on the fence was so cute.
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Thank you Peggy – glad you enjoyed this post. I would love to see a beautiful sunrise over the water or watch one of your sunrises. There is no comparison to watching and/or taking a picture over the rooftops in the neighborhood. I figured you would get a kick out of Sammy lounging on the wrought-iron railing of the gazebo, especially after your recent squirrel antics post. He doesn’t want to miss a treat – perhaps we should have named him “Eagle Eyes” instead.
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Enjoyed your comments. Eagle Eye would be a good name for Sammy. I call my squirrel Frisky. The sunrises and sunsets are not as spectacular here as they use to be. Maybe global warming has something to do with this change.
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Thank you Peggy. Frisky is a cute name. I will remember that name for a Park squirrel. There are some really cute young squirrels running around the Park now. They’re skittish and run in circles sometimes. We don’t have any right around my house since I lost Grady and his mate and a few others thanks to the hawk and one was run over by a car across the street from me, minutes after I fed it. I don’t want to encourage them to be sitting ducks for the hawk to hone in on. I see it gliding around overhead in my neighborhood and there is always a hawk at Council Point Park. That is interesting about the sunrises and sunsets – I’ll bet global warming does have some effect on it. It would not be pollution for you as you live in the country.
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We have a lot of hawks out here in the countryside. We lose squirrels and rabbits to them and also many get run over by cars on the highway.
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I like heading out to the county for a little drive sometimes Peggy, but I don’t like seeing all the road kill in the country. It is everywhere! I hope I don’t see a hawk grab up a squirrel – it would be very upsetting to see.
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Aw, what a beautiful tribute to a special friend and her encouragement. Congratulations, Linda, you are honoring Marge in so many ways – I agree, thanks to her prodding, it’s a blessing that you’re publishing your 1,747th blog post today. Thank you for sharing this heartfelt post, it’s beautifully written. Thank you too for continuing to touch the lives of all of us readers. You’re a very special person, don’t ever forget how you make a difference in our lives (and the critters who make appearances here!). 🤗🥰🤗
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Thank you very much for these compliments Shelley. I often muse that for someone who seems to have no problem writing long narratives, that I never once thought to keep a journal or start a blog. So I am glad that Marge persevered in making me start this blog. I have a lot of stories to tell, both recapping my treks and also recounting memories from the past and I hope to never run out of topics to blog about. (Parker will be long gone and I’ll be writing about his grand-squirrels.) 🙂 I cannot believe this is post #1,747 and I figure I will be at 1,800 posts by my 10th anniversary of my blog. After I started my blog, the initial post was long, then I remember I had nothing to say (feel my forehead) and just used a quote for a post.
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All the praise we can extend to you is well-deserved. I’m glad Marge encouraged you and I’m thankful you’ve persevered.
Aw – grand-squirrels I love it!
Yay for another milestone goal to reach! 😁🎉🙌🏻🎉
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You make my head swell Shelley. 🙂 I really enjoy writing and I have to say that even when I’m not sitting and writing a post, I’m thinking about my next post, headlines, maybe subheaders as I know what pics I will use. I still have not looked at any pics from 4th of July on, but it is supposed to be rainy Sunday, so I may treat myself and sit down and look at some of those pictures. Yes, for sure grand-squirrels … Sammy is no longer around, unless he went to a different neighborhood – he was always good for a smile. I think I will reach that milestone. I remember the year my goal was to get to 1,000 miles and 1,000 posts. I was very excited to reach that goal!
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I can tell you enjoy writing and using your photos. I often think to myself as I read your posts that I can just see Linda smiling as she wrote that clever line ;-).
Way to set and achieve your goals. You’re inspiring to us all!
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Thank you Shelley – I am really having a lot of fun with my blog. It is a joy in my life that I would now miss very much were I to stop. Brain strain from thinking up titles long after completing the walk – onward and upward I hope for a long time. 🙂
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That’s wonderful news 😍🥰🤗😍🥰
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Thank you, Marge, for inspiring Linda.
That was an elegant tribute to your dear friend and neighbor.
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Thank you Anne – she did mean the world to both my mom and me and I owe her a debt of gratitude for prodding me into starting this labor of love.
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Oh my. What a beautiful post to honor your friend Marge. I felt like I got to know her through you and now I love her too! Caring for the squirrels and humming birds and being the kind of friend who pushes you when she knows what’s good for you … She sounds like an amazing soul. I’m glad you had her in your corner and that she’s never forgotten.
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Thank you LaShelle – you know I almost included a picture with this post, something I didn’t do with the original tribute post. She was an exceptional person – you would have liked her even more than what you have read about here. I am glad she pushed me to start a blog and I did not begin to have WordPress followers until November of 2017, three months after Marge passed away. Up to then, it had been a handful of e-mail subscribers only, long-time friends only.
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Marge sounds like an interesting person and a wonderful friend. It may be five years since her passing, but her memory is alive in your heart. Thank you for sharing a bit of your friendship with us.
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Thank you Janis. I will be eternally grateful for Marge’s suggestion to start this blog, something I never thought of doing on my own, despite my love of writing.
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Lovely post about your dear departed friend. How wonderful that you shared this love for the outdoors and for sharing it with the world through your blog.
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Thank you Eilene. I feel badly that Marge did not live long enough to see how this labor of love has morphed into a blog about nature and occasional human interest stories. I got my first WordPress follower three months after Marge passed away – before then it was only a handful of e-mail subscribers. She would have loved to see what was happening at all the venues where she or both of us frequented.
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We should all give thanks to Marge for nagging you to blog, Linda! I bet she’s smiling down at you. A truly lovely tribute, not to mention gorgeous pictures. What an inspiring lady she was.
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Thank you Joni – I’m glad you liked it. Yes, Marge was special and I am glad she nagged me about starting a blog. I never had any inkling to start a blog myself and I never kept a journal, either on my own, or as a school exercise. I wonder if I ever would have started a blog to write about walking? Good question. I wonder if I would have started taking pictures again after all these years? I wish Marge could see all the nature pictures I take write about now – she would be happy. She was a good photographer and always had her camera in her purse or handy in the house.
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This tribute post is lovely!! Marge was such a special person to you. It never occurred to me that she was out and about until she got ill. I enjoyed reading about her picking you up and both of you driving around and taking pictures. Now those are fun times to seize the moment with your friend.
She’ll be very proud of you and it’s special you share about her occasionally on your blog. Thanks for telling us more about her and your history with this fabulous lady. Congrats on your 1,747 published post today! Lots of hard work, miles walked, pictures taken, squirrels and Parker spoiled, animals saved and cared for, and building friendships along the way… Hugs 🙂
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Thank you Esther. I am glad you liked this tribute post. Yes, Marge was a very special person and I miss her. For the longest time, I’d forget and be ready to tell her something I saw or send her a picture. It is easier now though, five years later. I like to think she is looking down from above and approving the abundance of posts and pictures I have amassed in 9 1/2 years since I began this blog. I think I will likely hit 1,800 posts by the 10-year anniversary. I am enjoying the blogosphere immensely – hugs back at you!
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Marge is special and it shows in your writing about her! Can you imagine how thick or series of books you’ll have of your blog if you had it printed. Like you mentioned before, it’ll be expensive to print but nice to have.
Pretty sure you’ll get to 1800 posts. Yay Linda!
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Yes, she is Esther – I wrote about her a lot from the inception of the blog until she passed away. Four years of mentioning her. It would be nice to have those books and I counted ahad and at two posts per week, I should be right on target. I’m excited to be reaching that milestone!
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What a wonderful tribute to your friend! She sounds like she was a wonderful person and so full of life. The photos are terrific and you can still enjoy her friendship through her photos and your memories 😊. I’m sorry about the crime and not feeling comfortable in some areas, I feel like that too sometimes even though our area isn’t bad. Maybe because we are older? Enjoy your memories of Marge😊💕
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Thank you Susan! Marge was very special. Here she was going out way before dawn and feeling 100% comfortable with it – not me as it is way out of my comfort zone and yes, I definitely think being older has something to do with it too. I was wary but mindful when I worked in downtown Detroit and left in the dark and came home in the dark in Winter. Things were way different then.
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Yes things are quite different now, not sure if I like that lol
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Marge sounds like she was a gem. Thank you for sharing some of her story and what she meant to you.
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Thank you JP – she was a gem … you’ve got that right.
P.S. – Car enthusiasts are all aflutter at today’s Woodward Dream Cruise as Jay Leno is in town, not driving one of his vehicles, just visiting. Our weather is not so great today – supposed to have storms this afternoon and most of tomorrow. The Dream Cruise “unofficially” began earlier this week and a lot of hangers-on usually are still cruising on Sunday.
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What beautiful tribute to a friend. Now you wrote a blog Wonderful stories and beautiful all picture. You have a good knowledge. I am so happy.
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Thank you very much for saying that rajkkhoja. I am so glad that Marge encouraged me to start this blog. I cannot say that I would have started it on my own, though I like to write, but never had a job where I was writing anything, so I am happy to be able to write now and share stories and also write about nature walks.
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Thank you so much. That’s you very nice doing work. You write and share story. Write about nature walk. I like it’s, may i inspired! Iam gald to you never had job. You are brave& strong. God bless ❤️ you!
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Hello rajkkhoja. I have been out today taking some more nature pictures for blog posts in lat September, though I still have a lot of pictures not sorted through from earlier this Summer. There will be plenty of time for that in the cold and snow. I usually write about walks taken months ago which is unfortunate, but that’s okay too. You enjoy nature and walks – you are inspired and should start a blog as well. It appears you follow me by e-mail. You should start a WordPress blog – you can do it by paying or they also allow you to create a blog for free. I would be your first follower. Thank you for your kind words.
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Thank you so much ! Iam so happy! You tell me start the blog writing, but i have no knowledge, How can write, what subject, how can I start writing.? God bless you!
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Hi rajkkhoja – you are welcome and here’s how you can get started when you can set aside a block of time.
I looked around to find an easy tutorial on how to create a FREE WordPress blog. I listened to this 15-minute video and it is excellent. It tells you what you should have handy before you start and you’ll see if says WordPress will “direct you to a pay area” – don’t go there. You can create this blog for free and if you decide blogging is not for you then you have not done any more than spent time setting it up and thinking about what you will write. Do you take pictures when you walk? You could start out with a picture of your walk that day. Or do a favorite quote that you saw on the internet and write what that means to you. Start out with a simple template and don’t spend too much time on it that you get frustrated. Just do a little at a time. My blog is a paid blog, but I set it up a weekend in Winter and I had already typed up the story, no pictures, then couldn’t think of anything to write about, so I just posted some quotes. Look back at my blog in February 2013 and you’ll see what I mean. If you have a pet, write about that pet. Or a favorite movie or book. Or school, or your job. Make it about you. I will be your first follower. Here is a YouTube link for the directions. Good luck!
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Hi rajkkhoja. I just did a separate comment to you with a YouTube link on how to start a free blog. I mention that here in case your e-mail puts that message into a SPAM filter since it has the internet link. Watch the video when you get time and see if you can set up an easy blog. You don’t have to be all fancy as you can always make changes. I have used the simplest template for my blog and never changed the format since 2013 when I created it, though I have added some pictures on the side.
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Hi
Thank you so much. I can read it your information. I do & try. I accept your advice. Iam so happy. You send me your email . I can saw it like listen.
Thank you!
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You are welcome. I thought they were good instructions rajkkhoja and if I am learning something new, I like it better if there is a video explanation and I can see it at the same time. YouTube is great for that. Take your time, watch the video several times and then try it, just a little at a time, so no frustrations. I will be your first follower when you send me the link to your new blog. Just do the free one for now – several bloggers I follow use the free blog and post a lot of pictures and text. It is a good way to try out blogging.
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Thank you,
You support me. And gide me. Iam so happy.
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You are welcome rajkkhoja. Sure I don’t mind helping you out. I think you’ll do fine. Practice makes perfect and have you decided what your blog will be about?
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Ok, I will do try write blog. Thank you so much!
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You’re so welcome rajkkhoja. I see you have been experimenting with profile pictures as I’ve seen several new profile pictures since you started following me. Good luck with this blogging effort. Just do a little bit daily, then step back a little and look at it with a “fresh eye” … I will be happy to be your first follower!
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