Catching 40 winks.  #Wordless Wednesday  #Mallard at the marsh.

Posted on August 31, 2022 by Linda Schaub

Wordless Wednesday – allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

About Linda Schaub

This is my first blog and I enjoy writing each post immensely. I started a walking regimen in 2011 and in 2013 I decided to create a blog as a means of memorializing the people, places and things seen on my daily walks. I have always enjoyed people watching, so my blog is peppered with folks I meet or reflections of characters I have known through the years. Often something piques my interest, or evokes a pleasant memory from my memory bank, so this becomes a “slice o’ life” blog post. I respect and appreciate nature and my interactions with Mother Nature’s gifts is also a common theme. Sometimes the most-ordinary items become fodder for points to ponder over and touch upon. I retired in March 2024 after a career in the legal field. I was a legal secretary for almost 45 years, primarily working in downtown Detroit, then working from my home. I graduated from Wayne State University with a degree in Mass Communications (print journalism) in 1978, though I’ve never worked in that field. I would like to think this blog is the writer in me finally emerging!! Walking and writing have met, shaken hands and the creative juices are flowing in Walkin’, Writin’, Wit & Whimsy. I hope you think so too. - Linda Schaub
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61 Responses to Catching 40 winks.  #Wordless Wednesday  #Mallard at the marsh.

  1. Barbara Rodgers says:
    August 31, 2022 at 6:53 am

    Resting peacefully but keeping a close eye on you. Great captures, Linda!

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Dave says:
    August 31, 2022 at 9:04 am

    Stare at the photo long enough and you can’t tell which way his/her head is turned!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub says:
      August 31, 2022 at 7:51 pm

      You’re right Dave! Arriving early enough at a park that has ducks, you have to wonder just how comfortable turning your head around 45 degrees to tuck it under your wing could really be?

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Terri Webster Schrandt says:
    August 31, 2022 at 10:56 am

    Must have been just the perfect temp for a snooze!

    Liked by 2 people

  6. Laurie says:
    August 31, 2022 at 12:27 pm

    That mama mallard is probably pooped after a summer of chasing after her babies. A well-deserved nap!

    Liked by 2 people

  7. LaShelle says:
    August 31, 2022 at 2:14 pm

    So pretty! That streak of blue really matches the sky reflecting off the lake doesn’t it?!

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Ally Bean says:
    August 31, 2022 at 2:15 pm

    Those feathers with the purple tips. How do you do it? Great photos

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub says:
      August 31, 2022 at 8:11 pm

      Thanks Ally – I was lucky that morning – this mallard was tucked away in a little cove, sunlight streaming down just right. I’d can’t blame it for napping on that fallen log – luckily it balanced just right since its body overlapped that narrow log.

      Liked by 1 person

  9. Hugh W. Roberts says:
    September 1, 2022 at 5:38 am

    Who wouldn’t a snooze in the heat of the day, Linda? Although I’d take mine in full shade (providing it wasn’t too hot). She looks very relaxed. I wonder (if, like many other birds) she sleeps while standing on one leg? Can you imagine us humans doing that?

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub says:
      September 1, 2022 at 6:45 pm

      With all the heat that the UK has suffered with this Summer, I sure don’t blame you for wanting a snooze in the shade Hugh. This duck was perched on a narrow log and overlapped it, so it was still not a very comfortable perch. I marvel at how birds sleep, one foot up, head under their wing. Would it not result in a “crick” in the neck? I’m glad humans have a better way to nap or sleep. Having had parakeets and canaries and seen them sleep like that, I will also tell you they awake with “bed head” as well.

      Liked by 1 person

  10. Shelley@QuaintRevival.com says:
    September 1, 2022 at 7:01 am

    When the water is so calm, I often wonder if the ducks see their reflection in the water and wonder “Wow, that’s a beautiful duck, I’ll sit still to see if it moves.” Or, “I just woke from a dream and it’s just me that looks that great? Nothing to see here, I’ll just keep on napping instead.” Anyhoo…great photos, I love the colors you captured.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub says:
      September 1, 2022 at 6:51 pm

      I sometimes wonder that about reflections too Shelley, especially when it is a perfect reflection on very still water. Maybe they think it is a predator – it’s hard to know and ducks are savvy, so they may know it is them. It was likely molting and decided “I tired from molting and don’t look great right now – I’ll go back to my nap!” Glad you liked the colors – it was right at the marsh so I managed to get some green algae bloom patches as well.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Shelley@QuaintRevival.com says:
        September 2, 2022 at 6:43 am

        Those lucky ducks – they get to do their thing and have admirers take photos of them.
        The composition in the photos with those colors was eye-appealing for sure!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        September 2, 2022 at 6:47 pm

        The joy of being a duck and having admirers fawning over them. 🙂

        I thought of you this morning Shelley – were your ears ringing? Your backyard baby bunnies were so cute and I see small bunnies at the Park, but couldn’t say they were “babies” per se. So, this morning at the Park, there was a baby squirrel. I’ve been walking there since 2013 and I have seen young squirrels (skinny tails, thin bodies, skittish), but never a baby. I mean a furry baby squirrel, not the ones that look like overgrown shrimp with closed eyes. And, dumb me, decided it was so hot and humid and I just took a bunch of Council Point Park pics for a post I’ll do as a “Summer wrap-up at the Park” that I left the camera at home. I went home and got the camera and got a bunch of shots, BUT … here’s the kicker, the baby squirrel fell out of a tree and a young woman picked it up and the squirrel was running up and down her bare arm. I wish you could have seen this cutie pie, hanging off her elbow, or on her shoulder … a little black squirrel, about the size of my hand for its body and tail. I’m going to write about it in an upcoming post in late September. Say it after me: “never leave the house without your camera.”

        Liked by 1 person

      • Shelley@QuaintRevival.com says:
        September 3, 2022 at 6:57 am

        I think of you everyday, Linda, especially when I see the critters in our yard or on our walks. I’m off to a park today to watch my daughter run in the annual race we’ve done for over a decade. I’ll be scouting out squirrels to tell them Hi from Linda! 😁

        Oh, my, that happens to me all the time. The camera is somewhere else. That’s quite the story about the little squirrel. I love to see them in pictures, because, well, they are cute! I look forward to your post about the camera back at home instead of at the ready. 🙂 I’m sure many of us readers will be able to relate to the post!!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        September 3, 2022 at 7:30 pm

        Well, I know squirrels will make you think of me for sure Shelley. 🙂 I hope your daughter did well in the race and the squirrels were likely hanging out, hoping for a bite of trail mix or granola bar as the runners zipped by.

        I knew you’d appreciate that squirrel story Shelley. I did meet up with the two young women this morning as we all went over to the Safe Haven Tree to see if the baby squirrel was still there.

        I asked if I could get some pictures of the baby and Jennifer cradling it and she sent me some photos and two videos via Facebook. I took a picture of them today and will forward the post and pictures to Jennifer when I publish it. The story does have a good ending – the best kind and I’ll keep you in suspense what happened.

        Like

      • Shelley@QuaintRevival.com says:
        September 4, 2022 at 6:07 am

        Yes, I saw many squirrels and thought of you. The race has been going on for decades, and sadly, for whatever reason, it was the lowest turnout ever. We had a nice time with our daughter, and she said it was a good race to get her back into running.

        Yay on the baby squirrel…the suspense has me intrigued!!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        September 4, 2022 at 5:17 pm

        Hi Shelley – do they always have the race on a holiday weekend? Maybe that is why – more people getting away now after staying home due to the pandemic, so they are not in town?

        Yes, it’s a good think that Jennifer took it home, gave it some milk and contacted a rehabber. We thought the baby was on solid food but evidently it was not weaned yet. I wonder if the mom fell prey to a hawk. There was a huge hawk at the Park on Friday … I’ve seen other hawks, but this hawk had a big wingspan so maybe faster than the other hawks (who might have been juveniles). Just thinking that Mom might have been snatched. And one of the walkers said he watched three squirrels running for their lives as a big hawk was chasing them.
        I follow “The Squirrel Refuge” rehabbers on FB and know squirrel moms will move their tiny babies in the nest if they sense danger, but I did not know that they will actually pick up the baby by the scruff of the neck and take it back up the tree. But the fact that there was already one dead baby on the ground, makes it seem that perhaps the mom was unavailable to rescue it.

        I want to mention to you that your blog came to my e-mail this morning. I usually get notice in Reader, but also in the notifications section … but today I got all three notifications. I don’t recall ever getting it via e-mail. Didn’t know if you did an update … I’m not going to change how I get your blog, because for some reason WP every so often changes how I’ve subscribed … just out of the blue. I dunno why. 🙂

        Like

      • Shelley@QuaintRevival.com says:
        September 6, 2022 at 6:27 am

        The race is always Labor Day weekend. I fear it is reaching the end of its existence. This year it was the smallest number of runners ever. Even the veterans who run every year were commenting, “I have a good chance of winning for my age group since the turnout is so bad.”

        Aw, that’s nice there are resources for the orphaned squirrels. There are many risks the mom squirrels take to find food and to keep their babies safe. It happens with deer too. Did you see that if you come across a fawn that has wrinkled ears it means that it is dehydrated and its mom is not coming back for it. 😭

        Hmm…that’s weird about the blog. Thanks for letting me know. I didn’t run any updates, but I did see a message that there was an automatic update. Maybe that’s what happened? Sorry to bombard you with ‘look at my blog’ notifications!! 🤣🤔🤣

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        September 6, 2022 at 9:18 pm

        [Hmm – in making sure I answered comments, it looks like my comment went into cyberspace. WP sometimes – grrrr. I was behind enough already, then no internet yesterday.]

        I wonder if it is due to COVID that there are less people or maybe they are running the race virtually now?

        There are a few wildlife rehabbers around our area. I wish I knew how it it was doing. I didn’t know about the wrinkled ears because fawns are dehydrated – how awful. If something happens to the mom and they can’t get milk right away and not already weaned. How sad. I follow a wildlife rehabber called Nottingham Wildlife Rescue and she just had a one-week fawn brought in to her – the sweetest thing. She rehabs/raises all types of wildlife. Wish it was not so far from me as I’d love to visit.

        No worries about the multiple notifications – better than no notifications. But I never had it by e-mail. A few bloggers had seemed to have dropped off the map and some got “unfollowed” and the same thing happened with them and my blog and suddenly I was no longer getting posts from them.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Shelley@QuaintRevival.com says:
        September 8, 2022 at 5:30 am

        I’m not sure what is happening with comments. I’m seeing that some of the comments only go to my .org comment reader, and some only go to my .com comment reader. I feel bad, I likely missed some comments along the way. That and the spam filter. Sigh.

        I think you’re likely right about that and the race. It just seemed very unorganized too. It’s sad, it’s for a good cause – Special Olympics.

        Aw, I wish you could see how the little squirrel is doing too. And that you could visit the wildlife rescue places. The critters would enjoy your visits, I’m positive of that!

        WP is acting wonky, that’s for sure. Because I’m so slow in reading emails, I turned off the email notification function. Sorry to say so, but that leaves me with a spreadsheet to keep track of blogs I like to read/follow and do so as I have time. I also rely on those who comment on my blog, I always read and comment on their blogs.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        September 8, 2022 at 6:37 pm

        I thought I should mention it Shelley because I always double check to ensure the “reply arrow” is in the notifications and I didn’t miss anyone. I know I wrote a comment – it is crazy that you have to check two places for the comments. Sigh. It does take a lot of the fun out of blogging if you are constantly double-checking everything. It’s a good idea keeping a spreadsheet of blogs you follow – I have to back up my blog. I was doing it monthly, and putting my posts (which I do in Word) and my pictures for each quarter onto a flash drive. I used to be better organized.

        That’s really too bad that the race participants have fallen – Special Olympics can always use the exposure to raise funds as well as awareness.

        We have several large nature reserves, but none around me – some day I hope to visit them.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Shelley@QuaintRevival.com says:
        September 9, 2022 at 5:58 am

        Linda, you’re an inspiration to all of us bloggers. I don’t know how you keep up with all of it and make back-ups too. Don’t sell yourself short, pat yourself on your back for what you do accomplish!

        Yes, it’s sad about the race. The original planners must’ve passed away, so the spirit isn’t there. Hopefully it will revive.

        We have reserves too, we’ve yet to visit them. When the kids were little we would though. We have one just down the road from us. Sigh. I hope you get to visit them soon!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        September 9, 2022 at 9:07 pm

        Thank you for saying that Shelley – I am trying my best to keep up here, but once again am still five days behind.

        With the Special Olympics race – perhaps if the schools (where the kids that participate in the race are attending) were able to finagle a little media attention before the next race, it might be beneficial and get more people watching as well as cheering as well as donating. I think that might help.

        I wanted to participate in a “Relay for Life” tag team event about five years ago. I heard about it on the radio and Googled and found it and called and asked if I could be placed on a team and I was told “no, our teams are set” so I said “fine, I’d help out with something else race related and the person said “you could make a donation.” I did not think that was the way to interact with me to be honest. The RFL race was nearby, so it was easy for me to get to early enough to help set it up or participate and I just decided to forget about it. They got a lot of publicity through local media beforehand, so maybe that would be good for this race to give it some recognition.

        I hope I can visit the reserves when retired and have more time – now, I am just hoping that the weather is nice on weekends for making any trips for longer treks.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Shelley@QuaintRevival.com says:
        September 10, 2022 at 7:57 am

        I’m cheering you on as you navigate through the blogging and walking challenges.
        Donations are essentially what all the events are aiming to gain. It is nice when they have participation and volunteers to help increase the profits from the donations.
        I hope the weather is nice for you! It’s raining here…

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        September 10, 2022 at 9:16 pm

        We did have a beautiful day today Shelley. I got a long walk in and changed my idea for my blog post which is for Sunday this week after I came home, so I had to scramble around. I had it all written (in my head) and had pics, so that took more time than planned. We are having “your rain” tomorrow they say and for off/on Monday and Tuesday. That’s too bad.

        The Relay for Life and Special Olympics can both stand to gain from donations as they are worthy organizations.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Shelley@QuaintRevival.com says:
        September 11, 2022 at 8:52 am

        Yay, I’m glad you had a beautiful day! I look forward to reading your post!!
        😍🥰😊

        Liked by 1 person

  11. Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog says:
    September 1, 2022 at 11:53 pm

    Great shots, Linda! 😊 That Mallard looks plump, like it could easily lay some eggs.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub says:
      September 2, 2022 at 6:26 pm

      Thanks Tom – I originally was going to call this post “Before and after Coffee” and then changed the title the night before. You are right about her looking plump and perhaps ready to lay some eggs; Mallards always have a large clutch of eggs. She was also sitting on a log that was narrower than her body. 🙂

      Like

  12. singlikewildflowers says:
    September 3, 2022 at 3:33 pm

    Linda you get good angles. This mallard was not in the mood for anything. The chubby behind is cute.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub says:
      September 3, 2022 at 7:50 pm

      Thank you Esther. You are right; the mallard was not in any kind of mood for photographs or visits. I think she was balanced precariously on that log, a little fat overlapping on each side.

      Liked by 1 person

      • singlikewildflowers says:
        September 3, 2022 at 10:21 pm

        I like your description of “a little fat overlapping on each side.” lol Hope you are having a good Labor Day weekend and not melting like us here in CA. Take care!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        September 4, 2022 at 5:01 pm

        Yes, like “love handles” over the waist of a pants or skirt. 🙂 I was being polite to the duck. Yesterday was nice weather, sunny and bright, but hot … but not hot like you are dealing with in CA. Today was gray and some rain this afternoon. Take care in your heat – I don’t know how you do it. I hard about a CA resident using troughs and filling them with water for the deer and wild turkeys near his property – that is nice as I’m sure some of their ponds and watering holes are dried up these days. I hope you enjoy that extra day off from school.

        Liked by 1 person

      • singlikewildflowers says:
        September 4, 2022 at 8:17 pm

        It was a good summer for that duck! It doesn’t seem to mind its “love handles” or “spare tire.” lol
        Very thoughtful of the CA person giving water to wild animals near his property. I haven’t been to our local creek lately since we last saw the vulture. The nearest pond was drained last year.
        Homeschooling this year is better since we have gotten the hang of it. Kids are also older so they know this stuff is important. But we have days when it’s like pulling teeth and everyone is in a stinky mood. I’m grateful for its flexibility though too much freedom comes with its own headaches.
        Oh well…so is this life we’ve chosen!
        Have a wonderful weekend and stay safe and on course during your adventures. Hugs from CA

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub says:
        September 6, 2022 at 6:27 pm

        Yes, for sure for this duck. 🙂 I thought it was a nice story about the CA person being thoughtful to provide water to the wildlife near his property. If there is anything that is good about your heat wave, at least you can put the nose to the grindstone now that school is in session, as it is too hot and stuffy outside to be looking at the window and wishing you were enjoying yourself outside.

        I laugh sometimes when here in Michigan all the schools will cancel class for the day due to extreme heat, even with having air conditioning and/or fans in the classroom. We never had A/C when we were in school. One year, due to my last name and being seated in alphabetical order, I sat next to a huge window the entire school year for one class. In the middle of the day when it was Winter, I froze my butt off – in the late Spring or early Fall, it was downright hot! Glad you three have found your groove for now.

        Like

  13. Janis @ RetirementallyChallenged.com says:
    September 5, 2022 at 12:58 pm

    I often admire members of the non-human animal world’s ability to sleep. Did the click of your camera disturb her beauty sleep?

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub says:
      September 6, 2022 at 8:05 pm

      Janis, I agree with you. My canary would just tuck his head under his wing and go to sleep, even though the light was on, the radio was playing, but he figured it was bedtime in his mind. I think you are right about the camera clicks waking her up. It was fairly early in the morning as well and just the two of us along a trail and I likely interrupted her zzzzzs.

      Liked by 1 person

  14. J P says:
    September 8, 2022 at 5:42 am

    I have no idea why, but my first thought when looking at these was the old elephant joke: How do you get down from an elephant?
    And the answer: You don’t get down from an elephant, you get down from a duck.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub says:
      September 8, 2022 at 7:00 pm

      I had to think about that for a minute JP – I’m a little slow on the uptake. 🙂 My great grandmother made a beautiful down-filled quilt and gave it to my mom. She had it for years and then put it on my bed when I got my first real bed. I didn’t have it too long and I found a string and pulled it … oops. Downy feathers came pouring out. Mom was mad. I haven’t thought of that incident for years.

      Like

  15. Prior... says:
    September 18, 2022 at 5:41 pm

    Love the water and stuff in the water and colors – Great photography

    Liked by 1 person

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