Wingin’ it in a wildfire haze. #Wordless Wednesday

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

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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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75 Responses to Wingin’ it in a wildfire haze. #Wordless Wednesday

  1. Ominous pictures… One has to wonder how that haze affects the lungs of birds and other wildlife. We get air quality alerts and can stay inside or wear a mask. I imagine breathing in that air must hurt their health in the long run.

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    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

      I agree with you Barbara. I wonder if the songbirds who have their mouths open singing and then catching bugs find it more difficult to breathe then the shorebirds who are mostly standing in the water, not in the air? I hope we don’t see dead birds like the West Nile Virus. We have a new mosquito-borne illness in Michigan: Jamestown Mosquito; one more thing to stay clear of.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. rajkkhoja's avatar rajkkhoja says:

    What a best photography. Beautiful photos. I like Last one that sunset 🌇!
    Thanks!

    Liked by 1 person

  3. The first shot is amazing! They all are but that’s my fav.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

      Thank you Kate – it was my favorite too as it looked like they were turning and looking over their shoulder at me! Our wildfire smoke has finally dissipated after two rainy days and a stormy afternoon/evening tomorrow.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Pam Lazos's avatar Pam Lazos says:

    It was hazy for days here, Linda. So much so the sun was a ball of orange.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

      It has finally dissipated here Pam – we had some rain on Sunday, yesterday and will have a storm tomorrow, so the weatherman says it will be perfectly clear going forward. My last photo was taken around 7:45 a.m.in front of my house. Pretty amazing, but not as much as New York City!

      Liked by 1 person

  5. great shots Linda! Fire and smoke have been around for millions of years.
    Nature shows no favours.

    Liked by 2 people

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

      Thank you Wayne! I liked the first photo best as I thought it looked like they were escaping and looked back to see if anyone was in pursuit. It is devastating what happened – poor land and animals/birds choking on this haze.

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Zazzy's avatar Zazzy says:

    Wildfires are scary! I wish you and all your feathered and furry friends well. I like all the photos. Your geese remind me of a small pond that was at the intersection where I turned to go into town in Wyoming. I don’t know why except that the pond was so full of geese during migration that you had to believe there were better places to be. At least your birds can fly away from the smoke. Stay safe!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

      Thank you Zazzy. I didn’t go out the one day it was so bad and I always mask up, even at the Park. We have improved our air quality to almost normal thanks to two rainfalls – one on Sunday, the other yesterday and we have rain and storms most of the afternoon/evening Thursday. We had really bad stats this time last week – Detroit (which is about 12 miles away from me) was third worst in the nation for air quality. Nothing like New York, but still …. you have to figure the birds had it worse with nowhere to go. At least the big migration through Michigan had already happened on May 10th through May 12th thank goodness.

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  7. A common sight to see, Linda! Beautiful shots. Our news just reported several wildfires at the Washington/Oregon borders today–here it comes. We have thunderstorms expected today–hopefully more rain and less lighting!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

      Thank you Terri – it was quite dark around here from the smoke and there was a stat that Detroit (which is about 12 miles from me) had the third worst air quality in the nation. Amazing! Sorry to hear your bouts with wildfires is just starting – hopefully the thunderstorms are tamer and the rain helps to douse the flames. Stay safe!

      Liked by 1 person

  8. trumstravels's avatar trumstravels says:

    I wish the wildfires would end, such a tragedy for everyone and everything concerned😕

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  9. Ally Bean's avatar Ally Bean says:

    Scary to see photos like these. We had smoke haze here and unhealthy air quality alerts, but I didn’t think to snap any photos.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

      I know – the sunrise photo really got me as it looked like a glowing orb in the sky. Our states were bad, but nothing like the photos of New York. I would not have gone out of the house there, even masked up.

      Liked by 1 person

  10. TD's avatar TD says:

    Are these photos taken from your place this week?

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  11. AnnMarie R stevens's avatar AnnMarie R stevens says:

    Miss Linda………………………………..I did ask why there was a haze around the morning and evening sun………………………………I wonder how the birds and animals ……………………………………wonder too……………………….??

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

      I feel sorry for the birds here Ann Marie. I hope they were not injured breathing the smoke, especially the young birds who are especially vulnerable to all that smoke. That bottom picture was taken in front of my house about 7:45 a.m.

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  12. Rebecca's avatar Rebecca says:

    Beautiful shots, Linda. We’ve had hazy skies here also. It made for some beautiful colors during the last full moon.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

      Thanks Rebecca – yes, it looked like the sun was on fire here a few times. Our hazy skies are now gone courtesy of the rain we’ve (finally) gotten Sunday and yesterday and storms tomorrow.

      Liked by 1 person

      • Rebecca's avatar Rebecca says:

        Good you’re getting rain. We need it badly. It keeps going around us.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

        I wish I could send you some of our rain Rebecca, although right now we are expecting severe weather at 6:10 (60 mph winds/hail/torrential rain). I’ll be glad when it is over … it’s unusual to have stormy weather like this when it is not hot and humid, nor sunny.

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      • Rebecca's avatar Rebecca says:

        This is a bad time of the year for severe weather. I hope all is well for you.

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      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

        Yes it is – the devastation in Texas was heartbreaking plus three deaths they said. I was okay Rebecca, but pretty anxious when rotation was spotted. That tornado touched down near Monroe which is 30 miles from me. They confirmed it was a tornado and not straight-line winds … they were wavering what it was. We had two storms which was worrisome – one is bad enough without two to worry about. At least it was still light out. I worry about bad weather after dark as well. I never used to be a weather worrier, but these extreme instances are scary.

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      • Rebecca's avatar Rebecca says:

        I’m glad it didn’t get any closer to you. Yes, two would really be nerve-racking.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

        We have some more severe weather coming this Sunday. I really was liking the cooler weather – no volatile heat spikes. I feel sorry for the people in Texas. Between that heat and the tornadoes. Mother Nature is certainly showing who is boss lately.

        Liked by 1 person

  13. Laurie's avatar Laurie says:

    Poor geese! I wonder if they had trouble breathing. We were visiting our son and his family in Colorado during the haze. Thank heavens! I would not have been able to run under those conditions.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

      I know Laurie – I can’t imagine if they had smoke inhalation and what about their youngsters? It’s gosling time as you know – can their tiny lungs take that smoke? Last week Detroit was third in the nation for poor air quality – Detroit is about 12 miles from where I live, but I will tell you that they advised runners not to run due to the haze. Glad you got to visit Atti and his parents. I just thought of Atti the other day – on Twitter it was a trending topic that Gregory Peck had died 20 years ago and there were lots of video clips from “To Kill a Mockingbird” in honor of him.

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  14. Great pics, Linda! 😉
    I feel so sorry for our outdoor feathered friends who have to contend with all of the smoke and carcinogenic particulates. What human beings are doing to nature is unconscionable! I wore a mask while driving to the grocery store today. And my neighbors still insist that climate change is a myth! Ludicrous!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

      Thank you Tom! I feel badly for our outdoor feathered friends as well. They have no choice but to go out and forage and drink/bathe in the water. I have not heard of mass deaths of birds from the wildfires, but it would not surprise me … hopefully they seek refuge in a safe place. I agree with you about humans and climate change. I have to be honest that I am masked up every time I leave the house due to Covid, despite having been vaccinated and two bivalent boosters. I have Spring allergies despite being on immunotherapy for years. Wearing a mask doesn’t both me, except Winter when it fogs up my glasses.

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  15. Great shots, Linda. Our skies have been like that too. So sad 😢

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

      We had some wildfire smoke this morning and maybe tomorrow as well. It is very sad … dark days, literally.

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      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

        This morning I heard the meteorologist say this wildfire smoke will likely be with us all Summer. Poor birds – we can mask up if it is that bad – they have no choice but to go forage, fly and drink in it.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Sigh…………..really? Ugh!
        I’ve been wondering about the animals and birds.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

        It can’t be good for them, especially the songbirds – canaries are like finches and when we got a canary, after having parakeets for years, there was lots to learn about. Like aerosols, or even cooking with Teflon cookware bothers canaries because of how their throats are constructed. They are susceptible to fumes of any kind, even cooking, or something burns or having the oven door open creates havoc with their throats. So I have to figure all the particulates are not helping the birds any.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Oh, my, that all makes sense. We’ve been noticing this year that we are way more sensitive to what we would’ve never considered allergens in the past. Poor little birds and animals 😭

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      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

        The pollen has been especially high lately. You can check it out at pollendotcom. I wonder if it is because of the heat and wildfire smoke. We were considered “bad air” again today.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Thanks, I’ll check it out. I just saw we have a 3 day bad air alert for three days for the whole state of WI! 🙄😣
        It’s sad because it is one of our areas’ largest country fest (that’s what it is called) starting Thurs – Sun – yikes, it’s HOT and bad air. I can’t imagine it being fun. 🤷🏻‍♀️

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      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

        Hot and bad air and a big crowd … not a good equation. People get miserably hot and sometimes pick fights. No, not a fun scene. That’s too bad about the weather wrecking this festival. We have the Wyandotte Street Fair every mid-July and without fail, we have some kind of bad weather that’s either very windy, torrential rain or sickening hot … sometimes all three.

        Liked by 1 person

      • I agree! Some years it rains all the time and it’s a mud fest. I imagine there will be people who bring big swimming pools to sit in to cool off. I’ve never had a desire to go.
        Summer and wild weather seem to go hand-in-hand. 😉

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

        You’re kidding re: the big swimming pools – wow! Our Detroit fireworks show is this Monday night. It is a big deal as it kicks off the International Freedom Festival as Canada is just across the Detroit River and celebrates their holiday on July 1st. So barges are set up mid-way across the River. We have a stormy day/night, so they wait until mid-afternoon on bad weather days to “call” whether to keep it scheduled or not. There’s so many people come down to see the fireworks that they also have to close off parts of downtown and Belle Isle where people go to watch them.

        Liked by 1 person

      • We got thunderstorms and heavy rain last night and rain most of today. I’m guessing their swimming pools are full and there’s a mud fest going on.
        Your favorite time of year…fireworks time! 🤔😉

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

        I am sitting here on pins and needles ready to bolt to the basement as we have sever weather rolling in here in the next 1/2 hour. I am following it on Twitter by a meteorologist who Tweets up-to-the-minute warnings. Not only 1-inch hail, but 60 mph winds and possible tornado. We just had this same scenario 10 days ago but today it is hot and humid. Sigh. We have another stormy day tomorrow, though just hail and high winds – no tornadic activity. Dare I say it – I am ready for Fall … no, make that late Fall, when the heat is gone and the weather is normal. Sigh.

        Liked by 1 person

      • WOW – more storms!!! Yikes. I hope you’re okay.
        This weather is crazy this year. We had storms but nothing like what you described.
        I’m not quite ready to vote for fall yet, we need some NICE summer weather first!!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

        In Dearborn, which is about ten miles from me, on Twitter someone posted a photo of their neighborhood of all the trees that were uprooted. I’m worried about that huge dead tree … we got winds to 61 mph at the airport, but I don’t think it was that high here and I didn’t hear hail. We got no tornadoes in Michigan, although they had said the atmosphere was ripe for tornadoes. It has rained here solidly since noon and we are having thunderstorms again tonight – crazy weather.

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      • Oh, my, gosh, that’s crazy weather! I’m glad you and your dead tree are still okay.

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      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

        Thank you Shelley – today it was gray from no sun and the wildfire haze, but no rain or storms.

        Liked by 1 person

      • You’re welcome. It was SO hazy here yesterday we didn’t enjoy being outside in the sun at all. It’s starting to rain now. Crazy hazy summer!

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      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

        It was really bad here today – same tomorrow. It was coolish so I didn’t have the A/C on but it will be warm and stormy tomorrow and if we aren’t going to have 2-3 storms over the next few days and beginning of the holiday weekend – they don’t know now for sure if they will be severe or not in my area. Crazy weather. We have the second poorest air quality in the nation today/tomorrow, just behind Chicago due to the Canadian wildfires.

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      • Our air quality is bad too! UGH! It’s rarely 167 when we wake up in the morning.
        We had storms roll through too. Like we’ve been saying – it’s CRAZY!!!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

        We are at 200 now but we were 227 at 1:00 p.m., second worst in the nation and also second worst in the WORLD, second only to Delhi! I wore a N95 mask again today but walked today and this was stupid too … weather forecast on both sites I follow and the radio forecast at 5:00 a.m. today all said storms tonight (that’s still gonna happen in the next hour or so, then overnight and a good chunk of tomorrow) but they said it wouldn’t rain til noon. Well, it is so gray outside, it looks perpetually like it’s going to rain these days. so I was at the Park and felt a few sprinkles … decided to drive home, put the car away before it got wet (a pain to hook it up to the trickle charger as you have to dry it off 1/3 of the car at a time as I can’t do that in the garage as it’s too small) … so got home, car away and decided to walk in the ‘hood. Big crack of thunder, big splats of rain – two minutes later a torrential downpour. Neither Accuweather nor Wunderground predicted that. Came inside, put on the news and they’re talking about severe weather Downriver (where I live) with 30 mph winds and one-inch hail. Good thing I came home when I did, even though I grumbled about shorting my walk.

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      • Oh, my, goodness, Linda! The weather in Michigan is wild!!! We’ve not been that high, but where my youngest lives they’ve been close to that. She said they can taste the smoke when they’re outside. So they’ve been staying inside with windows closed too. The smoke must be messing with the clouds? I’m glad you went back home when you did. I hope the storm was short and that you’re okay!

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      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

        That storm came up so suddenly I am glad I didn’t linger – it wasn’t even windy when I was outside. So this morning, they called for a thunderstorm at 7:00 a.m. – nothing was going on so I went out, but stayed in the neighborhood to walk. We are supposed to have a storm tonight early evening and storms Saturday and all day Sunday. Mother Nature gave us no rain for three weeks, not every day!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Wow, Linda, like I’ve said, you’re getting crazy weather! We’re on our dry spell again. And HOT!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

        Unbelievably we had rain the entire day yesterday and three storms – one time it rained for a solid hour, torrential rain. It rained once but no storms and tomorrow just hot (90) – ugh. Good thing I planned my four days off to work in the house – not fun, but I knew I could walk in the Park if nice, then get home. Never made it out today nor yesterday, but got lots done, so that is a good thing – but crazy weather Shelley.

        Liked by 1 person

      • What a crazy roller coaster of weather you’re having!
        I’m jealous that you’re getting so much stuff done in the house. What will you do with the long winter? 🤣

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

        Well, I got a lot done, but I still have a couple more rooms and it still looks somewhat disorganized, but it was a good weekend to work inside. I did get out for a walk this morning but returned home and was back at it. Read perhaps … I finished my book and did not start another one so I did not get distracted. I really stayed on task (unusual for me when it comes to housework). 🙂

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      • You’re inspiring me to get started on finishing projects I started months (years) ago! Congratulations on making progress, that must be a great feeling!

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      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

        It does feel good Shelley – I felt like I made some headway (finally).

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      • YAY!!! That’s wonderful news!

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  16. Fire is so devastating for people and nature. It was such an eerie feeling when the smoke reached us. I feel so bad for anyone that lost anything!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:

      Yes, it was really dark there for a few days and so gray it looked like it would pour raining any minute. I feel sorry for them as well – all the weather-related issues lately. That recent tornado that touched down in Monroe was 30 miles from me, then I heard it left Michigan and wreacked some havoc in your area – hopefully you remain unscathed.

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  17. J P's avatar J P says:

    We got some of that haze too. These shots really captured the moment.

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