When I learned about “Walktober” last year after fellow blogger Barbara had a picture-laden post of Fall foliage from a walk with husband Tim, I wondered how I had never heard this phrase before. So, I made up my mind that in October 2023, I would ensure I collected some photos of Autumn’s exquisite color palette to post, not weeks or months later as is usually the norm for me, but in October and I decided those photos would be taken while walking at my favorite nature nook, Council Point Park – this year I celebrated my 10th year walking at that venue.
Since I am both a longstanding, plus frequent walker at the Park, I know which trees turn first from green to their burnished shades every year. The Locusts are the first to go, dropping a flurry of endless tiny yellow leaves and stems all over. The squirrels and birds aren’t fond of those trees as the multitude of leaves littering the path makes it difficult for them to see the peanuts and sunflower seeds, so yes, I use my shoe to swish away the leaves to make a bare spot, much like I do in Winter, stomping out a flat surface in the snow with my boot, to place the peanuts and sunflower seeds for them. Spoiled rotten little squirrels. 🙂
The squirrels are burying their peanuts more quickly than they eat them and soon my furry friends will be fattening up for the Winter.
Begging is stepped up at every twist and turn of the perimeter path. Parker is shameless, sometimes stopping me several times in one trip.
The Black Walnut tree is a good source for nuts when I don’t make it to the Park due to errands or bad weather and a few more walkers have been feeding the squirrels this year.
Some kind soul brought in lots of garden veggies and a huge sunflower “pan” of seeds for the critters and left them at the pavilion area and several places along the perimeter path. I saw ears of corn and lots of gourds too.
Here’s a factoid in case you did not hear or read this: Earth had its warmest September on record, absolutely destroying the old record. So I shudder to think of Septembers down the road. On the calendar, Autumn arrived and color-wise it began to slowly unfold, but Summer-like temps were in full force for the first few days of October, until suddenly on October 5th we dropped almost 40 degrees. I guess I am a malcontent as I had complained too much about the heat and humidity, only to grumble about needing to layer up more and I even added a hat and gloves on the way out the door; I eliminated wearing a scarf thinking that might be overkill.
Much as you collect the leaves and bag them, I have been collecting colorful photos of the foliage at the Park. I admit the colors were not as vibrant this year and local meteorologists have speculated that is in part due to June’s three-week drought-like conditions. We are about a week behind for our colors due to the warm weather and several rainy days. I figured I’d better hurry or it would be November to finish up this post. I have been to other venues for the Fall color parade and those pics will be shared in dribs and drabs in the coming months. Here is a slideshow of some photos I took as I walked along the perimeter path over the course of a few weeks.
These fishing photos look very peaceful to me. Two different fishermen, sitting on or near the same cement ledge, dangling a line into the Ecorse Creek, with colorful leaves as a backdrop and also reflecting on the water.
Even this pair of Mallards makes for a peaceful setting.
Sometimes its best to enjoy your peanut at the pavilion away from the other squirrels.
If only we could have two Autumns and skip Winter – sigh. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy the season and concur with L.M. Montgomery’s quote: “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”
I hope you enjoyed the photos of the last gasp of beauty before it is bare branches and brrrrrr!
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
So beautiful all photos. Very nice & interesting you share walktober.
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I’m glad you liked this post Raj. Our peak for leaves is now over but here in Michigan, October is our prettiest Fall month. (I personally think it is our prettiest month of ALL the months.)
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Thank you so much. Yes, you are right say!
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❤️❤️❤️
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Thanks Pam – I hope you are well. I bop over to your site occasionally to ensure I am still getting posts in Reader but you’re on a blogging break is all – whew!
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Yes, Linda, I’ve been quite absent because I’m ghostwriting a book and just couldn’t make time for both working full time in my day job and blogging while writing ✍️ so something had to give. Almost done with the project though so I’ll be back soon!
And your fall photos are brills!! 😘
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Glad to hear you’re just on an extended blogging break Pam and all is well. That’s a good cause to be absent for. This was peak week for leaves in my area – the red ones are so vibrant. We have had a warm spell the last few days and I’m sorry to see it leave; likely the near-80s won’t return until next Spring.
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September temps in late October. Climate change’s alluring side. 🤦♀️
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Yes Pam – it sure is. Indian Summer for us after Sunday’s hard freeze
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Loved the photos! So vibrant!
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Thanks Anne – I know you always like the Maples when they are gold and red!
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The most assertive color this year came from Burning Bushes.
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Yes, that’s true for me this year too Anne. I have had some years where I get a handful of red leaves and that is it. This year they were “worthy” after being planted in 1985! Another big Burning Bush in the backyard is still green – it got a major haircut this year when the tree trimmers took down the trees and cleaned the burned debris away, so maybe that’s why.
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I cut back our one burning bush, and it’s still green. Hmmm.
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A late bloomer?
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I don’t know. I forget things from year to year.
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I looked at mine when I returned from walking – two small ones, almost next to one another – one is mostly bright red, the other is green with maybe 10 red leaves and the one in the backyard is all green. Makes no sense to me. 🙂
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You captured beautiful fall colors in your photos, but the black squirrel with the big munch wins the prize for me. It must make them so happy to find something like that. I like that you name your squirrels, too, especially the ones that are repeat beggars. Keep on enjoying the autumn walks as we ease (I hope we ease) into winter.
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Thank you Dan – it was peak color last weekend for my area. After today’s 78-degree temps and gusty winds, I think the leaves will be off the trees now. One Black Walnut tree at this park makes a lot of the squirrels happy and busy for awhile. I’m looking forward to that promised mild Winter though the weatherman is hinting at snowflakes on November 1st.
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I don’t want to jinx the region, but I’ll be content with whatever nature tosses our way this winter. The squirrels in the park are mining the oak trees for all there nutty goodness.
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Dan, as a walker, less ice and snow will be nice. This Park’s perimeter path does not get plowed so there are ice ruts where people walk and then it melts in the afternoon, then refreezes. I often walk on the grass as it is safer. After so many volatile Summer storms and seven tornadoes in one evening, it has been nice to have calmer weather for a while. We have very few Oak trees in this park, so their nut goodies are from the Black Walnut trees. Today I saw a squirrel with a strawberry – he was holding it in his paws and nibbling daintily – such a prize. I hope the picture turns out!
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Such a treat! They plow the paths I walk on in the park, but not the utility road that connects them – at least not always. I get stopped sometimes by ice, or muck, and I have to turn back. My biggest problems are the people between here and the park who don’t clear their sidewalks. It’s the law, but…
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We have that problem here too Dan – the City gives us 24 hours to clear ice and snow from sidewalks or risk getting fined. Luckily, if I am able to get to the next block over, it is a fire route street, so it is always plowed/salted first, then it is clear sailing down to the Park (and another icy mess). If I know it’s going to be an ice/snow storm, I leave extra peanuts and sunflower seeds the day before … there’s no chance of digging up what they buried. 🙂
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We do the same, Linda. The birds and squirrels usually let us know. They are pretty good at predicting the weather.
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This is a delightful array of photographs.
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Thank you Anne – the Fall colors here in SE Michigan are really a delight to see.
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Fall has a beauty all it’s own and you captured a lot of great color!
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Thanks Kate – it was peak color last weekend, then we got the hard freeze Sunday night, so I knew I’d better get the rest of my shots soon. We reached 78 degrees today – amazing! I wish those temps could stay, but tomorrow’s the last day – snowflakes for November 1st.
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NOOOOO! Not snow! Too early!
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That’s what I said, while shaking my fist at Mother Nature … we had 78 degrees today!
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Question: What’s the lifespan of a squirrel? Seems like you’ve been covering Parker for several years now. Colorado’s leaf colors are just about all yellow (limited tree species at elevation) and we see very few of the reds down here in the South. Also, our trees seem to be holding onto their leaves longer this year. It’s been a nice break since summer mowing but before I know it, the air will be a blizzard of leaves, just asking to be cleaned up.
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Dave, I just Googled as I thought it was longer for Fox squirrels (like Parker) and I was right: “Life Expectancy: ~10 years in the wild, up to 18 years in captivity.” At Council Point Park, even though it is in the middle of the City, it is woodsy on one side next to the Creek and a few other people feed the squirrels so really there is no need for them to leave the confines of the Park to look for food, where they could risk getting killed by a car = longer life expectancy. There are hawks, however, something I never saw at this park until the last three or so years. I know one walker saw a Cooper’s Hawk grab a black squirrel and cart it off – I hope I never see that. I recognize Parker as he is bold and brazen – he puts both paws on my walking shoes at the toe part and has tried to climb up my sweatpants in the Winter while I was taking photos and hooked the “treat bag” in the crook of my elbow – he is impatient sometimes, but that’s because I spoil him. The colors were late this year, reached peak last weekend – Sunday night we had a hard freeze and today we got to 78. Our SE Michigan weather is pretty bizarre these days.
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I love all the color. Even though it may not be as spectacular as usual in your area, it has our fall colors beat by a mile!
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Janis, I do love October which is peak color here in my part of SE Michigan. We had a slow start but last weekend was peak when I got the majority of the most-vibrant pictures.
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everybody is getting the last drop of good weather in before HELL descends with a fury!
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Wayne – unbelievably it was 78 degrees today. It sure wasn’t like that in October when you and I were growing up in the same Ontario weather. We are expected to have snowflakes on November 1st – crazy weather. But the weather folks say we will have a mild Winter due to El Niño. I sure hope they are correct!
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Walktober ! I love that and the squirrels are so cute. Fall is my favourite time of year. We still have a lot of colour on our trees still in our area. Not looking forward to winter but I did read on the Weather Network that we are supposed to have a warmer than normal winter, which is good and bad.
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I do too Susan – I never heard that phrase until last year. It’s my favorite season and my favorite month. The squirrels are so busy right now. We’ve had topsy-turvy weather. Sunday night a hard freeze; yesterday and today we got to 78. Crazy weather. I’m hoping El Niño means mild and less snow, but not a lot of rain, especially freezing rain. If it gets too cold, it is dangerous to walk even to go out to the garage to run the car.
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Your autumn photos *almost* make me appreciate fall, rather than holding on to summer with all my might! So funny that squirrels step up their begging in the fall. Parker is so friendly! I can’t believe how close he gets to you. Here in PA my maple tree is still mostly green and this week the high temperatures are supposed to approach 80! We are taking advantage of the nice weather by taking our grandsons to Hersheypark one last time.
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It is a pretty time here in SE Michigan Laurie – we were at peak color last weekend when I got the rest of the pictures. Parker is bold and brazen and breaks all etiquette rules (if there are any) by stomping on my walking shoes with his front paws and gazing up at me with sad eyes … a few times he’s hooked onto my sweatpants with his claws and tried to scale my pants as he was impatient to get at the treat bag that I hooked onto my arm while I was taking a picture. I try to discourage that behavior though. He is fearless. The weather here is also nice – we got to 78 degrees today, same tomorrow and may break a record, then snowflakes on November 1st. I hope you and the grandsons enjoyed Hersheypark today for the last time in 2023.
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My favorite is that last picture of the solitary squirrel peacefully eating his nut in view of those bright burnt orange leaves still clinging to the nearby tree. Ahhhh… Such a lovely scene. Thank you for sharing these pictures and the slideshow with all those wonderful fall colors. I always enjoy seeing the black squirrels, too. And that little imp, Parker, who could resist that expectant, innocent little face?? I so enjoyed your Walktober post, Linda!
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I really liked that photo too Barbara! I originally intended to just do leaves, but had to put in a few squirrels as they are the best part of the Park … the birds too. Parker and his antics do make my morning special. I wanted to use that picture of the squirrel who took his nut up to the picnic table top at the pavilion as if to enjoy the solitude as a parting shot and the row of trees along the perimeter path do seem to glow don’t they? My first Walktober post – there will be more colorful leaves, but not all at once. 🙂
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If you want to, don’t forget to link your Walktober post to Dawn’s Walktober post. She’s hosting for Robin this year. I’m going to put mine up this afternoon. https://dawnkinster.com/2023/10/15/official-kick-off-of-this-years-walktober/
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Thank you for thinking of me Barbara – coincidentally, last night I remembered that Robin’s recent post had a link to Dawn’s post which you have sent me here, so I sent Dawn this post in a comment last night. I also followed Dawn after reading some of her recent posts. Now I will remember every year whether it’s Dawn or Robin. I thought it was the entire month of October and didn’t know it was a limited amount of weeks … looks like you and I just got our posts done on time!
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A beautiful collection of autumn photos! There’s nothing like taking a walk in the cool, crisp air and enjoying the colorful leaves.
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Thank you Rebecca – we were at peak last weekend and part of this week, so I was able to finish off this year’s leaf photos. There will be more posts, but I won’t do them all at one time. Those leaves and the reflections in October are exquisite. I thought of you today – I used to subscribe to “Birds & Blooms” magazine but now just follow B&B on Facebook. Today was a photo of Sandhill Cranes in flight from a Facebook follower. The photo was taken in Tennessee – is this refuge near you? Here is what B&B wrote:
“Photo of the day! Birds & Blooms reader Dan Sommers of Chattanooga, Tennessee says of this photo, “Every autumn I eagerly look forward to the annual migration of sandhill cranes through southeastern Tennessee. Most years, it’s October when I hear the distinct throaty call of cranes flying overhead. The weary travelers rest for a couple of months at the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge near Birchwood, Tennessee, where I photographed these three birds in flight.”
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Thanks for sharing this, Linda! Sounds like a really neat place. It is on the opposite side of the state from us, but definitely sounds like a possible future destination when my husband retires. 🙂 I’ll have to check out Birds & Blooms. A number of Sandhill cranes also arrive at a much smaller refuge here in northwest Tennessee around October or November and stay until February. I am always excited to hear their unique sound. I look forward to seeing more of your colorful leaf photos.
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You’re welcome Rebecca – something to look forward to when your husband retires and no need to go to Nebraska for their mid-April Sandhill Cranes migration. I hope the Sandhill Crane pair I saw at Lake Erie Metropark sticks around. There is a big rookery in Jackson, Michigan where a lot of Michigan’s Sandhill Cranes go for the Winter – a large colony of them tough it out in Michigan’s cold Winters. I just took more photos today, the last of the season as peak is over but the leaves had not all dropped. I subscribed to the magazine for years, but they have lots of gardening tips, bird photos from readers, all on their Facebook site and also at birdsandbloomsdotcom.
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Wow, you have vivid colors in your area!! We are still in the yellowing phase and the leaves falling. Not much red or orange yet.
Parker is looking very happy and I didn’t notice he had such long arms. 🙂
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Yes, we were at peak the last weekend and beginning of the week when we had a hard frost … today we hit 78 degrees. Thought it was California in October, not SE Michigan in October! The Maples are the most vibrant and that’s what is mostly at Council Point Park. The Safe Haven Tree is a Weeping Mulberry but it has not turned yellow yet. Parker likes to make himself look taller so I see him … 5′ 9″ me versus 12″ tall Parker. 🙂
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That’s a huge height difference…Parker does not want to lose! What’s going on with your weather?? The changes seem very drastic. Stay well and hope the allergies are not flaring up.
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I know Esther. 🙂 I tower over him – he’s still not afraid of me. I have a post from years ago taken in Winter, but on a snow-free day with long shadows which are fun to photograph. So there was Parker munching on peanuts near me on the path, but our shadows made it look like he was right next to me – I’ll send you the post in another comment – just one photo to see. It was a cute and lucky shot. Our weather is crazy – a week ago it was Summerlike and today it was really cold. We are getting snow flurries tomorrow night during trick-or-treating hours and could have light snow Wednesday morning, but not for everyone. My allergies have not been bad, but I wear a mast every time I leave the house, so that helps.
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Here is the photo of Parker and me on the perimeter path … it was very cold and I had my storm coat on which comes to my knees and a heavy hat but there was no snow at all, so wonderful Winter walking weather.
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Nice to meet you! Or maybe I’ve met you before? Lovely photos and lovely walk!! I, too, graduated college the first time in 1978. Interesting that we’re both from Michigan.
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Hi Dawn! I am not sure if we’ve met before, but coincidentally, as I scrolled down to get to the first comment (yours), I saw that Barbara Rodgers sent me a link to your post where I sent you my Walktober post. And now I have it figured out from Barbara’s message. I did follow Robin at Breezes at Dawn last October and I went back and saw her post where she mentions you – that’s where I knew to send this post and also followed you. I know Robin has not posted much as she was traveling lately. So Barbara explained you were hosting “Walktober”. That is a coincidence we are both from Michigan and graduated in 1978, though I only graduated once, just the B.A., no further studies after that. I walk at Council Point Park on weekdays before I start work, sometimes there on weekends (for my squirrel following) but I try to walk at larger parks on weekends. Blogging has rekindled an interest in photography, so that has been a fun part, besides the writing and the interaction with others. Last weekend and earlier this week was peak time for leaf color here in SE Michigan . We had 78 degrees today but 20 degrees colder tomorrow and going to keep getting cold ’til we have a chance of snowflakes by Wednesday. Those bright-red leaves are pretty with snow on them, but I’d rather snow stays away. 🙂
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Great shots, so beautiful, Linda! I love the fall tree colors but i sure am not looking forward to raking leaves in my yard; i’m just getting up there in age and do not feel like raking and raking any longer.
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Thank you Tom – Fall is my favorite season and October my favorite month, always has been. Our peak time for leaf color was last weekend and then we had that killing frost on Sunday night. I suspect you might have also had that sudden chill in Illinois. Now the leaves are all down. I have less leaves to rake this year – neighbors on either side had trees taken down and I had two trees taken down after DTE hacked them up after the downed wire/fire last December. It’s brighter in the backyard now, but they did provide some nice shade. You’re not that much older than me – a couple of years only!!
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Yay, nicely done, you’ve captured the essence of October! The squirrel photos are adorable, they pose so well for you. The reds of this year’s fall are so stunning. If only we could have 2 falls a year, we’d be happy, that’s for sure! Get that scarf ready…the chilly weather will appear soon. 🤗
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Thank you Shelley – I wondered, when I sorted thru the pictures, why I took a photo of THAT red leaf with the holes and marks on it, but decided to use it anyway as it was such a vibrant red. I imagine after today’s 25+ mph wind, those leaves will be history now. I like the Maple leaves the best, ranging from gold to orange to bright red. I found an Oak tree at Council Point Park – no acorns on or underneath it, so Googled and found they don’t produce every year and they drop them late Summer/early Fall, so the squirrels likely scooped them all up already. Yes, 78 degrees today and dropping 20 degrees tonight, snowflakes on Wednesday. Halloween evening will be pretty cold and maybe rainy too. Gotta dig out the scarf and go back to gloves and hat again.
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I think it’s great you found a use for the red leaf photo.
We had two nights in a row of hard frost so our trees are dropping leaves rapidly. Enjoy yours while you can!
Yes, I fear its time to pull out the layers for the season until spring/summer when we can shed them again.
Stay cozy, Linda! Happy Halloween to you too!
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You stay cozy too Shelley – our temps are dropping like a rock. Yesterday really wasn’t bad and I went for my last leaf peeping walk of the year and took a bunch more pics (which I need like a hole in the head). That red leaf was vibrant and I was looking for a yellow Poplar leaf which, when they fall to the ground, sometimes look heart shaped, especially when they have no marks on them. I know I used them before for an “I love Fall type of post” – leaves come down and Fall is a done deal in my opinion but at least the clocks change next Sunday so it will be lighter in the morning again.
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Thanks, Linda. Yes, it’s only 25 degrees this morning.
I love the Poplar leaves too. I hope you found some.
I am looking forward to it being lighter in the morning. I do dread the time change though. I wish they’d just go 1/2 way in between and call it good.
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Brutal temps after the recent warm-up … crazy. We were cold this morning too … just looked and it is 35 with a wind chill of 30 and I feel it in the house. Need to get out warmer clothes for inside/outside. I don’t go out after I’m home for the day, so I welcome the time change as it takes forever to get light on a cloudy day … I don’t know why they don’t do away with it either.
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Yep, brutal cold and now we have SNOW! UGH. It’s here, Linda, winter is teasing us and reminding us of the warmer days we’ll miss for several months now. 🤗
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Ugh to your weather Shelley. Ours was bad, but not that bad. It was flurrying around 4:00 and again at 7:00 and right now the “real feel” is 28 degrees. The weather guy said “the weather is frightfully frigid.” I don’t think many kids were zipping around the neighborhood with that ugly weather. We get to the 50s this weekend, so a brief reprieve.
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Yes, ugh is right. It’s only 20 outside this morning, but not snowing. We still haven’t turned on the heat so it’s only 66 in the house. We made it to November, so maybe we’ll turn it on now. We’ll see!
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With the windchill it was 28 this morning and I put the heat up to 73. It was at 72 but I could not get warm after I returned home from walking. It’s different if I would be moving around, but sitting here in one spot for 10 hours, it is too cold. We had .20 inches of snow and it was still on the lawn this morning. Ten days ago, give or take a day, we had almost 80 degrees. Crazy!
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It’s 24 and feels like 24 here this morning and the house is at 65. 🙄🥶 We’re still holding out as to when we’ll turn the heat on.
That wasn’t much snow. We had more, but most of it has melted. It is crazy that we were in the 80s 10 days ago.
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It was nicer today – got a nice walk in, though it too forever to get light out this morning. I don’t know how you do it – that is really cold!
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I’m glad it was nicer for you today!
We found more wood for the fire place so it was cozy in the house. 😉
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Yay – no frosty toes for you! It was gorgeous out today, but very windy, 20 mph wind while walking at the Park. Hold-onto-your-hat-weather for sure!
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It’s been such crazy weather! It’s warmer today than it’s been for a week and not windy. Stay warm, Linda!
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You too Shelley – enjoy the brief respite til you get slammed with cold and snow!
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It’s going to be a nice week, supposedly. It’s 53 this morning. We’re rolling with the roller-coaster weather. I hope you do too!
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Yes, it was nice this morning here too Shelley. They called for a raucous storm mid-day which never happened in my area. I’ll take every nice day I can as we creep closer to Winter.
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That’s great you got to enjoy it. We had warm temps but high winds yesterday. The winds pretty much cleared the trees of any leaves they were hanging on to. 😏
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Same here today Shelley – we got those winds and, even though it was mild, the wind whipped right through you … better than the alternative – snow!
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Yes, indeed! And I hear we’re going to be in the 60s next week. 😲
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Same here Shelley! And sunny all week – sounds good to me!
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Soak it all up and store it for January! 😉
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Indeed!
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The first photo introduction is simply gorgeous. What flashed in my mind was the Canadian Flag. I wondered if you placed the Maple Leaf intentionally for your Canadian heritage? Either way, it’s lovely.
Congratulations on celebrating your Council Point Park 10th year walking at one of your favorite nooks, Linda!
Parker’s face says Hi I Am Glad You Are Here!
This week, Linda, I have been on seven Walkoctbers. Although you report that the Autumn colors are not as vibrant this year at the Park, your particular Walkoctber offers the most Autumn color blends! Beautifully photographed with a heartfelt love of your Park.
Smashing ending! The final photo with the winding sidewalk as I look over my shoulder to see where I came from with the squirrel up on the Park’s picnic bench peacefully eating its peanut up says nothing gets better than that to lower high blood pressure! 🍂🐿️
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Hi TD – I am glad you like this post. No, that was just a coincidence about the red Maple Leaf – how nice that you noticed though knowing my Canadian heritage. I was sorting through those photos to pick a photo for the top of the post and wondered why I took a photo of that red leaf that had holes and blemishes on it?
I was lucky to have discovered Council Point Park and surprisingly that park was established in 1994 and I would not discover it until almost 20 years later.
The weather folks said the mild drought in June wreaked havoc with the tree colors this year for some reason.
Parker is full of personality and I like using some of his animated poses in my posts – he steps on my shoes with his front paws to “demand” peanuts and if I am taking photos and don’t see him or ignore him momentarily, he will try to jump up to reach the “treat bag” and he has climbed up my sweatpants a time or two. Patience is not one of Parker’s strong points.
I like that picture of the squirrel on the picnic bench in the pavilion with the vibrant trees on the pathway too. He separated himself from the others to enjoy his peanut in peace. 🙂 I have often said to people that walking the perimeter path and feeding the squirrels and birds is good for the soul.
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I like the idea of Walktober and you made every moment count with your walks and lovely photos, Linda! With October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I remember seeing walks dedicated to the cause years ago. A few years ago while I was teaching at Sacramento State U, there was a “walktober” challenge through an app for the various universities. All you had to do was walk and snap a pic of your feet, a selfie, dogs, or whatever could show your walk and submit it to the app. It was a university competition that was fun to participate in.
Enjoy your warm temps while you can. Sunny and cold here today and I have a bad cold.
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I am glad I could participate in Walktober this year Terri. I didn’t find out about it until the end of October 2022. Today I went out for the last time to take leaf photos – I’ll use them over the Winter. We will get very cold on Tuesday with snow flurries Wednesday. We had a few inches of snow in early November one year and my neighbor’s Maple tree leaves were everywhere and interspersed with the snow, it was beautiful. We also had freak freezing rain with the snow and my roses were still in bloom and I had ice and snow hanging off some buds. I called the post “Jack Frost Nipping at Your Rose”. 🙂 That’s clever for the “Walktober challenge” – I wonder if you would weave that idea into one of your October Sunday Stills sometime? There was a “Walk to End Alzheimer’s” today held at the Detroit Zoo. That walk always has a lot of participants. I would like to join it one day, but it is not near me and I’ve only been doing virtual 5Ks since 2020 (Covid). I hope you feel better – nothing like a cold to realize how good you feel when you are healthy.
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Miss Linda……………………………………I enjoyed the colorful October
Blog……………………………….and………………………………….the quote: “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers,” by L.M. Montgomery!
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I love that quote too Ann Marie -Council Point Park is beautiful in the Fall with those colorful trees along the path. My other favorite Fall spots are Heritage Park’s Maples – beautiful red shades and Elizabeth Park’s Oaks – all golden at peak.
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Walktober posts never fail to make me smile. Your photos are lovely. I also like your idea of two Autumns and skip Winter. Could you make that so, please?
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Thank you Ally – it was peak color last weekend until we had that hard freeze Sunday night. I’d love to skip Winter entirely, even in this predicted mild El Niño Winter. I think Winter quit being fun when I was still bundled up in snowpants, a wool scarf covering 2/3rds of my face and mittens attached to my jacket.
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I live in the tropics. There is no autumn so this was beautiful.
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Barbara – I have lived in a four-season state all my life, so I have to say I probably take our colorful Fall foliage for granted sometimes. The weekend of the 21st was our peak color so I took many of the pictures that day. Now we have cold temps and a little snow tomorrow night, maybe a covering, so the rest of the leaves will be dropping to the ground soon.
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Sounds like somebody followed your lead of leaving the goodies at the pavilion. I can’t believe how red your maple leaf is! Our maples don’t get red anymore in this area. Skipping winter for two autumns sounds good to me too!
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Diane, I’ve noticed a few more people feeding the squirrels, which I like if they continue it in Winter when I may not get down there due to ice and snow. And people were clearing out their veggie garden and left lots of veggies around the Park – the squirrels enjoyed them. I took them some pumpkins and corncobs last week and took some photos for a Thanksgiving week post. I would not cry if Winter was skipped either – Halloween night was just a preview of coming attractions – we only got 2/10s of an inch of snow, but it was bitter cold the entire evening.
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What a wonderful post (and I did end up waiting until November!) Our colours here in the Montreal area were slow to make their appearance, too.
Love your fishermen enjoying the day. I wouldn’t mind extending Autumn to five months, give me just one of winter (for Christmas’ sake).
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Thank you Dale – I am glad you liked the post. You are lucky your colours lasted so long. Our peak for the leaves was two weeks ago and today I was at this same park and the leaves are littering the ground, crumpled and brown. We have several fishermen that come to this park and one fishes all Winter. He throws back what he catches. It sure looked peaceful where they sat on the cement ledge didn’t it? I guess I could reluctantly part with one of those five months for Christmas as well. 🙂 We are supposed to have a mild El Nino Winter so as a walker I am looking forward to that forecast. I am a Canadian too, even though I have lived here since 1966, moving here at age 10.
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What part of Canada are you from? And where are you now? (I can’t tell from the name of the park 😊).
I love that we both chose Anne of Green Gables quotes 😊
My colours arrived quite late and in certain areas are done but not in others. I have a big red maple tree that’s barely turned nor lost leaves.
It looks so peaceful. My husband was an avid fisherman.
I don’t mind winter – I keep telling myself…
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Dale, I was born in Toronto but we moved to Oakville when I was two. My father was transferred from Ford of Oakville, to Ford of Woodhaven in 1966. I live in Lincoln Park, Michigan which is about 13 miles from Detroit.
I liked the Anne of Green Gables series very much as a young girl and there was a movie too I believe.
We had drought-like conditions for almost the entire month of June which caused the leaves to lack their usual vibrant colors – that’s what we were told by meteorologists.
Fishing is a peaceful pastime – one fisherman takes his daughter or granddaughter (I’m not sure – I’m a bad judge of age) to this cement ledge. She’s very cute and has a plastic worm and fishes alongside him.
My problem with Winter is that I have worked from home the last 12 years and before that I worked in Downtown Detroit and took the bus at the end of the street for 30 years, so I’ve not had to drive in snow and ice very much. I did have to wait for the bus in bad weather though – not a treat at all for that. I’m an avid walker, so snow and ice wreak havoc with walking.
My grandfather was born in St. Jerome and moved to Toronto where he met my grandmother. I have never been to Quebec – the only province I’ve been in is Ontario.
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Oakville and Toronto, eh?
Did you happen to watch the two versions of Anne of Green Gables? With Megan Follows way back and then they redid it Anne with an E. – so good!
We were lucky and were not overly long without rain – I can understand the lack of vibrancy with the dryness.
Oh yes. It’s a lovely pastime.
Oh, I feel you. I am planning on working from home with every snowstorm we will have. No way I will fight my way into town (I hadn’t worked in Montreal since 2012 and really contemplated taking this job for that reason. I hate the traffic. I don’t even want to think of the winter.
St. Jerôme is about 45-50 minutes from me and we would drive past it on our way “up north” to my mother’s near St. Jovite. The colours were spectacular (from my cousin’s photos) the first week of October (I did my Walktober two years ago with a walk in that area.)
You’ve got travels in your future! 😉
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Yes, a Canuck from way back Dale! The house in Oakville looks very different now. There is a Facebook group that I stumbled upon which is about Oakville memories. I told the administrator that I had done a Google map of my address and it didn’t match my recollection at all – it appeared to be between lots? So he was very kind and went and took photos and told me they razed all the bungalows on the street to build large two-story houses in their stead. I was amazed about that – same thing happened with my grandmother’s house in Toronto. A real estate developer bought three houses in a row (they were attached) and turned them into apartments. Most of the original residents, like my grandmother, had passed away in the 80s and 90s … I never returned to Toronto after 1990 and don’t even have a passport now, so I can’t cross the border to Canada.
As to Anne of Green Gables, I really don’t remember, but I remember watching it on television and I enjoyed the books.
I don’t blame you for wanting to work from home on bad weather days. I was laid off, then when I returned, I began working from home – it is just my boss and me. I worked right in the Downtown Detroit business district, but when my boss and I went out on our own in February 2003, we went one mile out of the business district, so I had to take two buses to get there. In good weather I would drive sometimes and/or if I bussed, I would walk from the office to Downtown, but it was a pain, so I like working from home – because of it, I began the walking regimen, then the blog, then got interested in photography again.
I didn’t realize St Jerome was that far from you. I regret I didn’t keep up with my French – years of French in Canada, then in college, but no one to speak French to and cramming more things into my brain, I don’t remember much and I never could trill my Rs!
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Haha! Love it.
Nice that someone went out of their way to show you what happened to your old neighbourhood. What? No passport? You’re soo close!
Well, if you have Netflix, the Anne With an E is on there and worth it.
I was never one to want to work from home – I need the buzz of an office. However, I would be very good with only going in twice a week at this point in my life. I hate the traffic and I will not use public transport (will take me three times the amoutn of time!) To be honest, I am ready to retire (in my head and heart, anyway). I love walking and blogging and photography and cooking and now, work is just taking up valuable time 😉
Well, it’s not that bad. My mother was a two-hour drive away until we convinced her to move back closer to her three daughters. If you don’t use it, you lose it. Haha! Trilling the Rs is not easy feat 🙂
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He was very kind Dale! I just remembered it was not the “Oakville Memories” Facebook group, but “E.A. Orr Elementary School” instead. I wrote a post once how I was looking for a neighbor and found my elementary school and found a class photo from kindergarten and had a long chat in this group with a girl who stood next to me in the class photo. I wrote a post about how we connected and she was in an administrative-type job, but her hobby was painting. I asked if I could use her painting pics for my blog and used a few, then she got angry with Facebook and dropped off the map – ah well.
But, in learning about the group, the administrator not only took photos, but he first sent me a link to a realtor as the house had recently been for sale and a video tour of the house showed the entire house. I recognized nothing and told him that when thanking him for the video. He then told me that Sandmere Place had been razed/rebuilt years before. He was in business for himself, a computer guy who regularly visited businesses and homes, so the next time he went out, he swung by and took the photos.
I have not had television since I cancelled my cable in January 2010 after my mom passed away. I have a very old TV, so I’d have to get a new TV before getting cable again, something I may do when I’m retired. I have watched some TV shows and movies on Amazon Prime. Finding time to do so is a whole ‘nother story.
It is just my boss and me – I’ve worked for him for 23 years. I gave him my notice in late June for the end of this year. We are losing our lease after 20 years the end of February (a new landlord bought the building) – my boss has not found a new office setting yet. He will be 77 in March, but likes working and does not want to retire. He asked if I would stay until he leaves, so I agreed, but no longer.
Well we have identical interests Dale, except for cooking – I’m not much of a cook, that is for sure. Mostly crockpot meals work for me. I know how you feel about work taking up valuable time. I was honest with my boss and said I want to enjoy my life – I am 67 years old and want to enjoy hobbies more … our lives are full with our three mutual hobbies and yes they do take up a lot of time, but enjoyable time. I was honest and said I also want to take some art classes as I took some as a teenager (sketching/charcoals), although I’ve written about a nice plein air painting group I met and I wouldn’t mind to join up with them once I feel confident enough with my artistic skills to do that. They go out twice a week April – October. I would go maybe once a week.
I even would like to study French again – not a formal class, just Babbel or another type of online course. I enjoyed it and yes, without trilling the Rs, I never could pull off the French, even if I wore a beret at a jaunty angle and munched on a croissant. 🙂
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He went above and beyond. As for your “friend” from elementary school… sheesh. People!
That is so cool. Not that you didn’t recognize anything but that so much was shared.
Wow. Hats off. I could not go without my TV. If you watch Prime, you can watch Netflix 😉 Time is not always a generous commodity!
That’s kinda cool. I worked for a boss once where it was just the two of us. It makes it harder to quit! My friend worked for an ex-boyfriend and when he retired, she was left wanting. Problem was, she was 70 at the time and finding another job became impossible – she did try, though.
I will not be working by 67! At least not for anyone else 😉 (That’s still 7 years away but I like to think I’ll be full-time doing what I love, whatever that is.) Hopefully, you boss comes to the point where he only needs you a couple of days per week – wouldn’t that be win-win? Then you would have time to take the classes you want. That plein air painting group sounds like a wonderful thing. Go for it!
Pourquoi pas? 😉 I want to lear Italian so I can go back to Tuscany and understand everything. I fell in love with the place and am dying to return. It’s good for the brain to learn new languages, so what if you have an accent – they are charming 😉
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Hi Dale – I thought it was very nice what this young man did … the woman, well that was a different story altogether. But we did have a nice chat that first night and took a stroll down Memory Lane and that chat provided a fun blog post.
I also get the Peacock Channel with my internet provider. I tried watching Yellowstone as it is so highly acclaimed and had a difficult time getting into it. I will try again though, probably over the Winter. Amazon streams fine, but it is a little dark on a computer screen. I thought it was me and I had to adjust something, but in researching and Googling a little, apparently it happens to others as well. I am thinking of getting cable when I retire, plus a new TV, however, a friend of mine said “once you retire, you think you have unlimited time, but it is like the weekend when you work – that time will go by very quickly!”
I have recently discovered a woman artist who does sketching tutorials online and I like what she teaches. For now, I have signed up for her free e-mail lessons. After meeting the plein air group and joining their Facebook group, I see where they go to paint (most of the places I go to walk and take photographs) – some paint in oils, some in watercolors and I think one woman sketches. I am impressed by their work. I am still deciding whether it would be sketching in charcoals/pastels or doing watercolors. After I met the group, I ordered some how-to spiral-bound art books, watercolor and sketching supplies to be used in the Winter of 2021 – yes 2021. I have not touched them yet. I just have to wait until I have more time to do hobbies.
Yes, it will be difficult for him and I know he is going to wait until the last minute to find someone, hoping I will stay, but I have been firm about it.
I used to travel a lot in the 70s and early 80s. There are four places left on my travel bucket list: Italy, France, Alaska and the New England states. It is different now and a bit worrisome and with COVID still lurking about, I likely will not fulfill my travel dreams which does make me a little sad.
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Very nice! Like you said, at least you got a blog post out of it! I just don’t understand some people!
My beau has Peacock (not available in Canada) and when we watch movies (he’s in Lancaster, PA, so we had date nights and put up a video chat while we watch movies) and I have Disney and sometimes we match our movies that way. Yellowstone was soooo good – and the two 1883 and 1923. At first you think Beth is crazy – then you KNOW she is but you love her and see why.
Most of the friends I know who are retired are busier than ever – but it’s a good busy.
I love that you are exploring your art. I have supplies but still haven’t dared. I think my father forgot to give me his artistic (for painting) gene. I might still one day actually try it!.
You have to remain firm.
How wonderful. I’ve not travelled enough to my tastes. I am working on doing more before my body tells me no.
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Yes – some people are just plain nicer than other.
That’s an interesting date night – well, no need to cross any borders and you can stay at home and still visit. I have actually never used Zoom or video chat – I have not needed it for work so had no reason to learn so far.
I am going to try Yellowstone again – maybe over the long holidays coming up when I have a little more time. They are taking a year off from any new Yellowstone episodes due to the strike. They only had a few new episodes for 2023 finished, so they will just start from scratch in September 2024 – that’s what I heard on the news the other day.
I have a friend I met walking while walking a few years back, but she moved so I rarely see her these days. However, she will be 82 next month and is very busy and does a lot of volunteer work plus walks every morning very early so she can get her walk in before her busy day begins. I know I have to remain firm. I am looking forward to retirement and decluttering my house bigtime as it is way overdue … then I can begin all my hobbies in earnest.
I would be nervous to travel these days … I can’t see it happening now to be honest. But, never say never!
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That’s for sure.
We have to do what we can between in-person visits! We use Google chats. It works for us.
I hope you do like it. I heard something similar.
I love that. 82 and still very involved and vibrant. Good for her! Yes, you must. And were he to decide out of the blue to stop, you would be out of a job – I doubt he would consider you in his decision. We sometimes allow ourselves to be sucked into another person’s agenda. So yes. Do make your plans.
Ah. I’m not worried but know many who are. My sister just came down with a nasty bout of Covid so…
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I like your thinking Dale on many topics.
My neighbor has Long Covid, having been very ill on the cusp of Covid being a household word. He had a heart attack last year and now has miscellaneous other severe health conditions. And, I had a friend who was just a couple of years older than me – he had a stroke, was in a rehab facility to recover, got Covid and passed away. So, yes I worry about getting Covid, probably more than many and it has tainted my thoughts of any travel plans. I hope your sister will recover fully from her bout of Covid.
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Thank you, Linda 🙂
My friend had Long Covid. My brother-in-law was operated for a triple bypass in the summer of 2020. He was terrified of getting Covid at that point. He did end up getting it from his daughter who was sicker than he was- so lucky. You just don’t know how you will react. I think it’s another mutation of the flu. And as we fully know, some people get really sick and can die and others don’t have serious repercussions. All I know is, I won’t let it stop me from living. Life is too short to live in fear.
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Yes, that is good to think like that, I do agree Dale – I am just leery. My good friend, the one who is almost 82 and so active – she had a hip replacement in February. Due to Covid/Flu/RSV and an ill husband at home, the doctor arranged for her to have her surgery in the morning and be released the same day (which kind of surprised me to be released that quickly). So she returned home to recuperate. A friend came to stay with her until she got on her feet – the friend was a welcome guest, but brought Covid with her after all the precautions taken to avoid getting Covid.
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I understand. The way I see it, if you are meant to catch the damn thing, you will. Your friend is a prime example! Good grief, what were the chances?
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Yes, you’re right. My friend’s husband got Covid back at the beginning of the pandemic. As a COPD patient, he was hospitalized right away and in hospital for many weeks, so she was trying to avoid getting Covid herself as well as worrying about her husband catching it again as a result of a hospital stay from her surgery.
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Thankfully he survived it. And I can’t blame her for wanting to protect him.
It’s awful to live in fear.
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Yes, with his COPD issues, it could have been a fatal outcome. Yes it is and I wish I didn’t worry about Covid as much as I do. Years ago I brought a bad cold home from work and my mom caught it and got pneumonia, so I became a bit of a germaphobe after that happened.
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It’s so difficult and we do have to forgive ourselves for “bringing it home” as it is never our intention.
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That’s very true Dale – I felt guilty about it for a long time.
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Don’t. Please forgive yourself.
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I’ve carried that guilt around for many years to be honest.
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Time to shed the weight!
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Your images are so beautiful, Linda. I’m so glad you were able to join Walktober this year. I was delighted to see the black squirrels. We don’t have them here (Eastern Shore of Maryland), but they had the run of our yard when we lived in Kent, Ohio. They were so much fun to watch.
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Thank you Robin – it was a beautiful day for my Walktober walk. I am glad that Barbara Rodgers told me about your site and Walktober. I’m originally from Canada and my grandmother lived in Toronto where there were lots of black squirrel and, at that time, the only kind of squirrels. When we moved to the States in 1966, we only had Fox squirrels – now the black and gray squirrels are everywhere – very cute and fun to watch. Going to the Park is the best part of the day – peace and quiet and feeding the squirrels and birds and getting my walk in.
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Linda, I’m visiting from Dawn’s Walktober roundup. I enjoyed your post! Your slideshow provided a nice overview of the changing colors, and the fishermen reminded me of my late dad. I’ve never seen a black squirrel though — ours are typically red, though some grays are trying to move in.
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Hi Debbie, nice to meet you and glad you enjoyed this post. I enjoyed putting together my first Walktober post. Fellow blogger Barbara Rodgers wrote a Walktober post last year and I aimed to do it this year – so many leaf pictures and how to winnow them down was tough, so I did the slideshow to avoid endless scrolling. Since my blog is about walking, I will be having more leaves posts over the course of the Winter … I know they all start to look alike after a while to I’ll space them out. Our peak weekend two weeks ago was fabulous, though the weather folks said the leaves were not as vibrant colors this year. We have several regular fisherman who sit on that ledge and drop a line – they throw what they catch back into the Creek. I’ve never seen a red squirrel and I think we have them in Northern Michigan, but not around here. We are getting more and more gray and black squirrels. When we moved here from Canada in 1966, we only had Fox squirrels, a type I’d never seen before as we only had black squirrels.
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We don’t see squirrels, or autumn, here to any great extent so it’s lovely to be able to share yours. Thank you!
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I am glad to share them with you restlessjo. Autumn is beautiful here in our four-season state and the squirrels are a fun way to start my day.
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Oh Neat you have black squirrels, and darn it i AM logged in, WordPress is causing DIS ease lol
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They are so cute Elisa – a little on the timid side, but they are not as fearful as the colder weather settles in and they want extra peanuts to eat and bury. 🙂 I don’t understand why we have difficulties, even when logged in, commenting on posts. It hasn’t always been that way.
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Somehow I have never had a tree with those beautiful red leaves in fall, although I do have a tree that blesses me with brilliant yellow for a few days.
If we just finished Walktober (a great name) what is it now? Slowvember? Hopefully not Snowvember!
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At the Park this morning, a few Red Maples lingered with their beautiful colors. I liked the name and concept of Walktober too JP. I hope it is not Snowvember, although earlier today the meteorologist was mentioning two weather-related events in Michigan: the gale force winds resulting in the sinking of the “Edmund Fitzgerald” on this date in 1975 and our surprise 9.5 inch snowfall on Veterans Day 2019 . It was beautiful, but wow and it melted within a few days.
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