Lately I’ve regaled you with images of colorful leaves and there will be a few more posts brimming with lovely leaves down the pipeline. But for now, frost and rain have diminished the vivid colors of most of that Fall foliage and back-to-back gusty days have left only the most-tenacious leaves still hanging on for dear life. These days, instead of admiring the leaves, the soles of my heavy walking shoes tromp along the walking path, alternately crunching them underfoot, or they end up clinging to my shoe soles with a faint, musty smell from recent rains.
Sadly, we’ve gone from beautiful to brown and blah.
But, even before the leaves were all aflutter, the beauty of the various marshes I routinely visit also began to diminish. There are Pond Lilies plus American Lotus beds at Sterling State Park in Monroe, Michigan, but the beds are not as large as those at Lake Erie Metropark – they are just scattered throughout the marshy lagoons. Those Lotuses take months of growing time before they bloom and dazzle us with their beauty, then, after a few days’ blooming time, the leaves are all that remain. By Fall, those wilted, brown leaves remain on the water’s surface and eventually the similarly colored seed pods on their stalks look like periscopes rising out of the water, a somewhat eerie scene once the marshes freeze over.
I visited Sterling State Park in early October, just as the first bite of cold had dried up those large Lotus leaves and turned them brown. While very few trees in this 1,300-acre park had yet to erupt into color, the Pond Lilies, Lotuses and some reeds had already dried up. Initially, I was a bit disappointed I’d made the 60-mile round trip with not much to photograph, but I logged a 7.5 mile (9.7 kilometer) jaunt around this entire park and gleaned enough photos for two, maybe even three posts – part one will be today.
Meandering around the marshes.
The Sterling Marsh Trail encircles the large lagoon at Sterling State Park. As I walked along I had to be mindful of my footing. Although it is an asphalt path, many tree roots have poked through that paved path leaving it broken and uneven, plus lots of fallen Poplar leaves littered the path, so I couldn’t always tell where that uneven payment might be. After carefully navigating that pathway for a while, I took a break from the rigors of studying the asphalt and stepped over to the shoreline and soon thereafter spotted a gathering of Mute Swans.
So, what can brown do for you?
Well, besides brown being my favorite color, on this day, the sun was out just enough to cast reflections of those brown leaves onto the water, as well as the waterfowl gliding around peacefully in the marsh. It was a prettier sight than originally anticipated when I set out on this walk. In fact, I thought the blah, brown background with only the bright-white swans’ plumage makes these pictures look like vintage sepia prints with colorized swans.
These are Mute Swans, instantly recognizable by their orange bills. The males are called “cobs” and the females “pens” and to tell them apart you look at the black knob at the base of the bill. The knob at the base of the male’s bill is more bulbous than the female’s knob, especially in the Spring during mating season. Unlike raptors where the females are usually larger than the males, this is not the case with swans.
These group shots really do not do them justice. I took this photo while wondering how many “swans a swimming” were in the group for a potential Wordless Wednesday post at Christmastime. But, while Googling later, I learned I was one shy of the “seven swans a swimming” from “The Twelve Days of Christmas” song – there were just six in this “bevy” which is the collective word for a gathering of swans in the water.
I took many photos that morning, but my favorites are the close-ups where these graceful waterfowl are mirrored in the water’s surface.
I stayed put for a while, gazing at those beautiful birds, just them and me. But, of course, all good things must come to an end in a nature setting, usually the result of humans. In this case, it was not a vehicle that zoomed by and spooked the swans, but a gunshot by waterfowl hunters at Pointe Mouille, just ten miles away.
Only two nearby swans remained in place, seemingly unfazed by the gunshots.
I didn’t know then, but the best was yet to come!
After the gunshot and mass exodus I walked along the shoreline where I saw a lot of Egrets … here is one of them.
Then there were two more swans. I took these shots as one swan rose out of the water displaying its wide wingspan. Its mate (likely, maybe a friend) seemed unimpressed and returned to preening. 🙂 Similarly, a Mallard just paddled on by … whatever, right?
The blasé attitude of the waterfowl brethren made me smile, but I smiled even more when I saw these photos on the computer screen a couple of weeks later and instantly recognized the long and pointed black bills of Trumpeter Swans, my first time photographing them, although I’ve often seen them in flight.
When all swans are in flight, their wings make a humming or whistling sound that carries more than a mile and may help the birds communicate with each other. So, whenever I hear that humming noise, I instantly look up. I found this very short video on YouTube for you to listen to if you click here.
I finally went back to the walking path as I knew I had a lot of ground to cover before I reached the trailhead where I had parked my car.
There were still a few wildflowers blooming, offsetting the drab, brown Teasels.
A dainty Cabbage White butterfly nestled in between these petals …
… probably because this thistle was spent and too prickly.
Although I stood patiently beneath this eagles’ nest hoping its inhabitants would return, thus giving me a photo op, it was all for naught as I just wasted 20 minutes’ time – no eagles. It’s not the first time this nest was empty when I visited this park.
It looked like no one was home in these brown, nondescript and rather dilapidated birdhouses either.
Sadly, Summer’s swan song is just the precursor to Fall’s beauty and eventually Winter’s blah and boring landscape.
I am joining Terri Webster Schrandt’s Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge: SundayStills; #Brown
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Love the swan shots Linda! Great sleuthing!
Anyone who goes to the trouble of building bird houses, loves birds!
Which makes me wonder what happened to the person who put them up? For the houses to be in such a state of disrepair means that person hasn’t been around for a long time. Most likely passed on?
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I was about to shut down the computer and saw your comment … I didn’t mention to you I saw Trumpeters and thought I’d surprise you. It was exciting for me after viewing your many posts about Trumpeter Swans. Glad you liked the swan shots Wayne. I wonder about why the park doesn’t ensure that the bird houses are not always move-in ready although it looks like the middle one had nesting materials in it. I know there are a lot of bluebird houses at Lake Erie Metropark along Cove Point and on one of the interpretive walks I took I learned that they ask for volunteers to build and put up the birdhouses … that surprised me as I assumed it was the Metropark’s doing.
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our own Trumpeters are arriving from the Yukon!
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They are trading the snow and ice for warmer climes – the occasional rain beats frigid weather.
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Another wonderful post!
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Thank you Anne – I am glad you enjoyed it!
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Wonderful & lovely swan & birds picture. Beautiful photography. Wonderful of colorful leaves and there more posts brimming with lovely leaves down the pipeline.
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Thank you Raj – I am glad you liked the photos. I have a lot of leaves photos this year, which I’ll try to space out to not bore anyone. 🙂
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Okay, thanks, Linda!😐
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Wow, Linda, seeing the swans surrounded by the marsh turning brown for the season looks so amazing! So interesting about the way to tell the males from the females. I love all your images but my favorite floral one is the one with the brown teasles and white flowers! Spectacular and the perfect nod to late Autumn and shades of brown 🙂 I’m glad you shared fo Sunday Stills again and I hope you have a great week!
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Thank you Terri. Who says brown and withering leaves can’t make interesting photos? When I saw your Challenge color brown, I knew right away these pictures would work. There were a lot of egrets that day in those brown-toned areas, but the contrast was not as striking as with the swans. I have taken photos of Mute Swans close up where the gender difference is quite noticeable. I liked that same picture for the contrast. I had a difficult time winnowing down my brown pictures from that walk as I had so many. 🙂 I am having fun with these Sunday Stills Challenge posts. You enjoy your week as well!
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Pingback: Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge: All the Leaves are #Brown and Much More – Second Wind Leisure Perspectives
I just thought, it would be a fun challenge for you to get the 12 days of Christmas in photos. I have never seen more then 2 or 4 swans together and I only see the trumpeter swans. I actually have to think of the words to the song to remember what the 12 things are first. 🙂
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You would have to improvise on some of those like lords a leaping, that could be replaced with frogs or something that leaps 🙂
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Sandra – I actually had a post with seven swans a swimming several years ago … I’ll hunt it down. It wasn’t great pictures, but there they were at Dingell Park, all in a row so I used that title for the post. Then a few years ago, I thought it would be fun to try to recreate that song after I took pictures of two Mourning Doves, then six geese bunched together. The funny thing was the geese were molting and sitting on the grass, all together. I figured they were laying down (not laying eggs). 🙂 I think that would be fun to do that challenge too!
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This shows fall at it’s best…or at least it’s second best without the beautiful colorful tree leaves.
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It is amazing how nice the landscape can be even when it enters the blah and brown stage … of course it helps having a few bright-white swans to brighten up things. 🙂
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Still a bit of colour amongst the browns! I love that sound when the swans are flying, it’s quite something isn’t it?
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It ended up being a nicer walk than I anticipated Susan – but my first glance around I thought “well this is a bit boring!” That sound is incredible and that’s how I noticed my first Trumpeters out at Lake Erie. I heard that noise and looked up. I couldn’t believe a pair of swans made that much noise. Since then I always look up. But then I always look up when I hear Canada Geese honking overhead and in formation.
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I agree with you. I love the reflections of the Mute Swans. Plus the brown “stuff” in the marsh adds to the photos.
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Thank you Donna. It is odd that leaves so crumpled and dry could add to the photos, but against the very white swans, it sure does. There was just enough sun to give nice reflections.
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So nice….
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This was a fun read and fun photos.
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Thank you Kirstin – I’m glad you enjoyed it!
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I love the photos of the swans, especially the reflections.
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Thanks Dan – I was lucky to see some of the swans up close and I’m a big fan of waterfowl reflections on the water too.
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Thanks for the lovely walking tour. 🙂 I don’t think I’ve ever seen swans with black bills before. They are striking!
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You’re welcome Debbie D. Yes, those Trumpeters are very striking and I was happy to photograph them after seeing them over in flight occasionally. I follow a wildlife photographer in Tofino, British Columbia and he often photographs the same group of Trumpeters which return right around now from the Yukon. Very beautiful birds!
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So, now I know how to tell a Mute swan from a Trumpeter swan! Thanks for the lesson. They are both elegant… and I love the reflections.
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Thank you Janis – yes, the bills are the key for telling these graceful swans apart. I am also a fan of water reflections.
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Nice to see the Trumpeter Swans Linda. I think even in the “brown” time of year there is always something to see and watch – the end of the year = we are moving towards the next spring when all will burst into a new time of colour. Just a couple of months to wait!
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Thanks Andy – I couldn’t believe I missed them in “real time”. 🙂 Yes, the brown gave a totally different perspective didn’t it? You are lucky that the UK will be blooming way before we will, although we are expected to have a mild El Niño Winter for which I am grateful.
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Yes very different, As I think I have said before we only get mute swans here in Hampshire.
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I suppose that nature is beautiful in all it’s seasons but those ponds with dead leaves and other detritus are not that pretty. BUT the swans certainly are beautiful and I learned something new about swans plus you posted pictures of trumpeter swans! Very cool.
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The marsh tends to look bad once everything dies off and the reeds are slow to green up in the Spring, so it doesn’t look good until Summer unfortunately. Good thing the swans and egrets are there for some beauty. I’m glad you liked the swans Zazzy. I was excited to see my first Trumpeters. (Too bad I didn’t notice them in real time!) I thought I’d put that info on how to tell the male/female apart and the different swans’ bills as I think some readers have never seen those waterfowl. The most-unique thing to me about the swans is the humming of their wings – always worth looking up and having a listen.
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An exciting walk. The swans are so beautiful. We don’t see them here. I guess winter colors need to be blah so we appreciate snow a little. 🙂
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Yes, something different for sure Ruth. I hated to see the swans get spooked; I get spooked by the sound of gunfire when I’m in any of the bigger parks this time of year. This is true about the snow – I am happy if it holds off a little longer. The weather this past week has been fabulous.
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I wouldn’t mind a winter without snow – we don’t need anymore ground moisture.
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I agree – the trees and bushes won’t have any difficulties weathering the Winter with all the ground moisture we’ve had in 2023. It’s hard to believe we had that three-week drought back in June.
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The swans are pretty with their reflection.
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Yes, I think so too TD – even when it isn’t a particularly bright and sunny day, the reflections are amazing.
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I agree with your comment that the pictures look like vintage sepia prints with colorized swans. That’s a great description. I appreciate reading the details about how to distinguish them apart from each other. It’s fun to learn as well as see what you’ve discovered. The reflection photos are favorites of mine too. I also learned that your favorite color is brown. It’s great that you joined Terri for the color of the month prompt, your post is perfect for it! Nicely done, Linda!
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I really thought that Shelley. It reminds me how they only colorized part of the print and let the background stay. I have taken some Mute Swans’ pics up close and you can really see the difference. Remember when I had the pair of Mute Swans and one had an I.D. collar – they were very near to me at Council Point Park. I have always loved the color brown. My mom was always saying “girls like pink or blue – but not brown” when I was younger. I am enjoying doing the Sunday Stills – I have a lot of photos from the Summer and Fall, so hopefully I can use some with the prompts.
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Yes, and you have many old photos that fit the sepia technique well.
I remember that post about the Mute Swans!
Brown was a favorite color of mine when I was a Brownie. I loved brown with orange. I even had one of those metal lunch boxes that my mom painted those two colors for me. I never had many clothes those colors though.
Yay – I’m glad you’ve found it fun to join in on Terri’s Sunday Stills. I agree, I bet you have many photos to us to join in on the fun with!
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I was a Brownie too – in fact I used the photo in a post a while back. The brown outfit, brown belt, brown beret and brown knee socks … guess I was in my glory while wearing my Brownie uniform. 🙂 I have one more of the calendar pages to use, then that’s it and yes, I’m hoping all my photos will carry me through the Spring, maybe to May when I can get new photos and should be able to use them before it’s all about blooms, baby birds – goslings especially.
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Oh, my, I bet your smile was so BIG when you got to wear the Brownie uniform!
I’m looking forward to how you finish off the calendar page posts. Spring will be hopping with joyful posts!
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I loved being a Brownie – I scanned in my “Brownie Record” and a Sprite badge when I scanned in my scrapbooks and photo albums and I have a pic in my Brownie garb I used once in a post. So, I looked ahead to see what the December calendar page is, then I checked to see if Terri had her topics/challenges posted for December … she did, all of them, so I’ll have to put my thinking cap on for using that last calendar page on December 4th. The quote is”After a day’s walk, everything has twice its usual value” and using “Waiting for Peace” is Terri’s challenge. I hope they are joyful posts all Spring – I have two 5K walks at Heritage Park in June and July that I’ve not written on (the second one has the dewy spider webs I told you about) and I signed up this week for a 5K in April 2024. I am behind the eight-ball bigtime. I’ve not even written about my turkey find in August and don’t forget your turkeys for next week. Gobble gobble.
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I loved being a Brownie too. My kids did as well.
Yay…a list of ideas to work from for future posts! I saw that Terri had put out her list, I love that she does that.
I was behind all weekend – very busy so I’m behind too. I did remember the turkeys and thanked you for reminding me to do so!
Happy Thanksgiving and gobble gobble to you too, Linda! 🦃🦃🦃
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I never made it to Girl Guides (the Canadian version of Girl Scouts) as we moved to the States and my mom tried to get me into Girl Scouts but the local troops weren’t taking new girls, so I joined Pioneer Girls instead. Same type of groups of girls with women leaders, outings, badges and merits to aspire to achieve, but it was run through a local church. I am glad you remembered the turkeys – I figured you were busy since you didn’t post yesterday. I peeked … your turkey shots were great. My turkey shots at the Estate were mediocre and far away, plus a turkey feather or two on the ground, but I’ll just include them as part of that walk. Happy Thanksgiving to you as well Shelley!
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Hmm…I’ve never heard of the Pioneer Girls. That’s good your mom found an alternative and that you got to enjoy carrying on with those activities.
Yes, I made note to remember and I appreciated your reminders too.
Turkeys are so interesting. You’d get a kick out of the rafter of 20 that roam around my daughter’s neighborhood. They stop traffic often because they just walk out in front of cars when they’re on the move.
I look forward to your photos of turkeys.
Happy Thanksgiving, Linda – I’m truly thankful for you and our blogging friendship!
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I was in them maybe from age 10 to 12 and I went with the girl across the street as that was her church and they had the PG meetings there. I don’t know why the had that name as our outfits were not like “Little House on the Prairie” type of outfits, but a blue skirt and sash where we pinned our merit badges on.
I would love to see the wild turkeys and I didn’t know they went by different names … something I learned! I have only seen them at the Ford Estate and the Estate’s nearby woods twice now. We have some wild turkeys that congregate at a busy intersection and everyone has to stop for them. It takes so long for people waiting, they get mad, so they have to call the police to escort them across the street. 🙂 I’ve never seen them and I go that way to the Metropark and Elizabeth Park.
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That’s interesting. Now it makes me wonder if we had some PGs in our area too that I didn’t know what they were.
You would’ve gotten a kick out of the rafter visit. They are so silly. We’ve seen them crossing the road with their little ones and we’ve stopped traffic to let them cross. Yesterday the neighbors who have chickens had 3 escape and wander in the neighbors yard across the street. We stopped several cars so that they could run back to their home. Silly birds!
Hopefully, if you see them, you’ll have your camera ready to get some fun photos.
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I am sure I would have gotten a kick out of them. I hope to see more wild turkeys … (meanwhile I haven’t read, just scanned thru, your turkey post yet as I’m quite behind here at WP). At the alpaca farm, the owners feed the wild turkeys every morning. I got there just as a group of them were running into the bushes after eating their cracked corn. Richard, one of the owners, said he feeds them the same time everyday and to come for photos. I went once and they were on vacation – I’ve been meaning to go back. He also told me to come for photos when they shear the alpacas which I will do. They shut the farm to visitors but owners can visit their alpacas, for a year or so due to the pandemic. Also, the Island shut the free bridge down for about 18 months for repairs and I don’t know where the toll bridge is … they will be shutting the free bridge down again for a few years after 2024 … makes me think “so is it safe to cross in the interim?” Some issue before and now with cement pilings.
I had a morning walk with loose chickens from the petting farm this Summer – one of the posts I have to do – that might have been when I saw the spiderwebs in the boxwood knot gardens. I am hopelessly behind with everything – many posts to write over the Winter.
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You have so many wonderful ideas, Linda, you’ll get to them and you’ll be so happy you had photos to use! 🤗😉😁
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Thanks Shelley! I saw a lot of real turkey photos today on park sites I follow on social media.
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🦃🦃🦃🦃🦃💖😍
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Fabulous Linda, I love the swan reflections best. Congratulations on getting a photo of Trumpeter Swans 🙂
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Thank you Brian – they were my favorite shots too. I was pretty excited to see I had captured Trumpeter Swans, even though I didn’t realize it in real time. 🙂
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PS I forgot to mention my disappointment about those bastards with guns thrill killing 😡
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I agree with you on that Brian – I hate it too. Fall is duck hunting season, so I hear gunshots at the big parks where I go. Today was the start of deer firearms season in Michigan. It runs until the end of November. Nothing hurts my heart more than to see a deer carcass slung over a car roof or inside a truck bed.
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🥲
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Indeed.
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It is interesting to see photos of the same places, as in regions not precisely standing in the same place, over the course of the year. You get out to so many ever-changing locations.
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Ally, I should have gone to Sterling State Park earlier in the year when it was greener. But they have campgrounds and a one-mile beach there, so it is pretty crowded on weekends, so I steered clear of it. And there is always construction out that way. The marshes are always the first places to dry out it seems and it takes until the following Summer to green up again.
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I like the swan close-ups, too, although I don’t think I’ve ever seen a group of swans before. I assumed they were solitary creatures. The reflections you captured are so pretty. Congratulations getting the Trumpeter Swans picture. I love the thistles and teasels, shades of autumn brown… Those birdhouses sure look like they could use some maintenance. The landlords should be summoned!
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In the Wintertime, down at the Detroit River, if there are large enough ice floes groups of swans will climb out of the water and sit on the ice floes and preen. It is a beautiful sight to see, especially on a sunny, blue-sky day. Those swans are so graceful and you see that in the reflections as well. I was initially disappointed at the boring brown landscape, but these swans made up for it. The entire walk was different, a very large park, but mostly Poplar trees, so not all that many touches of red or orange. I did get some Egret shots to share when I do part two in a few months. I was glad the butterfly didn’t land on the thistles or teasels – ouch! I chuckled at that Barbara … slum lords indeed – those poor birds!
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Such beautiful swans! I’m always partial to photos with reflections.
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I am partial to reflections too Linda … what gorgeous reflections those beautiful swans made on the water with everything else looking so drab.
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Assume you’re serious about brown being your favorite color? Surveys would say that’s not a popular choice, but it makes sense with your love of nature. The tree roots comment caught my attention because we deal with them regularly here in South Carolina. It’s amazing how they pop up nowhere near their origin. Have to be careful how close you plant to the house and have to be careful with the mower. Finally, thanks for all the swan photos (and sounds). Helps me to move on from what I learned about the original Thanksgiving dinner 🙂
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Dave, I really like brown … those nice soft hues for Fall especially. Not so crazy about brown when it is dead leaves as it signals wintry weather is on the way. I went twice to Sterling State Park this Fall and did not like the uneven trail at all, especially when covered in big Poplar leaves. I even took a few pictures of those trails. I think I’ll only walk on it in Summer when the leaves haven’t dropped yet. I worry about big trees in the neighborhood infiltrating the sewer lines and causing potential problems one day. I’m glad I could balance out your swan knowledge so you see them as beautiful creatures and not as the original Thanksgiving dinner. 🙂 P.S. – They are amazing in flight – like Egrets and Herons, looking very streamlined and aerodynamic.
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Great sightings of the Mute Swans and the reflective water photos of them! Autumn is brown but there are other beauties to admire in its midst. Our trees still have leaves but are rapidly falling too, but not as quickly as yours.
Glad you were able to stay safe on the pathway!
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Thank you Esther – those Mute Swans sure were beautiful that day, all together like that in the marsh, until the gunshot spooked most of them. Because they were so bright-white, they really stood out against the brown background. We still had a few trees at the Park with leaves yesterday but most leaves are gone. My neighbor next door has a Red Maple tree – it is finally dropping its leaves after having showy bright-red foliage for weeks. They are gorgeous trees. The Maples outdo the others, though the yellow leaves of the Oak are nice as well.
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How do you know the names of these trees?! I attempt but fail to learn their specific names.
Nature has a way of brightening the brown landscape with the beautiful white swans. More stark than in the summer. If I were a Mute Swan, I’d be spooked and getting out of town if I heard gunshots too. What kind of birds do the hunters hunt? As you can see, I’m clueless.
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When I was a kid we had a school project that we went into the woods, got leaves that were near perfect and we put them onto paper and made a book of leaves – I always remembered that and Canada is famous for its Maple leaves but the Oak leaves and other type of deciduous (leaves that fall every year) are known by seeing them at a glance. Poplar leaves are heart-shaped. I only know the basic leaves and I don’t know their Latin names. The hunters were after waterfowl – then it was ducks and they also hunt geese (Canada Geese). Now it is firearms deer-hunting season which began on November 15th and runs until November 30th.
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I know a lot more about swans than I did before! If you only found six swans a swimming, I wonder if you could make it up with seven geese a-laying? Although from what I know about geese and their nests, that could be a hazardous attempt.
You are right that one must develop an appreciation of brown for this time of year.
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Well JP, I could probably make it tenfold as to geese-a-laying. In May, everywhere I go I see goslings toddling after their parents and they’re pretty bossy offspring at that, (like their parents). Since you and I both live in four-season states, we’ve gone beyond the “brown is beautiful” phase, to just blah and brrr.
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