Looking ahead as 2024 creeps closer. #Wordless Wednesday #Sandhill Cranes

Posted on December 27, 2023 by Linda Schaub

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

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About Linda Schaub

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

  1. rajkkhoja's avatar rajkkhoja says:
    December 27, 2023 at 5:02 am

    Wonderful looking Sandhill Cranes. I like. Beautiful capture!

    Liked by 1 person

  2. bushboy's avatar bushboy says:
    December 27, 2023 at 5:30 am

    What wonderful birds in great photos 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

  4. Tofino Photography's avatar Tofino Photography says:
    December 27, 2023 at 11:00 am

    you nailed this one Linda!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
      December 27, 2023 at 8:21 pm

      Thanks Wayne – I’ve been lucky to see this pair nearly every time I was at Lake Erie Metropark this year. I especially like the red heart on their faces.

      Like

      • Tofino Photography's avatar Tofino Photography says:
        December 28, 2023 at 2:26 am

        you are becoming intimate with your backyard.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
        December 28, 2023 at 8:16 pm

        Yes indeed – I hope they stick around for next year!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
        December 30, 2023 at 7:47 pm

        Wayne – I was at Lake Erie Metropark today and I saw the pair of Sandhill Cranes, so I guess they decided to overwinter in Michigan. I didn’t take any pictures as they weren’t that close to me and it was a very gray and gloomy day. But I guess/hope they will be permanent fixtures there.

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      • Tofino Photography's avatar Tofino Photography says:
        December 30, 2023 at 8:52 pm

        That “may” be a sign of change? Because the weather is warmer they may decide to hang around? An effect of climate change possibly?

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
        December 30, 2023 at 9:17 pm

        I was thinking that it might be climate change too Wayne. I was there on Friday, December 15th and didn’t see them, but they could have just been in the marsh out of my sight, but there they were today! Also, when I was there on December 15th, I had not visited since October. I try to stay away from that area which is very rural during deer rutting season as we get so many deer/vehicle accidents. Anyway, when I was there two weeks ago, a lot of the marshes were dried up – I saw Paul Cypher who is one of the interpretive guides there (I’ve had him a few times for guided tours) why all the marshes looked like that and I saw all the geese and ducks had moved into the Cove Point shoreline along Lake Erie instead of the marshes. I said “climate change” and he said in part, but lack of rain but mostly the wind has been so strong all Summer/Fall that it was drying up the marshes. That’s not good. The Egrets and Herons aren’t going to hang out at Lake Erie – they need marshes, lagoon, shallower water to fish. The Sandhill Cranes are always poking around in the grass – they are not fish eaters like the Herons and Egrets.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Tofino Photography's avatar Tofino Photography says:
        January 2, 2024 at 11:33 am

        animals do change in response to their environment.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
        January 2, 2024 at 8:02 pm

        I imagine many animals are confused by the erratic weather patterns, especially here in Michigan. We have had a mild Winter, near 50s many days, foggy, drizzly so far – we had an about-face this morning with a real-feel of 23 – just brrrr. And we will have our first Winter storm a week from today (if it stays on track).

        Liked by 1 person

  5. AnnMarie R stevens's avatar AnnMarie R stevens says:
    December 27, 2023 at 11:34 am

    Hey………………………Merry Christmas to you both!!

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Andy Finnegan's avatar Andy Finnegan says:
    December 27, 2023 at 12:53 pm

    Lovely to see Cranes.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Laurie's avatar Laurie says:
    December 27, 2023 at 3:02 pm

    Love your photos of these cranes. I just found a sticker in my coat pocket that my grandson Atti gave me. It says “I ❤ Cranes!"

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
      December 27, 2023 at 8:26 pm

      Thank you Laurie – I made it a point to hang out by the Shore Fishing area to try to catch this pair and was pretty lucky to find them. I like your coincidence – Atti’s folks and his grandparents have given him such a love of nature.

      Like

  8. Terri Webster Schrandt's avatar Terri Webster Schrandt says:
    December 28, 2023 at 9:59 am

    Lovely images of the cranes, Linda, looking ahead indeed!

    Liked by 1 person

  9. TD's avatar TD says:
    December 28, 2023 at 10:34 am

    “I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.” DAVID BOWIE

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Shelley@QuaintRevival.com's avatar Shelley@QuaintRevival.com says:
    December 28, 2023 at 1:39 pm

    They look comfortable posing for you. Way to be ready with the camera when you see them!

    Liked by 1 person

  11. ruthsoaper's avatar ruthsoaper says:
    December 28, 2023 at 6:35 pm

    Great photos, Linda. I have yet to see sandhill cranes around here.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
      December 28, 2023 at 8:29 pm

      Thanks Ruth. I was lucky to see this pair almost every time I visited Lake Erie Metropark. I hope they either stay here over Winter, or remember how much they liked it here for when they return in 2024. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  12. Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog's avatar Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog says:
    December 28, 2023 at 11:33 pm

    These are beautiful creatures! Now they are saying — which i’ve known for a long time — that the dinosaurs never went extinct. They exist today (as birds). 😊

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
      December 29, 2023 at 8:04 pm

      That makes sense Tom – some birds do have a Pterodactyl-like look. Especially very skinny birds like Great Blue Herons. Very scrawny-looking birds on the ground, but they take flight and have an impressive wingspan.

      Like

  13. trumstravels's avatar trumstravels says:
    December 29, 2023 at 3:45 pm

    I love sandhill cranes, they are so prehistoric looking!

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Jessica's avatar Jessica says:
    December 29, 2023 at 9:19 pm

    So beautiful!

    Liked by 1 person

  15. indianeskitchen's avatar indianeskitchen says:
    December 30, 2023 at 2:46 pm

    How exciting to see the same pair of any birds every time you walk there. Sandhill Cranes are a beautiful bird.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
      December 30, 2023 at 3:55 pm

      Yes, it is Diane and I drove out there today and saw them again, so I’m guessing they are staying over the Winter (what Winter??) I know there is a huge metropark in Oakland County, a large and more rural county north of here. That park has a large rookery and all the Sandhill Cranes stay there all Winter. I didn’t take photos today – it was so cloudy and gray, they would have blended into the landscape. That’s the second time this month I went to Lake Erie Metropark and didn’t take a single photo. I went mostly to give the car a long run and have a walk. I thought of your son while I was there as I saw several fisherman in boats and also a few fisherman fishing off the overlooks … not something you usually see on December 30th … ice fishing maybe.

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  16. singlikewildflowers's avatar singlikewildflowers says:
    December 31, 2023 at 9:50 pm

    Oh my, these Sandhill Cranes have a great silhouette! One smooth and curvy line…birds are amazing!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
      December 31, 2023 at 10:52 pm

      Yes they are amazing aren’t they and such long legs too! I was out at Lake Erie Metropark yesterday and saw them again, so I guess they are staying the Winter. I didn’t take any photos as it was so gray and gloomy out, so I figured they’d blend into the background.

      Liked by 1 person

  17. J P's avatar J P says:
    January 4, 2024 at 10:59 pm

    I’ll bet they don’t have to crane their necks so hard to see 2024 now! Happy new year!

    Liked by 1 person

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