The snow finally arrived two nights ago, suddenly transforming our nondescript landscape into a pristine white blanket. It was the first measurable snowfall of the season, albeit a mere four inches, but more than we have seen thus far this season, when the white stuff could be whisked away with a broom.
So, for a refresher of how a nice, warm, late Spring day looks, I’ll turn the clock back some seven months to a virtual 5K I participated in way back in June 2024. Yes, I’m a little late rolling out the recaps of some of last year’s walks, having interrupted that flow with various holiday and year-end posts.
Fish & Loaves Community Food Pantry.
Fish & Loaves Community Food Pantry exists to provide nourishment to the food insecure in our local community. In 2024 they distributed more than three million pounds of food to 50,000 households in the area. Yes, with inflation at an all time high, the need is greater than ever. Their credo is simple – they exist to ensure no one goes hungry. Every dollar donated to Fish & Loaves enables the organization to purchase four pounds of food.
The Annual Happy Soles 5K Event.
Last year was the seventh time I have participated in this worthwhile event. In 2018 and 2019 I attended on site, but since 2020, I have participated virtually, always choosing the same site as the event, picturesque Heritage Park, just going on a different day. For 2024, I did my virtual 5K on June 3rd.
The on-site event wends its way through the historical section of Heritage Park, whereupon those walkers and runners take to the streets of the neighborhood, next traveling through a wooded area and finally the route concludes at the Sheridan Center/Open Air Pavilion where the event began and prizes are awarded at that time.
For my virtual 5K I don’t walk through the neighborhoods, preferring to get the equivalent of my 5 kilometers/3.2 miles of steps throughout Heritage Park’s historical area and along Coan Lake and a little jaunt over to the Taylor Conservatory & Botanical Gardens.
Along the way I always pass the Petting Farm and on this day, I got a few fun shots there.
What happens at the Petting Farm …
… doesn’t always stay at the Petting Farm.
You know from previous posts, that it is not unusual to be taking in the beauty of the Botanical Gardens, when a chicken or two or three crosses your path and the resident rooster is all about announcing himself, whether inside or outside of the barnyard. Those “escapees” from the Petting Farm who dare to stray beyond the white wooden fence might even end up by the train station with its nearby caboose and box car like those Lavender Guinea Fowl I discovered a few years ago.
So Donald, is it true the grass is greener on the other side?
On this day, as I walked along busy Pardee Road, while enroute to the Botanical Gardens, a couple of Pekin Ducks ducked under the white wraparound wooden fence to explore life outside the confines of the barnyard.
I saw these two white beauties meander out onto the bright-green grass and instantly knew this would be a fun photo op for me, but what if they wandered out into the street? After all, Pardee Road has a goose crossing sign, but no duck crossing sign like at Elizabeth Park.
But the savvy pair knew their limits and I suspect they were merely on a mission to see whether the grass really was greener on the other side of the fence. They waddled …
… and grazed, sampling patches of grass here and there …
… then without any coaxing, they headed back to the barn, ducking daintily under the fence and were on their merry way, as was I.
I next visited the Botanical Gardens …
… where it was still a little meh, too early in the year for the perennials to have much pizazz and, even though the annuals were fresh and dewy looking, I omitted their pics from this post, preferring to use more pics of the white Pekin ducks instead.
There were no butterflies, bees or hummingbirds either, so, happy to have gleaned some Pekin pics, I headed back toward the historical area of Heritage Park.
As I passed the Petting Farm to head back to the park area, a bunny peeked between the white wooden fence slats. I assured him/her the coast was clear and I did not have Elmer Fudd alongside me.
Cottonwood fluff was everywhere!
In early June, here in Southeast Michigan, the Cottonwood trees start dispensing seeds, which are fluffy, like cotton candy. The seeds travel with the wind and settle down onto grassy surfaces or line the areas along sidewalks. These white wispy fibers are fond of plastering themselves onto the air conditioner’s grille, so if you have warm enough days to warrant turning on the A/C, you will need to keep hosing down the grille to keep your A/C unit from clogging up. As I walked along many paths, the almost snowy looking effect from the Cottonwood fluff was present.
By now, you know Heritage Park and its cast of characters, er … critters.
Around Coan Lake there were the usual sights to capture with my camera, like the Little Red Schoolhouse, where I noted that finally, the listing evergreen tree was gone …
… the Old Grist Mill …
… and the Log Cabin.
I crossed the covered bridge, modeled after old bridges from the 1700s and beyond and …
… because I knew it was nesting season for Barn Swallows, I peered up into the rafters for a nest and sure enough, there was one munchkin peeking out at me.
A Canada Goose was checking me out as I finished crossing the bridge …
… and nearby, a family of geese enjoyed a dunk in Coan Lake followed by a quick feather spray as they frolicked near the fountain.
Papa Mallard snoozed while Mama Mallard was on the lookout for humans overstepping their bounds.
What … no turtles? They will be in this week’s Wordless Wednesday as this post is already groaning with photos.
The sun was high in the sky and it was time to leave, having done my steps for the 5K and an earlier one-mile jaunt around Council Point Park.
My swag is above and also here. You readers with eagle eyes may notice the date on the tee-shirt was June 4th, which was incorrect – well oops.
The event date was actually Sunday, June 2, 2024.
This year’s event will be June 1st and I have already registered for it.
I am joining Terri’s Sunday Stills Photo Challenge this week and next: Monthly Color Two-Week Challenge: WHITE.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
The snow may cover everything but in the Spring when It melts all the yellow snow and worse, is exposed!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very true Wayne! Well, we’re getting a little more of the white stuff tonight, not a lot, but we had freezing rain earlier and it is at the freezing mark now. I hope that doesn’t cause a mess like we had last January when I didn’t walk for a solid two weeks. I’m not worried about me as you know – the critters are on my mind. I didn’t go this morning as snow was a’flyin’, nor yesterday from the four inches of snow.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good on you for participating in the walk
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Brian. This is a really good organization and there are so many people here right now who are food insecure. Some of our local churches have “blessing boxes” – I don’t know if you have those in Australia. They are wooden cupboards placed behind the church and people donate pantry items for the blessing box – they are for people who are reluctant to go to a food pantry, so they can come anonymously and just take what they need.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Most of the food pantries are run by the churches here
LikeLiked by 1 person
That makes sense to me … this is a non-profit organization and not associated with any church. They have a Christmas event too where they create a Christmas wonderland with decorations and a Santa and they set it up in a donated building. People pay to go through it and all that money goes to Fish & Loaves. The people who have to do community service in lieu of jail time “work” a garden at Heritage Park – they plant, tend to and harvest produce and it is given to Fish & Loaves. One thing I really like is that every bit of $ raised goes directly to the purchase of items for the food pantry – no middleman.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was delightful to see those beautiful photographs when I have melting snow outside.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I agree with you Anne. We’re getting more snow tonight and we had freezing rain earlier today, none of it too appealing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Smart to feature photos from a warmer season when the critters are out and about. Thank goodness for food banks. I have supported the World Central Kitchen for all the great work they do, including now, helping out in the fire zones in Los Angeles.
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re right Janis. I’m happy to roll out a post that helps people remember that warm weather will return, despite what it looks like out there now. There are many good organizations that help out the food insecure and I hope that those in the areas of the wildfires have not lost a warehouse full of donations – that would be doubly catastrophic. I have been watching some videos of people coming together on Twitter/X, one in particular, Chef Gruel, who was cooking for the masses and welcoming people to stay in his parking lot. Soon his followers were ordering food, water and other supplies to be sent in care of Chef Gruel. The fires are so devastating, but watching people helping others is so heartwarming.
LikeLike
Winter may finally be descending, Linda, but your walks sure gave you a lot to see. I love the walks that benefit local orgs. Lots of cute ducks and geese to see. The surrounding buildings add a lot to the scenery. Nicely done!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Terri – I knew when I saw the White Challenge that these 5K event pictures would be a good idea for this post. Those white Pekin ducks cracked me up … like little kids sneaking off to play when their parents weren’t looking. (Speaking of ducks, I had to duck away for a bit … Season 5 of “All Creatures Great and Small” began its seven-week run tonight. I have to stream it live from 9:00 – 10:00 p.m. as I don’t have TV/cable.)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Such a worthwhile cause, and ready-made for a nature photographer! 🙂 The Pekin ducks are cute. Are they common in your area? I don’t recall seeing any here. Hope you get many more photos this year.
We’ve had some snow too now, but at least the temperature has “warmed up” a little. Way too cold last week.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like this cause too Debbie, especially now with inflation and food insecurity. Nearly every visit to the Heritage Park campus (which includes the historical area/lake, Botanical Gardens and Petting Farm) yields some type of cute critter adventures. Like the kid herding ducks. The Pekin ducks are adorable and very friendly. They are domestic ducks and the grown-up version of the yellow ducklings that people buy for kids for Easter. They grow up to be these tame Pekin Ducks. These are from the Petting Farm and just walked away, but at Elizabeth Park, they have Pekin Ducks that live there and roam around the grounds. A few years ago, someone dumped off a group of Pekin ducklings and left them in a box on the boardwalk. I was talking to a woman who walks there daily and she told me she took them out of the box and herded them down to the Channel area to meet up with some adult Pekins who took care of them.
I follow Michigan Duck Rescue & Sanctuary on Facebook, one of my favorite charities. Matt and his wife Theresa have a huge barn to shelter them and it is located by a pond and they take in “dumped ducks” and also injured waterfowl and those waterfowl stay there forever after being rehabbed and/or found. Their group of volunteers go out at all hours of the night, in every season, to rescue dumped ducks. They just got 13 ducks last week, some Pekins. They estimate they were abandoned for 10 days in this cold. People get tired of them when the get big and just dump them anywhere – it’s very sad!!!
The weather here is not great either. We got the 4 inches (10 cms) of snow Friday night and it felt balmy at 32, then yesterday we got freezing rain. Right now it is a real feel of 5F (-15C). Tomorrow will be even colder … no walk for me and no treats for the critters/birds which I hope stay up in their nests.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That is terrible about people dumping ducks! The same thing happens with dogs. (Our Zoey was an abandoned stray). 😠 Thank goodness there are wonderful rescue organizations out there.
Stay warm and safe!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think so too Debbie. If you ever go on Matt’s site, you would feel badly to see what happens to these ducks. Some are starving by the time they are rescued and last year or maybe the year before they had a Pekin duck that lost half of her bill and they figured that a snapping turtle bit it off so she hadn’t been able to eat and was emaciated. An avian specialist looked at it, gave her something for the infection and they found a way to feed her nourishment to regain her strength and there was an update on her later and a picture and she was able to eat food and she fattened up some and bonded to the other ducks there.
I found out about Matt because someone dumped two domestic ducks just before Christmas a few years back. The ducks were big (they came up to my knees and I’m tall) and it was cold and I was walking by myself – no one else there that day and they came right up to me and I knew they had likely wandered from their home and were hungry. We are not allowed to keep wildlife in this City though, so I thought someone brought them there to dump them. I had only peanuts for them and felt badly. They hung around me, but I was still working and had to get to work – I started at 11:00-ish. But I didn’t know about Matt’s rescue and sanctuary that day. The next day I went to the Park and I had nothing to give them (if they were still there), but took crackers (which I know are bad, but I didn’t know what else to give them). The two ducks and several geese ate the crackers and I took photos of them for a post and to find out about them, maybe post a picture on the animal finders website – they were so large I knew they had been pets. I Googled and found a write-up on Matt and sent him the pictures. They were Khaki Campbell Domestic Ducks and he said they were pets that were definitely dumped … he gave me his phone number and said to call him and he/wife would come or send a volunteer from my area. I never saw the ducks again and it was a horribly cold Winter and I felt so badly about them.
Another story … a few years later, I was walking to the Park and I saw a Mama Mallard near the sewer with a few ducklings and clearly by her actions and the tiny peeps I could hear, she had some ducklings fall down the grate. I called the City animal control officer and said I would wait for them to arrive to show them what sewer grate. He didn’t get there for a long time and in the meantime, neighbors saw me and asked if I was okay, as I was standing there talking to something (well, I was consoling her that help was on the way – she was very agitated), then the neighbors saw the Mama and her ducklings. A guy pried off the sewer grate and went into the sewer after them. Had to go down two different sewer grates to grab them – he has a pool so he used a pool skimmer. He went home thinking he was done, then the ordinance officer arrived, heard peeps, found one more, (didn’t climb down, poked the skimmer down the sewer), but Mama had waddled down the street with the others already. I ran to the Park (a block away) to find her, but she was long gone. A neighbor put the remaining duckling in a box and said she might come back, so she sat on her porch with the duckling. I had to get to work (work is a nuisance sometimes). I said if Mama didn’t come back I knew someone to take it. Mama never returned so Matt sent someone to pick up the orphan and take it to his sanctuary. I did a couple of blog posts on it as I had the camera with me while the ducklings were being rescued and then did a follow-up on the orphaned duckling. If you want to see the posts, let me know, okay?
Close to zero windchill tonight and colder all next week. Hurry Spring!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Such heartbreaking stories, but at least they had happy endings! Sure. I’d love to read them. Thanks.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, all good endings for Matt’s rescues Debbie. Here are my two duckling posts. The second one was a follow-up on the orphaned duckling one week later. That Mama Mallard was just so frantic. The pictures don’t do her demeanor justice. She was pacing at that sewer grate and her ducklings were trying to keep up with her.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wonderful snow blanket around the area. Nice you sharing your particept Walk.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, it’s pretty, but cold and I wish it was Summer again (even if I whine about the heat). Glad you liked the post Raj.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks,Linda! Iam so happy. There will be Very Cold, you stay warm & safe.
God bless you, 🙏
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you very much Raj.
LikeLike
You are always welcome!,Linda
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s been solid snow for a week or so here, with more forecast for tomorrow. Your pictures from June are warming me up?
One question: when you are on the sidewalk and step on a quack, will you break your mother’s back? 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well If it did break her back, I hope she would find a good doc and not a quack!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Heritage Park is a charming place. Seeing the little bunny would have made my day. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think it is charming too Rebecca. It always reminds me of a quaint little village. The bunny did make my day as it peeked out between the wooden fence slats. I think I should go inside the Petting Farm this year – it might make a fun post. I went one year when they had an event (“Christmas in July”) and there were supposed to be reindeer but their handlers said it was too hot and so that part of the event was cancelled, with just Santa and Mrs. Claus there. When you walk by, there are always goats and some alpacas or llamas in their pens, plus chickens and ducks. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t think I’ve ever seen cottonwood tree fluffs. Interesting!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Kate, it goes everywhere and if it’s windy, it is flying around in the air. I have some pictures I’ve taken but not done posts on yet with the cottonwood fuzz in big piles like this on woodsy trails. It gloms onto your A/C unit if it’s running. I’m always glad if it’s not hot so I don’t turn on the AC, then I don’t have to turn the outside taps on to hose it down as sometimes the temps still go low at night in May and early June.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the mention of turtles 🙂 Has this 5K returned to a live event or is it still virtual? I participate in one here in South Carolina and the camaraderie alone (participants and fans) makes it a heart-warming event, not to mention the various charities who benefit from the proceeds.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, turtles for you Dave. I’ll have a Red-eared Slider and a couple of Pond Sliders coming up on Wednesday. 🙂 They have really expanded this event, which was always a walk/run until COVID. They didn’t want to cancel it in 2020, so instead they suggested it could be virtual and they allowed rowing and biking as well to fulfill your 3.2 miles/5K. It is an either/or event. Many people still want to participate but not in person, like me, as it is a worthwhile charity. I did enjoy the camaraderie for this event in the past; my favorite on-site event was the Mutt Strut which is a large, no-kill shelter. You could bring your dog and they had dog events there. I don’t have a dog, so it was fun for me to interact with the ones there.
LikeLiked by 1 person
June 4, 2024… gee, Linda. I have no memories of what was happening here that far back and long ago.
The white ducks are cute! I wonder what they look like in the snow?
There are two cottonwood trees about 60 years old across the street from my home. Neither one of these trees produce fluffy seeds. Something I can be grateful about today!
Although it is cold here, it is only snowing leaves. That would be two things I can now be grateful for this year of 2025.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Well, I was not at the event in person, so I’m sure when people picked up the shirts in person to wear on race day, they might have mentioned the wrong date on the shirt. I usually get my shirt mailed to me like the other virtual walkers. When I was preparing this post, it was then that I noticed the date discrepancy. When I come home from any walk, except Council Point Park, I generally make some notes so that when I get ready to write the post, I remember all the details.
I’ll bet these white ducks stay inside their barn, but I follow a duck sanctuary on Facebook and they stay in the barn at night, but have a huge pond nearby and their home page shows the pond surrounded by snow, so I guess they don’t mind going out in it.
You are lucky there are no fluffy cottonwood seeds flitting around … if it’s hot out and the A/C is on, the cottonwood plasters itself onto the grille and you have to spray it own about once a day.
You’re lucky you don’t have the freezing issues you had a few years ago. It is very cold here – it was 5F now long ago and now 0F real feel and cold like that for the next two days.
LikeLike
Brrrrrrrr 🥶
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I just went down and put in a small load of washing. I have about 10 bandanas and I run a small load on the hot-hot setting. I will have to do it again before bed and as soon as I get up tomorrow – and again at 9:00 as it will be a real feel of -8. I don’t like that … it is dangerously cold and winds gusting to 40 mph.
LikeLike
I was happy to read that the Pekin Ducks didn’t come to harm when they ducked (ha!) under the fence! We have lots of mallards in our park who wander around town. I have seen some of them squished on the street.
Way to go with the 5ks, Linda. You are supporting some very good causes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Laurie, yes I worried about them and figured I’d stay there and block them from going out into the street, but this must be a regular jaunt for them, an unsupervised day outing. 🙂 The geese must escape from the Park a lot given the signage. At Elizabeth Park, which is an island, there is only one road and you must drive 10 mph because the geese are constantly crossing the road … if you are in a hurry, you have to leave sooner because a passel of them decides to cross and you may be waylaid 10-15 minutes while a contingent of geese waddles across the road. Yes, I saw that happen to a duck near the Park. I felt sick when I saw it.
This is a great cause Laurie, so I’m happy to support it. They’ve sent out notices for the Run to Honor (combatting veteran suicide) and the DNR’s Run for the Trees (to help reforestation efforts) in the last few days so I’ll be signing up for them shortly.
LikeLike
What a great way to make money to buy food for the families that can’t afford it. Kudos to you and the others that participate. They sure do keep the park looking nice.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I think so too Diane. They raise a lot of money doing this 5K and it’s great you can do it virtually, but also if you don’t walk or run, you can just bike if you want. They did allow rowing to get the 3.2 miles in, but that was doing COVID. It is a nice park … they call it “the jewel of Taylor” … if they had not destroyed Council Point Park, I would have called it “the jewel of Lincoln Park” but no more, speaking of which, this city is 100 years old today.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Heritage Park looks like a really nice park and there is lots to see. Congrats on the charity walking you do. I used to years ago but we are usually camping when they have these events on in our local area. Next weekend we are going to watch a friend do the Polar Plunge in a river, that should be entertaining!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, most of those events are in the middle of the Summer, although my DNR Run for the Trees happens in conjunction with Arbor Day and Earth Day so it is always in April. Your poor friend doing a Polar Plunge in a river with the temps so cold … your weather is likely the same as ours and this is our fourth bout of brutal temps and starting Sunday we will have an entire week, colder than any of the others – ugh! What is your friend raising money for?
LikeLiked by 1 person
He will be raising money for the local hospital which is always a great cause. Yes I think we do have the same weather and we have another round of extreme cold coming too. I’m not a fan of winter!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, hospitals are always a great cause. Usually in the past when we got a Polar Vortex, or any type of extreme cold, they blame it on Canada frigid air mass – this time they say it is a Siberian Polar Vortex.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Enjoyed them all, especially that red schoolhouse. Simply adorable. 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
I apologize for not responding earlier Pepper. This is the second time you ended up in my SPAM blocker. This is one of my favorite parks to walk in, from the quaint historical buildings to Coan Lake and the Botanical Gardens which is on the outskirts of the campus of the park. I like the Little Red Schoolhouse too. They had a tree at the side which looked like it would keel over any day. It was a fir tree and I was surprised to see it was finally gone. Once a year you can tour the schoolhouse and other buildings, but I’ve never gone to those tours, but would like to again some day.
LikeLike