Hey, were you in a pillow fight? #Wordless Wednesday #Um, just stating the obvious! #Molting – ugh

Posted on January 22, 2025 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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45 Responses to Hey, were you in a pillow fight? #Wordless Wednesday #Um, just stating the obvious! #Molting – ugh

  1. bushboy's avatar bushboy says:
    January 22, 2025 at 5:36 am

    Moulting is so messy

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Kate Crimmins's avatar Kate Crimmins says:
    January 22, 2025 at 8:31 am

    Happy Wednesday. It’s 1 degree now but we were in the negative overnight. Unusual for us. Brrrrrr. Hope the waterfowl stay warm.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
      January 22, 2025 at 8:33 pm

      Same back to you Kate. I hope all the feathered and furry critters have safe places to tuck away. We are finally in double digits here and the windchill is not in negative numbers, but it’s snowing. You can’t have it all I guess. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      • Kate Crimmins's avatar Kate Crimmins says:
        January 23, 2025 at 8:09 am

        We are officially in a “warming” trend. Although it’s 3 degrees right now, it’s going up into the 20s. By the weekend it will be in the 30s (yay!). No significant snow predicted in the next week (double yay!). We got a new thing though. All the snow on the roof is dripping on our front stoop freezing. We can’t seem to clear it so our front entry is a sheet of ice. We are using the garage to get in and have blocked off the front walkway to visitors. This hasn’t happened here before. The super cold weather stops any melting stuff from working.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
        January 23, 2025 at 10:11 pm

        There were tons of accidents here this morning, a few jack-knifed semitrailers because we got snow and the ground was too cold for salt to be effective. Whatever you do, don’t use clumping kitty litter to give you traction! A couple of years ago I had ice all around the house because we had snow late in the day, then freezing rain and then it turned bitter cold overnight. It was very icy and my Prestone Icy Hot didn’t work, BUT, I had read to put down kitty litter to at least be able to walk on the ice. So I had bought two big containers to have on hand, mainly to use for me to get to the garage to run the car and to put on the porch/steps for the mailman. I’ve told the mailman to go through the front garden and put it in the mailbox that way, or hold the mail for the next day (but I think he can’t do that or lose his job). So I used the whole container of kitty litter (maybe a 10-pound jug). I thought I was smart and went inside. Never having had a cat, I just picked any ol’ kitty litter and it was the “clumping” type. Not a smart move. I had clumps of this dark gray kitty litter sitting in piles everywhere I sprinkled it … I tried to pry it off the ice with a shovel and it didn’t budge. Even when the ice melted in a thaw, the dark gray patches were there and from the street looked like oil spots. It took well into Spring before snow and a few heavy rains finally got rid of the clumps. I gave the other brand-new container to the neighbor across the street that knocked on my door to tell me about the fire from the downed wire in the backyard. I see her cat in the window all the time.

        Liked by 1 person

      • Kate Crimmins's avatar Kate Crimmins says:
        January 24, 2025 at 8:06 am

        Never clumping litter!

        Liked by 1 person

      • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
        January 24, 2025 at 9:48 pm

        Yep, I learned that the hard way!

        Liked by 1 person

  3. Bay Photos By Donna's avatar Bay Photos By Donna says:
    January 22, 2025 at 9:24 am

    Great series, Linda! Someone was messy, messy! Ha! But, hey, it’s got to be done! 👍

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
      January 22, 2025 at 8:35 pm

      Thank you Donna! This is my favorite Mallard couple at Lake Erie Metropark, but this time they had a friend with them. I’ve gotten some fun shots of the couple as they hang out on the same log all the time. Molting is messy and takes so long!

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Debbie D.'s avatar Debbie D. says:
    January 22, 2025 at 10:21 am

    That sure is a messy process! 😆 I hope the ducks didn’t feel cold.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
      January 22, 2025 at 8:43 pm

      Yes, it sure is Debbie. It takes forever to get it over with until they get their beautiful plumage back, especially the drakes. I hope so too because they rely on their big feathers for protection. My canaries used to lose so many feathers – it took them a good six to eight weeks to go through a molt and they didn’t sing the entire time, nor for a while afterward. They looked so pitiful when they lost the tail feathers and it hindered their balance. We used to record them singing before the molt on a tape recorder, then play it back after their molt was finished to encourage them to sing again.

      Like

  5. Dave's avatar Dave says:
    January 22, 2025 at 11:00 am

    “Walking on water!”

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
      January 22, 2025 at 8:45 pm

      Yes, it looks like that doesn’t it Dave? I always stop and see if my favorite Mallard couple are on “their log” which they were, along with a friend. The log is partially submerged so it does look like they are walking on water!

      Liked by 1 person

  6. TD's avatar TD says:
    January 22, 2025 at 11:11 am

    Great photography, Linda! That one legged duck has the ITCHES!!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
      January 22, 2025 at 8:50 pm

      Thank you TD! The feathers were a’flyin’ on this day as all the Mallards were molting. Thank goodness the Cottonwood trees were done spewing out white fuzz or it would have been even messier. Yes, they pick their feathers as they are loose and itchy so what doesn’t fall out, they pull out.

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  7. Rebecca's avatar Rebecca says:
    January 22, 2025 at 4:04 pm

    Nice photos, Linda!

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Terri Webster Schrandt's avatar Terri Webster Schrandt says:
    January 22, 2025 at 6:12 pm

    How interesting to see them in mid-molt, Linda! Nicely done! 🪶

    Liked by 1 person

  9. AnnMarie R stevens's avatar AnnMarie R stevens says:
    January 22, 2025 at 7:52 pm

    Miss Linda……………………………I liked your title…………………You are clever!!

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Ally Bean's avatar Ally Bean says:
    January 23, 2025 at 12:26 pm

    Interesting photos and great title. You never disappoint.

    Liked by 1 person

  11. singlikewildflowers's avatar singlikewildflowers says:
    January 23, 2025 at 6:43 pm

    It must be a process for them! Nature is amazing. But all those feathers. I wish I could see it for myself in person. If you remember, we had a duck pond by the library but the water was drained. So no more cute ducks!

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
      January 23, 2025 at 10:18 pm

      I remember that duck pond from a few years ago and then I discovered one not long afterward and like your kids feeding the ducks, some kids were sharing their picnic lunch with the ducks, which seemed to multiply by the minute once the food was produced and they waddled onto land. It was a great moment for me with my camera, but there was only so much food, so some ducks went away disappointed. Molting is awful for birds – they are listless and lethargic and miserable from the new feathers coming in. My canaries molted every Summer and they didn’t sing during the molt or for a while afterward.

      Liked by 1 person

  12. indianeskitchen's avatar indianeskitchen says:
    January 23, 2025 at 9:17 pm

    Boy do I feel stupid, I thought it was cotton wood! 🤣

    Liked by 1 person

  13. Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog's avatar Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog says:
    January 23, 2025 at 10:19 pm

    Cool pics, Linda! One of my parrots, Tweetie Pie, is molting right at this time. My goodness, there are feathers upon feathers on the bottom of her cage! Weird to be molting when the weather is so cold! 😊

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
      January 23, 2025 at 10:34 pm

      Thank you Tom! The amount of feathers that you see from our pet birds during a molt is just amazing. I had parakeets and canaries, but the canaries were smaller birds and lost an amazing amount of feathers. I read once that they lose 2,000 feathers in one molt. Does Tweetie Pie talk during the molting period? The canaries stopped singing and would not sing for a period after molting was done. I read in a canary care book to record the canary singing before the molt, then after the molt keep playing the tape so it could hear itself and begin singing again. That worked perfectly!

      Like

  14. Barbara Rodgers's avatar Barbara Rodgers says:
    January 24, 2025 at 7:45 am

    What a mess! But I bet they’re feeling much lighter and refreshed for summer. (At least I hope these pictures weren’t taken recently!)

    Liked by 1 person

    • Linda Schaub's avatar Linda Schaub says:
      January 24, 2025 at 9:47 pm

      It was a big mess Barbara – it reminded me of my canaries, which I read once that canaries lose every one of their 2,000 feathers when they molt. Whew! There were feathers everywhere! This was in the Summer and they are my favorite Mallard couple (this time with a friend) on their log at Lake Erie Metropark.

      Liked by 1 person

  15. J P's avatar J P says:
    January 27, 2025 at 7:28 am

    If those ducks were at a dairy, would that lead to molted milk?

    Liked by 1 person

  16. thesecretblind's avatar thesecretblind says:
    February 1, 2025 at 5:45 pm

    I love the title Linda ❤️

    Liked by 1 person

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