While Fall is my absolute favorite season, that proclamation comes with an asterisk, because once those flowering trees and Spring flowers begin to pop in a still-blah landscape, I am in awe of all of this season’s eye candy.
Admittedly, there is nothing like that first warm day in Spring, a day to shed the jacket and lift your face to the sky, a day when it just feels good to be alive. This was especially so after our brutally cold and icy Winter followed by an unseasonably cool Spring.
On Easter Sunday and the week thereafter, Mother Nature took out her paintbrush and painted Southeast Michigan in pastel tones.
A dab of pale green here and there as leaves began to unfurl and a splash of pink or pale purple – all were a welcome sight. Then cheery-looking Daffodils joined the Crocuses and Hyacinths. Even the smallest plant heralded Spring’s “real” arrival.
This walk was taken on April 24th, a six-mile excursion that began at Ford Park in Dearborn …
… then wended along the Rouge Gateway Trail, a meander at Fair Lane Estate and topped off with a hike at the Environmental Interpretive Center. The temps had soared to 85F (23C) with a “real feel” of 90F (32C) by the time I returned to the car after three hours of walking and picture taking.
My main reason for visiting these venues was the Weeping Willows would be leafing out, plus it would be peak time for the Redbud trees, as well as the Estate’s garden beds of Spring flowers. I can tell you these bursts of color would make anyone shutter happy.
I’ll focus only on the Ford Park and the Rouge Gateway Trail portion of that long excursion today.
Ford Field was where I made my first photo find ….
… and it was NOT the lovely pastels I was alluding to above, but something even better. I parked the car and saw a flash of color on the ground. I took a second look and saw a pair of Wood Ducks. You may recall I had long coveted finding the male Wood Duck, no matter what marshy venue I visited. This is not to disparage the female (hen), who is a wee bit drab, identifiable to this species mostly by her white eye rings. Last Summer I finally found a male (drake) across the marsh. I was overjoyed, even if it only looked like a colorful speck amongst the Lotus leaves. 🙂
But there they were, a pair of Wood Ducks, Mister and Missus, not 25 feet (7 meters) away from me! Aren’t they gorgeous?
They were grazing near a picnic table. I silently exited the car, leaving the door open, afraid to spook them, but they contentedly nibbled away at what might have been seeds strewn in a bare area of the grass.
Happily, I took shot after shot. Then a few more photos of the drake only – he seemed to enjoy posing for me.
Wood Ducks nest in trees, so after all those photos, I looked at some nearby trees for an open cavity that might be their nest, but found nothing. I was very pleased to have seen the Wood Ducks and I was sure I would not top that photo find.
Next, I walked over to the small pond by the playground, hoping to find it filled with Mallards like the last time, but there was just a handful of ducks, still sleeping; likely their mates were sitting on a nest, so I left. The prior visit had food involved, as kids were tossing bread to them, so the ducks had congregated around us.
A pair of Canada Geese were grazing on grass and dandelions and it would have been rude not to take their photo after oohing and aahing over the Wood Ducks, right?
There were a few Redbud trees here and there …
… but a more spectacular array of Redbuds was found at the Ford Estate which will be in a separate post next month to celebrate the color pink.
The majestic Willow trees, also a fixture at this park, were dripping with pale green leaves, which had just unfurled. Here is one of those Willows.
I stopped at the covered bridge and …
… was surprised how quickly the Rouge River was moving.
I found it amusing that only one lock was fastened to the grilles at this bridge, as opposed to the mother lode of metal locks clasped to each side of the bridge, some intertwined, with most bearing messages of love, that I previously wrote about.
There is a second bridge …
… and, on the right side, once again, the Rouge River roiled with splashes and sputters …
… while the other side of the bridge deck was remarkably calm.
Would there be more birds to see and photograph?
As I approached the Rouge Gateway Trail …
… I stopped to look at the sign of possible bird encounters I might have.
Well, I’d already seen my Wood Ducks – what could be better than that? But, moments after seeing the sign, a Great Blue Heron caught sight of me, squawked madly at my presence and hightailed it up to a tree. Of course, it would perch with its head behind the branch – sigh.
As I strolled the path, I recognized the peculiar song of a White-breasted Nuthatch. It was up ahead, scrounging for food on the ground.
Surprisingly, I found no wildflowers, just a few Redbud saplings along the Rouge Gateway Trail.
A few loosie goosies and sunbathing turtles made me stop and take notice.
As I crossed over the Gateway Trail bridge, the water here was totally calm. When peering over the bridge, I saw this Canada Goose, intent on finding a bite to eat, its long neck parallel to the water’s surface.
Another Canada Goose was chillin’ on a log, while casting a near-perfect reflection …
… but, as I kept zooming in, I saw this was not just a log, but a log lined with turtles basking in the sun.
I noticed an abundance of turtles that week at the different venues I visited. I suppose they had just emerged from their burrows deep beneath the water and were happy to see and feel the sun on their shell.
I was still watching the shared camaraderie of the goose and turtles when the sky erupted with black birds streaming over the bridge. Had I not been distracted by the goose and its pals, I might have gotten some shots, but I caught up with a few of them later as I walked along the Rouge River at Fair Lane. There I was chattin’ it up with a couple as we photographed a Cormorant and Mallard and they asked “hey, did you see that gulp of Cormorants near the bridge?” That was a first for me seeing any Cormorant in this area, let alone a “gulp” or “flight” (flock) of them.
Soon I was at the Ford Estate.
It was a breathtaking sight as Redbuds and other pastel-colored flowering trees, including those blooming at the Fords’ longtime apple orchard, were in abundance. Unfortunately, however, mingled with the beautiful blossoming trees, extensive renovation was taking place. I knew about the work being done on the Powerhouse as I follow Fair Lane/Ford Estate on social media. So, I just shut my eyes and ears to the earth-moving machines and meandered the Estate’s grounds along the Rouge River and Trail Gardens. There were many volunteers working on the extensive garden areas, not only the Ford Motor Company folks (evidenced by their clothing with the Ford logo) that regularly volunteer there, but many others were sporting tee shirts touting Volunteer Week. National Volunteer Week was from April 20th to April 26th.
I had many more miles to go before I would call it a day and you’ll read about those adventures in the coming weeks.
I am joining Terri’s Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge: Pastels.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Hi Linda, enjoyed this post and could feel the excitement with you with the heron, and loved that upshot. Also, I wonder if there was only one lock because I heard they are really bad for bridges and the extra weight can interfere with the safefty of the bridge (and some folks throw away the key in the water below the lock on the bridge and I guess that is bad for the habitat).
Oh and did you know that I planted a willow tree in our front yard in 2023 (two years ago) and this year it has grown a lot. My son and I bought it and planted it and I noticed the first few months it had some damage to the trunk,
I could have brought it back for an exchange at that time, but was not in the mood and so I decided to use liquid bandage on the trunk area that seemed injured – and just thought we would toss it if it did not work …..
and guess what? it seemed to work and this year – the tree is thriving – it has grown three times the size of last year.
Anyhow, seeing your willow featured brought a smile because I have this little one growing here (which is thin and about 15 feet high)
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Yvette, I searched my blog to find the post where I took pics of the bridge with all the locks on the grille and every key search word came up empty – I wanted to get a photo. There were a lot of locks. I had never heard of people doing that before and so I Googled to find out about that tradition. Then another blogger told me about the Pont des Arts bridge in France (a/k/a as the Love Lock Bridge) so I learned it once had 700,000 love locks, so they finally removed all of them to avoid damaging the bridge, same which probably happened here.
I wavered on whether to use the heron’s picture with his head behind the branch, but I don’t often get shots of herons in the trees, egrets yes, so I just used it.
You lucked out with the willow tree. They are beautiful and some of willow trees are almost a century old at Elizabeth Park, another venue where I frequently visit. They are very tall and “weep” all the way to the ground. After the Polar Vortex in the Winter of 2012-2014, as you know I lost all of my butterfly garden. When I went out in the Spring and saw so many dead plants and bushes, I was upset. My four longstanding shrub roses had also died, as well as my holly out in the front garden. I had planted all of those in the mid-80s, so the roots were going to be big. I decided to cut them almost to the ground and when my handyman came to clean the gutters, he could pull everything out that had died as it was to be a big job. But first, after I cut down the holly to the ground, I found its special fertilizer (Holly-Tone) and used the rest of the bag in a watering can; I cut the roses down and used the rest of their bag of rose fertilizer (Rose-Tone). Jim was not going to be there for another six weeks when the maple seeds were done fluttering around. By the time Jim was there for gutters, all five bushes had new growth and are now the same size as before. Like you, I was pretty proud of myself to have brought it back from being destined for the yard waste!
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That is a super inspiring story about how the five bushes came back – and the boost from the fertilizer likely played a role – but truly inspiring. And not sure if you know this, but I have been working on a Garden analogies book for a while (on and off) and almost finished it in 2023 but had to pause it. I might be able to finish it this year – but it had a lot of examples – like the ones with your bushes coming back – that I applied to little life scenarios. Anyhow, your bushes reminded me of how sometimes people might feel that way – like all is lost or like a certain situation had no hope. But sometimes all is not lost – even if it might seem that way on the surface. Or an analogy of root health comes to mind….
hmmmm
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Yvette, I was pretty pleased to see it come back and the holly especially as the entire front garden was planted in 1985, so they were/are all mature bushes with a weeping tree as a centerpiece and there would have been a gaping hole to fill where the holly was. They all came back – the roses have rallied as well, though they have some dead wood I can’t reach with the pruners without tearing my arms up even sheathed. I recommend those two products by the same company as they did wonders. I could see drawing an analogy to people who find life hopeless and question the need to go on with these bushes; all it takes is one good thing to happen, to reinforce the need to carry on.
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well said
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Thank you.
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Hello,
So beautiful your favourite flowers season photography. Nice you sharing fall & Spring season. Wonderful birds picture. God bless you. Linda.
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It is a pretty time of the year Raj and next month I’ll have a lot of “pinks” to share, more of the Redbud trees which are beautiful. Glad you liked the birds as well. Thank you!
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Thank you so much,Linda. You have pretty time for fall & spring season. I like birds & Pink 🩷 flower. God bless you.
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Fall is my favorite as by then I’m grateful for a little cooler weather, but then Winter follows which is not so nice. Spring in a four-season state is a blessing after the Winter and often chilly Spring. Thank you Raj.
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Nice your Like fall season. Spring is chilly. Thanks,Linda 🙂
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That was a good finds walk Linda. The Wood Ducks are lovely. Love the heron photo too.
Whoever started that love locks thing especially on bridges 🙄
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Yes, it was a good finds walk Brian and I went on to have more good finds after this portion … it makes me think I need to go back again soon. I feel lucky to have seen the Wood Ducks so close up and not in the water or up in a tree. I searched my blog as I wanted to include the photo of the bridge with so many locks from last time and couldn’t find it, no matter what key words I used. All the grille areas were covered and I had never heard of that tradition before then. The bridge in France had to remove their bridge locks as there were 750,000 locks and they worried about damaging the bridge!
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What a nice place to walk! I’m so glad you had the chance to see the woodduck couple up close. I’ve seen them up at Shiawasee but only from far away and usually in flight.
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Yes, it was an enjoyable walk that day Dawn and I had more photo finds after this leg of the trip. I couldn’t believe my good fortune to see those Wood Ducks so close up, not in the water or in a tree. They were still there when I finally left, albeit reluctantly. P.S. – In the Metroparks photo group people said they’ve already found dog ticks at Lake St. Clair Metropark. You likely don’t go to that park, but people were surprised the ticks didn’t die over our very cold Winter.
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I am another fan of redbud trees. The trees themselves are often ugly and misshapen, but a couple of weeks of blossoms are enough to redeem them.
Your photo of the nuthatch made me laugh. My father always referred to mental hospitals as nut hatcheries, as in “you’re going to drive me into the nut hatchery”.
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The redbuds are beautiful indeed JP. At the Ford Estate they had about 30+ around the mansion and grounds, all in bloom when I was there. I didn’t realize that about their shape – we don’t have any in the neighborhood, but yes their beauty redeems them. I have not heard that expression before, but my parents were fond of saying “that would put me in the nut house.” 🙂
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A wonderful spring walk! The wood ducks are beautiful. They look hand painted. Much needed shot of spring!
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Those redbuds are beautiful – there were 30+ of them at the Ford Estate, all in bloom. I’ll have a post on them in June. The first Spring colors are the best! The wood ducks were a real treat to see up close – they do look too unique to be real!
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Yay, Spring!!! The Wood Duck photo shoot is amazing — great captures! The willow tree looks so soft and lovely. I laughed at the Great Blue Heron making your life difficult by hiding his head behind a branch. Those redbuds look so pretty accenting all the new light green leaves. I’m glad you’re finding so many springtime delights to enjoy. 🌸
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That was a beautiful week Barbara and since then we’ve had cold weather (low 40s each morning) and lots of rain, but I think we’ll be back on track by the end of this week thankfully. I thought if we don’t soon get regulated with Spring-like temps, it will suddenly be hot and humid. I was so excited about the Wood Ducks. I know I did a second take when I was parking the car and saw them and it wasn’t even on the actual trail in the woods. I almost didn’t include that Great Blue Heron, but I don’t often get them up in a tree, so just went with it. I swear the Herons are obstinate like that. Those Redbuds are beautiful. We had a lot of Redbud saplings at the Park’s shoreline which unfortunately are gone now, but there is one memorial tree that is a Redbud, so I’ll enjoy it.
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What a lovely spring walk! 😃 I especially enjoyed the male wood ducks’ beautiful markings. Too bad the females look so drab in comparison. 😆
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It was a lovely walk that day Debbie and the rest of the walk will fill two more posts. Every time I turned around there was something to see and photograph, but nothing could top those Wood Ducks. They are beautiful and unique looking. I hope the female Wood Ducks don’t suffer from an inferiority complex as they are rather blah looking. 🙂
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I’m so happy to read that spring has arrived in your neck of the woods, Linda! About time, right? 85F? That was fast! I love those beautiful wood ducks! The pink trees are amazing to see. My favorite image is the one of the covered red bridge framed by the spring blooms! What a great place to walk.
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We’ve been on such a rollercoaster ride weather-wise Terri. Earth Day Week was beautiful, then we had a week of rain and cold weather, so after tomorrow it will warm up again and be like Spring. Those Redbud trees are very beautiful and next month you’ll see them for the Pink Challenge as they had about 30+ at the Ford Estate, some which I couldn’t get near due to renovation. I was so excited to see those Wood Ducks up close and personal. They are unique looking. I like that covered bridge too and the setting is very pretty.
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Photography is all about being at the right place at the right time. Those Wood duck shots prove and yes you probably were wise not to close your car door. Wildlife do not like movement or noise.
Excellent shots Linda! We do not have those redbud trees over here at all.
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Yes, I think of you telling me that in the past Wayne, so I feel lucky to have seen these Wood Ducks this close up in a picnic area where you wouldn’t expect them to be. Usually they are in the water or in a tree, but not on the ground. It’s as if they were waiting for me to be there! I am glad I didn’t shut the car door as for sure they’d have been spooked. I was so quiet getting closer, taking “safe shots” like you do just in case they flew away. The Redbuds are beautiful and last only a couple of weeks. We used to have them at the Park all along the shoreline, but they tore them down last May during the destruction. They are supposed to be planting 25 new trees at the end of May.
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Taking great shots is akin to a old prospector finding a nugget from time to time!
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That’s a good analogy Wayne. I know that excitement. Even the little “discoveries” like yesterday going specifically to look for goslings from the two geese sitting on a nest that are the subject of my Mother’s Day post … and finding them. In each case, they were early hatches, so I was able to find the goslings right away. What a delight they were to see and take pictures of them.
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Nice to see the Wood duck after we compared them to the Mandarin in my blog post recently.
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Your Mandarin is a wee bit more unique Andy but these Wood Ducks are unusual too! I hope to see a Mandarin Duck one day too!
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I like seeing redbud trees, too. I don’t remember them as a child but now as an adult I look forward to them as much as the flowers.
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Same here Ally – I don’t remember seeing them when I was younger either. We don’t have any in the neighborhood – perhaps that is why. They sure are gorgeous when they are in bloom though.
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🫶🫶🫶
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Great shots Linda, I love the Wood ducks but don’t see them too often
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Thank you Susan – they were a treat to see, especially out of the water where I could see all of their plumage!
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Miss Linda…………………………………………I always learn something about your strolls around the park grounds…………………………………….I’ve never seen a wood duck……………….up close…………………..and the big difference between male and femal;e……………………….nor that they go up into trees to nest…………………………cool……………………………..
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Thank you Ann Marie – I’m happy to share what I learn while out on my walks. These are beautiful ducks and that was unusual seeing them at Ford Park, not in the water or a tree, just waiting there for me. 🙂
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What great wood duck photos! I’ve never had the pleasure of seeing any. You do have some lovely places to stroll, Linda.
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Thank you Eileen! It was a great opportunity to see them on land and up so close. The male is so unique looking. You are right – I am lucky to live near so many parks. Usually I just park my car here, then walk through the neighborhoods to get to the trail to the Ford Estate and Environmental Interpretive Center, but there were lots of reasons to pause that day.
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Don’t you wish there was that many beautiful flowers, wood ducks, birds and nature, in general, all the time. I looked at the first picture of wood ducks and I thought they were stuffed! Your pictures were so energizing Linda.
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Diane – thank you for saying that the post is energizing. That makes my day!
Yes, it would be wonderful if everything was this fresh and beautiful all the time and I especially feel that way after seeing day after day of rain. Even when we got a break yesterday, it was still gloomy and gray. The Redbuds at the Ford Estate were exquisite – it was pink everywhere, but unfortunately, I took a lot of photos, but deleted many too, all the ones with construction equipment in the background. I was so excited to see the wood ducks! I’ve seen some females with young ones and the male was too far away last year to really appreciate his unique coloring. The male almost doesn’t look real. A blogger I follow in the UK recently posted photos of a Mandarin duck. If you think this duck is unique, that duck had even more colors than this one!
I found Andy’s post – I will send you the pic of the Mandarin Duck in a separate comment.
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I can’t wait to see it!
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Look at how many colors this Mandarin Duck has Diane!
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Your duck photos are beautiful! and of course I love the turtles. We have been seeing turtles sunning themselves on the edge of our pond this year. I haven’t got close enough to get any good pictures but there are at least four of them.
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Thank you Ruth! I was so excited to see the wood ducks up close like this. I saw a video today about a guy who plays the violin in a park and the turtles in the pond gravitate toward him every time he plays. I went back and looked for the video and will put it in a separate comment – you will marvel at this. They call him “The Turtle Whisperer”. I hope you get some photos of turtles at the edge of your pond. When I went to several parks the week after Easter, I saw turtles everywhere, so I am sure that first warm week had them coming out from beneath the bottom of the marshes/creeks/ponds to sunbathe.
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Ruth – here is the turtle video I was telling you about:
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That is soo cool! Thanks for sharing that!
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You’re welcome Ruth! I am glad I could find it again as I knew you would enjoy it. That is very cool how they gravitate toward the music.
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Thanks for sharing this with Ruth. I watched it too. It gave me a much needed smile after a stressful day!
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Yes, it was very nice to watch what this young man did as the turtles gravitated toward it.
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Glad to hear your happiness the pair of wood ducks and finally spring flowers! Great photos of the pair together!! Sweet story of your day. 😊
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Thank you TD – I was overjoyed to see those wood ducks that were in such an unlikely place. I’d be searching for them in the water, or in a tree, though when I’ve seen the female and the one male, it was always in the water. But there they were in a picnic area and not shy in the least. It was a good day with more photos at two other venues as part of the long walk. I like when I can make one long walk into multiple posts as I took so many photos. I am glad you enjoyed the story. 🙂
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What great photos of the pair of Wood Ducks! The colors of the male are so striking. Wood Ducks have eluded me so far, but I hope one day to get photos. Red Buds are one of my favorites in the spring. They really brighten things up as the dot the landscape. I’m so glad that spring has finally arrived for you.
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Thank you Rebecca! I was so excited to see the Wood Ducks right in front of me and they weren’t spooked like some ducks are. I was feeling lucky – what a way to start off a long walk. I hope you get to see some too. The Redbud trees were the main reason I went there that day and yes, they brighten up everything when it is still looking so lackluster from Winter. Now, the lilacs are in bloom there, so I hope to visit again in the next day or two. I’ve not been there for the lilacs in a few years. The renovations should not be an issue as it is in a separate garden area. I did think Spring would never get here and we have a frost advisory for most of the state tonight, so there are worries for the cherry trees.
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I hope the cherry trees make it okay.
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I hope so to because a few years ago it was so bad the farmers lost the cherry crops and a lot of the apple crops as well. We have a big Traverse City Cherry Festival – it’s a big tourist attraction. I visited there in the off-season once. Anyway, they had to get cherries from other states to make the festival happen that year.
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Love your adventure. What a neat space. While spring isn’t my “favorite” season, I LOVE when everything starts coming to life.
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Thank you Kirstin! I went back there yesterday as well, duplicating the same trip, with different things to see and new spring colors. I went specifically as the lilacs at the Ford Estate were out and we are having a lot of rain in the coming week. Fall is my favorite season, but, after our cold, icy/snowy winter, I welcome the colors and some warmth. We are on a weather roller-coaster right now.
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Ah Linda…..that was a feast for the eyes! That first flower picture…..and the wood ducks! Loved them all!
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Thank you Joni – I was so excited to see Wood Ducks! They were on my “Birdie Bucket List” for years. (We have a tornado watch ’til 5:00 a.m. so I am up hoping it fizzles out.)
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We had quite the scary torrential rain storm last night around 2am -won’t have to water for a week!
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We did too Joni … scary and we had a tornado watch, 60 mph wind threat and one-inch hail. I stayed up til 3:00 to ensure I was up and ready to go downstairs even though I have the weather radio which went off twice. Now going to write Sunday’s post because we have another storm threat tonight, not as bad as last night’s thankfully.
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We have rain tomorrow too….so I’m glad I got all my flowers planted today…..exhausted though. Watched the hockey game tonight – Toronto won against Florida but it was a nail-biter….on to game 7 sunday, but that is the last episode of Miss Austen on PBS too.
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I am staying up a little later as we are expecting severe weather again. I stayed up until 3:00 last night. I’m monitoring the weather on a new site which is even more comprehensive. What type of flowers did you plant? Well you won’t have to water for a while if you get more rain – that is good. Don’t forget if you tape Miss Austen, Sunday is a double show, episodes 3 and 4. I was going to rewatch the first show since Masterpiece sent it by e-mail in its entirety. I planned to do that just before episode #2 but then I got home late from a long walk with a long drive and sat down and my computer had the issue and I had to switch to the old computer until I got it resolved early Wednesday morning (a bad Microsoft update). I figured you said it was difficult to know who was who even if you read Jane Austen’s books and knew the characters, so I had to abandon that idea.
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