Today’s post is part two of three parts about a long walk taken April 24th at three different venues.
The highlight of the entire day was where I began my excursion, at Ford Field Park, as I pulled into a parking space and saw Mr. and Mrs. Wood Duck grazing in a picnic area about 25 feet/7 meters away. In case you missed that post, you can read about the encounter here.
After taking photos of the Wood Ducks and a few Redbud and Willow trees scattered around Ford Field Park, I ambled along the Rouge Gateway Trail to my next destination, Fair Lane, a/k/a the Ford Estate, home of Henry and Clara Ford from 1915 until their deaths in 1947 and 1950, respectively.
Fair Lane Estate was named a National Historic Landmark in Michigan in 1966 and has been undergoing extensive renovations, both inside and outside, of the 31,770-square foot, 56-room mansion since 2010, (except when paused at the onset of the COVID pandemic). A team overseeing the meticulous, extensive restoration will ensure the Estate will eventually be restored to its original grandeur. Since there are ongoing renovations to the garage and Power House, (designed by Thomas Edison), I knew before my visit I would likely only be photographing pink Redbuds and/or flowers that day.
Here are some of those Eastern Redbud trees.
Even the Potting Shed was cordoned off to the public, so there would be no peeking through the windows at the in-progress plants that would be added to the extensive perennial gardens, like these pink Tulips found in front of the mansion.
The Daffodils didn’t disappoint either as they bobbed their heads along the fringe of the wooded area.
I didn’t stay too long as it was an uncharacteristically warm day for late April and I still wanted to visit the Environmental Interpretive Center (“EIC”), which visit will be the topic of my part three post and will be filled with wildfowers and wild turkeys from that last leg of my long walk.
Enroute to the Environmental Interpretive Center.
To get to the EIC, rather than walking along Fair Lane Drive, I prefer to meander through a grassy area once known as “The Great Meadow” which is a wide pathway that ends up at Ford Lake and the EIC trails.
Unfortunately, “great” is hardly a term I’d use for the dilapidated remains of what was Clara Ford’s original Rose Garden, Pond and the once-iconic Summer House.
This state of disrepair looks the same since my first visit here in 2019, but eventually these relics from a different era at the Ford Estate will be turned into a green space by the EIC.
Another reason I wanted to walk in the “Great Meadow” was because on my last Spring visit the pond was filled with frogs, much to the delight of some youngsters who were on a field trip and watched wide-eyed as an EIC interpretive guide dipped a big net into the murky waters and brought it to the surface brimming with frogs.
This big kid decided she would like to see some of those frogs today.
I stepped up to the pond and peered in, but unfortunately no frogs were to be found, so that was a disappointment. The reflections were nice though.
I looked around for a photo op. but didn’t need to look far. There was a Mama Goose, sitting on a nest, embedded in the dried reeds …
… while her mate monitored me from the other end of the pond.
The pair were hyperventilating in the heat of the day, beaks open and taking quick breaths. I got my shots and moved on, lest the gander, took issue with me.
You probably remember the picture of these two from my Mother’s Day post (found here).
So, now I’m going to do something different with this post … a hybrid twist.
I went back two weeks later to follow up on each bird featured in my Mother’s Day post, three Mamas-to-be in all. I knew their goslings and the Killdeer offspring would have hatched by then. And I found each Mama with her mate and offspring, so I will feature the offspring along with the narrative on the original walk in future posts.
But, for today, below is what I found two weeks later, when I returned to Fair Lane to see the Lilac gardens in bloom and seek out the family of Canada Geese.
The nest in Clara Ford’s Pond was gone, as were the two geese, but, having been through multiple gosling hatches at Council Point Park, I knew the pair would take their brood to the closest body of water i.e. Ford Lake.
Bingo! There they were!
The goslings were just the right age for those eggs being incubated a mere two weeks before and there were no other geese families to be found.
Here are the family members … Mom, Dad and four goslings …
Most likely it was Dad here that gave me the side-eye … “keep your distance lady!”
How can you NOT be enamored with critter babies?
This time of year is good for marketing as it’s all about “Dads and Grads” right?
So, I’m sharing a quote by Henry Ford, then I will show you a few photos about a learning experience for some of these young goslings.
“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young.” – Henry Ford
Now I don’t know which of these sweet little goslings should be sporting a pink or blue ribbon, but, as a group, they sure were fun to watch, especially the one gosling that climbed up the decaying log to get to the other side. At one point it was such a difficult task for this little one that it flattened out up top to take a breather.
Meanwhile, one sibling marched off to eat grass, leaving two goslings gathered at the bottom of the log, likely hashing out whether they should climb over this seemingly insurmountable obstacle.
They then moved over to another log, out of earshot of their sibling, where a lively discussion ensued …
… then they put their fuzzy heads together over a snack …
… ultimately, the older and wiser gosling, having hatched first, made the decision …
… saying “why sweat it – we’ll join him, but we are smart and have a workaround” (hmm – or would that be a “walkaround”) whereas they started waddling around the original log, arriving just as their sibling plopped down, likely exhausted from its efforts, right onto a bed of leaves.
Well I had to laugh at the antics, because the trio arrived at the other side of the log just as Mama announced it was time for a swimming lesson. So Papa came back up the steep shoreline slope to herd his goslings to the water. He located two, but …
… he had to wait on the ambitious, or adventurous, or perhaps a wee bit dimwitted, gosling which attempted to climb the log from the other side, meanwhile recruiting a sibling alongside him/her.
Finally, the goslings, single file, proceeded to Ford Lake …
… and, finally they were off, obviously disregarding the rule to avoid swimming for an hour after eating!
I am joining Terri’s Monthly Color Challenge: Anything Pink.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
The pink was beautiful and the babies adorable!
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Spring is so pretty for us here in Southeast Michigan, isn’t it Dawn? Nothing beats babies in Springtime!
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Just had a mama deer and her twins walk through our backyard. Our first look at fawns this spring.
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I would love to see that in my backyard. I’ve not even seen any fawns at Lake Erie Metropark yet.
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Great shots Linda! Love the goslings!
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Thanks Wayne! Those goslings were adorable that day. They are the cutest at this age. 🙂
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cuteness overload!
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They are so cute when they are that tiny Wayne. Today I went in search of ducklings at Heritage Park. I might have been too early, as there was only one Mama duck with three ducklings. I think these ducklings were newly hatched. There was a nest near the water and there were broken shells in it. The ducklings were so cute and small that it was hard to see them in the water which was green in places – swirls of green. The ducklings were trying to catch the Poplar tree fuzz that was flying around over the water. 🙂 I have to return after this week’s stormy weather and 100 degree heat index next Sunday and Monday.
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true but just about anything when It’s small is cute. I draw the line when teeth form.
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Yes, very true – your teeth comment made me laugh. I have only held a baby once in my life and it spit up milk in my purse and I handed it back to the mother like it was a hot potato, but a puppy, well I could cuddle that in my lap for hours. When my aunt got a puppy the day before we visited one time, I don’t think that puppy spent much time on its four feet the whole weekend we were there. It was the cutest thing – mixed breed, maybe poodle/cocker spaniel. Next time we went back to visit my grandmother, it was in its “let’s tear apart everything in sight phase” and a little terror.
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Delightful post!
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Thanks Anne – I am glad you liked it. Those babies were adorable!
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I love all the pink blooms, flowers and trees, Linda! The first dogwood image is so gorgeous! But the downy goslings stole the show. Just so cute! Sorry no frogs but those reflections were beautiful.
Good news, Mr & Mrs Phoebe laid 4 eggs in their nest, we think on Thursday. I’m excited they’re trying again. 😂 I wondered why they were still hanging around our yard. Hubby is going to wrap the wooden post that supports the patio cover, where the nest sits, with metal. If it was a cat, the metal will prevent it from climbing into the nest. 🐦❤️
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Thank you Terri! There was a lot of pink that day and the dogwood was the pinkest of them all. I had some other light pink blossoming trees, but wasn’t sure what they were so I left them out. I agree with you about the goslings – this is the sweetest age for them, all downy looking and no attitude yet. It is funny to see them mimicking their parents with hissing and flapping their tiny wings. 🙂
That is great news about your Phoebes – I’m glad they are trying again to raise a family. This time you can see them through to the end when they fledge. I’m glad you have a failsafe way to keep the cats away and this time “watch-dog” Brodie will be on duty too.
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Lovely pink florals Linda. The goslings are quite cute A good walk thanks
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Glad you liked my version of “pink” Brian. It’s hard to resist watching or taking photos of goslings at this age.
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Pink in nature charms me, but less so when it is the color of my shirt. Dad’s side-eye is nothing to mess with. The baby geese are cute. And photogenic.
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I really don’t have much pink in my wardrobe either Ally to be honest. I always looked washed out in that color as I am fair. Dad’s side-eye looked pretty menacing to me and was my signal to vamoose. They are especially cute at this age – yellow and fuzzy and sans attitude; attitude arrives when they are a few weeks older.
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Beautiful spring flowers and babies! Perfect!
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It seems all the trees start blooming at the same time – it is gorgeous here at the Estate or in the neighborhood. I went back for the lilacs – also very beautiful. They have lilac bushes in a walkway like an arbor and all around the perimeter of the Rose Garden. It is beautiful and smells wonderful. The goslings are adorable at this age.
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The redbuds and spring bulbs are so pretty! I love how the papa geese monitor how things are going at the nest. Take one step too close and they’re on it. Too bad it was so hot that day. All of us are going to have manage somehow to adapt to these extremes. What lovely pictures of the family with the little goslings! The first two of the parents look like impressionist paintings with the light-infused ripples in the water behind them. The little ones are adorable little puff balls. Your narration of their morning adventures was very entertaining, it must have been so much fun watching them explore the world and interact with each other.
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There are so many trees here at the Estate Barbara. There was pink everywhere I looked and when I returned two weeks later to see the Lilac bushes in bloom and check on the goslings, a few redbuds were still blooming – just gorgeous. It was too hot to be comfortable that day, so I was glad the last leg of my long excursion was a trail in the woods, so it was all shade thankfully. I am glad you liked the tale of the goslings’ morning adventures. I was laughing at the one gosling who insisted on making things difficult for himself while you could almost hear the gears clicking with the other two thinking “there is an easier way!” They are so cute at that age, before they get an attitude like their parents. The gander is always so protective of his mate and offspring -it is very tender to see.
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I love lilacs! Will you be sharing pictures of those?
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They were beautiful Barbara. Yes, I will be sharing the lilacs in a separate post. I was going to share them here, but I thought it might be too many blossoms. I had to shoot around all the coned-off areas and yellow caution tape.
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It must have been great fun watching those goslings!
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They were so cute JP. I could almost hear the gears clicking as they watched their sibling make that big climb when they just walked around the log. They are cute at this age, having no attitude – that comes a few weeks later. 🙂
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very nice
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Thank you Neeraj Singh – I am glad you liked it.
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It’s nice to be able to picture the locale of Fair Lane now, from my visit with my brothers last fall. We ventured into the meadow as well, but not as far as your photos suggest. We also peeked into the entry windows of the house. The understated elegance of the foyer and main stair suggest it will be a wonderful place to tour when it’s fully restored.
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You and your brothers are lucky you went when you did Dave because the Power House, Garage and part of the mansion was cordoned off with heavy machinery both times I was there. They have closed off the big Rose Garden where you saw the statues of Henry and Clara Ford also – off limits for now. I went back to see the Lilacs in bloom and it was definitely difficult trying not to get orange cones and yellow tape in the photos. It will look magnificent when they finish and offer tours again. The Great Meadow was designed for the Summer Solstice – the architect planned it that way for the sun to set and light up that wide pathway every year.
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Cute goslings and fun for you to watch their adventures!
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Yes TD – those goslings are really adorable at that age. A few weeks later and they get a big-time attitude and flap their wings and hiss, just like their parents and are fearless.
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Miss Linda………………………………………..I enjoyed your adventure with the 3 goslings………………we had 3 goslings too but something terrible must have happened to them……………………………………because we don’t see them anymore…………………there were 5 ducklings too and they’re all gone too………………………so I enjoyed your story
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Thank you Ann Marie – I’m glad you liked my adventure. That’s terrible about your goslings and ducklings. I hope a predator did not get them as you just recently told me about the goslings, so they and the ducklings wouldn’t have been too old. I feel badly for you as you enjoyed seeing them, just as I do.
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Baby critters are always cute!
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Yes they are, especially those really young ones. A few weeks later and they are full of attitude with hissing and tiny wing flapping like their parents. 🙂
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Two reasons I love spring, all the young ones and all the beautiful colourful flowers. Also, I guess I should add, it means the end of winter lol
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I definitely agree with you Susan. After months of looking at a barren landscape, suddenly everything comes alive! The babies are adorable, especially when they are cute and fuzzy like these ones were.
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The goslings are adorable! I also love the pink blossoms. Spring is such a wonderful time of year.
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They are sweetest when they are this age Janis – a few weeks later and they get a bit of attitude then. For a four-season state (or what used to be called a “four-season state” as we are kind of mishmashing seasons together these days), it is wonderful to see the pastel blossoms after months of boring and often snowy landscape.
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Beautiful pink blooms, and the goslings are adorable. I love how you weave an entire story out of your photos! 🙂
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It was a beautiful sight with all the pink blooms Debbie and then I returned two weeks later to see the Lilacs – they used to have 150 Lilac bushes, but 38 of them got a disease a few years ago, so they were destroyed, but the remaining ones were in bloom and they looked and smelled wonderful. I’m glad you like the story of the goslings: They were very funny to watch – the one decided to climb the log despite how big it was (and it was also slippery as the bark was all gone) and the others decided they weren’t going to follow him/her. Then the parents came looking for them to go for a swim (probably since I was there). I will have a funny story on Sunday so stay tuned as they say. 🙂
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Linda, I remember you posting about the lilacs a few years ago, and that the house was under renovation, but wow 56 rooms – it there any part of it that is open? PS. The goslings are cuties!
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I remember you liked that lilac post Joni. It was really a mess with this renovation when I went both times. They are still doing inside renovations and I follow them on Facebook, so I see what they are doing. They have a team that is working on the restoration to ensure it is restored to the letter as to how it once looked. You would not believe how they do this – right down to door handles, if the original will not look good, they are reproducing it. The window treatments and carpeting in the sun room – the attention to detail is amazing. From the outside of the mansion, the scaffolding is gone now and people are working inside if you peek in the windows. Now the area of the Power House, Garage and Potting Shed are all torn up and big construction machinery is there, plus Clara’s Rose Garden is now off limits and both coned and cordoned off. This older pool and Summer House will be done after the other renovations. You still can’t go in after all these years and I haven’t heard when the renovations will be complete. What an undertaking!
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You would think they might open some of the rooms that are finished after all that time.
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Joni, I was thinking about what I wrote to you last night and I misspoke because, while they are not open to the public, they have had a few small events, like a gathering with a string quartet for members (but not a big crowd, so I am thinking large donor patrons … membership is from $80.00 to $300.00 and when I checked on their site, they did not indicate if that was a one-time donation, or per year?). They were in one room and the photo showed the band, but you didn’t see many people. They have a lot of volunteers, especially from Ford Motor Company, that work in the gardens and I see them every time I go in the Summer. But it is not open to the general public yet. I think it would be nice to join (if that is a forever membership) to see inside, but I also know eventually it will be open to the public. There were tours conducted before the restoration because people comment on Facebook that they took them. Once a week, the site shows some small area of the mansion and asks if anyone knows where the photo was taken and people will guess based on their recollection from the tour(s).
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It’s just that with 56 rooms it will be forever until it is totally finished, and they could be making some money on it in the meantime with public tours to parts of it?
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I agree with you Joni, but maybe because they also have big corporate sponsorships (like the Ford Foundation, which is not part of the Estate but contributes a lot of money), they feel they can just wait ’til it is all done). It must be costing a fortune to replace or repair every detail in every room. If you are on Instagram, they have the same photos there of the various rooms and in-progress reports.
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It sounds nice, but I don’t do Instagram…..
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Hi Joni – I really don’t do Instagram either. I joined once for a fellow blogger in the UK who decided when the pandemic began and she was not working that she was going to be like me, walking and taking photos. But she didn’t want to take photos for her blog, so she created an Instagram profile and sent me the link to see her photos. You could join just to view some sites there. There are lots of photography sites on Instagram – I don’t post any photos I take on Instagram or Facebook – it is enough keeping up here and e-mail and reading the news online since I don’t have TV.
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I was going to post mom’s paintings on Instagram in the early days, but someone told me it’s not very private, and anyone can copy and steal your work, so I didn’t. At least on here, it is more limited exposure. That would be especially true for photos, to the point that people were putting watermarks on them, so they couldn’t be used without credit. I wonder if that is even more critical today when AI companies are stealing entire books to build their databases. I worried about that with that website with the decorating stuff on it Pinterest – it was so popular for awhile – my profile there was short-lived.
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Wow, I didn’t know that Joni, so I am glad I didn’t post any photos there. I do follow a nature photographer there, a young guy, a kid really – he is just 13 years old. Someone told me to check him out. His name is Grayson Bell and he lives in Maine – he has beautiful nature shots. He has a website too: graysonbellphotographydotcom. Check it out sometime – prepare to be amazed at this teenager. Check out his gallery as he has his pics divided into categories of birds, etc. I have an account at Pinterest, but only as I have used pics from there on occasion for my blog when doing a “look back post” … you can find lots of pics there. I’ve never posted anything there. Like I wanted a pic of a Popsicle (twin, grape) and found it in seconds. I don’t use it much now and only if it is not someone picture, more a pic of a product and it’s been ages since I even used that. The whole AI thing is scary to be honest.
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When I watched that Jodi Picoult interview, she said she and a group of other writers, were currently in litigation with an AI company over unauthorized use of their books to build AI writing databases…..which I found interesting. Who knows what data grazing they do on WordPress, and we’re not even aware?
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Well, that is some scary stuff Joni thinking about data grazing right here on WordPress. Earlier today I was doing my post for Sunday and noticed a new feature. I already knew that not only do we have the capability to spin out a post using AI, obtain photos by instructing AI what you need and AI creates it, but you can create a headline as well. I knew about the first two but not the headline. I always try to think of something funny for a headline, so now I don’t even have to use my brain if I don’t want to. I find that odd since WP would be about creative right?
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I think WP is trying to help those bloggers who aren’t that creative – make it easier for them to post so they can increase their users and make more money. JMO
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That does make sense – kind of bolster them to crank out the posts. I read a news article tonight that Windows 12 will not be coming out this year as a lot of MS employees were laid off and they are no way ready to foll it out this year after all as it will be filled with AI doo dads. This is why I hurried up and got this Windows 11 computer – I didn’t want the AI stuff.
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Good….the longer it takes to come out the better! I’m still getting used to 11
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I was happy to hear that too Joni! I hope they don’t roll our Windows 11 laptops into Windows 12 when it comes out. I’m still getting used to Windows 11 too. I still like Windows 7 better. I don’t care for the photo set up here and everything seems to be smaller (font/website size) than Windows 7, so I have most sites set at 150%. I think the photo files are very small here in Windows 11. Maybe it is me/my eyes?
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PS. Sometimes when you see your stats all of a sudden spike for no good reason, I wonder if they are data grazing…..
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I had that happen one day this week, for my pink post. Hmm.
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So much fun to see the goslings!
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They were so darn cute Ruth!
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I love red bud trees, we have three of them. What a shame the rose garden is no more. Back in its day I bet it was beautiful. I could sit and watch those cute fuzzy babies forever. They are between mom and dad, I always thought they were in back like I said about the other ones to.
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Red buds trees are so beautiful – you are lucky to have them Diane. There were several red bud trees at the Park, but they cut the one down about four years ago – the geese families would go near it and it made great pics as it was in bud when the goslings were tiny. They cute the sapling red buds down with the destruction last year. Now we only have one memorial tree red bud to look at there. I am a sucker for those goslings too – so sweet. I have more photos from when I returned to Heritage Park to find those goslings – they were a bigger family and a little older. They usually do travel behind in a line, like ducklings do the same thing with the mom in front, dad in the back (geese); I can’t say I see the Mallard drakes with the family, just the mom. I understand that Clara Ford’s rose garden was just undergoing reconstruction and will be back – it was off limits when I was there those two times but everything is torn up pretty bad there right now. The lilac garden was next to the rose garden and they had it coned off. Maybe repairing the fountain or slate walkway – I am not sure. I hope it comes back this Summer. They are gorgeous. I looked at an old post I wrote that said” now there are only 300 rosebushes, but during its heyday, there were 10,000 roses (350 varieties) and 20 gardeners tending to all the gardens” – can you imagine 20 gardeners? There are lots of gardens around the Estate, perennials, annuals and the rosebushes.
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These are pretty..Love them. Great choices.
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Thank you Kirstin – those Redbud trees sure are gorgeous. I went back a few weeks later to see the lilac bushes which are pretty there too.
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