Since 2018 I have participated in the annual Happy Soles 5K to raise money for Fish & Loaves, a local food pantry. In 2018 and 2019 I walked the 5K on-site, but since then, due to COVID, I have opted to participate virtually.
Fish & Loaves Community Food Pantry is a non-profit, faith-based organization which provides assistance to families and individuals. In 2024 this food pantry distributed 3.4 million pounds of food helping 100,000+ individuals. This Fish & Loaves 2025 Happy Soles 5K raised over $36,000 according to the event organizers.
The 2025 event marked the 16th annual Happy Soles 5K. The event always begins at the pavilion, a/k/a Sheridan Center. From there, participants wend their way around the nearby neighborhood, through the woods across from the playing field where the Junior World Series is held every August, along the path through the historical village and finally they return to Sheridan Center to hopefully cross the finish line.
The event was held on June 1st as you see from the swag in the featured image and race site info below. Since I’ve done the event virtually, I usually go to Heritage Park the day before or after to take photos to accompany the event post. This year I went on June 2nd. For those of you keeping track of my many submissions for a tee-shirt tagline – there was no contest this year; they used the same “Moving Against Hunger” tagline as in 2024.
Stepping out sans solemates … er, soulmates.
You may not be familiar with every venue I visit and “report on” but I know you all recognize the covered bridge …
… and of course that cute Little Red Schoolhouse.
You might even say “hey, that’s the Old Log Cabin!”
I decided to stop near the Old Log Cabin to check out the perennial garden maintained by the Taylor Garden Club.
These geese and ducks didn’t even stop grazing as I approached the garden – that shows you how interesting I am to them.
I hoped to see a bounty of butterflies like last year when the Bee Balm and Coneflowers bloomed profusely and yielded some pretty photographs of Tiger Swallowtails flitting about, but, my hopes were dashed when I discovered those flowers hadn’t even bloomed yet. Here’s what it looked like last year. Up close there were bees and butterflies galore as you can see in this post.
In fact, I couldn’t even scare up a bee on these beautiful and vibrant yellow plants which would have looked perfect with some bumble bees nestled down into the pollen and complementing their bright color.
This is an Evening Primrose …
… and these tallish yellow blooms are a new plant to me; they were identified by a sign in the garden and Google Images as Yellow Loosestrife.
This colorful Tiger Lily, near a future Sunflower yielded no butterflies either…
… even when I zoomed in.
I paused at the Wild Geranium with a few tiny bugs resting on a petal…
… then I decided to head to the Botanical Gardens in search of a better flora and fauna experience.
So did I fare better photo-wise at the Botanical Gardens?
Well, kinda sorta.
Speaking of creatures, I am a creature of habit. I’ve been visiting this venue for about a decade, maybe longer. Each time I go to the Gardens, I have a routine. After meandering around the historical area, I cut across the “village” grounds, past the 125-year-old Sell/Schoenscheck House, now a photography studio which needs a new sign.
Then I walk along busy Pardee Road. It’s not a long walk, but since I’m not only here for photo ops, but to rack up some steps as well, I’ve always traveled this same route.
Follow the leader in the “forest”.
Well, before I headed toward Pardee Road, out of the corner of my eye I spied a trio of escapees from the Petting Farm: a Pekin duck and his pals, two large domestic ducks.
They were grazing near the Old Saw Mill when they saw me and turned around and headed toward a wooded area. Feeling like a member of the paparazzi (and because critter photo ops had been scarce that morning), I trailed after them. Even though I was a fair distance behind the group, they sped up, waddling very quickly while trying to dodge this pest with her camera. I guess I need to tote along a little corn as a posing enticement next time I visit this venue.
My photos were not so great as they scurried around each bend and turn on the trail and the canopy of trees gave me some shade, but made it dim in the woods as well.
They were joined by another domestic duck at the “Rock Lounge” (a group of large boulders placed in a circle in the middle of the woods … think Stonehenge, only shorter). 🙂
The four ducks evidently were having a ducky outing away from the farm.
In my peripheral vision I noticed this envelope stuck in a tree branch and even pondered removing and reading it, but decided it did not have my name on it, so I just kept walking. Hmm – honesty and too many years of watching “Candid Camera” back in the day I guess.
But of course, I had to get a photo of it, right?
After that minor distraction I realized I had lost sight of the four ducks, which, by now, were feeling mighty smug after artfully dodging me.
But wait – I saw another feathered friend who, like myself, was meandering along, only it was picking, pecking and scratching at the ground. We had a strange staredown for a moment, but in the end it was way more charitable than the ducks and posed nicely here.
Soon I realized the end of my woodsy walk was at the Botanical Gardens. So, I now have a shortcut thanks to my feathered friends, all five which by now had ditched me like a hot potato.
Like the perennial garden by the Old Log Cabin, it was still fairly early in the blooming season so the garden areas really weren’t showy and ready for primetime either, so I didn’t even stop to take photos.
Returning from the Botanical Gardens the old way I noted the Taylor Historical Museum had a smattering of patriotic decor.
The Township Hall similarly had bunting strung along the railings.
There were not enough veggies nor blooms to take photos of at the Community Gardens either – maybe next month.
The cockeyed birdhouses look the same every Spring – too many parents and offspring packing it in on one side only. The pair of birdhouses have looked like this for years.
As I walked to the car, I passed this Mallard who had just awakened from a nap (you’ll recall another shot of him dozing off in last week’s post).
I admit to having had more exciting walks at Heritage Park and the Gardens where I’ve come home with a camera card full of photos, but this was not one of those times. I would, however, return to this venue exactly two weeks later to find a treasure trove of birdies and babies, so stay tuned.
I walked to the car, sank down in the seat and turned on the air after a very warm morning, just a preview of coming attractions for one of Michigan’s hottest Junes on record.
I am joining Terri’s Sunday Stills Photo Challenge: Patriotic – Show us your country’s flag, images of flags.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
That is quite the virtual walk you do for the cause, Linda. So you, walk and log your miles over the course of a few weeks? My young friend wants me to do the Blooms Day run with her next year, I just might…walk, that is! You see a lot of sights and then some patriotic color–the bunting and flowers look lovely! Any plans for the 4th?
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Hi Terri – no, I just log my miles on my pedometer, like a regular walk. I used to do the big woodsy walk and neighborhood walk to duplicate the 5K route, but going to the Botanical Gardens yields the same amount of miles, so I go that route instead. You should do it – it is fun, even though I’ve not participated in a while, but when I did, I did a Memorial Day walk on Grosse Ile which was lots of fun, the Mutt Strut where people brought their dogs and they had a kissing booth for a Pit Bull, all monies raised for a no-kill shelter. There is another 5K for me in July, Run to Honor, which will be my third year, at the same venue. It is for Veteran’s PTSD and Suicide. The organizer does this to honor his fallen comrades and he puts out pictures of all the veterans that have taken their life. I will probably take the same route at Heritage Park for that 5K. I wanted to go back this weekend as it was finally nice, but they had their annual Summer Fest, as did many of the other cities in parks where I go, so this week I’ll need to make up for lost time due to excessive heat and storms and festivals. I will probably stay home on the 4th as my weeds and bushes are looking pretty scary, before the heat and storms settle back in.
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Beautiful pics and well done on your miles for the cause🤓
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Thank you ortensia! I agree with you about the worthy cause. I like this organization as all funds raised go right into purchasing food for the food pantry which is good. Their sponsors and volunteers do a lot of the work involving the 5K.
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Our flowers were a little later this year but with recent heat they are catching up.
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I want to go back soon because with all this heat and torrential rain we’ve had, I’m sure the butterfly garden should be looking better – hopefully anyway.
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Gee Linda, I put a $100 bill in an envelope to thank you for your hard blogging work, and left it in that tree for you. But I guess you didn’t pick it up. 😛
And the black chicken was a change of pace!
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Oh no – you didn’t go take it back again did you JP? I have never seen something like that before, but was sorely tempted to see what was inside that open envelope … I wonder how many people “got” my Candid Camera reference? Definitely that black chicken was in charge and kept an eye on the ducks and me as well!
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In light of all the cuts the current administration is making to social services fund raising for local food pantries is becoming more important than ever. I’m so proud of you for participating in this way! And I’m glad you still have some great places to visit for taking beautiful photographs now that Council Point Park is so badly damaged. Now you’ve got me wondering if I would have been able to resist reading whatever was inside that envelope stuck in the tree. It made me think of my mother’s frequent warning, never write anything you wouldn’t want the whole world to see. I love the picture of the dozing mallard.
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Thank you Barbara – this is such a worthy cause and what I like is that any funds raised from this event go directly to purchasing food for the food pantry. It serves several local communities and is customer choice, so the people go in and pick what they need, so the food is not handed out as food boxes. They have lots of corporate sponsors and volunteers to make this event happen, plus a Christmas display with a Santa where all monies go to Fish & Loaves.
I like it here and my last trip on the 16th I had a great time – I need to go back as they have had their Summer Festival set-up then that festival this past weekend, so you can’t get near plus several of my other parks I go to now were around Trenton, which had their Summer festival and blocked off huge areas. The end of my street had a classic car cruise this past weekend, so I am ready to go back and explore with a tad cooler weather. I was tempted, but didn’t but the envelope was open already which made it even more tempting. That Mallard was enjoying the sun that day. There was an old expression that was similar about living a life that would never give the Town Crier something to tell everyone about once you are gone.
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Sounds like a good cause. I have evening primrose in my garden. It’s pretty but its taking over everything.
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Yes, it is a good cause Dawn and this food pantry is set up like a market so people can come in and get what they need, rather than have food distributed in food boxes. The event is run by volunteers and sponsors. I have never seen nor known what evening primrose was and I had no idea it was invasive. It was all over that perennial garden and I don’t remember seeing it last year. It must be like the Forget-Me-Nots I planted one year and it took years to clear them out!
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Yes it’s very much like Forget-Me-Nots. I have those too. 🙂
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I just wanted a little bit of blue to fill up some spaces and got more than I bargained for; it was the first time I sowed seeds on top of it!
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Fun post. I’ve only seen pink Evening Primrose, never yellow. The variations of flowers in our world amazes me.
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Thanks Ally! Thankfully the ducks and chicken happened along or it would have been a boring walk. I’ve never seen Evening Primrose and was glad they had signs about what each plant was or I’d have not known, like the Yellow Loosestrife which was news to me and just as you say about variations in flowers. I’ve only seen Purple Loosestrife in marshes and it is pretty but invasive.
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This may be the only time of year we use the word “bunting” 🙂
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I believe you are correct about that Dave. In a neighborhood where I used to walk, the homeowner had quite a few patriotic items out for the 4th of July, among other things was the vintage-looking, tea-stained bunting along with a similar-looking vintage flag.
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The 5K walk is for such a worthy cause and I applaud your yearly participation! 👌 Sadly, food banks have become crucial in this day and age. Despite the lack of bees and butterflies, your flower pics are lovely. 😍 Nice to see the festive bunting and red/white/blue flowers. Getting ready for July 4th. 🙂 Your critter closeups are always interesting, and I enjoyed the black chicken and mallard shots too.
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Thank you Debbie! I agree about this being a worthy cause and I like that all the monies raised through this event and also a Christmas display event with a Santa, go directly to the food pantry to stock their shelves. Sponsors run the event along with volunteers. They do not give out food boxes, but stock the shelves at the pantry for people in need to go get food. Yes, too many people are food insecure these days as everything is so expensive. I have an event for veterans with PTSD or have lost their lives to suicide (Run to Honor 5K) at this same venue in July, so hopefully the butterflies and bees will be hanging around those perennials. I like how they decorate with the bunting – it’s very festive. The trip in the woods and ducks and chicken encounter were funny – the ducks were not keen on my company at all, but the chicken was like “why not humor her?”
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Miss Linda………………………………………….I enjoyed your walking story of the critters at Heritage Park…………………………………
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Thank you Ann Marie – you never know what you’ll run into at Heritage Park. At least I didn’t run into a goat or an alpaca from the Farm!
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Congratulations on completing another 5k! So nice that you can do it virtually and multitask – get your steps in and take photos for your blog. The race is held for such a good cause. I can remember you doing this race other years.
Too bad about the lack of bugs on the flowers (I used to like to take close-ups of bees on flowers too) and those ducks that would not cooperate. Who knew that ducks would be more skittish than a chicken?
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I think it is a good cause too Laurie and they do this event all through sponsors and volunteers so all money goes right to the pantry to stock their shelves. They have a Christmas display with Santa event every year which funds raised to Fish & Loaves too. I usually get more photos, but returned on the 16th and it was a much better photo day. I don’t know why those ducks were so skittish because Pekins especially are usually friendly and they see lots of people at the Petting Farm for goodness sake! That chicken looked at me like it had never seen a human before and was kind of comical to be honest, but it made for a fun shot!
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I enjoyed your woodsy walk, especially the ducky outing. I’ve noticed a scarcity of bugs and butterflies this year as well.
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That ducky outing saved the day from becoming a very boring walk Rebecca. I can count the butterflies I’ve seen this year on one hand and they are all Cabbage Whites, except for that Mourning Cloak.
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I know what you mean. There is a section of our country road where I have always seen butterflies flying about during the summer. There have been none this year.
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I wonder if the wind plays a part because, with the exception of this heat wave and torrential rain this last week, we have had endless windy days.
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Sounds like a well-run organization to support—just a shame there’s a need for it in this country. I enjoyed your stalking tale!
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Yes, I like Fish & Loaves Eilene. All monies raised from this event go right to the pantry shelves to stock them for those in need; sponsors and volunteers for the event enable more money to go directly to the cause. Yes, it is a shame and with prices so high, there will be more need than ever. I was grateful I had something to stalk as it gave me something fun to share in the post. 🙂 I hope your vacation is going well and the weather is cooperating for you. Continued safe travels to you!
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It was a lovely walk even sans butterflies. 🙂 So nice of you to participate in fundraising for a great cause.
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I’ll return soon with the hope of seeing butterflies and bees like last year. 🙂 Thank you Ruth – this is a great cause as there are so many food insecure people right now.
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Wow, you live in an area where there are a lot of runs. Blooms Day is the only one I know of, but there are a couple in nearby Coeur d’Alene, ID.
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Yes, we have a lot of run events and walking events, many for veterans, also for various illnesses, like cancer – some held in fun places like the Detroit Zoo. Maybe Coeur d’Alene will hold a run for the firemen who were lost. That would be a good idea. I am trying to participate virtually in the Cal Fire Smokey Bear Run again like I did last year, but have not heard back from the contact person I dealt with last year. It is at Bass Lake – you might be familiar with the area as you lived in California.
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I had to look up Bass Lake. There were a lot in Sacramento.
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I just looked how far – yes, 184 miles is quite a jaunt from Sacramento.
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Hi Linda, I look forward to the follow up post where you did get your treasure trove of birdies and babies! And I do feel like I learn more about flowers from you! And today – that Yellow Loosestrife was new to me – it reminded me of snap dragons – and that photo studio does need a new sign!
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Yvette, stay tuned for Sunday for the first batch. I have to have a lot of walks stashed up to be able to fulfill Terri’s Challenges. This one will fit perfectly, at least I think so. 🙂 I’m hoping before the weather heats up into the 90s and gets stormy again (starting Saturday) I see those baby Osprey, a fawn or two and the Sandhill Crane colts (babies) before they grow up. I learned something about those flowers too – I’ve never seen either of those yellow flowers. I know the house where the photo studio is in is very old, so I always wonder if they want it to look old and weathered – or just never stopped and got a look at it?
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🙂🙂
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Sounds like a great cause, Linda.
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Yes, it is Pam, especially today when food and everything else is so costly. This event was run by volunteers and they had sponsored which also was good.
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I didn’t know there was such a thing as yellow Loosestrife? I always think the purple loosestrife looks so pretty along the roadsides, although I believe it’s an invasive weed?
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I didn’t know that either Joni and this plant looks nothing like Purple Loosestrife which is found in marshes and I think it is very pretty too, but the Garden Club says it was so, so I wrote that and even Googled Images as I was doubtful!
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I enjoyed your walking story. Linda! Gorgeous yellow blooming flowers. Beautiful photography.
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Thank you Raj! I have to go back a few more times this Summer as the pollinator garden at its peak with Coneflowers and Bee Balm will get a lot of bees and butterflies for some nice photos.
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Welcome,Linda ☺️! Beautiful captured bees & butterflies.
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Thank you Raj – they are beautiful creatures, but unfortunately, there are not enough of them these days.
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I loved these photos We have a few botanical gardens near me that I’ve been meaning to visit. Love the patriotic flags as well
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Thank you Kirstin! I have to go back now because both the perennial garden and also the Botanical Garden should be colorful by now with all the rain and heat we’ve had the last two weeks. A portion of the campus of Heritage Park has a community garden where people buy plots to grow their own flowers and veggies, plus some plots are tended to as part of court-ordered community service and the harvested veggies are given to several local food banks. I like how they put the bunting on the historical buildings too – it looks kind of vintage and patriotic at the same time.
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Good for you for doing another “For a good cause” walk. You are such a kind woman Linda. That sleeping duck is the strangest looking duck with his head back. The flowers are beautiful! You have much more willpower than I do. I would never be able to leave that letter there.
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Thank you Diane! I think it is such a good cause and they also have a Christmas display and Santa Clause photo event that runs around Christmastime where the admission price is donated to Fish & Loaves as well. I almost didn’t use that duck here or in the “sunseekers” post because of how it is sleeping – its breast juts out and it is kind of squatting. It is not the best pic I’ve taken of a Mallard before, but critters were scarce in the historical area that morning. I’m guessing most of the Mallards females are sitting on nests around the park with their mates guarding them.
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Great event to help those in need… and fantastic photographs! 😉
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Thank you Tom! It is such a good cause especially now with prices so high for everything. A meet-up with a chicken and four ducks was a surprise. They like ducking under the white wooden fence for a change of scenery I guess. 🙂
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One good thing is that birds are dinosaurs… so they can tolerate the heat pretty well, having lived in Jurassic and Cretaceous times.
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I do forget that sometimes Tom – you are the expert as to prehistoric times from your interest in fossils. That is one thing in their favor – they most likely had no forms of pollution back then contaminating their lungs.
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“Letter in the Tree” is the next best seller psycho-thriller book that I will be looking to read, my dear creature of habit! 😜
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Yes, it might have provided some good blog fodder had I opened it … it did not appear the envelope was sealed! I kept thinking of the old TV show, “Candid Camera” so I reluctantly left it. 🙂
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I’ve heard of Fish and Loves, maybe it’s in Canada too? Wonderful that you participated and they can help others.
Haha paparazzi after the ducks , that’s cute😊
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That could be Susan as it is a good name for what they do. This one serves many communities in the area and it is set up like a market with shelves for people to come for food as opposed to just handing out boxes of food. Those ducks evaded me like I wanted photos of them for the tabloids for goodness sake! 🙂
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Haha those ducks are probably still talking about you stalking them lol
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I hope they don’t report me to the SPCA!!
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