… both merry AND scary.
October stretched before me, my favorite month and favorite season. What’s not to like about October? You have the wee nip in the air, the tastes, the smells, abundant colorful leaves, even the sound of the crumpled-up leaves crunching under the soles of my walking shoes as the month wears on.
And another bright spot that I discovered a few years ago is the concept of Walktober, where anyone and everyone can embrace walking or simply basking in all that October has to offer. Do you want to take photos, write about the experience and post it on your blog – well that’s even better!
So, on Friday, October 3rd, off I went, in full Walktober mode, eager to do a “round robin” at three large woodsy venues.
It was blessedly cool, sunny, with a flawless blue sky – a perfect day in my opinion. To be honest, my expectations were not all that high for a colorful walk, as Southeast Michigan had endured moderate drought the entire month of September. Days stretched into weeks without a drop of rain. The no-rain part helped boost my sagging steps count and kickstart my walking regimen into high gear once again, but, what was good for me was not good for the trees which were faring poorly, stressed from lack of moisture, dooming their leaves to lack color and simply fall to the ground, brown and brittle.
Not surprisingly, Council Point Park’s trees were still cloaked in green, with the exception of a few Maples that were tinged with yellow but were not really “showy” yet. So, admittedly I had some trepidation about which venue would become my Walktober post.
First up – Lake Erie Metropark.
Well, this was a first for me. I’m sorry to say I never even parked the car as I rolled past the marshes and saw dried-up reeds, low or non-existent water levels with each marsh devoid of waterfowl and shore birds. A few Egrets were perched in the trees. Where was everyone hanging out this morning? I shook my head and drove to the park exit.
Next stop – Elizabeth Park.
I drove the perimeter road, a/k/a Elizabeth Drive, at this lovely island park and decided I would make Elizabeth Park my Walktober venue. I spent about two hours walking around, racking up almost four miles as I happily clicked away at the Canada Geese with their near-perfect reflections in the Canal and then watched Ring-billed Seagulls swoop and alight along the boardwalk railing, just begging to be photographed. However, with the exception of a few trees with hints of yellow illuminated by the sun’s rays, I realized I would need to return in two or three weeks to capture the Maples’ flaming red hues and the Oaks’ brilliant gold tones. Thus, the post recounting the beauty of this walk will be in the Wintertime when we need it most.
I didn’t even try for a third venue as planned and decided to just call it a day, but, I knew where I would go next ….
I headed to Heritage Park on Sunday, October 5th and …
… here is where I found my Walktober. 🙂
As I crossed the parking lot enroute to the historical area I checked out the trees and knew that color-wise I would fare no better here, but my main intent was to visit the aftermath of “The Scarecrow Stroll” festivities held the day before. I’ve been here in the past to photograph the scarecrows displayed around the Botanical Gardens.
But first I paused for a photo at the lamp post with its festive flag.
When these Mallards waddled over to see me, I told them they were “Halloween-ready” with their bright-orange webbed feet.
See how this Mallard drake is almost back to normal plumage colors with its head feathers? The last time I was here they were still in eclipse phase where males and females are all a drab brown.
While rounding the bend at Rosecrans Picture Perfect Photo Studio, a small black critter scampered across my path. It scared, startled me as I didn’t recognize it was a squirrel right away, a poor squirrel which was minus a tail!
The Petting Farm’s rooster was crowing repeatedly, but was nowhere to be seen – momentarily I wondered if its voice carried throughout the nearby residential neighborhood?
Two other residents of the Petting Farm greeted me, first Binx, the black barn cat which studied me as he guarded the Farm’s fence …
… then Binx came over to see me, …
… followed by Minnie, this pretty white and gray barn cat. I’m glad they decided I wouldn’t bite and soon both began nuzzling my legs.
Whew – no hissing black cat with an arched back crossed my path, so the moment was merry, not scary.
I continued wending my way to the Botanical Gardens, site of yesterday’s event.
There was definitely a harvest vibe going on.
I guess I should have known when there was a bicycle rack positioned across the entrance to the Conservatory that something was going on, but I saw no signs about an event closing the area to visitors as is usually done, so I just bypassed the rack and began meandering around and taking some harvest decor photos.
Look at these carved pumpkins – how unique are these?!
Here are some close-ups.
The Snowball bushes were still hangin’ in there …
… however, much more impressive was this beautiful Mum.
Now it was time to look for the scarecrows. I scanned the Gardens’ grounds and didn’t see any scarecrows, so I stopped someone that was bustling around and toting a brown cardboard box. I asked if the scarecrows were in a new location and she responded “we put them away as there is a wedding today that will last until 10:00 p.m.” “Thank you” was my response, but as I walked away, I muttered under my breath “good thing it is early in the month – today won’t be my Walktober either!” I was wrong though as you’ll soon see – patience is indeed a virtue sometimes.
Yes, “Your Roving Reporter” has a nose for news!
In the distance, by the Woodland Trails, did my eyes deceive me or did I see a couple of witches wearing pointy hats with wide brims? It was sunny, so I shaded my eyes with my hand and hustled over for a closer look, lest these witches be whisked away to the same holding area as the scarecrows were.
Then I noticed the Woodland Trails were decked out with lots of spooky beings – so join me on this spooktacular stroll, won’t you?
At the beginning were some skulls on a rock ….
Once I passed under the archway, I feared there was no turning back!
I was bewitched by these witchy things along the way, like big, pointed hats that bobbed on a wire overhead …
… and even lacy hats like this one …
… and, of course, the witches themselves.
There were black cats with green eyes that might have “done me in” in the dark …
… but I really would prefer an encounter with Binx, a black cat that is NOT scary.
There were friendly ghosts gathering along the pathway and, …
… for a fleeting moment it became a nod to my youth and “Casper, the Friendly Ghost” with me remembering a Casper costume donned many moons ago.
A few spooky-looking skeletons were thrown in for good measure.
All too soon my scary stroll was over and I was in the bright sunlight once again.
So, was this stroll merry …
… or scary? I’ll let you decide.
If you’re disappointed you didn’t see a scarecrow on this stroll, no worries, just click here!
I am joining Terri’s Sunday Stills Challenge: Scary and Dawn’s official Walktober post.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
Some days you have to work harder to find things to write about.
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Yes, especially on a nature hike when most of the critters hide because it’s too hot to go out and forage.
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Great to see the ducks, cats and critters enjoying the lovely October day, Linda! The tail-less black squirrel looked scary to me! And wow, you walked 4 miles then the spooky pathway too! I love the witches hats suspended in the air. Very creative! Love that second to last pic of them! 🎃🧹
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It was a fun and somewhat spooky walk on a gorgeous day Terri. The squirrel really took me aback when it zipped past me with no tail – poor thing. My “spooktacular stroll” was a new feature at the Scarecrow Stroll this year. They have a new person in charge of the Gardens, so it must have been his idea to do this. I follow the Gardens on Facebook and they did eventually put the scarecrows back, but not scattered around the grounds as they usually do, but instead they lined them up at the end of the walk, right where you said you liked that picture. I didn’t go back to photograph them since I had a ton of pics already and they did a video of the scarecrows, or I would have included it here and attributed it to them.
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So much to see and do even if it’;s not your destination at first. Poor little squirrel. The flowers looked good for that time of year
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Yes, I was glad in the end Brian, because initially it didn’t look like it would be much of a walk. Our trees are finally starting to get colorful leaves, but we will be having high winds this week with rain later in the week, so the trees likely will be bare. The flowers are hanging in there. I feel so badly for the squirrel – was it a predator that mangled its tail like that or an accident? I imagine it impedes its tree-climbing abilities since it would throw its balance off.
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Linda, you really gave us a nice walktober vibe with this post – and those are the most unique pumokins I have seen! creative cravings
Also, I wonder about the squirrel and where they lost the tail?
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Thank you Yvette – I had a little bit of everything in this post, a few critters, harvest vibe, flowers and a scary walk to boot. I have never seen pumpkins decorated from the outside like that either – very unique and very pretty. I wonder how long they last like that? Sometimes I see the squirrels in the neighborhood help themselves to homeowners’ pumpkins … they nibble on the whole pumpkins and then, once they are carved and on the porch, they sometimes jump inside and gnaw at the carved areas. I felt so badly about this squirrel – was it a predator got its tail or was it in an accident? I’ve seen squirrels missing a part of their tail, but not the whole tail.
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Yeah, I wonder if it was an accident – and I bet that squirrel has the cutest bushy tail!
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I wish I knew what happened. I wondered if it should be in a rehab facility, but it didn’t look like a recent accident. Poor little thing.
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yes, but he does seem to be adapting
and thanks again for the fun walktober post
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I’ll bet that animals are more adaptable than we humans if you stop and think about it Yvette. Glad you enjoyed it and you are in a bit of Halloween spirit afterward.
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😉
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This post is chock full of fun October stuff! 😃 Love the critter closeups, but that poor little squirrel! Losing his tail must have been painful…
Those pumpkin carvers are so talented! And it’s nice to see that some flowers were still doing well. The witches, skeletons and ghosts are sure to get people in a Halloween mood. Beautiful lace hat!
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Debbie, thank you. I had something for everyone in this post: critters, flowers, harvest fun and Halloween, all rolled into one. The Mallards are out of eclipse phase and I will have some more pics of them, all colorful again, in an upcoming Wordless Wednesday post. I felt badly for the squirrel – I don’t know if a predator got its tail or it was in an accident of some type. It could scurry as quickly as the other squirrels, but still …. I would think it would be painful too.
I’ve never seen pumpkin carvings on the outside rather than a traditional jack-o-lantern carving. Very unique! The Snowballs still looked good and I think they leave them there for a while – they even look nice when they are spent. The Halloween stroll was fun and they put a lot of effort into it. I follow the Botanical Gardens on Facebook and they did not put the scarecrows around the grounds this year, but added them to the woodsy path where I took all these pics. They had a video on their Facebook site.
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So much to see you had a great day!
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Yes, a “loaded” trip for sure Kate! And I was thinking it started out kind of slow.
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You write about your disappointments with good humor.
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Thank you Anne. To tell you the truth I was thinking to myself once again “tame your expectations Linda!” It turned out to be a fun little stroll. They ended up putting all the scarecrows at the end of this stroll in the woods. I follow the Botanical Gardens on Facebook and they did a video of the scarecrows a few days later.
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I would think that people getting married in a park in October would be fine with a scarecrow here or there.
Driving home yesterday I saw a modern Jeep with a plastic skeleton hanging on the spare tire on the tailgate.
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I would be okay with a few scarecrows at my wedding too JP … the Gardens has weddings and receptions there all the time and the barnyard chickens, rooster and pea fowl like to mosey around the pavilion area sometimes, so you have to go with the flow. 🙂 I have to say I have never seen Halloween decorations on a vehicle before – lots of Christmas reindeer antlers up top and wreaths on the grille and spare tire.
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What a fun walk! I love the carved pumpkins and the floating hats. Poor little squirrel missing its tail.
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It ended up being a great Walktober Janis – beautiful weather and a little bit of everything that day. I really liked those unique carved pumpkins too. I’ve never seen pumpkins carved that way before. I thought the walk in the woods was cleverly done and I bet it would be fun to go at dusk as I saw some lights strung up along the way.
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That was fun! I loved all of it! It gave me some good decorating ideas – the witches wouldn’t be hard to do with garbage bags. I saw a facebook video where they used a tomato cage to make ghosts and witches. And the pumpkins were true works of art. So you did have a good “photographing” day even if the leaves didn’t cooperate. They are peaking here this week but rain in the forecast. Game just starting…..I don’t feel hopeful, especially after the last game.
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I’m glad you liked it Joni – it was a fun walk! They have a new person running the Botanical Gardens, a young guy and this is the first year they have had a walk in the woods so it was fun to do this. The witches looked simple to make and I am sure they have the witch hats at the store for Halloween costumes. Go on November 1st and you’ll get them half-off! I wonder what they used for the witches’ bodies here? The ghosts were very cute – all with different faces. I have never seen pumpkin carving on the outside of a pumpkin like that – very creative! Our leaves are finally looking good, but we are going to have high winds this week and rain Thursday through Monday if they’re correct … the leaves will be on the ground by then. I was sorry to hear the score from Game #2. I know Max Scherzer is pitching tonight. They always mention it here since he is a former Tiger. I heard last week he plans to retire. Fingers crossed the Jays do better, even though they are in Dodgers’ territory now.
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Tied 5-5 top of the 8th. That Ohtani guy has had several homeruns. I think I might go to bed. George Springer is off with an injury – probably indefinitely. There’s no hope in hell now….
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Hi Joni – I almost e-mailed you last night before I headed to bed because the Blue Jays were ahead, I think at the top of the 5th inning. When I got up early this morning I was surprised to see how long the score stayed at 5-5 and that sadly the Jays did not win. Good thing you did not wait it out to see who won! Hopefully tonight they’ll prevail. I did hear about George Springer as they do give updates on my news station which has a three-minute sports recap twice an hour – maybe he’ll be back for the rubber game if needed (hopefully not). Fingers crossed … again.
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Well, as I head off to bed, mid-way through the 7th, the Jays are on top: 6 to 1 at L.A. That’s promising!
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That was as fun to look at as the trick or treating costumes this past weekend. This park always seems to have so much to look at and take pictures. All those witches hats hanging above the trail look so cool! There were some great pumpkin carvers too!
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I thought it was a fun woodsy and witchy stroll too Diane and one I did not know was going to be taking. They have a new guy that is in charge of the Conservatory & Botanical Gardens and this is the first time I’ve seen them do this. I always go the day after and meander around the grounds and take pictures of the scarecrows from the event. Some people take them home with them after the event as they pay $25.00 for an entry fee and they get a wooden form to decorate (or it used to be like that). So, this was a surprise to see this woodsy walk that was not part of the pavilion/gardens. I did see the scarecrows in a Facebook post later and I would have used it in my post, except that it was a video, so did not. They put the scarecrows near the end of the woodsy walk, all lined up across from each other. Personally I liked the old way better. I was impressed with those pumpkins too! I have never seen pumpkins carved from the outside before.
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I love Hallowe’en and all those pumpkins and decorations! I like the black witch hats hanging along the trail.
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I thought it was fun how they set this up here Susan. This was a first as they usually just leave the scarecrows out around the grounds of the gardens. I thought the witch hats hanging along the trail was fun too. They had some lights strung up, though not turned on unfortunately.
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So glad your Walktober wandering was (eventually) so successful, Linda! How are you doing with your goal miles?
You and I will have to agree to disagree about the splendors of October ! :-). I am sad to see the summer leave. It was 37 degrees when Bill and I went out for our run this morning. THIRTY SEVEN!!! That was chilly! I am also not a fan of pumpkin spice. If I am going to cheat on my Mediterranean diet, chocolate is my treat of choice.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
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Laurie, I was pleasantly surprised to find this little side stroll, something they have not done here before in conjunction with Halloween, so that made up for no scarecrows. They did put the scarecrows back, but not around the grounds; instead they placed them along this pathway in the woods. They posted a video on Facebook a few days later.
As for my goal, well … I admit I am not on par with last year, with about 300 miles shy of my goal – yikes! That was thanks to the heat/humidity/storms/wildfire smoke … no excuse I guess, but I kept thinking I’d make it up eventually. I hope we don’t have any snow for a while and I may be able to catch up the next eight weeks – fingers crossed. We have had some beautiful weather in October, just a few rainy days here and there.
I was shocked how fast it got cold too! It seems like I transitioned from lightweight clothes, to sweatsuits and a coat in the blink of an eye. I don’t like it either as I don’t like snow, but I do like October for everything else. I finally tried a pumpkin spice latte – Starbucks has one that is instant, like instant coffee. I found it very sweet, too sweet, in fact. I don’t eat many sweets now. I was eating the dark chocolate, but the one with the highest cacao count, thinking I was doing well with it, only to find out that it was better not to exceed 85%. So I cut out chocolate for a while. I also follow a Mediterranean-style diet.
Happy Halloween back at you!
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Miss Linda……………………………thank you for the pleasant Halloween walk through the park I enjoyed it………………………………….your a great photographer……………………….
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Thank you Ann Marie! And I’m glad you enjoyed the post. This is something new at Heritage Park. I know they have a new person in charge of the Conservatory and Gardens, so this must be his doing. I was not expecting to find this and was glad I happened to see it while standing in the Pavilion area.
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I don’t know that I’ve ever come across a squirrel with no tail, but I suppose losing his tail probably saved his life. Someone worked hard on those beautiful carved pumpkins and the decorations on the path. Looks like a very fun walk.
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That was a first encounter of a tail-less squirrel for me as well Rebecca. I was reading up on squirrels missing tails as I assumed it affected their balance, especially when climbing trees and the article said they are able to deal with the loss of a tail. What happens is the bone in the tail detaches from the body enabling them to escape from a predator or if they are involved in an accident, so I guess he is luckier than originally thought. I’ve never seen pumpkins carved like that – very beautiful and I am sure that it was painstaking to create. It was a fun walk on a gorgeous day!
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Persistence pays off! I, too, love the month of October. You really got a nice batch of photos.
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Yes, sometimes patience is a virtue Eilene. October has always been my favorite month, even if it is the prelude to the dismal and dreary November. Thank you – it was a fun stroll and a gorgeous day. We have had beautiful weather this last six weeks.
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Love the witches hats hanging! Enjoyed the Halloween card. Lots of humorous skeletons around my neighborhood. We had a wonderful cool front come in over night. It’s still windy. Yorkie and I just returned from a very very slow hour stroll. Pumpkins rock! 🎃🐦⬛🎃
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It was a fun little stroll TD – I enjoyed it and it was a gorgeous day. We have had beautiful weather this week, but very blustery, gusts to 30 mph. This is the third day in a row for that. We only have a couple of neighbors that decorated for Halloween and one has two of the 12-foot skeletons on her property as well as every type of skeleton in the front yard as well, plus a creature with red blinking eyes (even in daytime). The pumpkins were beautifully done – I’ve never seen pumpkins carved that way before.
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As soon as I saw “Stumpy” I went …..AHhhhhhhhhhhh! I wonder how he lost his tail?
Any large displays near you?
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Isn’t that sad Wayne? I felt so badly for him. I have seen some squirrels with part of their tail missing, but not completely torn off like this one. Poor thing. No, we have no big displays near us for Harvest time – how about near you, though I guess any pumpkins would be wilted by now, since your Thanksgiving was three weeks ago. Near me they put up pumpkins in early September and we were still having temps in the 80s … I think they are real pumpkins, so I suspect that are mush inside by now.
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whatever took its tail, wished to take it.
So,…one could say this is a lucky squirrel.
So maybe not a “Stumpy” and more a “Lucky”
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That’s very true … I was amazed when I read that the tailbones just snap off and disconnect like that. I still feel sorry for this little nipper, even if he is “Lucky” … lucky to have survived. I’ve noticed two different squirrels that were missing part of their tail, maybe a few inches, but that’s it. The tip of the tail grows back white. I thought it was like dark-haired people who become very ill or are in an accident and their hair becomes prematurely gray or white. It is similar and the white fur is right at the injury site and nowhere else.
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Well,….they lived to fight another day at any rate!
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Yes, at least that horrible event only happens once in their lifetime as the tail doesn’t grow back!
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what function is a tail anyways? To keep balance and warmth?
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I would think to keep balance would be one of the most-important functions. In the brutally cold weather and/or when it is snowing especially, I’ve seen squirrels put their tails up their back and over their head while perched in a tree – I guess no snowflakes go on them. Poor things!
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What a colorful Walktober you had, with so many photo ops! I feel sorry for the black squirrel with the missing tail but it looks like he knows how to make the best of his lot in life. We have a gray one here with a missing tail. Those carved pumpkins are pieces of art! It must have been so much fun walking along the spooky trail. I’d say the stroll was merry!
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Yes, it was a gorgeous day Barbara, picture-perfect for this stroll. I was surprised to see this black squirrel, but like you said, he seemed to be adjusting fine, chewing on a black walnut, but it was scared of me and ran away after I took the photo. I have never seen pumpkins carved like that – so unique! This is the first year for the spooky trail, so that was something different to see and it was a great consolation prize since the scarecrows were tucked away for the day. I agree it was merry too!
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What a lovely walktober adventure, and the spooktacular walk sounds amazing. My heart did go out to the pool tail less squirrel, though bless.
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It was a perfect day Zena – finally our weather cooled off and was sunny and bright. I did have some fun going along this spooktacular walk which was well done and the first year they have done this at the Botanical Gardens. I felt so sorry for this poor squirrel. I’ve seen squirrels missing the tip of their tail, but never one with no tail at all. Hopefully, the lack of a tail does not affect its balance.
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The mallard’s head doesn’t even look real – more like wrapped in green satin cloth. My favorite pumpkin is the one with the circle of little pumpkins around the spider web. I wonder how these were carved. They look to perfect to have been done by hand. Finally, the witch hats are a nice touch in addition to the more predictable Halloween decorations.
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Dave, I’m going to have some more Mallards coming up in a few weeks and their plumage was finally all grown in and their heads look very shimmery in the sunlight. Their photos were taken the same day as these. I have never seen this type of pumpkin carving and was impressed. I thought it was very unique and I’m wondering how long the pumpkins last when carved that way. I thought it was fun having all the witch hats bobbing around overhead. The Botanical Gardens has a new director, so this is the first year they have done the spooky stroll.
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Lyssy in the City – lyssyinthecity.com – just shared her walk through a similar “spooky stroll” near NYC and it’s really impressive. Both yours and hers look like they are worth the time. I hope these festive walk-throughs become more commonplace. Maybe I’ll find one close to me one of these days!
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Dave, thanks for sharing that link. I just popped over and wow – much more detail than my spooky walk, but, Heritage Park has the same concept at Christmas. The entire park will be decorated soon – I know they cordon off the historical village and Coan Lake for this extravaganza which they started doing in 2020, the first year of the pandemic. In Lyssy’s post, I especially like the owl pumpkin and pumpkin with the slingshot too. At the Botanical Gardens, on the day of the Scarecrow Stroll event, they have a group of local dancing witches, a bonfire and they also have a Headless Horseman character riding through the crowd. I keep saying I will go to the actual event. This year, it was on October 4th and we had temps in the high 80s that day!
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I did see this much earlier, but wasn’t able to comment, Linda. Love the ghosts and the lacy witches’ hat xx
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Thank you Jo! It was a fun walk with a little bit of nature, some Autumn hues and the somewhat spooky stroll at the end. This was the first time for the Botanical Gardens doing this spooky walk and I think it was a hit!
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