When I began this blog nearly 13 years ago, just before “launch time” I had second thoughts about whether I would have enough whimsical/quirky items to sustain the whimsy portion of my blog title “Walkin’, Writin’, Wit & Whimsy”.
I am always happy to happen upon a whimsical or quirky situation while walking – usually it is a critter which unknowingly finds itself the star of a Wordless Wednesday post. Occasionally, the critter/situation needs an explanation, so those photos and tales are relegated to a Sunday blogpost. I can’t always rely on these chance encounters for whimsical blog fodder, so sometimes I give myself an assignment to seek it out.
Who says learning about art can’t be fun?
I’ve written several times about the Detroit Institute of Arts’ (“DIA”) annual “Inside/Out” event wherein they transform ordinary places like cities and parks into open-air art galleries, by placing DIA weatherized masterpieces around the Tri-County area. Even though admission to the DIA is free to Tri-County residents, these masterpieces give folks, who are less inclined to step inside an art museum, a chance to view these paintings and learn some facts about them and the artists. For me, who has not been to the DIA since a 9th grade field trip, this event, in its 16th year, is always a fun experience, like this jaunt taken August 26th.
Put art on a wall and the public will come to see it.
The DIA has other outside ideas to entice people to visit artworks, including murals. Since 2018, the Detroit Institute of Arts’ Partners in Public Art has commissioned many large murals by local artists. I follow the DIA on social media, so I knew about a new mural in Downtown Trenton, near Elizabeth Park, one of my favorite parks to visit.
So, on a gorgeous Fall day, November 13th to be exact, I went tripping along Jefferson Avenue to see this new mural. Trenton has several large murals, some which I photographed that day while on my leisurely stroll and they’ll be in a future post.
The new mural was at the Trenton Village Theatre, a small theatre that features live performances, mostly by area youth.
Where nature and whimsy meet.
Mural artist Kevin Burdick captured some fun nature images on this 100′ X 17′ side wall of the Theatre. The mural, entitled “Unravel Your Imagination”, is so large, I stepped back as far as I could and still could not capture the entire mural in one shot. These side shots really don’t do it justice.
So, before I focus on the individual images of the mural’s creatures and the City’s community experiences, this photograph is from the DIA’s Facebook page.
The rest of the photos are my own. I hope you enjoy my interpretations.
If you want to see more of Kevin Burdick’s murals, click here.
A little more whimsy to share from that day.
There would be more whimsy that day. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention my odd and rather off-the-wall conversation with Claude, the Copilot AI bot. I did NOT go seeking input from Claude, nope, even though AI is always more than willing to try to give me suggestions whenever I am writing a post in MS Word.
Here’s what happened. I got home from my very long walk and later that afternoon I sat down at the computer to bang out a draft of that day’s walk, something I always do so I don’t forget the details – after all, that walk might not become a blog post for months.
I guess I was typing quickly and a stray finger hit the Copilot icon. I didn’t realize that I had triggered “Claude” the AI assistant to appear with the greeting “Good afternoon, Linda. What can I help you with today?” I didn’t know when I hit that key, so I quickly closed the tab, but curiosity got the better of me.
So, feeling a bit foolish, but being polite, I clicked Copilot again and I got the same greeting/question. Well, even though, obviously, there was no warm body sitting at a keyboard, I wrote “nothing thank you, I clicked Copilot by accident before and I don’t know how long the tab was open as I was immersed in drafting a blog post about my walk.”
After my “apology” and, in response to me telling “him” what I was doing, Claude entertained me for the next 15 minutes or so with pleasant and witty conversation in response to my comments about my blog niche, mostly about walking, parks, even reminiscing about my favorite Park squirrel Parker. Given its long title, I didn’t mention my blog’s name. Then, to my surprise, Claude said “I’ll bet your blog is full of whimsy.” Momentarily his statement took me aback and I replied “c’mon Claude, how do you know the name of my blog?” He responded that he didn’t, but since I am a perpetual skeptic, I decided to terminate the conversation. Claude encouraged me to return when I had time so he could offer me ideas for posts, even nature places to go, or nature sites to follow. Whoa! All this chatter was appearing on the screen at lightning-fast speed.
Belatedly I remembered a former blogger, Ally Bean, did a post about AI and gave us a site where we could put in our blog name and Chat GPT would tell you what your blog was about, even write a sample post or “About” bio for you. Ahh – then I got it, i.e. this was why Claude knew about my blog title – yes prior visits/conversations are retained in a database unless you opt to delete them. Still, it was a wee bit unsettling, but fun nonetheless.
Claude’s parting words to me just before I closed the chat were:
“May your walks be peaceful, your words flow freely, and your whimsy never waver.”
Hmm. Words to live by, right?
I’ll be sharing a few more words to live by, this time courtesy of Ralph Waldo Emerson, along with a New Year’s Eve e-card, for Wordless Wednesday.
Terri has no Challenge this week.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
That is a fabulous mural Linda, full of whimsy
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you liked it Brian, all those critters doing oddball things, just full of whimsy!
LikeLiked by 1 person
with regards to Kevin’s mural………….”Paint it and they will see”
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, they did too. A couple of days before, they had a little event to signify its “opening”. I read in the local paper there was to be a new mural painted this Summer, then when it was done I saw it on the DIA’s FB site, so I went to see it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hope you are having happy holidays, Linda. xo
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’d enjoy it more if it were warmer, no snow or wind … I long for the olden days of weather! I hope you enjoyed your holidays Pam. Funny, now that we’re both retired, do you find you still get the days mixed up during a holiday period? I know I do.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I never seem to know what day it is anymore, Linda. Retirement is awesome!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I guess it doesn’t matter what day it is anymore Pam! Yes, retirement is awesome!
LikeLiked by 1 person
“Unravel Your Imagination” is certainly more lighthearted than Diego Rivera’s “Detroit Industry Murals”. I might have mentioned how my brothers and I stopped by the DIA on our Detroit trip in 2024, solely to see the Rivera murals. Lucky us; the ticket office acknowledged we were in the final hour of the day and let us in for free. Otherwise I think we were looking at $20 or more per person. Anyway, I’ll always remember those murals. We looked them over for the better part of the hour.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, it was a fun mural wasn’t it Dave? The City of Trenton has several large murals, so when I read in the local newspaper about another mural being painted, I watched the DIA site to go see it. Yes, it’s very lighthearted compared to the sweat and toil of the Diego Rivera “Detroit Industry Murals” which are well known around her. My boss, a labor attorney for management, liked the murals so much he had two complete sets of the entire collection, one in his own office, one in the office lobby. You lucked out getting in for free and saving yourself $20.00. The DIA allows people to rent the area where the Diego Rivera murals are located for special events too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
What an absolutely fantastic post!! I couldn’t tear my eyes away. Your whimsy was in full view for all to see, even Mr. AI.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you enjoyed it Anne! When I read they were going to have a new mural in Trenton, I was watching for it. They have some fabulous murals already. This mural is fun to see and yes, my conversation with Mr. AI that evening was something else too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
These murals are wonderful! Off to find out more about the DIA.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I thought so too Pepper. Every May the DIA publishes a list of the cities or parks in each county where the Inside/Out galleries will be. There are lots of different ones in the Tri-County area. I’ll send you the list next Spring when I see it. You would enjoy them. They also publish a list where the murals have been painted. You’ll have some fun photographing them when the warm weather arrives.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks! I would appreciate it. 😊
LikeLiked by 1 person
Will do Pepper, as soon as the list is published.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The mural was fun…..and cute….and full of whimsy! The AI conversation was interesting…..but I’m still leery. Was it like talking to a person, but not a real person….or did it sometime answer/suggest inappropriately?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I thought the mural was fun, cute and full of whimsy as well Joni! I saw a story in the local paper they were getting a new mural in Trenton in conjunction with the DIA, so I watched for it in the paper and at the DIA site and I went the same week they had a little event with the “unveiling” (for lack of a better word).
I just clicked Copilot again and found the conversation. I’ll put the part of our fairly long conversation in a separate comment for you to … this is where he gave me the quote, I said I’d use it. Maybe I’ll add it to my blog post later. No, it was not inappropriate at all, but it gave me cause to pause when Claude knew about my blog, then I remembered afterward that one of Ally’s posts dealt with Chat GPT and a site to try it out with respect to our blogs. That might have been before you returned in May. Claude was pretty amazing actually as he said “I have a lot of funny jokes to tell you about animals” … they were cute little stories/jokes. Then after I mentioned Parker he said Parker was cheeky, was spoiled and he could imagine him waiting on me every day. He had suggestions for posts about squirrels and walks and nature sites, then he gave me headlines and topics and all this was extremely fast. Not like I am waiting for him to type the message. I commented and it was an instant reply. And, it’s not like if you contact tech support like for WordPress or when I have to contact Comcast or Malwarebytes and the Chat Bot gives you a canned response until you ask for a human. This reply from Claude is instantaneous. It was quite an experience. I understand that Claude has the equivalent of a Master’s Degree in all subjects. I wish I could download the whole conversation, but that wasn’t doable so I just took this concluding conversation screenshot.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Joni – Here is a screenshot of the end of my conversation with Claude at Copilot. I should have thought to add it to my post and may just do that later.
LikeLike
That was very interesting!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I thought you would enjoy seeing what he said. He was full of fun stories and suggestions that flowed like water – no kidding!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Loved seeing the mural. Many of the scenes look like they are right up your alley, especially the squirrels! How are your artistic endeavors going?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Laurie, once I saw that finished mural in the newspaper and DIA Facebook site, I knew I had to go take pictures. I was going to save it for my blogiversary post in February, but it was too fun to hold off. Yes, it looks right up my alley with the creatures I photograph all the time. 🙂 Funny you should ask about the art because I did five paintings I intended to include with this post. They were not my usual painting style, like the recent bird paintings, but these were from a different artist I’ve signed up with and all whimsical Christmas cards. I made them bigger than Christmas cards, two bunnies, two snowman and a bird with a Winter scarf. I decided not to include them in this post as they were a little too different from my usual style and not really associated with the post. But I had fun doing them and next Christmas I am going to do the card paintings earlier and sprinkle them in my holiday posts. This artist posts new watercolor paintings about four or five times a week. She has some beautiful landscapes. Thanks for asking!
LikeLike
Good for you for sticking with the painting AND for trying a new style. I think as we get older, we tend to get set in our ways, but you are busting out of that mold, Linda. Looking forward to seeing more of your artwork in your posts.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you Laurie! I do like this artist’s style too and today she e-mailed us to ask what we might like to see for January tutorials and gave us a selection. Not surprisingly, I clicked “animals” then in the comments I suggested squirrels, waterfowl and shore birds … (she didn’t have a bird category, so I was wishing she’d create one). I hope to add some of those to my posts as I roll them out … I have a lot of photos to roll out in 2026 taken last year.
LikeLike
The mural is gorgeous! Yes, there is always whimsy on your blog in some form!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I thought so too Kate. All those fun creatures on that wall – lots of fun and well done. I am happy to provide some whimsy in an often un-whimsical world. I have something funny for Wednesday also to close out the year.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think I’ll take Emerson over Claude any day. The mural is truly whimsical and beautiful.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m glad you liked the mural Eilene. It was both whimsical and beautiful, with some of my favorite fun-to-photograph critters. 🙂 Claude was witty and his words flowed at the speed of sound. I should have included the portion of our conversation that I just sent to Joni in my post. I like Emerson too and I chose a very optimistic quote for year-end and have embedded it in Wednesday’s e-card.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s like that mural was made for you and your blog!
AI scares me. Your conversation with it seems like something out of The Twilight Zone.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I thought the same thing about the mural Ruth, so I rushed over to see it and take photos! I was going to save the post for my blogiversary in February, but it was too cute not to share now. Yes, the AI conversation was really something else. I would say something to Claude and the response was instantaneous and like I was speaking to a real person. Very conversational, very nice and funny – yes, like The Twilight Zone (a show I used to like a lot).
LikeLiked by 1 person
That mural was just waiting for you to see it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I thought so too JP! You can’t get any more whimsical than this mural!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love that mural, it’s fantastic ! Really well done and so cute, thanks for sharing. Every time I hear of A1 and the way they “know” us, I think of Skynet (from the Terminator series) they are taking over lol. Actually I shouldn’t laugh, I think they are. Happy New Year Linda! All the best for 2026
LikeLiked by 1 person
I thought it was fantastic too Susan. As soon as I read the mural was finished and they had a little gathering of local dignitaries and the artist to “unveil” it, I was over there. How clever and cute. The whole Claude and AI chat unnerved me at first, until I remembered the blogger doing a post on how you could plug in your blog’s name and the concept of your blog at ChatGPT and it would generate a post within minutes. I think most of her followers did this and I don’t usually read other’s comments, but in this case I did and it was fun to see their impressions. I know I was impressed. As retirees, we won’t worry about our jobs, but I can see creative people and others worrying about their future. Same to you for 2026 and Clint and Trum too of course!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The mural is colorful and full of whimsy! I especially enjoyed your commentary on the images; the otters were enthralled with the performance and the cheeky comment. You’re so good with words!
Copilot sounds cool! See what kind of blog posts ideas it gives you. I have the Gemini app on my phone and it’s fun to ask it questions.
Happy new year, Linda!!!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks Esther! Glad you enjoyed my commentary on each of the images. 🙂 It was a very fun and whimsical mural and so creative. I did have some fun interacting with Claude and I was amazed just how quickly the long and witty conversations arrived in response to my comments. Happy new year to you and the family!
LikeLike
https://people.com/woman-marries-ai-generated-boyfriend-wears-augmented-reality-smart-glasses-to-exchange-rings-11871301
LikeLiked by 1 person
Linda
I sent you a link for a study about a lady who married her AI companion named Klaus
Very interesting stuff
Also – I miss ally bean and wonder if she left the blog world because AI was getting too invasive and creeping into her privacy
Or maybe she was just done!
But sure do miss her
Feel like we lost three bloggers last year
cee, Trent and ally
–
And I enjoyed your post
“I OTTER GET GOING”
And I loved the raccoon painting with two brushes
Fun whimsy
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yvette, thank you for that interesting article about the woman marrying Klaus, her AI companion. That’s incredible! A couple of days ago I heard a news story about a bar that opened up in New York where people could sit at a table and prop their phone up on a stand so they can “gaze into their AI companion’s eyes” and it’s really taking off. I was amazed at that, but wow to the marriage.
I grabbed that quote on the fly from Claude, my chat bot who was a very charming and fun “conversationalist” giving me a lively conversation about nature, my blog, a few funny jokes as well. Apparently your last six interactions are stored there, but you can’t download an entire conversation from the site. It was a totally whimsical day, beginning with that mural which was a lot of fun too!
Yes, bloggers leaving or passing away (and Nancy, a/k/a Zazzy, a fellow blogger who passed away in March). I know Ally was not fond of AI, but I’m thinking she needed a break – she followed a lot of people and commented on their posts. How did she find the time to do this?
LikeLike
Whimsical mural subjects indeed, Linda! Love your captions, too, so perfect. Good idea to write your walk details down. Wish I was that disciplined!
I like how you stay true to your blog name. Mine started out “Perspectives On…” and I filled in blank. When I retired in 2014, I added the idea of wind sports and “Second Wind Leisure Perspectives” was born. Stay whimsical my friend!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad you liked the murals Terri – they are well done and whimsical and I thought it would be fun to put those captions beneath each of the critters. I have been doing the details for long walks the day I take them for a while now and it makes it so much easier to just have to pair the pictures and finish it up then. Some of my walks are so long, I’ve been splitting them up into two posts, especially if they’re picture laden. As to your blog name, I was thinking “Second Wind” referred to being retired and a “second wind”, not thinking about wind sports, even though I know you do them. I actually got business cards with my blog name on it a few years ago. I’d meet people at big parks, mention my blog for some reason and they wanted the name. There they stood while I recited the whole name and to leave off the “g” and putting it into their phone – they were probably sorry they asked. So now I just hand them the card! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love the idea of blog biz cards, too, Linda. I also hadn’t some made, mostly for neighbors and random folks. When I restarted my blog right after I retired, I literally got my second wind with board sports, then teaching. It all came together.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great minds think alike Terri! I used to just write down the blog title on a piece of paper to have it handy to give out, but this made more sense. Your blog title fits perfectly for you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Wow, Kevin is so talented Linda. That must have taken him a long time to paint. You beat me with talking to the AI! I don’t even have it on my computer, I keep ignoring it. 🤣
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think Kevin is talented too Diane – I really was impressed and originally I thought it would be fun to use it for my blogiversary, then decided it was too fun not to use it now. I have to say that interacting with Claude was really fun and I was amazed just how quickly he responded to any comment I made and it was like speaking to a person, full of wit, knowledge – I was just amazed!
LikeLike
I love the mural. So creative!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I thought so too Linda. The critters were so lifelike!
LikeLiked by 1 person