… yet Winter seems to go on forever.
Fall has always been my favorite season. Yes Fall, tinged with gorgeous colors, tantalizing tastes and smells and, of course, that welcome, gentle nip to the air, qualities that no other season can rival (in my humble opinion anyway). And, as I was preparing this post, I realized I should have savored my November 13th walk even more than I did at the time – how could I know that non-stop wintry weather was on the doorstep?
This post is a continuation of my long stroll through Downtown Trenton and Elizabeth Park, wherein my first stop was at the City’s newest mural “Unravel Your Imagination” the subject of my December 28th post.
Out with the old; in with the new … season-wise, that is.
After spending considerable time both admiring and photographing that whimsical mural, I meandered along West Jefferson Avenue, enjoying a picture-perfect day. I was mindful of the mishmash of holidays, i.e. the harvest season mingling with the holiday season, as the latter waited patiently in the wings. At that time, Fall, like many of the tree leaves, continued to hang on forever.
The few remaining scarecrows from the City’s annual Scarecrow Contest …
… had survived the incessant wicked winds we’d had, some still sporting an endearing grin.
But I guess this guy wasn’t gung ho about the contest as he wasn’t smiling.
There were jewel-toned mums, pumpkins and other gourd displays, like this one.
The flag was snapping in the stiff breeze, at half-staff in recognition of former Vice President Cheney’s passing.
In between the harvest vibes, a few shopkeepers’ windows were already festooned with Christmas décor. Of interest to me was this young woman bundled up to ward off the chilly wind as she painted. She was painting the front window of the Trenton Dance Studio. I stopped and asked if I could take a picture of her artwork, then we chatted it up.
Chelsie is a local mail carrier and her daughter takes lessons at this dance studio, so every year she paints a Christmas theme on the studio’s windows in conjunction with the City’s business district holiday window-decorating contest. Chelsie told me the decorated store windows look festive for the annual Christmas parade along West Jefferson Avenue.
This was her partially finished gingerbread house.
Chelsie had already painted the snowwoman with ballet slippers on the front door.
I told her I was dabbling in watercolor painting and asked if she had taken formal classes around here. She said she was self-taught, adding “my grandmother is a painter, so I guess it’s in my genes.”
Later I returned just as Chelsie was wrapping up her painting project.
I wondered how the studio’s front window fared in the contest and learned from the studio’s Facebook site that it won first prize! Congrats to Chelsie! Here is a photo of all their windows at night.
I kept on walking, heading toward Elizabeth Park and, as I approached the vehicle bridge to enter this island park something stopped me in my tracks.
The seasons of life.
Just ahead of where I stood, I believe I saw my future self.
An elderly woman approached from the opposite side, both of us equidistant from a large tree on a homeowner’s property near the bridge. There is an incline with some uneven pavement and the woman was using a rolling walker. The wind tugged at her open coat and grabbed wisps of gray hair, whipping them around her face. She pushed the walker against the wind, occasionally thrusting it forward to lend extra “oomph” for that slight incline and she mumbled aloud, likely cursing the wind. There was a large paper bag on the walker’s seat and, after securing the walker in place, the woman planted her feet firmly on the sidewalk and called out. I could not understand what she said – perhaps she was not speaking English? Then she was speaking so loudly that I realized she was calling out some names. Ahh, the beneficiaries of her bag of goodies – these squirrels had names!
A passel of squirrels came rushing toward her, scrambling down trees, racing up the leaves-strewn Canal shoreline, then scurrying across the homeowner’s property. There were probably 30 or more squirrels gathered around her. I hung back, thinking of photographing the scene, but instead watched it unfold. She unrolled the paper bag and began scooping out handfuls of peanuts in the shell, flinging them this way and that. The squirrels were tripping over one another to retrieve the goodies.
It was a scenario, well-known to me, as you all know.
The large paper bag which had been full began to empty as I saw her hands disappear further into the bag each time. She kept throwing peanuts out to the waiting “crowd” just like a queen holding court with her faithful subjects.
I ambled over to speak to her, eager to share that kindred spirit I felt we had, but she would have none of my attempt at conversation, still busy with the task at hand. She was speaking to them, calling them by name, mumbling if she dropped peanuts onto the ground, then finally she turned the bag upside down, signifying “no more” to them.
The squirrels may have lingered – the old woman did not. Mission accomplished, she grabbed onto the walker and gave it a push. I smiled and ventured a timid “well I do this too … feed the squirrels I mean” but my words fell on deaf ears, so I departed as well and headed to Elizabeth Park, where I soon would be surrounded by that park’s squirrels, who beg incessantly, secure in their good fortune of an endless stream of peanuts merely by looking cute. All year long, many folks drive along the circular drive while launching peanuts to them from their open car window.
As I watched the squirrels romping in the leaves, these ten geese congregating, …
… a goose stomping angrily toward me on the park grounds, …
… even occasionally giving me the side eye …
… my mind kept wandering, returning to the elderly woman doling out peanuts. Would that be me in a decade or two, pushing a rolling walker around Council Point Park’s perimeter path and calling out to squirrels, many generations removed from the original squirrels I began interacting with in 2013 when I started walking there?
I stepped onto the Boardwalk, sun glinting off the Detroit River, providing some warmth to my upturned face.
A few seagulls departed when they saw the whites of my eyes but then one seagull came along that appeared to crash land into a huge Boardwalk shoreline boulder, but he recouped and flew away before anyone of his brethren saw him … but you and I did.
The water level in the canal was quite low, which didn’t surprise me since I’ve seen this phenomenon at every shoreline where I’ve walked in 2024 and 2025.
I crossed the picturesque bridge …
… and meandered along the Northpointe River Walk where I noted many more leaves carpeted the grass there.
As I prepared to exit Elizabeth Park I noticed the park flag was flapping briskly – I later learned the gusts were about 25 mph (40 kmh) at the time I was walking in Trenton.
The elderly woman was gone now and a solitary Fox squirrel remained, casting me, a/k/a “the intruder”, a wary eye.
It turned this way …
… and that …
… then finally took the peanut to go.
Yes, I was the interloper that tried to intrude on their routine, even though I was not that close to them. This squirrel reminded me of my sweet Parker, not only in looks, but how he would not tolerate another walker who waylaid me on the perimeter path, thus delaying dispensing of peanuts, so he’d run over and stomp on my shoe, or try to scale my sweatpants. Once he jumped like a pogo stick to reach the bag in my hand.
As I drove home, I thought about the changing seasons and the old woman with her squirrels, equating it to the seasons of my own life and pondered on that subject long after my stroll on that exquisite Fall day.
Terri’s Challenge this week – it is “Ten” – you can find it here.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
You will never shun people like your older squirrel feeder did. You’ll always have time for people. If you develop a hearing problem, you’ll take care of it so that you can hear people speak to you.
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Thank you Anne! I also see myself going to the Park for years to come (even if I don’t get there in the Winter much anymore). I truly don’t know why she was so rude so that’s why I thought she didn’t speak English, but you can still communicate to people without speaking the same language. It makes sense that she could be hard of hearing. I didn’t feel right taking photos but I did want to write about this encounter.
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Like Anne, I wondered if the woman had a hearing issue. Kudos to her for keeping up with the feedings though. I will be an old cat person, feeding the occasional stray that ventures near me.
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Kate, I just told Anne that it makes sense it could be a hearing problem. That didn’t occur to me, but it seemed odd that she shut down any attempt at communication. I still wanted to write about her as it was on my mind the rest of the walk. I was at another park near me a few years ago. I often go there as the volunteer gardens have Lantana so there are plenty of butterflies. One of the volunteers, an elderly woman, was on her hands and knees digging in the dirt. I took her picture from the side without her knowledge, then was chatting with her and I asked if I could take her photo standing next to the Trumpet Vine which was very tall (maybe 10 feet or so). She went ballistic and said “take my photo and I’ll take your camera!” I said “never mind” and walked away. I don’t know what provoked her to say that, but I did not include the side-shot picture in my post about the butterflies. I know I will be like you, still feeding the squirrels and birds at the Park as long as I am able … it’s a week today I’ve been there and it may be another week or longer to get back. It’s -18 real feel right now and will be worse on Friday and through the weekend.
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I guess some people don’t want their picture taken. Considering the stealing of imagines and what you can do with them, maybe it’s not all that bad.
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Yes, that makes sense – she was quite nasty about it though and I really did not care for her venomous response when I was just being friendly.
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You covered a lot of ground in this one Linda (literally). The start/finish statues were perfect for your message. The photo of the seagull on the rocks is kind of a “Where’s Waldo?” puzzle. Love the graceful bridge in Elizabeth Park – I think you’ve shown us that one before. As for your “future self” (great story!), the experience must have you asking what could possibly stand in the way of your continuing walks. I don’t expect you to back down from them anytime soon 🙂
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Meant to add, our little town also has a scarecrow contest among the downtown businesses, which we look forward to every fall. And the photo of the geese looks straight out of one of those children’s books where every page shows you one “this”, two “that”, on up to “ten geese”!
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I think a scarecrow festival is fun and gets the community involved. We don’t do anything like that in our city, although we do have a huge indoor Christmas display. Trenton has a lot of fun activities and I saw the scarecrow contest and should have made it there earlier when there were more scarecrows. They had a Winter festival last weekend and did a big light show at one of the wall murals. I didn’t include the other murals I saw as the post was too long so will have to do it for a Wordless Wednesday – two Canada Geese flying and the other is all flowers. The expressions by the geese are so expressive sometimes. I used four of that flock’s pictures taken that day in my New Year’s Eve post.
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Thank you Dave – I’m glad you liked this post! I should have mentioned where I saw the statues because they were part of the walk. I saw this sloped road and went down the road to a pocket park I’ve never seen before and they were in a homeowner’s yard, a corner house that was not fenced in. I saw them before I met the elderly woman, then later thought they were perfect to match my thoughts.
Elizabeth Park’s biggest bridge is beautiful. There are two identical smaller bridges and yes I’ve often featured the big bridge – lots of people go there for wedding, homecoming or prom photos. They were built in 1924, but had to be replaced in 2013. There are pictures of the original big bridge by a film photographer who photographed it often and in every season and the original bridge was even more ornate. Now they don’t salt the current bridges, so it will hopefully preserve them longer.
This woman really did give me food for thought. I will be turning 70 this year and I don’t really feel like I am slowing down any, but it was interesting getting a glimpse into the future and would that be me someday?
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Lots to ponder, Linda, from the mid-November walk around the area to the reckoning of what we might be like in 10, 20 + years. The sunny scarecrows were cute as were the scurrying squirrels! I sure miss seeing that autumn sunshine, thanks for sharing those pics!
As for your future self, someone said it well, that would not be you! Yes, you’d be feeding the critters, but with joy and friendliness!
I love the photo of the 10 geese a’ swimming! The composition is stunning and all around just gorgeous!
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It was quite a long, beautiful, as well as thought-provoking walk Terri. I should have mentioned the statues as I saw them on a homeowner’s property before I met the woman and in drafting my post the same day, I decided the statues would play a key part photo-wise in this post. Yes, I would be sending joy to the squirrels and passersby about what I was doing if you fast forward my life. I don’t know what the problem was with this woman and I usually don’t have an issue engaging with anyone, but …. I’m glad you like the photo of the ten geese. Belatedly, I knew I could find the gaggle of geese to use for “ten” as I took plenty of photos of the geese that day, as I usually do at this park. I knew I several groups of geese in the canal so this was perfect. I only picked the close-ups for the post originally. I had already used four of the geese for my New Year’s Eve post, the goofy-looking shots. 🙂
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If your skies are clear this evening, you might be able to see the aurora!
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Thank you – I just read that. I follow this site “Michigan Storm Chasers” and now they have an Aurora site and they were posting follower’s pics on their “X” site. They were also posting pics of light pillars. I’d have to go outside because my front door frosted up this morning when I opened it to see how much snow we got. Currently, it is 9 degrees, with a real feel of -22!
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Dang, that’s cold! We may be lucky tomorrow night!
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Yes, it is brutally cold. I hope you get to see the Aurora. The pictures I’ve seen on Michigan Storm Chasers tonight are very vivid. They are on Facebook too if you want to see them, plus the light pillars, plus we had a meteor soaring through the air earlier this evening as well. They have many cameras positioned around the state – most of the Aurora pics are not near me however.
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A post full of warmth that kept me smiling as I scrolled through the pics. The scarecrows are wonderful and I can’t wait to see the bridge.
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I’m glad I gave you some warm vibes Pepper – we need them these days! Next year I’ll have to go to the scarecrow festival earlier and get more photos. The bridge is this park’s crowning glory. The original bridge and two smaller bridges that span the canal were built in 1924 and they were all replaced by newer structures in 2013. I used to follow a photographer on Facebook who posted pictures of all his film photography through the years and he had some beautiful shots of this bridge taken in every season. It was a bit more ornate than the original bridge.
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Fall is my favourite season too Linda. Winter is one I hate lol especially this winter, it’s been brutal. We have so much snow and it’s been snowing, again, non stop since last night. They haven’t even plowed our road yet ! It’s also bitterly cold, -19 Celsius
I like the window of the ballet studio, very artistic! It’s odd the woman didn’t stop to talk to you, a kindred spirit. I hope we are all out feeding the squirrels for a good many years to come !
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Fall is just perfect in my opinion Susan and it is way too short! That’s brutal weather and with the snow too – ugh. I thought we were done with our Deep Freeze as of Tuesday morning – that’s what they’ve been saying. But now it will be even colder Friday, Saturday will set a new record for “real feel” (-25) and we’re getting more snow. There was a 100-vehicle pile-up on one of the expressways earlier today as we’ve had snow squalls through the day.
I liked the ballet studio artwork too – I was happy to have met Chelsie and we chatted quite a while. I was happy she won and that it was posted somewhere so I could show all the windows.
I found it odd about the elderly woman too – sad because it would have been a fun kindred spirits experience for both of us. I see us both enjoying nature in some form or the other for many years to come.
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Yep, we certainly are getting the same weather as you, it is supposed to be bitterly cold this Friday, Saturday and Sunday. We have another storm coming through tomorrow with another few centimeters of snow and then I think again on the weekend also. I don’t know what’s worse, all the snow or the bitter cold. I haven’t been out of my house in four days lol I cannot stand the cold.
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Yes, your forecast is exactly the same as here. Awful! We have snow coming in after 3:00 a.m. but supposedly not as bitter cold, but below-zero “real feel wind chill” is not tropical in my opinion! I go out every day to run the car and shovel snow – no snow to shovel today – yay! My backyard and sidewalk leading to it is treacherous from ice. I put ice-melt pellets on my path to the garage and the porch and porch steps for the mailman. The sun, when it shows up, doesn’t arrive until 4:00 p.m., so it doesn’t help at all.
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It’s been a horrible winter! For me anyway 🙄 this Friday night and Saturday is supposed to be -40 Celsius with the windchill. I think we will plug our cars in and start a fire in the woodstove lol I’m not going out either !
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Oh no – that’s worse than here. Interestingly -40 C equals -40 F. I always have to look it up. We’ll only be -25 (-31 C) My car is on a trickle charger 24/7/365 as I don’t drive it enough, but I still go out and run it because it is a 2009 car, but only has 14,400 miles on it. I am glad I have almost a full tank of gas because I’ll likely run it even longer this coming weekend. They never plowed, just salted, so our streets our icy ruts. A nice fire in the woodstove sounds inviting!
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I looked it up too ! I found it funny that -40 is the same. Yeah my car is in the garage but Clint’s truck is outside, he is going to be plugging it in the next few days. We try to keep our vehicles filled up in the winter, you just never know when you might get stuck. But then I don’t go out unless I have to. We are in a Lawn bowling league and it was this afternoon but they cancelled it, everything is shut down again.
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I think more stuff will be shut down this weekend. One of the colleges shut down on Tuesday due to the cold, but I don’t think the elementary schools closed down, which surprised me – they didn’t even have remote learning that day. Lots of kids were off school Monday for the Martin Luther King holiday. I keep my car filled up too in Winter, even though I don’t go out unless I have to and only if it’s clear and dry. I just got new tires in November, so I’d probably be okay in ice and snow, but don’t want to drive in it. 🙂 I took the bus for decades, walked to the end of the street, then the bus dropped me off right where all the office buildings were, so I’m not a fan of driving in Winter. The trickle charger has been a lifesaver. I have been using one since 2016; before that my batteries didn’t last long, even though I ran the car daily and I got a new five-year battery every two years.
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I do not like to drive in winter, I’m fortunate that if I absolutely have to go to an appointment, Clint will drive. I just like being home in this weather. It’s Friday afternoon and the temperature has dropped to -23 with windchill and later tonight it is going to be -35 and not get much better on the weekend. We are getting another 10-30 cm of snow starting Sunday. I think you will probably get that too, we always seem to have the same weather. The kids here have been off school a lot. It’s been a crazy winter. I don’t have to go anywhere until Tuesday and so I’m not lol. Staying home for sure. Stay safe Linda! and Keep Warm 🙂
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Because I took the bus so many years, I don’t go out unless I have to either and if I can move something around I will. I just converted and yes, very similar to us plus we get 3-5 inches (7-12 cms) of snow on Sunday. Oh joy! My grandmother’s funeral was on February 1st (1986). When we left the church in Toronto it was just cold and a bright blue sky. They were not having a service at the cemetery as it was too cold and there was snow. An hour out of Toronto, big snowflakes began and it took us 8 hours to get home instead of the usual 4 hours (240 miles door to door). It was one of the most nerve-wracking days of my life. My mom did not drive, so it was an 8-hour, white-knuckle trip – we both probably aged a year or two that day. I drove behind the snow plow on the 401 part of the time. You stay safe and warm too Susan. 🙂
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Oh boy what a story, I can imagine that trip. But sometimes you have to be out in it. It must have such a relief to get home !
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Yes, it was memorable for all the wrong reasons and I forgot to mention that I had a Pacer at the time so it was fishtailing all over the place, even though I always had sandbags in the back for Winter. It was a hatchback and all glass, so it was not a heavy car. Yes, sometimes you just have to deal with it. It looks like they have increased our snow prediction in this area to 4-7 inches (10 – 15 cms.).
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We are supposed to get 20-30 cms from this morning through to Monday afternoon and high winds. It is snowing quite bad right now…ugh. Yes would have had to have sandbags in the Pacer, I had a small car back then too and remember putting heavy things in the trunk.
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You are still worse than us snow-wise as we got almost 7 inches of snow since early Sunday morning and that is 17 cms. We have this cold all week, below zero windchills, but not the brutal weather we had the past two days thankfully. It’s not going to moderate until next weekend. I got the Pacer in 1977 because I had so many problems with my VW Bug. It was not a stick shift, but an automatic stick and they never perfected that according to the mechanic. It didn’t start if it rained or snowed and I’d come out of school and have to get a jump or get it towed to the garage, so I got the Pacer, but it was hot with all the windows and no A/C … like being in a fishbowl!
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Wow you did get less than us! And across the Bay of quinte from we are, they got a lot more abd supposed to get another few inches tomorrow. Us too but as much as them.
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You have really had it worse than us! We have this bitter cold and this morning it was -23 (-30C) real feel and 6 (-14 C) when I got up. I went out to run the car and we had a snow squall … I came inside and read all day as it was warmer in the back of the house. We got more snow this afternoon, but just from another squall. It stays cold all week, not as frigid, but Friday we have the same cold as today. You are getting a ton of snow. I’m glad we’re not getting this brutal cold and snow too and this morning the news said we’d have this weather now most of February … first it was through January, then mid-February.
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Yes, this winter is never ending lol but we are almost out of January and I never thought that would happen! It’s cold here too, which is strange because usually it warms up when we get snow, but it hasn’t warmed up at all with the snow. Clinton and I were talking about winter today and we both said we haven’t had a winter like this for probably 20 years.
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They are saying that it is a long time for us to have a Winter like this too and they keep going back to the Winter of ’78 which was really bad but much worse than this year. Even universities closed and some businesses closed and it was long before remote learning as computers were still not a “thing”. We’re not getting any sun and they said it would get warmer temps overnight if we had clouds overnight as they act like a blanket to trap some warmth – cloudy overnight, so it stays cold – sigh. I meant to ask you before if you have had any “frost quakes”? We had some before the Sunday big snowfall – up to then it was a few inches here or there, but it happens when the temps are the coldest, like middle of the night and there is pressure underground and it pops. Once you get all the snow, it doesn’t happen, no matter how cold. It’s kind of cool (pardon the pun) but the first night it woke me from a sound sleep – gunfire?
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Yes we did ! I forget what night but just in the last 3 or 4 nights. Ours originated in Barrie, Ontario which is about 3-4 hours from us, I think. I didn’t feel it but lots of people in our area did. One guy said oh I thought it was my wife snoring lol . It is bitterly cold here today, I am so tired of being cold. It doesn’t matter where I go or what I wear, I just get chilled. And we have so much snow, there is no where to put it. I’m sure you guys are the same. Spring can’t come soon enough!
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Yes, it is incredible to hear it and always overnight when it is the coldest. I first heard about them with the Polar Vortex in 2013-2014 … the weatherman was all excited about it as he had heard some. Now the Arctic-like weather is “old hat” for everyone around here and where you are and has lost any excitement that it might have had. Winter never excites me anyway. 🙂 I was watching a video of kids getting a snow day in places where they never usually get snow. They were on makeshift sled, like garbage can lids and their dogs were running around and jumping in the snow – it was kind of cute. Of course, when you’re a kid, you like it … for me, maybe 50 years ago, on my toboggan and making snow forts. My parents probably said “wait ’til you’re an adult and have to deal with it and you won’t think it is fun anymore!” Now I find a lot more of what they said is coming true!
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haha that’s true indeed ! My son loved winter when he was little but now not so much! I like the heat or at least warmer weather which is probably why Fall is my favourite season.
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We used to play in the snow and it was fun – not fun when you shovel it or drive in it. You cannot beat Fall! And, not only is the weather perfect, but so are the colors and the tastes! We had a totally gray day and some flurries this morning and it’s still very cold, real feel of -2F (-18 C) right now.
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I feel like I can’t get warm this winter no matter where I am. It’s very cold here too but at least no snow in the forecast for a while! 😀
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I finally got out today Susan and it was 25F (-2 C) when I was out. I waited until almost noon, which is late for me. It felt nice, I walked at the Park and they had plowed which was something new – they plowed a lot of the grass as I guess they couldn’t find the actual path. 🙂 I saw four squirrels, but I was later than usual – they forage much earlier in the day. But, unfortunately the weather tomorrow gets ugly again, snow tonight into tomorrow, a wintry mix – oh great, just when we get rid of the ice and we are getting another cold spell, starting February 8th and a relatively big snowfall on Friday … they aren’t committing to how much snow yet. I wonder if you will get that too? I actually have less layers on in the house today. If I had not needed gas, I would have walked there and back, but I needed gas. I’ve just had it with Winter.
P.S. – we are cloudy Tuesday, so the Groundhog won’t see his shadow, an Early Spring!
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I’ve had it with winter too! Enough is enough. We haven’t had a winter like this for probably 25 or 30 years. I haven’t went outside walking all winter. I have an exercise bike and a treadmill in my basement so I just use those I feel like I’m cold right through and I will never get warm again lol
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I don’t have a treadmill but I think I wouldn’t mind getting one but it has to go in the basement where the exercise bike is as I have no room upstairs for it. But, it felt like a meat locker in the basement during that brutal cold spell, even with the heat set at 76F (24C), so I don’t want to go down there in shorts and a tee-shirt! Give us six months and we’ll be crying about the heat/humidity. 🙂
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Haha yes we will although maybe we won’t be complaining as much as we are about this cold hopefully lol our basement can be a little cool, but I usually start with a sweater on and then end up taking it off. I do not like to walk outside in the winter unless the roads are clear.
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Which one of us will whine about the heat first I wonder? 🙂 It was actually not a bad day today, considering we got that 3 inches (7.62 cm) of snow on Monday and the sun was out too. You could almost forget it was Winter until you stepped out. I have not taken one snow picture this year as it was so cold I didn’t want to take the camera outside and truthfully, the snow lost its appeal by December anyway!
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I know it’s funny right? We get all excited when it is only like -5. Well -5 Celsius because it was so cold so when it’s a bit higher, it’s a relief! , but it’s supposed to be cold again like that this weekend. It will probably be me whining about the heat, lol I go from one extreme to the other, but I’d rather be too hot than too cold.😊
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Our cold will “descend” early Saturday morning, they said as low as -20F (-28C) windchill, but it only lasts a day or two … I will just be happy to lower the heat in the house and walk outside not bundled up. As it is, when shoveling, or if it is bitter cold, I start getting layered up as soon as the furnace goes off, so I don’t get too hot! I would rather be too hot, than too cold too – and especially for doing things outside, even errands. I was reluctant to walk in the really hot/humid weather, but at least I didn’t have to worry about dangerous walking conditions. I will definitely change my tune in the Summer (when or if it ever gets here)!
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A nice post, Linda. I can’t see that being a future you. Walking and feeding the squirrels yes – but not interacting with a fellow walker/animal lover No Way!
Hope you’re staying warm.
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Thank you Ruth! It was such an enjoyable walk that day, beginning with those fun murals. I don’t see myself not visiting with others either down the road – you have me pegged correctly and I have found through the years that feeding the squirrels and the birds as I do at the Park, usually gets a smile from others, especially with the squirrels’ antics. I’ve even had people stop to take photos. I did not feel comfortable taking any photos here. I thought the brutal cold was over tomorrow morning, but now I’m hearing Friday begins another brutal cold spell and Saturday especially! This Winter is one for the books. You stay warm too Ruth!
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These are great. I love fall!
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Thank you Kirstin! I have always loved Fall, the perfect season in my opinion!
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I am also a fall season fan. It doesn’t seem to be ending here, though, and I wish it would! Snow, please. I want to ski.
No, you won’t be that woman. You’re much too friendly.
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For me Fall is just perfect. I’m happy to share some snow with you if I could pack it up and ship it. We’re having brutal temps here … as I write this comment at 10:15 p.m., it is 7 degrees, with a -22 “real feel” and two days of snow on the way. I am wishing we had your weather. Thank you Eilene – I can’t see myself like that either, but I can see myself still doling out goodies, a few decades from now.
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You may be like the old woman in one respect, Linda. You both are kind-hearted souls who like to spoil your furry buddies. You are much different in one important way, though. You are friendly to a fault. You are much more welcoming to fellow nature lovers. I have read many times about how you struck up conversations with others who you come across on your various jaunts.
Fall is not my favorite season (or even my second favorite), but I would take some beautiful fall weather right about now. This winter is colder and snowier than any of the last few. I for one, am very, very ready for spring!
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Thank you Laurie – I could see myself as an old woman doling out treats to a receptive crowd and chatting it up with people who happened by and yes, I’ve always done that, not finding it difficult to make small talk with people. In this case, it seemed we were kindred spirits … on the surface anyway. I’ve had people take photos of me with the squirrels in the past. I don’t understand the reason for her attitude – that puzzled me as well.
The one thing I dislike about Fall is probably the same as your thinking – it precedes Winter. This Winter is no treat and it is the same here in SE Michigan. The snow and ice are bad enough, but these brutal temps are crazy. Right now it is 7 degrees with a “real feel” of -22 and will be worse on Saturday. I guess we got spoiled somewhat, although last year we had significant ice, snow and cold temps, but we started earlier this year. Spring seems very far away at this point.
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This was a meaningful and interesting walk! Chelsie did a wonderful job at the ballet studio, really sprucing it up for downtown Trenton. You really have a way of striking up conversations with people and giving us a glimpse into those interactions.
I’m learning a lot from you about squirrel behavior and how they recognize people. But this lady you met was not the friendly kind like you. I agree with what Laurie said that you both are kind-hearted souls but you have a friendliness about you that is unique and special. That’s why you are so special Linda!!
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Thank you Esther – you make my heart and head swell! I really don’t have any issues striking up a conversation with people, so I don’t know what the problem was here, although a few bloggers said perhaps she was deaf. I thought perhaps she didn’t speak English. I was thinking that this might be me down the road, feeding the masses. 🙂 I hope I am more diligent getting to the Park when I’m in my 80s or even my 90s than I am now with this brutal cold, snow and ice in 2025!
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Hahaha, well, it’s all true about what I said!!
I think you will be a beloved favorite among the small animals in your golden years.
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Thank you Esther – I hope so too. As a person who does not want a pet as it is too difficult to lose them, they are like pets to me. 🙂
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You have a tender heart for animals, and you love to treat their bellies with yummy treats and make a safe haven when you see those hawks flying overhead!
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I do Esther – that’s why I originally wanted to be a veterinarian. I did not have the good math grades nor science grades to do that. I probably would be too soft-hearted to have that job anyway. I am enjoying the PBS Miniseries “All Creatures Great and Small” though – I think we mentioned that before as you had read the books before. I still have one I got in the 70s and never read it but don’t want to read it now as it gives too much away. We got over six inches, seven per one site, so I came in the house, finished sorting my duck pond duck pics for next Sunday and finished reading a book as I couldn’t put it down. Not very productive, but it felt good, but I just got here and the show is at 9:00 – yikes!
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It’s funny when someone you think you have a lot in common with won’t give you the time of day.
The studio windows are great!
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Yes, I thought her behavior was very odd and I was sorry I approached her to be honest. I was at this park once and ended up having an hour-long conversation with a woman my age, who was on her daily walk-around doling out several pounds of corn for the geese and ducks plus peanuts for the squirrels. If I see her again, I’ll walk on by. I thought Chelsie made a great job on the windows. She was very friendly. I was glad I was able to find out how she/they fared in the contest.
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Early fall is lovely and you’ve captured the spirit of it, Linda! Loved the scarecrows and the studio window. 😀 As always, your wildlife pics are wonderful, especially the closeups. 👌 NIce to know there are others like you, feeding the squirrels, and I’m sure you’ll continue to do that for a long time. Too bad the old woman didn’t respond, but I’m betting she didn’t hear you. Either that, or she’s just grumpy. 😆
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I agree with you Debbie – Fall is such a pretty season, the prettiest of the four seasons IMHO, although Spring can’t be beat in a four-season state when you are glad to finally see some color and warmth. The scarecrows were fun and next year I’ll have to go earlier when they first display them. I follow Trenton Parks & Recreation on Facebook so I knew they would be there. I’m glad you liked my wildlife pictures – the geese were everywhere that day and I used four of this walk’s photos for my New Year’s Eve post. I met a woman my age at this same park a few years ago. I even wrote about her. She does a daily walk-around the park and feeds corn to the ducks and geese, peanuts to the squirrels. I chatted with her for about an hour and she even offered to get me a deal on peanuts in the shell if I wanted. She and her husband go to a big market and would have bought a 50-pound bag for me and I’d meet her at the park. They were raw peanuts and they boiled and roasted them and I wasn’t going to go through all that. I buy “people peanuts” which are clean, roasted, unsalted, no dirt on them, but that was kind of her. The “kindred spirit” camaraderie was non-existent with this elderly woman for whatever reason.
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Some people age like a fine wine…..while others age like vinegar.
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That’s for sure Wayne – there was no camaraderie with this woman at all. I’ve been at the Park many times and people watch me feeding the squirrels and birds and start chatting with me, or some have even taken pictures. She was not in the mood to talk, or perhaps didn’t hear me as some have suggested. That’s okay – she’s not there to make friends, just feed her little buddies.
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It was nice to see some color! Too bad the woman wouldn’t talk to you? How old do you think she was? The window painting was great – nice to see she won.
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I know – it is nice to see color when all I see is gray or white when I look outside. It was such a gorgeous Fall day. I would have estimated the woman was in her late 80s, or in her 90s. I don’t know why she was like this Joni. I was sorry I approached her, but it did give me food for thought about a future me, standing there feeding the squirrels. Once, a few years back, I spent an hour chatting with a woman who walks at Elizabeth Park daily, taking a couple of pounds of corn for the ducks and geese and a bag of peanuts for the squirrels on her rounds. We were walking together and I even wrote a post about her. She was about my age. She offered to get me a 50-pound bag of raw peanuts if I wanted. She and her husband went somewhere to buy the corn and peanuts cheap and she said she could meet me back there so I could get them. But they bought the raw peanuts, had to boil them and roast them for the squirrels – it was a good deal, but I was not going to go through that. I just buy the unsalted people peanuts to begin with. I liked the window paintings too. She did a great job and I’m glad I thought to look to see how she/the studio fared to include with the post.
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Maybe the older lady was hard of hearing and didn’t hear you talking to her?
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That could be the problem too Joni. That or she didn’t speak English, but you can communicate with people when you don’t speak the same language. When we lived in Canada, we got new neighbors, an Italian couple who just moved here from Italy. The husband spoke some English, the wife no English and they had a toddler. The mom used to come to the house and visit with my mom who spoke no Italian, just gesturing … the husband was amazed. 🙂 P.S. – I was thinking of the little girl as I wrote this comment to you. She was much younger than me but I just Googled her and I see she teaches ESL in Newmarket, Ontario … interesting.
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I enjoyed the autumn post and the photos and wonderful painting of the scarecrows. To me, autumn is the loveliest time of the year.
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Thank you Rebecca – I’m glad you liked this post and photos and the painting. I’ll have two squirrels I painted at the same time coming up tomorrow for Squirrel Appreciation Day, along with three squirrels from back in the Fall. I’m not seeing MY squirrels right now as we have this brutally cold and icy/snowy weather, so I’m not getting to the Park as much as usual. This was on was such a picture-perfect day, my kind of weather, the reward for dealing with the heat and humidity all Summer.
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I look forward to seeing the squirrel paintings and reading your post. There’s something about those little squirrel faces that melt the heart. 🙂
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Thank you. I know, they are so darn cute Rebecca. I miss seeing them at the Park and worry about them in this bitter cold, without access to buried peanuts and due to predators. It will be tomorrow, for Squirrel Appreciation Day. I’ve been following a different artist as the original artist, Julia, has been busy with her artist job, so this artist does a looser form of watercolor, so I’ve had to adapt.
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I loved the duck tucked in with the pumpkins. What a fun contest and Chelsie is so talented and I see why she won first place. Another painting by you that really turned out nice Linda. I love that you put a painting in with your post.
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I liked how they decorated there too Diane. This was at a restaurant and I took a lot of photos there as they had a nice harvest display of cornstalks, mums and gourds but then I left them out as I saw more things later (like Chelsie’s finished gingerbread house, then I added the Facebook post where Chelsie won) and the pics from Elizabeth Park. I try not to have more than 25 pictures in a post, but I did Sunday’s post today and had 30 pics … it’s hard to decide what to leave out sometimes. I thought Chelsie was really talented. I’m glad you liked the scarecrow and I knew I was doing this post, so decided to make a scarecrow. It was fun drawing and painting it, although if you saw what it was supposed to look like (rolling my eyes). 🙂
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That squirrel will be eating out of your hand by this summer!
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Yes, I was pretty close to him. This homeowner’s property is huge and borders the canal walkway and this big tree gets lots of squirrels. The homeowner feeds them too as I’ve seen him and spoken to him before. Then at Elizabeth Park, those squirrels are spoiled as people toss peanuts and other food to them from their cars.
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Your photos are always gorgeous. The leaves in the first photo are stunning!
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Thank you Linda! It was such a gorgeous Fall day, even though it was a tad windy. I just loved those statues, the boy especially, as the girl was looking down and the leaves weren’t as pretty. I was lucky that they were in a corner house so I could take the photos from the sidewalk and not lean over a fence.
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