Winter marches on and on … and then some. Here in Southeast Michigan, our wintry weather arrived at Thanksgiving, much earlier than usual and now Winter has become the gift that keeps on giving – ugh. We had a one-day Spring thaw, but then Mother Nature pummeled us again with a vengeance.
Since many of us have similar current Winter weather woes, as this storm affected 225 million people, first, I hope you are all safe and second, let’s take a little breather with this post that will invoke memories of late Summer.
The weather was fantastic starting Monday, September 8th and I “seized the day” five days in a row to return to my favorite venues with the camera in tow. Every day that week I walked, took lots of photos and almost wore myself out. 🙂
On September 10th I spent the day in Dearborn.
The first leg of my journey began at Ford Field in Dearborn, then I ambled along the Rouge Gateway Trail, to the Fair Lane Estate, the one-time home of Henry and Clara Ford, then through Jergen’s Meadow.
The second portion of that long stroll was along Ford Lake, ending up at the Environmental Interpretive Center.
Finally, the last leg of my journey was stopping at a duck pond at Ford Field Park. There were many Mallards, but some Wood Ducks too. Unfortunately, many of the ducks were molting, thus they were in “eclipse phase” and blended together in a blah brownish blur, but photographing them was fun anyway. Unfortunately, I had no treats for them and besides, there is a sign that forbids feeding the wildlife.
Today’s post will focus on the first portion of my long stroll, the Rouge Gateway Trail, Fair Lane Estate, Clara Ford’s Rose Garden and Pond. The other portions of the walk will be posted in the next two weeks.
I began at Ford Park …
… walking through the hood, disappearing quickly from busy Michigan Avenue and onto the Rouge Gateway Trail with its twists and turns.
A Juvenile Robin posed nicely …
… then this fallen log with a funky-looking fungus got my attention. Google later told me this was Chicken of the Woods Fungus.
I preferred this pretty Yellow Ironweed over the fungus with its odd name to be honest.
I saw my first glimpses of Fall, tendrils tinged with reddish leaves that wound around this tree trunk.
But there were still tendrils with green leaves too. I took two shots of them, as the trail was on an incline at that spot. This was the first photo, a vertical shot …
… then a second shot, horizontally, as I felt steadier on my feet on the incline. Good thing I took that additional shot, mere seconds later. It was one of those “now you see it, now you dont” moments.
What I didn’t realize at the time, was that a big brown snake was in the tree! I was gobsmacked when sorting through photos earlier this month, some four months after this walk and saw the snake. Did you see it in the second photo?
As I crossed the Gateway Trail Bridge over the Rouge River I was hopeful for a photo op, but there were no waterfowl, deer, not even a wild turkey crossing my path.
Soon I was at Fair Lane.
Near the mansion, there were a lot of construction workers as they are restoring the powerhouse and garage, so the area was cordoned off. Restoration of the mansion has been ongoing for over a decade and scheduled for completion in 2027.
I recognized Maiyah from her “Rootin’ Around with Maiyah” videos about Fair Lane’s gardens and I told her I enjoyed the videos and we chatted briefly. I decided to visit the walkway near the potting shed. The Dahlias and Cannas were in bloom …
… so I hurried over to the Cannas, hoping to see some Hummingbirds. But I stopped in my tracks as something scurried past me and dove into those Cannas. Yikes! Was it a mouse? I decided the Cannas were now off limits, but a split-second later I saw what frightened me and was ready to take its picture.
A blurry shot of this Chippie, yes … it wasn’t interested in a photo op and took off for parts unknown.
I did get a few pics of the beautiful Dahlias.
I smiled when I saw this group of Black Walnuts set out on the picnic table. Someone had gathered them from the ground for the squirrels.
That would keep the squirrels busy for a while as they have to chew through the green rind, then gnaw open the hard shell of the walnut before they could get to the sweet walnut meat. This in-progress treat shows what I mean.
The construction equipment was loud and blocking any access to the Rouge River, but Maiyah said Clara’s Rose Garden was now open, so I headed there next.
Were these roses the proverbial last rose(s) of Summer?
During the renovation, the courtyard where Clara Ford’s Rose Garden is located was off limits as the flagstone perimeter path was removed, then replaced with a sidewalk that was more ADA compliant, thus accommodating visitors using canes or wheelchairs. This is how the pathway looks now.
There were plenty of pink roses still in bloom – these are a few of them.
At the teahouse, Clara and Henry’s statues were gleaming. They are polished several times a year.
Meandering in the Meadow.
After I left Clara’s Rose Garden I meandered through Jen Jergen’s Meadow. This is an informational sign at the Estate.
I’ve often mentioned I follow “Fair Lane, Home of Clara and Henry Ford” on Facebook and the site posted some pictures of Clara Ford’s now somewhat-delipidated Pond mentioned above. A frog was sitting on a Lily pad amongst the Duckweed. Since Fair Lane was undergoing massive renovation in 2025, after my two separate Springtime visits to see the Redbud trees and Lilacs, respectively, I had not returned until now.
Perhaps the Pond might yield a potential poser on the Pond Lilies and a fun photo op?
Clara’s original Rose Garden and Reflecting Pool/Pond might have been beautiful in its heyday …
… but it is quite dilapidated now. You may recall this is where I had photos of Mother Goose on the nest last May, with Father Goose keeping me at bay. The reeds were long gone and I soon realized the picture of the frog must have been from their photo archives as there were zero frogs, the Duckweed was brown …
… but the Pond Lily sprinkled with Duckweed was looking good!
As I stepped away from the pool something caught my eye – it was a toad, silently sunbathing, then it gave me the once-over for disturbing it. I managed to get a shot before it sprang into action and hopped away.
I’m going to stop this walk here as I have much more to share in upcoming posts about the delightful ducks at the duck pond and the bevy of birds I saw on the Lakeside Trail by Ford Lake.
Terri’s Sunday Stills Photo Challenge this week is Storm; I will be linking this post to Tuesday’s The Flower Hour also.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
This was extra fun to read after my day with the big storm that fizzled.
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Thank you Anne! Yes, I thought three weeks in a row I’ll do some Summery posts to right this Winter ship, for everyone dealing with it. I’m glad you missed your big storm and it fizzled, but I heard your old stomping grounds on Long Island got hit badly.
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My sister-in-law went cross-country skiing in her neighborhood.
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Oh for goodness sake! I saw the cutest video on “X” of a group of deer in Texas prancing around in the snow. I imagine all the dogs who have never seen or played in snow are having a ball!
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Lovely to see the summery landscapes and beautiful flowers! (Except for the fungus.😆) It’s been snowing here since yesterday, with no end in sight. 😫 I love the Ford statues, especially the one of Clara sitting on the bench.
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Debbie, I thought everyone needed a dose of Summer to get through this wicked Winter, so the next two posts will be summery as well. It’s nice to see green again as it seems I’ve only been looking at gray and white for a long time. We had that non-stop, all-day snow yesterday, from early morning until dark. We got seven inches (17 cms.) of snow and at 7:00 p.m. tonight, we go back into this brutally cold weather again – every time I hear the weather report it gets worse. Overnight it will be -27F (-32C) windchill and 6F (-14C) air temp. Just ridiculous. I like those statues too. I think they must have just polished them as I’ve never seen them gleaming so brightly.
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We got 47 cm (18.5 in) and I think that’s a record! This is the WORST winter in recent memory and I can’t wait for spring. Right now we have -18C (0F) with the windchill. It’s my idea of hell! 😱 Stay warm!
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You’ve got it really bad there Debbie. That’s worse than us. The weatherman said at 7:00 p.m. it would get colder and I could feel it inside just past 7:00 p.m. I went and put on my sherpa-lined sweatpants. I have a pair for inside and another pair for outside for really frigid days. They are toasty but the rest of me is cold. If I have on too many layers, the heat comes on and it gets too hot. I heard this Winter was similar to 2019, but I can’t associate anything with that Winter. I need a dose of Spring too. Stay warm!
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I enjoyed this walk with you and loved learning about the Chicken of the Woods Fungus. So cool.
Also, last spring, I pulled down a lot of those tendrils off of some trees in our yard. I am not sure if they are symbiotic and help the tree, but decided to remove most from the tall 75 year old pine trees. And seeing how close you were to the snake was crazy and it would have creeped me out to see it later on. I wonder how close we are to stuff like that on most nature walks – hmmmm
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Thank you Yvette – I am glad you enjoyed the walk. It was a gorgeous day. I don’t know if all those tendrils are bad for the tree or not, but I’m sure they draw goodness from the tree. I was pretty creeped out when I saw that snake picture. I almost included a screenshot of the camera info/times for the shots – exact same time, mere seconds apart. It looks like it was laying there contentedly, so I’m sure it was there for the first picture I took vertically. One time I was on a trail, got to the end of it and put the lens cap on and prepared to exit and a big snake slithered across my path up ahead. I think even if I had the camera out/ready, it went by too fast to get a shot … factor in my surprise too. I’ve not been on that Trapper’s Run trail again! At Council Point Park there are two guys that walk together every day and as they walked along, a snake dropped out of a tree onto the walking path. It didn’t touch either of them. I’d have freaked out for sure!
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I would have freaked out a bit if the snake dropped down on me like that – and how fun many your walks are!
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This is a fun memory of summer 🙂 🙂 🙂
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Yes Anne – thank you! It is nice to remember the green trees/grass and colorful flowers as so much of the U.S. is in this brutal cold snap and with snow/ice.
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Love your photos! Ford Park has moved up to the top of my list of places to get to in the spring and summer. I cannot wait! 😁
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Yes, this whole walk was just gorgeous and you will be in for a treat. The next two weeks will be more for you to see to lure you there. I’ll be glad when the renovation is all done in 2027. The rose garden is beautiful and I’ve written about that gate you saw there – Clara Ford saw the gate when they traveled to Europe and liked it and on the sly Henry Ford bought it and made arrangements for it to be shipped to Fair Lane. They both liked gardening, nature and especially birds. I forgot how many birdhouses were constructed and placed around the woods by the Estate and they sat there with their binoculars watching the birds.
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Amazing! It sounds wonderful. So will there things to see in the spring or should I wait until the renovation is complete?
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These late summer scenes are therapeutic on a frigid day following a winter storm!
Chicken of the Woods is a new one on me. It probably tastes quite different from Chicken of the Sea. 🙂
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I thought I’d do three Summery posts in a row starting this week to cheer everyone up from this cold and stormy weather. I thought of you and all the driving you were doing during the storm as they mentioned Indiana getting walloped as well. We’re back to the brutal cold for one day (-27 wind chill tonight and 6 degrees air temp). Yes, not as good as Chicken of the Sea. 🙂 Where do they get these names?
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What a wonderful meander through the park and grounds, Linda! I would call it a perfect storm of flowers, landscaping and critters! All those pinks and soft colors did my soul some good today. Cold and frosty here with a glimpse of sun.
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Thank you Terri! What a great idea to call it a perfect storm of Summery colors and critters – yes, back when everything was still green and lush. Right now I forgot what green looks like. 🙂 I am doing three posts in a row from this walk, all Summery-feeling/looking to reset our minds from this awful Winter. We had a glimpse of sun too today. I saw it while cleaning up from 7 inches of snow and we have very brutal weather tonight (-27 wind chill and 6 degrees air temp). A one-day event, but still cold and snowy the rest of the week.
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Made sense to me… my SIL and Bil are stuck in savannah- Atlanta now due to the storm. They were supposed to get home Saturday! Delayed til tomorrow. What a mess. Stay warm and dry, Linda!
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Thanks Terri – I’m adding layers as the night wears on. I heard the delayed flight situation was comparable to right after the pandemic began.
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A lot of beautiful flowers here. Yes, I saw the snake right away! I thought you were very brave!
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Yes, it’s a beautiful place Kate and especially nice considering it was torn up the entire Summer putting in the new walkway and doing other construction so it was off limits. It’s nice to remember how colorful the flowers were and the green trees. We tend to forget after all this gray and gloomy weather and snow. I’m glad I turned the camera horizontally, or I would not have gotten the picture of the snake. I wonder how I didn’t see it at the time though, but there is an incline, so if I see something, I kind of plant my feet firmly, so I don’t shake taking the photo. I wish I could have seen the look on my face when sorting the photos! We’re going to have a -27 windchill and 6 degrees tonight. That’s a colder windchill than the other two times we were in the Deep Freeze. Winter is getting very old.
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Very old indeed!
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The flowers are so beautiful ! I wish we had some now lol. Did you get as much snow as us? We got close to 40 cm (about 15 inches) I have had enough of winter. I see your photos and I want THAT weather lol
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I’m glad you liked them Susan – I was torn between two walks where I had a lot of color and chose this long one. The next two posts will be Summery to get us all over this Winter hump. You got a lot of snow – that’s awful! We only got 7 inches (17 cms) of snow and I thought that was bad and both times it drifted, so it was messy walking around the backyard to check for any damage. All the downspouts are frozen solid and won’t thaw out any time soon as we are going into this Deep Freeze one-day event starting at 7:00 p.m. tonight: -27 wind chill (-32 C) and 6F (-14C) air temp. This is just crazy. Yes, I want this warm, sunny, flowers and green trees weather too … I promise not to whine about the heat this year!
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It’s Tuesday and it’s been snowing for the last several hours …… again ! So tired of it. haha We probably will both whine about the heat! But that’s okay, we’ll remind each other of this horrible winter ! It is cold here too, people are all bundled up like the Michelin Man, remember that commercial? lol
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Wonderful photos of nature, wildlife and colors! Much needed this week for us all! We’re hunkered down in Maryland, hope you are too!
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Thank you Donna! I decided to roll out this three-part walk that will be very summery to get us all over this terrible Winter hump. I’m also hunkered down here in SE Michigan. We only got 7 inches of snow, but this brutal cold is keeping me indoors. We’ve had non-stop cold and snow for weeks, but tonight we will be -27 windchill and 6 degrees. A good time to sort through photos taken last Summer and Fall. Stay warm!
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Iam waiting for spring had enough of winter this year.
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I know that’s right Andy – it has been so brutal everywhere. I saw your poor birds braving the cold in that recent post. We are bitterly cold here with snow and ice. I have not walked in two weeks today.
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A perfect post for this cold and snowy day, with all the flowers and greenery and birds and critters. What a beautiful place to walk!
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Thank you Rebecca! I thought I’d remind everyone how nice Summer was and give us something to dwell on until it gets here. I think it’s been months since I saw color or green. I hope the storm left you unscathed. Stay warm!
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I wonder how high up the snow is on those statues?
Nice reminder Linda!
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Thanks Wayne – yes, everyone feels warmer now. There will be three posts in a row about Summery weather. Next week is the duck pond and after that, I have some critter photos along Ford Lake, mostly birds, including a close-up of a Green Hero, maybe a first on my blog. They probably got the same amount of snowas we did yesterday – it’s about nine miles from where I live. I wonder if it would stick or slide off? They polish the statues ’til they gleam. Winter is the only season I’ve not visited the Estate. Right now they have massive reconstruction going on outside. I just saw some outside photos on Facebook where I follow the Estate.
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Lots of fun late summer scenes, Linda! Nice to see all the color.
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Yes, it was one of the best days, even weeks, of Summer Eilene. I forgot just how lush and green and colorful this season was.
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This morning we woke up to single-digit temps here in South Carolina so your summer/fall photos are welcome indeed. It’s nice to be able to recall where you were on this walk. I can picture Clara’s Rose Garden and Jensen’s Meadow (which we only walked a little way into when we were there). I’m thankful for whatever source of funding allows for the restoration of the mansion. It’s too beautiful a structure to let go.
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Wow – I did see the snake! What a cool find, Linda. Could that vine have been poison ivy? It loves to climb trees. Cute little chipmunk. ♡ Oh my, those roses were so lovely, and gorgeous shades of rosy pink. I’m looking forward to garden season coming around again. That was a great picture of the toad, lumpy skin and all. 🙂
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