Well, it was Valentine’s Day and in the heart of Winter after all.

So, was this mere infatuation or are these a mated pair? It is squirrel mating season in Southeast Michigan. For a quick minute, as I peered at these two cute Eastern Gray squirrels through my camera lens, I felt like a voyeur. 🙂 Here’s another shot of these cutie pies after they inched a bit closer, seemingly oblivious to me and the shutter clicks.

Then they saw me. Curiosity got the better of them and they peered down at me as if to say “privacy please … unless of course peanuts are involved!”

In a show of good faith, I stashed the camera in my fanny pack momentarily and rattled the bag of peanuts to ensure I had their attention. Oh ya … their ears and noses perked up when they smelled the fresh peanuts and they hustled down to ground level. Since peanuts were promised, the sweet endearments could wait.

They even alerted a friend which sat there, bright-eyed and bushytailed ready to feast.

A few minutes later, two of the three squirrels scampered back up the tree.

Stand by your man.

At the Creek shoreline there were a lot of waterfowl, most of them mingling on the ice. I laughed out loud at these two Canada Geese – the sight of them took me way back to elementary school and “Field Day” and two-legged races. It was at the end of the school year, we had a picnic, outdoor games and got ribbons for prizes. Only these two weren’t so animated, but their respective poses, perched on the poop-strewn ice did give me cause to pause for some photos.

One of the geese suddenly bent over – was it thirsty, or wanted to take a gander at its reflection in the icy-cold water? Pretty fancy footwork, bending down like that, still on one leg. Balance is everything, right?

I’m gonna soak up the sun.

Soon, both geese were back to soaking up the sun, one lifting its head to feel the warm of the beautiful day, just as I was, only I preferred planting both feet on the still icy-dicey ground, to their respective one-legged stance.

Moments later the pair had company, a few fine-feathered friends, first the “Odd Man Out” who stood on two wide webbed feet and a Mallard that photobombed the trio and their reflections, while causing a pretty impressive reflection of his own.

I never tire of seeing those iridescent Mallard drake heads, especially in Winter when colorful images are hard to come by.

My eyes adored you …

What an intense gaze this Mallard male was giving the Mallard female. I hope this was its mate and not the snoozing female in the foreground, but I had my doubts because …

… moments later, the object of his intensive gaze paddled away. Hmm.

Life is a journey … I continued on my merry way.

Would I see any more quirky photo ops at my favorite nature nook?

In between stepping precariously on the sometimes icy path …

… I shielded my eyes from the sun to gaze into the sky, searching for my pair of Northern Cardinals that always find me. They announce their arrival in a series of tweets. Sure enough, just as I paused at this park bench, the year-around spot where I leave them sunflower seeds and peanuts, the lovebirds flew over to see me. Too bad I didn’t get that photo as they perched on a branch, side by side, while I was busy stomping out a place in the snow to drop off their treats, as you see below …

The male Cardinal usually eats first (even on Valentine’s Day). If I wanted the color red for this heart-related holiday post, the male fit the bill to a “T”.

After the male ate his fill of sunflower seeds, he took a peanut “to go” and his mate flew to the ground, then back to the park bench momentarily to snack on a sunflower seed.

I was happy she went back to the seed stash in the snow, thus giving me time to get a few shots of her.

While I was grateful the brutal cold, snow, icy roads and fierce winds had finally subsided and I was able to return here, it was far from safe and most of the time I walked in the snow or grassy areas to avoid the ice. Even the soft ice might present a slip-and-fall issue. It still looked desolate, the Phragmites waving their heads in the gentle breeze and ice and snow were present at “The Point”, the place where both sides of the Creek merge.

I could see skid marks where Jacob, the Park’s resident catch-and-release fisherman, had dragged his shanty to shore once he decided the ice was unstable. The last time I’d been here, albeit briefly, he still had the shanty in place.

A whole lotta shakin’ (and scammin’) goin’ on!

There were not as many squirrels as in past years, so as I ambled along, leaving peanuts in the usual spots, my second trip around, I was happy to see most of the peanuts I had left an hour before were now gone. Of course, it might have been the piggy Blue Jays. They are famous for stealing in-shell peanuts from right under a squirrel’s nose. I found a few Jays busying themselves, shaking and/or tossing the peanuts into the air to test their weight, then flying off with a peanut to add to their cache of treats.

Here are a few of those Jays. Unfortunately the tree’s shadow made the photos a bit darker than I’d like.

Rockin’ Robin.

Not only did it feel good to be out and about in the sunshine, the third walk with my camera in as many days, but a Robin was singing its heart out. I looked for it, thinking it should be easy to spot in the bare trees, but I had no luck finding it. I also heard a woodpecker, likely Rex, the only Red-bellied Woodpecker at this venue, but Rex remained MIA.

I was also here for the Great Backyard Bird Count.

It was my third bird count in two days. The event brings together birders or anyone who will stop for 15 minutes, anytime over the course of four days (always over President’s Day weekend), to count how many birds they see in one location, then submit their findings to the official GBBC website, or to the eBird website (which is where I always submit my findings). These sites work hand in hand to collect information on wild birds. This was my submission.

I just had a blogiversary!

Normally, I would have celebrated my blogiversary last week, but I did the tribute to my mom instead. I have been blogging since February 11, 2013.

I decided since I discovered Council Point Park in May of the same year, it is only fitting that I celebrate with a post about my furry and feathered friends I meet and feed along the trail.

As I left the perimeter path, near the pavilion I saw a solo Fox Squirrel standing on haunches on the salt-stained cement. It was Penelope, Parker’s main squeeze. Parker, as longtime followers know, was my favorite Park furry friend. He did not survive the Winter of 2024-2025, but his mate, Penelope, did. I offered to take her home so we could celebrate “Gal-entine’s Day” but she stayed put, despite my offer to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. She was content to grab a single peanut and scampered off soon thereafter.

Terri’s Sunday Stills Photo Challenge this week is “Love Your Pet” – I am not participating as I don’t have any pets, except those furry and feathered friends at Council Point Park.