Wordless Wednesday – allow your photo(s) to tell the story.
Linda Schaub
FIFTY FAVORITE PARK PHOTOS
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- Parker noshin’ nuts
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- Fox Squirrel
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- Black Squirrel
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- Parker, my Park cutie!
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- Pekin Duck
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- Mallard Hybrid Duck
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- Midnight munchin’ nuts
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- Mute Swan
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- Goslings
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- Mama Robin
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- Seagulls on ice floe
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- Great Blue Heron
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- Parker chowin’ down
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- Mallard Duck
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- Northern Cardinal
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- Great Blue Heron (“Harry”) fishing for shad
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- Parker: shameless begging
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- Viceroy Butterfly
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- Great Blue Heron
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- American Goldfinch
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- Seagull
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- Robin baby (not fledged yet)
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- Mallard Ducks
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- Robins almost ready to fledge
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- Parker angling for peanuts
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- Robin fledgling
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- Parker making a point that he wants peanuts
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- Parker smells peanuts
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- Parker with a peanut
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- Red-Winged Blackbird
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- Seagull
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- Red-Bellied Woodpecker
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- Pekin Duck
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- Starling
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- Canada Geese family
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- Canada Goose and goslings
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- Red-Winged Blackbird
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- Parker says candy is dandy.
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- Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly
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- American Goldfinch
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- Hunny Bunny
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- Parker looking for peanuts
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- The pier just past sunrise
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- Mute Swan
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- Parker in the snow
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- Parker and a treat
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- Great Blue Heron
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- Me and my shadow (a/k/a Parker)
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- Fox Squirrel
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- Seagull
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- Canada Goose
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- Mallard Ducks
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- Mute Swan
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- Fox Squirrel – Parker
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- Northern Cardinal
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BADGES
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- 02-02-2018
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- 03-13-2018
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- 03-25-2018
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- 03-26-2018
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- Year #6!! 02/2019
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- 04-13-2019
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- 11-21-19
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Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 
This is a fabulous shot!! He’s balancing on the broad leaf with little legs.
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Yes, isn’t that cute Esther? He was balancing pretty well considering the angle he was standing. 🙂
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So cute and he is looking right at you. 😊
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Yes he is cute isn’t he Pepper? I must have that effect on birds that they stare at me. At least this one, unlike Harry, wasn’t angry with me.
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haha! Well, that’s good. 😂
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No fun being seasick in a pond!
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No, it isn’t Barbara because it’s too easy to “fall into the drink” that way! He had better balance that Harry!
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Lol!
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Looking very stable on the “high seas” there. I’m reading “Dead Wake” right now, a thoroughly researched factual account of the sinking of the Lusitania during WWI. The author has mentioned the Titanic several times already, because that disaster happened just three years earlier.
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This bird was definitely trying hard to get his “sea legs” on that Lotus leaf! That’s interesting about the sinking of the Lusitania and I wonder if it received as much press coverage as the Titanic – maybe not as it was during WWI? Last year, for the 50th anniversary of the Edmund Fitzgerald, I watched a lot of interesting video documentaries likening that tragedy with the Titanic’s sinking. One video was narrated by John U. Bacon, based on his newly released book, that he wrote after a lot of research into the Fitzgerald’s captain, some issues with the freighter’s infrastructure and other fascinating tidbits. All these books are interesting to learn facts so many years after a tragedy.
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That bird has found a lovely ship!
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Yes and he probably still has better “sea legs” than we humans might have!
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Unsinkable!
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Yes, or so we all thought!
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I would find it entertaining to watch this Red-wing’s balancing act!
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Yes, that Red-winged Blackbird definitely was trying to get his “sea legs” wasn’t he Donna?
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He has better balance than I do !
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Ha ha – it’s those short legs I guess! The leaf was listing – he was standing on an angle – hope he had a strong stomach!
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This Red Winged Black bird likes taking a boat ride after there’s a lot of rain!
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Yes, you’re right Ann Marie and there’s plenty of extra water to do that in these days.
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He’s doing a great job balancing…he can always stretch out the wings and fly, Linda.
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This is true Terri – I think he liked the attention and the camera clicks in his direction! 🙂
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That’s a great shot!
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Thanks Joni! I figured it would be fun to use for the Titanic anniversary since that leaf was tipped up like that. 🙂
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The words and that crazy shot are super.
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Thanks Anne! Our feathered buddy was getting a little green around the gills from the listing leaf! I saved this shot for today since I knew the Titanic anniversary would be on a Wednesday this year, so it was perfect for Wordless Wednesday.
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Most appropriate!
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Yes!
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Blackbeard, the Redwing seafaring pirate! Rrrrrrr!
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He is quite an imposing figure isn’t he Tom?
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Yes, he seems to know exactly what he is doing. Redwings hang around ponds and swamps with cat-tail plants a lot, so what he is going is probably deeply ingrained in his natural instincts.
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Yes, this is true Tom. I got some nice photos last Spring of the Red-winged Blackbird clinging to a burst cat-tail. Interesting shot as it was still a kind of blah background as the marsh had not greened up yet and all you really saw was that Red-winged Blackbird’s “epaulets” while it was singing its heart out.
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Very clever title for an exceptional photo, Linda–Kudos for both!
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Thank you Nancy – your comment made my day! I like when I get a quirky critter shot and can pair it with a fun heading (or two or three like this one)!
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Fantastic photos.
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Thank you Monica – I like when I can get quirky critter photos for my Wordless Wednesday posts!
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my goodness – you do grab some unique photos and this one is a gem. and the title had a few layers in it – very good Linda
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Thank you Yvette! That Lotus leaf sure was listing along with the bird … I immediately thought of the Titanic and its anniversary.
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it fit the titanic anniversaty so well with your whit and whimsey!
oh and I tried to reply to a different comment and thing the comments were closed – just FYI – so I was not being rude – ha
anyhow, I hope you are having a nice start to the week…
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Thank you Yvette – I’m always happy to find a fun pic to pair with a fun caption to fulfill the name of my blog. 🙂 A few years ago I decided to turn off comments after 30 days as I was getting upwards of 200-250 SPAM messages daily. I mentioned my bigtime SPAM problem to Shelley (Quaint Revival) and she suggested I turn off comments to eliminate that and it’s been great! It was time consuming before as I had to go through them in case legitimate comments were buried there. We have a storm rolling through this evening and I’m hoping the high winds and torrential rain aren’t problematic. The other day our area had a mild (2.9) earthquake!
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yikes to the quake and I saw some of the recent storms on the news – prayers for you and all in that area – we only had rain here.
and i recall you sharing about comments off and I do that too – but I think mine are off after 90 days –
and speaking of shelly – I miss her – and pray for her every so often – 🙂
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Our weather has not only been abysmal, but scary Yvette. Almost every day we have rain, or high winds, bad storms. It’s not normal. We had a windstorm come through last night which was supposed to affect the entire state, but SW Michigan more than here in SE Michigan. That windstorm came in at 70 mph in SW Michigan and within minutes there were nearly 100,000 power outages, a tree fell down on a truck and killed someone. I miss Shelley as well and keep her in my prayers. Unfortunately my prayer list for people dealing with medical issues keeps growing. Shelley did write me an e-mail recently because she had written down in a five-year journal when I retired and wished me happy retirement anniversary. That was thoughtful of her. I think she will eventually return to blogging, hopefully her weekly schedule like she did before.
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OH Linda has it been five years since you retired?? can that be? either way – happy anniversary for that.
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and yeah, that does sound like crazy weather and breaks my heart when folks die in a storm – another reminder that we just never know….
and speaking of that – I noticed that Trent’s blogs and sites are all taken down – he passed in October and it is like a second passing to see his stuff get removed.
But perhaps he left that as his desire?
I want my stuff to stay up after I depart this world. Have you ever thought about it?
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Yvette – no, only two years since I retired (March 29, 2024), but Shelley told me she had a five-year journal that she writes in to keep track of different things. So she remembered as it was in her journal for that date. I wish I had retired earlier than I did. I was about to turn 68. With the weather as fractious as it is, I feel like I am missing out on what I looked forward to as to long walks with the camera in nature settings. Many times I came home from walking at the Park to start work at 11:30 a.m. and it was a gorgeous day – I hated to come home. I often walked in Winter, more so than I do now when I have no time restrictions. There are so many storms, high winds and rain. We have had many rainy days, four this week already and another tomorrow, off-and-on rain all day.
As to Trent, that is really too bad he took his site down. I wonder if his subscription was up for renewal and WordPress didn’t renew it without payment. Since Trent passed away so suddenly, he would not likely have made plans beforehand. You give me food for thought Yvette, as I would like my site to remain up after I’m gone too. I wonder if WordPress allows some type of prepaid plan. I always renew two years at a time as there is a discount, but I think that is as far as you can prepay.
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That is a great question abotu wondering how WP goes about the paid plans once the person has passed on. Hmmm – let me know if you find anything about it.
Also, that two years into retirement sits better with me and yes – fits what i thought – whew
xxx
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That’s a good question Yvette because I wonder if there is a special rate to just leave your blog site “up” if you’re not adding content to it or interacting with others? But I think if you have a free site they don’t take it down (is my understanding). I know a blogger who is a nature photographer only using free sites and when he fills up one site, he starts another blog sit and continues on. Strange. I know of a blogger that passed away in December 2023 and her site is still up. Also another blogger has not blogged in about five years, but her site is still up – that is Laurie at “Mediations in Motion”. Interestingly, I just popped over there to see when Laurie stopped blogging – it was in June 2021 and it looks like you followed Laurie too. She and Bill started traveling in the Summer of 2021 and she never resumed blogging – she pops onto blog sites all the time and comments, but her husband Bill had retired just before the pandemic and they had a trip to Portugal planned for 2020 and had to cancel. They started traveling when it was safe to do so. They have grandchildren and other family members out of state and they also travel to other destinations. I’d be interested to know about a legacy site too.
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😋 wow – I do remember the blog name Laurie at “Mediations in Motion” – but cannot recall who she is – I will look her up – but.I know the name.
I am not sure if you followed “jesh” – (cannot recall her blog name right now) but she stopped around four years ago and her site is up and hanging there too.
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I did not know “Jesh” and I just popped onto Ally Bean’s blog – it is still up. She was blogging a long time, so it would likely be a paid subscription blog like ours. I don’t know how much space you get for a free blog though.
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Oh Linda – I miss Ally bean a lot. It feels like a death – ya know?
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Yes, it does feel like a death Yvette. I think that last year when Ally took a break in late Summer due to the miseries of the heat and allergies, I was thinking that she might take another break in the Fall as she’s done before – like me, it is her favorite season. So, I was surprised when she decided in late September, not to have a blogging break, but to actually shut down her blog for good.
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Hi, I agree – i was surprised too – but I do know that ally has stepped away before and shared she was not sure if she wanted to come back – and then did – and if I remember right, her spouse is retired and so it is time for a whole new life schedule – and cheers to the years we had our dear Ally Bean – xxxx
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Yes, her husband began working from home during COVID, then I think he just ended up retiring, but still doing consults at the Firm as he phased out and had a side hustle (whether that was with the Firm or on his own I don’t recall). Yes, many changes have taken place the 13 years since I have been blogging. Sometimes I will look for an old post to see a photo or to send a link to someone and in the comments, most of the people who followed or comments are now gone.
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yes, it is interesting to see some of the folks from long ago and you are right – many have gone –
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hope you have a great week my friend
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Same to you Yvette!
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Hi Linda – I looked up Laurie’s blog and I did follow her – but not for long and I only interacted with her a few times. We did not have that much in common and she was a runner and so I think I recall her sharing more about that and it just did not pertain to me – if that makes sense.
And yes, looks like she had stopped blogging and her blog is still there – and side note – the last post that is also the home page had a wonderufl little tip.
“I planned to minimize my fat intake, focusing on decreasing the amount of saturated fat in my diet.
Then a biology-teacher friend advised me it would be more effective to reduce my sugar intake.
I eliminated most foods with added sugar. My friend was correct. Cutting out sugar resulted in a cholesterol decrease of almost 50 points.”
I say cheers to that because I have heard so many folks agree with that
anyhow, hope you have a great weekend
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I remember that post Yvette! I was shocked to think Laurie would have any health problems since Laurie and Bill ran every day and had for years, competing in lots of local marathons, but they ran in big marathons too. They had run the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C. before she wrote that last post and I remember she said it was quite rigorous. Good for Laurie nipping any health problems in the bud like that! I hope you have a great weekend as well.
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Hi Linda, in the past hanful of years, I have come to believe that running is actually harder on the body and might lead to certain ailments. For example, Mark Sisson talks about the major damage has done to his body over the years – and I know some folks who need to keep “running” because they love the impact on their brain and all that – but I seriously think folks do not realize the possible damage – *and we advocate walking – like you do! – and my hubs likes weights and I am a hot yoga fan)-
anyhow, here is a little snippet about that (just cos I love exploring topics with you) :
Mark Sisson attributes his physical decline to chronic cardio and a high-carbohydrate diet, which he believes caused oxidative damage, chronic inflammation, and hormonal imbalances. Specifically, he states that decades of high-intensity endurance training (including running up to 100 miles a week) led to the following issues:
Immune System Suppression: Excessive exercise triggered the chronic secretion of cortisol, a stress hormone that suppressed his immune system, leading to frequent sinus infections, colds, and flu.
Muscle Loss and “Skinny Fat” Body Composition: Sisson claims running is catabolic, meaning it tears down muscle tissue. Despite maintaining a stable weight, he lost muscle mass and gained fat, resulting in a “skinny fat” physique, whereas his current low-carb, strength-training regimen allows him to carry more muscle and bone density.
Chronic Injuries and Osteoarthritis: The repetitive impact and inflammatory response from high-mileage running caused persistent injuries and osteoarthritis, forcing him to quit competitive endurance sports.
Oxidative Stress: Heavy aerobic training generates oxidative fallout (free radical damage) at rates up to 20 times higher than resting levels, potentially causing progressive destruction of cellular DNA and tissues.
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That was really interesting Yvette – thank you for sharing. I can definitely see the osteoarthritis and excessive joint pain, from the constant pounding on the pavement, with each step you take. I can’t imagine what damage that would do to your bones with the constant jarring? People are rarely running on a soft mulch trail, but on asphalt and, especially if you are a runner like Mark Sisson, averaging 100 miles of running per week. That is very taxing on your body! Did you see a photo of a runner in this year’s Boston Marathon. He was nearing the finish line, but not all that close to it, when he became wobbly and collapsed. But he wanted to finish and he willed himself to get up and he got halfway up on his feet and collapsed again. Two male runners came along, each helped him to his feet, then with one arm on each of their shoulders, they guided him to the finish line.
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Linda – I enjoyed your reply and forgot to add this last little part about Sisson:
Sisson reversed these effects by switching to a Primal Blueprint lifestyle, which emphasizes a low-carb, high-fat diet, frequent low-level movement (like walking), and limited high-intensity strength training, while avoiding daily high-heart-rate cardio.
https://www.outsideonline.com/health/training-performance/meet-pied-piper-paleo/
anyhow, yes! I did see that runner story on the news and it was one of the most inspirational things I have seen in the news in a long while. Those two other runners sacrificed their own finish times and just showed care and love by helping him like that – cheers to great stories like that
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That is interesting that Sisson was able to reverse the effects by following a paleo diet. I think it would be difficult for me to follow a paleo diet as I enjoy my whole grains and so to go low-carb or no-carb would be difficult for me. I follow a Mediterranean diet with lots of whole grains – I enjoy my morning oatmeal, whole-grain bread and crackers, but I eat no red meat (I know we’ve discussed this before), but I do have chicken and fish, plus fruits/veggies.
I was inspired as well by those two runners, sacrificing their own time to help a fellow runner. So many other runners were very focused on reaching the finish line and perhaps did not see him stumble and fall, but still other runners looked right at him and ran by. It is nice to see that a story like this. There was a runner in another major marathon, perhaps the New York Marathon that is usually held in September, so it was a while ago and the runner had a shoe malfunction and stopped to remove his one shoe and a spectator on the sideline asked what size he wore – they wore the same size and he tossed him his own shoe so he could finish the race! Very heartwarming!
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Linda – hahah – yes – we have had this conversation before haven’t we?
And I am not saying Mark Sisson is wise in every area – for example, I heard he still drinks alcohol and I am convinced that it is toxic for the body and just pulls from health every time it is consumed – and a few other things he has said I am not sure about (also, that little snippet I sent you did not mention. his former condition of IBS – -which I heard was one of his many pains and reason to change his ways) –
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Anyhow, regarding you and your choices – here is my take – if what you are doing is working – then that says it all.
You seem to have a wonderful selection of foods that allow you to stay mentally fresh and physically able to walk and stay fit!
So you see…. if your choices re wokring for you – then enjoy!
~ ~
I think people that are ill or have malaise migth benefit from exploring change – but really – it sounds like you have a great plan in place
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I agree with you Yvette … as the expression goes “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” So, until the eating plan needs revamping, I’ll stick to my regimen, boring as it is sometimes. Laurie and I used to comment about chocolate milk, a treat we both loved. We happened to learn in comments that she would reward herself with a tall glass of chocolate milk after a long run, as did I after my morning walk. But, after Laurie blogged about needing to watch her cholesterol, she bemoaned the fact that she had to give up chocolate milk. After she gave it up, I went to just white milk and bought Hershey’s syrup with no additives “Hershey’s Simply 5 Chocolate Syrup” … sadly, it does not taste the same, so I don’t have it like I used to. I should probably make an exception now … life is short for goodness sake. It doesn’t have to be whole milk.
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After my long comment to you, I Googled and here is the info:
Action for Heirs: Family can contact WordPress.com support to request to take over the account, make it private, or delete it, provided they supply a death certificate and proof of authority.
If you have no family members, it might be dicey unless you have a trust in place?
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well that was helpful.
thanks for looking it up – and I think you are right that Trent might not have had a legacy plan in place (maybe he did) but likely not…. eh
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That’s too bad and not something people always think of, but you said Trent passed away unexpectedly. I had a friend I’d known for years who followed my blog, but never commented on it, though from time to time he would mention something in an e-mail. He and his wife were retired, moved from Michigan and lived out of state. He had a stroke, was in rehab for a while and got COVID while in rehab and died from complications. His wife did not have his password for his e-mail and she wanted to alert some of his friends and former business associates but did not have his contact list. It took her months to gain access to his AOL e-mail, even after producing a death certificate. I had some concerns for his health as I’d not heard from him in a long time. We always exchanged holiday greetings by e-mail and he had not responded to my greetings, nor sent any to me. When his wife got into his e-mail, she wrote me a nice note and told me about the difficulty in getting access and said “I’m telling everyone I know to share your passwords or your contact lists with your significant other, so they don’t have this hassle.”
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