“Most of the shadows of life are caused by standing in our own sunshine.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson
For many years, while walking on a sunny day, I’d take a photo of my shadow and pronounce it “a good shadow day” – my blog was peppered with that statement. For some reason I stopped writing those words, so today, above is a shadow of me, myself and I taken on this walk.
On this June 1st walk it was a picture-perfect day, the eighth day in a row of gorgeous weather with sunny skies and low humidity. I’m glad I savored those back-to-back-to-back days and got out as much as possible as the rest of the Summer has sure not been stellar.
That day I decided to walk on the Cherry Island Trail where I’m always sure to find lots of egrets, herons, ducks and turtles. Earlier that morning I was frustrated by my lack of seeing either of the two Osprey families, with zero activity at the fire station siren nest on the fringes of Lake Erie Metropark, nor in the nesting platform near that park’s marina. Equally frustrating was bopping by the Offshore Fishing Bridge in search of the pair of Sandhill Cranes or a nesting Mute Swan mama and coming up empty there too.
I parked by the Marshland Museum where I stopped to chat with Luc, the resident Bald Eagle, but he was in a snit and turned his back to me, so no pics of my feathered friend either.
Seeing a deer would be great – it was a little early for fawn sightings though.
Initially, my mindset was maybe it would be a walk to rack up steps only, but rather than resign myself to muttering “it’s gonna be one of those days” … photographic-wise that is, I changed the channel to say “I hope I fill up the camera card with lots of critters!”
I headed along the overlook. The cattails were still in their explosion phase, having busted out all over the place last Fall and the reeds had not greened up yet. It was way too early for lotuses, but a few pond lily pads were floating on the surface of the marsh.
The fuzz was flyin’.
Poplar tree fuzz was everywhere, lining the sides of the path and …
… embedding itself into the grass, even glomming onto spider webs and fence posts. I wanted to use the subtitle “Here comes da fuzz” but how many people would remember that phrase from the 60s?
Who was fishing in the marsh today?
There were no humans fishing from the overlook, but glancing over to the marsh, I saw a Great Blue Heron standing with its bill open – was it downing a fish or catching flies? It was too far away to see closely, but I knew it wasn’t disgruntled about something as I heard no noises coming from that open mouth. Herons always seem to have an attitude … around humans anyway.
On the other side of the marsh a Great Egret was fishing but appeared to be coming up empty.
Agitation and aggravation amongst the cattails.
Being disgruntled at the marsh is not just a heron trait. During nesting season, the Red-winged Blackbirds get testy with birds that trespass near/into their nesting territory. You’ve seen me post pictures in the past of the Red-winged Blackbirds dive-bombing the Sandhill Cranes or Osprey after they strayed too close to what they consider their territory and they are on the lookout all the time, like this male enjoying a snack while surveying its kingdom for trespassers, while another male lurks in the background.
Other Red-winged Blackbirds were balancing precariously on fuzzy-looking cattails. The cattails waved back and forth, but that didn’t cause the Red-winged Blackbird males to depart for sturdier ground. Nope, there were territorial wars going on between the males, with lots of squawking and swooping down, the signal to the intruding male(s) to leave its territory. The females blended in with the still-blah landscape and are hardly ever seen in nesting season.
Beauty in the woods.
There were wildflowers aplenty along the Cherry Island Trail, like these Canada Anemones …
… and these pretty Dame’s Rocket.
Let’s play count the critters, shall we?
There are always turtles sunbathing on a log to instill a peaceful interlude in my day and for the post that recounts my walk.
Sometimes there are so many turtles you need an abacus to keep track of them.
Other times, the official count is easier and more accurate and you could use your fingers …
… well, maybe not, unless you have eleven fingers. 🙂
The below turtles seemed to be on high alert about something – was it me?
As I turned the corner to the last leg of the Cherry Island Trail, what really caught my eye was Mama Mallard and her passel of tiny ducklings. My eyes ran together trying to count them all and I figured I’d wait and do a beak count when the images were on the screen. By my count, I found eleven ducklings – you too?
So anyway, to take a photo of the whole family, minus Dad, I had to back up a little (not too much or risk falling into the marsh water behind me).
These darling ducklings didn’t stray far from Mama, paddling furiously to keep up.
Alas, Mama saw me …
… and that dashed my hopes of any close-up shots as she and her offspring beat a hasty retreat as far away from me as possible.
How sweet they were and I was hoping to see some ducklings, having seen one Mama and her babies walking on the grass near the road when I was driving when I visited here on May 12th … this was not them – that family would be much larger by now. Then I saw a Wood Duck Mama and her offspring, but they weren’t near me, but I took photos anyway.
I intended to stop at Elizabeth Park, renewing my quest for ducklings at this venue where there are lots of ducks, but, by the time I got to the car, the outside temps were climbing and my sun protection clothing and a big sunhat were helping with the UV rays, but making me uncomfortably warm, so I decided to just head home.
I will be linking to Terri’s Flower Hour today and my Wordless Wednesday salutes skies that are blue and smoke-free. I also linking to Pepper’s One Step at a Time Challenge.
Linda Schaub
what a great walk! You saw plenty of cool stuff.
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Yes, it was a very fun walk Dawn, especially after starting out kind of slow. I ran out of fingers and toes to count all the turtles and ducklings!
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If I can come back, I’m coming back as a turtle. All they do is lay in the sunshine…..and move slowly! My kind of life!
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You’re right about that Wayne – lazing around on a log and soaking up the sun. Really, could they fit any more turtles on these logs and fallen trees/branches?
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It truly looks like it was a great shadow day for you! Your wonderful pics brought some sunshine to a cloudy start to the day and made me happy. Thank you for that. 😁
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Thank you Piper, glad to make your day brighter and give you a smile. It turned out to be a wonderful day for that walk, after a slow start, just as it turned out nice here after a gray and very humid morning. I had made plans but it looked like it would pour any moment, so I didn’t go.
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Gotta love those days that end up much better than expected. 😁
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Yes, it’s always such a nice surprise!
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You gave us a preview of fall fashions – I saw plenty of turtle necks. 😛
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I am ready for turtlenecks JP, that’s for sure. I take lots of turtle photos at the big parks, but I have never seen so many turtles crammed onto that one log!
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All those turtles! Oh my!
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A turtle explosion! I have never seen so many turtles cram onto one log or branch before. My eyes were running together trying to count them!
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It’s hard to remember how June looked here too, Linda. Those blue skies were taken for granted. I love seeing all those turtles lined up on the logs. The mallard family is adorable and great shot of tbe egret and heron. I believe every bird photographer has that similat egret reflection! Happy Monday!
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Yes, it is Terri. It seemed to me when I was working and doing my morning walk before work, so many days in a row were beautiful blue skies and I hated to come inside. This morning I planned to head out to a larger park, but the skies were so gray, with high humidity and it looked like rain. The turtles look so peaceful sunning on the logs or fallen trees. I wish Mama Duck had not seen me and lingered with her family – oh well. That’s funny about the egret reflections. I will have some egret and heron reflections coming up in a late September post … you will think you’re seeing doubles from afar! Happy Monday back at you!
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Miss Linda………………………………………..I get dived-bombed by Red Wing Blackbirds often because I’m walking near their nests…………………………..and they”tsk-tsk” me…………………and I just love to watch the white Egret eat fish for their breakfast or lunch……………………………………….thank you for the nice close-up pictures………………………………….turtles I hardly ever see………………………….
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Those Blackbirds are terrible Ann Marie – they attack anything that comes near their nest, no matter how much bigger they are. They are fearless. I like watching the white Egrets too. They seem so graceful and elegant to me. I have never seen that many turtles in one place before. I couldn’t even count them accurately as there were so many. It was a beautiful weather day and I savored it because, as you know, we have not had many this year. I’m glad you liked the close-ups!
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See, the change in attitude brought you some good luck!
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Yes, I should just wipe that bad attitude out of my mind all the time Eilene. I ended up with a treasure trove of photos before the walk was done.
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You had a very prolific day! I’ve never seen so many turtles gathered together….and 11 ducklings must be a record too. I do remember Here Comes Da Fuzz!
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Yes I did Joni – amazingly after such a slow start! I’ve never seen that many turtles gathered in one spot either. I had to give up counting them as my eyes were running together. That was a lot of ducklings too. First, they were close to the shoreline probably foraging in the reeds, then Mama moved out and they followed one by one. They were so tiny that I only got a few photos of the bunch as they disappeared quickly. Yes, we’re both from that same era – “Here Comes Da Judge!” and “Here Comes Da Fuzz!” 🙂
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You did get some great photos, Linda. The baby ducks are adorable. I guess if you forgot your abacus, you could take off your shoes and socks and use your toes for counting turtles. LOL!!! I remember My dad saying “Here comes da fuz” when I was little, but I really don’t know the reference.
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Thank you Ruth! I was sorry Mama Duck saw me and steered her ducklings the other way. They were so cute paddling fast and furiously to keep up with her. I kept trying to count the turtles in that one shot and gave up, even on the screen. You’re right – I think I have to use toes also to get it done! They used to say that expression in the 60s … that and “Here comes da Judge”. It was from a TV show I believe.
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Oh, wow! What a lot of turtles and ducks, and a very nice photo of the Red-winged Blackbird as it stands guard at its post. I can almost hear it as it lets out its alarm across the cattails.
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Rebecca, I don’t think I’ve ever seen that many turtles in one spot before. I am sure there were some I couldn’t fit into the picture. Then a few minutes later to see all those ducklings. I do like the Red-winged Blackbirds. They always look so regal wherever they sit to survey their territory. I was lucky this one found something to eat, so it stayed put long enough for me to get a shot of it. I am always happy to see this bird in March when it returns to the marshy areas. Then I know Spring is hopefully here to stay.
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Excellent photos of the ducks and looks like you stood back just enough to grab that photo. And it looked like a really great walk along that trail with so much beauty and interesting to learn about the testy behavior of the Red Wings
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Thanks Yvette! It ended up being a great day after a slow start. The Cherry Island Trail is fairly narrow and you can only back up so far and you’re at the shoreline on either side. Today I was there and it was worse as they had sprayed pesticide everywhere, so there were signs about it to stay off, so I had even less space to step back. That’s right where I saw all the ducks. Today I was on a mission to photograph butterflies and was pretty lucky considering it was fairly windy.
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Well I know they have to spray and it is important – but ugh! Could you smell it in the air ?
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No, it had dissipated by then, but still…. I guess me walking over it with my heavy-soled walking shoes wasn’t going to harm me, but a delicate butterfly down near the ground (where I saw plenty of them looking for wildflowers) would not be so good. I was kind of surprised to see all the signs.
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☀️☀️☀️
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I always enjoy shadow photos.
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Me too Monica – I used to put shadow pics in a lot of my posts and kind of got out of doing so. It was a good shadow day for sure!
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Many, many turtles!
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Frank, it is amazing how many turtles cram onto one log to sunbathe! All my fingers and toes and I still wasn’t sure I counted correctly! 🙂
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That’s a lot of turtles !! I love Wood Ducks, I don’t see them very often.
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I’ve never seen that many turtles at one time piled on a log and they stayed put too; usually they plop off once they see me nearing them. I don’t see many wood ducks either. I went to the duck pond yesterday hoping to see some, but only a few Mallards.
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