WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY

Here in Southeast Michigan, this week of wonderful weather finds us with nothing to grouse about pertaining to Mother Nature (unless of course you got drenched while trick-or-treating on Saturday night).

We’ve had three days running of record-breaking temps, blue skies and sun galore.

While the leaves are cascading down around us and the calendar states that it is indeed Fall, don’t let those bare-looking trees fool you as they belie this mini heat wave which sure feels like a September, not November, day.

Right now, we are lucky enough to have our seasons bundled together.  How so?  Well, it feels like Summer, we know it is Fall and the holiday hoopla we associate with Winter has already begun.  WNIC, a local radio station, began broadcasting Christmas music 24/7 on Monday.  Yesterday, a beautiful 60-foot tall Norway Spruce found its way to Campus Martius where it will be adorned with three miles of twinkling lights in anticipation of the November 20^th tree-lighting ceremony.  Hines Drive has been closed for weeks so workers can put up the annual light display.

On my walk this morning, I noted that the same homeowner who was the first to put up the Halloween decorations, had a Christmas tree in his front room window. Down the block, another home featured icicle lights, reindeer and snowmen … the latter two didn’t know how to act in our warmish temps.  Even the previews of the Black Friday shopping ads have already been circulated.

The picture above was taken in Elizabeth Park by my friend and neighbor Marge Aubin. She forwarded it to me and commented on my recent post about the leaves swirling around.  She remarked that someone in the neighborhood was burning leaves and for a moment she was transported back in time to when she was young, and, while the leaves were burning, the kids had potatoes cooking in the fire.  Marge wondered if kids do that now and I suspect they get their tater off the BBQ or out of the microwave.  They probably don’t sit around that pile of burning leaves mesmerized by the flames or the crackling sound as the leaves shrivel up.  I think today’s youngsters live at a faster pace than we ever did.

While walking this morning, I thought of Marge’s statement, which got me thinking about how adults perceive the seasons as opposed to when we were kids. As children we didn’t really associate the falling leaves as a prelude to Winter, nor were we exasperated by the endless amount of yard work that Fall brought:  mowing, putting the yard to bed or the endless raking and bagging of leaves; we only wanted to run and jump in the leaves, giggling as their crispy edges tickled our noses.  We didn’t associate the importance of harvest time and Thanksgiving traditions; we only anticipated Halloween for the chance to change our identity for the evening and gather goodies.  Wintertime was not be dreaded for the ice and snow and treacherous driving, but it was a chance to make snow angels, build snowmen or go sledding with our friends.  None of the tedium of the Winter season was part of a kid’s agenda.  Spring was a time to play outside with our friends again, not be bogged down with yardwork as everything greens up and grows out of control.  Summer was our time to recover from the rigors of learning the three Rs, so we played outside with our pals from dawn to dusk with nary a care in the world.

How long ago those carefree days of youth seem now.

As to our weather – well, it will turn the corner tonight and rain will spoil tomorrow’s walk for me. But there is always the next day to enjoy one or more of the four seasons, because we are “Pure Michigan”.

Just a handful of days after Halloween and it seems nearly all vestiges of that holiday are gone. The skeletons have returned to their respective closets and the inflatable freaky and frightful characters have been replaced with cumbersome-looking, gigantic turkeys with crusty yellow feet and red wattles that wiggle in the wind.  A few grinning jack-o-lanterns that weren’t pitched in yesterday’s trash are still sitting out, looking a little worse for the wear from the squirrels who have been busy chomping on their gory-looking faces.

At least some of the beautiful harvest décor, like the jewel-toned mums, scarecrows and cornhusks, get to linger a little longer … at least ‘til Thanksgiving weekend when the Christmas decorations get dragged out and put up. Thanksgiving is only three weeks away.  It’s hard to think of that gateway to the holiday season with such mild temps as we are enjoying this week.

Today’s destination was to the railroad tracks and back – roundtrip about four miles. I kept a leisurely pace to enjoy the serenity of the morning under a brilliant sky.  The air smelled of musty leaves and Fall fertilizer and though it was perfectly calm outside, leaves were drifting through the air from trees high above, like time-lapse images found in the glossy pages of “National Geographic”.

I lingered on the footbridge that separates Lincoln Park and Wyandotte. With the time change, the sun is stronger and the angle of its rays onto the Creek made the scene look golden … the trees are still full of leaves, all of them bright yellow, and the reflection on the water was gorgeous.  A few ducks paddled around silently, every so often grouping in a little cove, then drifting out again to nibble at the reeds along the water’s edge.  It was so peaceful that I stood there for the longest time just woolgathering and storing the image in my mind’s eye to drag out once the cold and blustery Winter days arrive.

While I was pondering life from the footbridge, suddenly a lot of honking preceded the arrival of a flock of geese flying in formation. I counted at least two dozen of them hootin’ and hollerin’ as only Canada Geese do, as they made their journey South. Why bother migrating at all – we’re set to have a mild Winter and our official high temp today was 76°, smashing the 1987 record of 75° … save yourself the aggravation.

Maybe someone should whisper in their ears and they can head back soon.

It was a beautiful day to be outside – the birds were singing from the near-bare trees and the squirrels were chasing one another instead of gathering nuts for Winter. It seems this Indian Summer finds us all with Spring fever.

We flipped the calendar page to a new month, and flipped the hands of the clock backward. I wish we could have skipped the former and could do more of the latter, don’t you?

In the wee hours of the morning I heard the pitter-patter of the rain on the patio roof. It woke me up and caused me to sigh because I figured my morning walk would be cancelled.  Despite the chance to catch up on an extra hour of sleep, I got up anyway and used that found time to reset the clocks and phone so that I did not have to use my brain all day to compute what was, or was not, the “real time”.

After several hours of gray-looking clouds hanging around, all of a sudden, just as I was ready to leave, the sky brightened up into a beautiful blue and the sun popped out, as if to say “here I am!”

With my extra time this morning I got a care package ready for the critters in the Park. I’ve not been there as much this walking season, and I was reminded of that fact, when I met a couple of fellow walkers at Meijer the last time I was there.  I told them I’d be stopping by this weekend for sure, weather permitting.

So, off I went, toting a bag of goodies that included a Ziploc bag of peanuts, a scarred-up pear and a half-loaf of stale bread. I was sure to please someone if there were any takers.  The last few times I’ve carried treats, those furry and feathered friends rebuffed me, so I quit packing them a lunch.

As I walked the familiar route down to Council Point Park, I decided that Fall has now reached its ugly stage. Those once-beautiful leaves, a kaleidoscope of colors, now are scattered everywhere, lackluster and wet from a tumultuous week of wind and rain.  They’ve slickened up the roads and sidewalks, and now you really have to watch when you’re walking, so you don’t wipe out and go slip-slidin’ away.  Despite the breeze this morning, the rain-slickened leaves were embedded with mini Snickers bar wrappers that refused to budge, having been tromped on, over and over again, last night by the trick-or-treaters.

Most of the trees at the Park still have leaves, which surprised me, so I really couldn’t tell if the squirrels were hiding up in their nests or just being standoffish as they are sometimes. I left the pear and a pile of peanuts along the trail the first go-around, knowing I could check whether they had stopped by on subsequent trips.  With my bag of bread tied onto my fanny pack and flopping against my hip, I walked carefully down the slope of wet grass on the banks of the Creek, then shielded the sun from my eyes while peering for ducks or geese to offload my treat.  I heard a few quacks in the distance and waited for some mallards to mosey on by, but there were none.  I climbed back up to the path and completed a few more laps, but saw no critters and the food remained undisturbed on the trail.

The weather was so beautiful, albeit windy, that I next headed over to the Harrison Street Bridge, always a sure bet for viewing mallards and it didn’t disappoint. I watched them from afar, then tossed the tidbits out and they quickly pushed against one another greedily to get up closer to the bridge, all the while quacking up a storm.

The weather is supposed to be gorgeous most of the week and uncharacteristically warm for early November. I kind of like regressing back to Summer and believe Mother Nature is rewarding us for our patience through that long Winter and the cold and rainy Spring of 2015.

I leave you with this quote: “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.” ~Soren Kierkegaard

[Image by photographer Ales Krivec at Unsplash]

It’s finally Halloween.

For some homeowners, their property has been gaily decorated with freaky or frightening characters since mid-September. As I made my trek down Emmons Boulevard today, I noted many pumpkins, formerly part of harvest displays, have finally been decapitated at the stem, then scooped out and carved with ghoulish grins, and are now sitting on porch steps ready to delight tonight’s trick-or-treaters.  Hopefully the squirrels didn’t spy those carved-up gourds, sample the cutouts and destroy them with their sharp teeth and claws, as they are wont to do.

Unfortunately, this long-awaited event is spoiled by rain and that wet weather will put a damper on kids and parents’ enthusiasm for Halloween. Be honest … it’s really hard to look cool or scary in your costume when mom or dad walks alongside you holding an umbrella so you don’t get wet.

The first time I ever went trick-or-treating I was four years old.  I wasn’t in school yet and there were no community parties back then, so I was counting the days and very excited to wear my Little Red Riding Hood costume on Halloween to “shell out”.  In Canada, we didn’t yell “trick-or-treat”, but instead hollered “shell out, shell out – the witches are out.”

When my father and I left the house for this candy-gathering excursion, it wasn’t raining, but it was chilly, so I was bundled up in a heavy coat under the costume which featured a laced-up bodice, gingham pinafore and a flimsy hooded cape that flared out awkwardly in back due to the coat collar. For some reason the elastic band on the mask broke so I had to hold it in place with one hand and hold onto my father’s hand, as well as my little goody-collecting bag, with the other hand.  The costume came with a wicker-look plastic tote bag made to resemble that character’s picnic basket.

But, halfway through our trek through the neighborhood, it started to rain. It was a new subdivision and not paved yet, just a gravel road, so, as we scurried along, my candy bag was dragging onto the road and it split open and I lost my cache of candy.  It really didn’t matter much as my parents would have screened all the ooey-gooey and chewy stuff like those black and orange peanut butter kisses and just saved the Smarties, Aero bars and apples.

When my father and I got home, after hearing my tearful tale of woe about my candy that was strewn along Sandmere Place, my mom suggested I get out of my wet clothes and she’d make some hot chocolate and cookies to make it all better. But, unfortunately, my eyes were not the only thing that was red, because the damp material from the costume stained my new wool coat red in big ugly splotches.

So, it was a night of tricks and no treats for young Linda Schaub that Halloween night circa 1959.

Fast forward ahead 50+ years (and I am cringing as I write 50+). Today, for me, Halloween is all about treats and not tricks, because I have reached 565 walking miles this year … my original goal was 500.  I could’ve done better in October but had some errands where I had to take the car and we had a few blustery or rainy days that made my walk either short or nonexistent.

To treat myself for an early Christmas present, I have purchased a pair of walking boots made for snow. They have great treads on them, are warm and waterproof, so I hope to wear them a lot once the snow arrives to keep on walking through the Winter season.

So, I’m in high spirits since today was a day of treats, not tricks for this roving ghoul …I patted myself on the back and said “you go ghoul … er girl.”

Happy Halloween everyone.

The wind had been raging nearly all night and the early morning as well. It followed an ugly day of torrential rain which would have been the perfect setting for Halloween; in fact, all you needed was to plop this skeleton donning a babushka while hoping to thwart a bad hair day into the frightful mix.   I heard that wicked wind howling while I was still swaddled in my blankets and I was not so eager to climb out of the warm bed and head to the cold kitchen.

The wind gusts were still in high gear later when I left the house. Multi-colored leaves were swirling around my feet, making a beeline to the open garage door and sneaking under the car to the back of the garage in a heartbeat.  Glancing up to the trees, I watched wind gusts mercilessly strip the tall trees of their leaves, rendering them nearly bare.

My intention was really only to run the car since I didn’t relish the thought of rolling down Emmons Boulevard like a tumbleweed. But, ever the optimist, I laced up my walking shoes before going out anyway.  I plunked a hat on my head to keep my hair in place and a couple of times I had to pat it down as the wind kept whooshing around me.  I swear I saw the wind whisk Dorothy and Toto right by me.

We’ve had quite a smorgasbord of weather this week. Monday it was frosty and I mustered a four-mile walk though my teeth were chattering most of the time.  Tuesday was gorgeous – warm and sunny and I got another four miles added to my total.  Wednesday’s soaking rain spoiled my walk but made for extra snoozing so it was not all bad.  But today … well, today even the poor birds couldn’t fly straight.

The photo of this creepy-looking character is from a massive Halloween display over near Detroit and Pingree Streets in Lincoln Park. I first visited this house last December when my friend Marge took a video of the Christmas display and posted it on Facebook.  I went over the next day to take a look.  On a whim, I headed over there figuring they’d also go all out for this spooky season and I was right.  The display was impressive in the morning light, but at night the strings of lights and many inflatable characters, now collapsed, must be a sight to see.  There was a Dracula, skeletons, monsters, gargoyles and many ghoulish creatures hanging suspended from tree branches.  I lost count of the collapsed inflatable characters and the gravestones were plentiful as well.

Today’s walk entailed just a couple of trips around the neighborhood. I’m grateful for the upcoming time change and the chance to extend my walking time and bulk up my miles.

… just perfect for a stroll in the neighborhood, and beyond.

After our soggy Saturday, I was itchin’ to get out for a long walk. This might be the very last week to view the beautiful foliage and a glance upward told me that there are many leaves wiggling on their stems, just ready to drop.  A good many leaves have already met their demise and were strewn over the lawns and sidewalks, especially slender, yellow locust leaves.  Many big-as-your-hand red maple leaves were laying there curled up and crunchy, as evident from the noise when your shoes plow through them while walking along.

I first headed over to Emmons Boulevard where the leaves on the trees, as pictured above, are at their peak. Even the fire bushes have started to turn their various shades of red, some looking jewel-like in ruby or garnet, and still others, a more sedate lipstick red … but all were worth a second glance.

Everyone must have been still tucked in their beds, because I never saw a soul the first hour I was out and I left at 9:00 a.m. It was so quiet, that as I passed some of the Halloween inflatable decorations, I could hear the humming of the fan blower, or the creaking of the larger ones as they moved back and forth on their support ropes, like this spooky pair you see above.

Sure, it was a little nippy, and the occasional gust of wind kept raking a few strands of hair that escaped from my cap and kept landing in my mouth. I zipped my coat up a little higher after a few of those lusty gusts, but the sky was clear and the sun was brilliant and warmed me up again, while making me feel glad to be alive and out enjoying the day.

I kept going and going, then crossed the railroad tracks and soon I had arrived at the corner of Emmons and Biddle at the River. The sunbeams came directly from the Heavens onto the water, causing it to sparkle and shimmer and the horizon seemed endless with no pleasure boats or freighters out yet to mar the view.

I decided to head over to the marina, where all but a half-dozen boats have been shrink-wrapped and lifted out of the water until next year. The marina’s backdrop of trees are still green, so no photo op was found there.  The seagulls were plentiful though, and I watched them gliding effortlessly through the sky, occasionally swooping down onto the rippled water where I suspect they saw a fish or something else they could snag for their breakfast.  All those seagulls that were crisscrossing the sky over the marina did so without colliding into one another, which was kind of a miracle, because, by my count, there were fifteen at one time.

I stayed a few minutes, then headed back down the Boulevard, and it was such a beautiful day I decided to detour from my regular route and go to Council Point Park to take one loop around the Park. Really, you do not need to head up North to see the colorful leaves – there were so many shades of burnished reds, rusts and gold to see and none of the trees have lost their leaves yet.

After one loop around, and no peanut pals pestering me for nuts (even though I had a small supply), I finally headed home, really reluctant to tear myself away from this perfect Fall day to head indoors, but happy to have added six more miles to my total while soaking up some sun on my Sunday stroll.

I leave you with this proverb which sums up my day: “A Sunday well spent brings a week of being content.”

It was another beautiful Fall day here in Southeast Michigan.

My boss left Thursday morning to close up the cabin near Georgian Bay, Canada, and it seemed to me that it was not all that long ago he made that five-hour drive to open the cabin for the season. I know we compared notes all Memorial Day weekend on just how cold it was there versus here as I spent the entire five days outside working in the yard in heavy sweats, hat and gloves.

And, now … here it is … the tail end of October.

The weather was perfect to work out in the yard, after going on a long walk first. Unfortunately, though, for this communing-with-nature session, I wasn’t striving to make the yard look good, but instead putting the gardens “to bed” … I decapitated the daisies, cut down the coneflowers and reduced the rosebushes to about two feet high.  I always feel a little sad performing this end-of-season ritual, especially because the roses were still full of blooms and the aroma of their petals filled the humid late morning air.

While walking in the neighborhood this week, I noticed most of the perennials, and even some of the hardier annuals like geraniums or impatiens, still looked just as vibrant as they did all Summer, despite Jack Frost taking swipes at the landscape with his crystallized paintbrush three days in a row.

Now, the trees are ablaze in a fiery clash of colors so I took some more pictures as I strolled down Emmons Boulevard and through Ford Park and I will share them on later posts.

Today’s picture, “Curious Grasshopper”, comes courtesy of my friend Leslie Wallace. Her husband, Lester, was a finalist in the “2015 Nature Near You” Photo Contest sponsored by the Six Rivers Regional Land Conservancy.  This close-up photo was Lester’s prize-winning entry.   He’s also won in prior photo contests for the same organization. If you like Lester’s up-close-and-personal grinning grasshopper, there are additional beautiful nature pics by other contributors at this link:  https://www.flickr.com/photos/sixriversrlc/albums/with/72157658035922212

I really like that grasshopper’s evil-looking grin … it makes me grin as well.

“A camera is a ‘save’ button for the mind’s eye.” ~Roger Kingston

Summer has kicked Fall to the curb for a spell and returned for an encore performance. In fact, before the sun faded and dusk arrived, it got to nearly 80 degrees.

It sure was refreshing to head out in the warm weather again, instead of the bone-chilling temps when the thermometer was hovering around the 32-degree mark.

My destination today was a visit to the dentist. I left early and took the long way there, winding my way through a few neighborhoods, and I still got there ahead of schedule.  This was probably due to the stiff wind that was blowing.  A few times I felt like I could just lift off and go airborne like one of those big  character balloons at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

I saw a few convertibles tooling along Fort Street and a motorcycle or two as well. One biker was dressed in short sleeves and had left his helmet behind, allowing his long locks to blow carelessly in the wind.  He sure was living the life as evidenced by the big smile on his face – in fact, he kind of resembled this member of “Skells Angels” featured on his Chopper in the photo above.  A close-up look reveals a do-rag covering his skull, and one bony hand gripping the handlebar in a near-death grip.  I’ll bet he is a real “Skell on wheels” once he gets onto the open road.

It was a successful trip – four miles roundtrip, no cavities, and, camera in tow, I snapped a treasure trove of Halloween and harvest decorations to fill the pages of my blogs during the next few weeks.

That cat named “Fall” has been stalking Southeast Michigan all week … today it pounced bigtime, bringing with it beyond-brisk temps and even frost. As recently as Columbus Day, that feline was content to remain near a door wall or front door, just sleepily soaking up a sunbeam, but then … on Tuesday that fat cat was on the prowl and the weather starting going downhill  ever since.

Before I left on my walk this morning, the weather report sounded dire and not too inviting to venture out … 32 degrees and a wind chill of 27. So, I dressed like it was late Fall – November maybe – and, when stepping outside, I saw my breath coming out in little wisps in front of my face.

I took the camera and headed to Wyandotte and the River, hoping to shoot a panorama of the colorful trees that are a backdrop to the marina, but the foliage is still green. The canopy of trees that line Emmons Boulevard were beautiful, however, and I got some photos there, along with shots of some spooky stuff in the neighborhood Halloween displays.

I passed by a few bicyclists, walkers and joggers, and then, several pooches, tethered to their masters or mistresses while going for their morning constitutional. I saw a Scotty dog with a tartan plaid felt jacket, and I was about to drag the camera out of the case, when its owner scooped him up and they disappeared into a waiting car.

Of course, the common thread of conversation by passersby on the Boulevard this Saturday morning was the weather, and the fact that last weekend we were enjoying temps in the 70s. While this morning was a rude awakening here in my neck of the woods, today brought a two-inch snowfall to Marquette in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Conversations were fleeting since most people scurried along, eager to get their exercise done to get home and hunker down in front of the TV to watch the U of M/MSU game later this afternoon, or, perhaps they still needed to head to the store for something special for their significant other for Sweetest Day.

Though the temps were brisk, the day was beautiful, filled with a kaleidoscope of color as the leaves continue to slowly turn shades of crimson, copper and gold. The sun warmed me up nicely by the time I was nearly home, and I decided to take one more turn and head over to Memorial Park to extend my walk.  Though I had things to do at home, all too soon those same trees will be bare, snow will blanket the sidewalks and the scenery will be blah and devoid of any color.

“Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn.” ~Elizabeth Lawrence

[Image by photographer Milada Vigerova at Unsplash]

Finally, after an entire day of gusting winds and freefalling leaves, it was calm and serene, albeit gloomy looking, when I set out for my walk this morning. The weather has taken such an abrupt about-face over the past few days, and now I hear there may be a freeze warning and f-l-a-k-e-s. Well just say it isn’t so that there could be snow! It’s a rude awakening after our recent beautiful weather. My mental “to do” list now includes getting all the warmer clothes handy, since it doesn’t appear that adding a layer or two here and there is gonna cut it.

This morning I was in a hurry and just dug out an old plaid flannel shirt to wear over my sweats to keep the chill at bay, but it has been washed so many times, I think the flannel has worn off. As a result of the windy day yesterday, still more leaves have fluttered to the ground and the trees are starting to look a little bare – kind of like my shirt.

I’ve had this shirt for years and years and it was one of the first clothing items I bought when I began working at the diner. As I recall, that was during my “dress-like-a-logger” phase. It seemed like we college kids wanted to dress in lace-up construction shoes or boots, heavy socks, blue jeans with the cuffs rolled up and a plaid flannel shirt tucked into our jeans and … you had to have a man’s long-sleeved thermal undershirt under that plaid flannel shirt. And don’t forget a wool cap. Well, all I needed was to carry around an axe and the lumberjack look would be complete. I can recall my mom tsk-tsking as I walked out the door, and throwing out a snide remark like “what is wrong with getting dressed up for school instead of walking around looking like Paul Bunyan?” My quick retort was to say my new look beat the “dress-like-a-hippie” phase where all the girls donned maxi dresses, wore granny glasses, tied their hair in curly ribbons and carried wooden purses that looked like mini treasure chests. I recall that while in my senior year at high school, I saved my allowance to buy such an outlandish outfit (and perhaps “costume” would be a better description for that garb), and then my feelings were hurt when I wanted to wear that get-up to a family friend’s 50^th birthday party and my mom said “you’ll wear normal clothes or not go with us” … well, some 40 years later, when looking back at those old pictures, I’ll concede that perhaps she had a point. Her comments on the clothes usually preceded the expression that “if everyone else jumps off a bridge, do you have to follow?” … it’s hard to tell a teenager anything though.

I got my walk in the book, though shorter than usual, but the sun is taking longer every day to rise and shine – just another two weeks ‘til we change the clocks and longer walks will be on the agenda once again. I can’t wait!