Every December I like to include a special Christmas memory in my posts. So today I’ll tuck away the photos and narratives of excursions taken this Summer and Fall and instead dust off another Christmas memory.
As many of you know, I have no family members, but I am lucky to have many memories, a plethora of photos and this forum in which to recount those treasured moments. Today I’m going to reminisce about pins.
All that glitters … well, it must be a festive 1960s Christmas corsage.
In the early 1960s, I remember how glittery (and sometimes gaudy) Christmas corsages adorned ladies’ Winter coat lapels during the holiday season. In fact, if you poke around Etsy’s website today, you can buy handmade, vintage-style Christmas corsages. (And yes, they call them “vintage” a word which gives me consternation when it is something I vividly remember.)
On Pinterest and Etsy, there were several vintage-type Christmas corsages, but this one reminded me most of mine which you’ll see in a few paragraphs.
Christmas Corsage by Leslee Hagge on Pinterest
As you can see, it’s rather elaborate and large. Usually, bells, baubles, pinecones, snowman, elves, tiny reindeer, or even Santa himself, were attached to a base of holly and/or silver or gold “leaves” and there was glitter, lots of glitter, which usually got all over your coat and inevitably onto your face. As a youngster, I was convinced corsage glitter went airborne on its own.
Every year, Nanny, my maternal grandmother, bought me a handmade Christmas corsage from street vendors who were selling them in downtown Toronto where she worked. In those days vendors always loaded their carts in the holiday season with hot chestnuts and Christmas corsages.
By the time elementary school Christmas break arrived, the corsage pinned to my coat lapel had gotten a little smooshed from hanging in the cloakroom, or in the closet at Sunday school.
While I didn’t save that first festive corsage, I will show you what it looked like. I took accordion lessons for three years at the Ontario Conservatory of Music and Miss Barker and our small class gathered for a Christmas carol sing-a-long and accordion recital at a local senior citizens rest home, circa 1963. The corsage found a new place to look festive. It took up most of the top part of my dress.
Ms. Barker played the accordion while the class sang.
And, then it was our turn to shine after endless afternoons of practice when I got home from school. I’m sure those practice sessions drove my mom crazy. Yes, I played a mean accordion back in the day. (This was a “starter” 12-bass red accordion; I graduated to a 120-bass black accordion shortly after this photo was taken.) I am sure I was crushin’ it here … (the corsage I mean).
Flash forward to a decade later ….
When I began working at the diner during college, Mom bought me Christmas pins, saying I needed to look perky and have some holiday flair. Customers would smile as my jingle bell pin tinkled merrily while Brenda Lee’s “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” blared on the jukebox and I scrambled to serve customers on weekends and Christmas school break.
Then, when I began working in the 9:00 – 5:00 office world, I just kept adding holiday pins, scarves, earrings, hair ties and non-ugly Christmas sweaters. I could make a post some day just about Christmas clothing. Yes I was very festive in the month of December.
Two Christmassy scarves: one with animals and “The Twelve Days of Christmas”
This scarf could be one of my daily walks in the Park, even with Parker.
The flip side of the “Twelve Days of Christmas” scarf, pins and earrings.
I loved the Rudolph earrings.
The merry little bell, pictured between Rodney Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman is 50 years old now. The incessant tinkling got on the nerves of a former boss at the law firm when, the morning after our office holiday soirée, he arrived at work with a hangover and asked me to please silence the bell. Oops.
I always wore my fun and festive duds and accessories proudly.
So, there is often a backstory for my cherished memory posts and here it is.
Deer, er … dear memories.
My collection of pins wasn’t just for the holidays.
You may remember my tale about Mom’s ill-fated silver locket she gave me to wear on Valentine’s Day, a cherished piece of jewelry for her, which chain broke or got caught in my coat and was lost in the snow way back in elementary school. And then she gave me her birthstone ring, an amethyst stone embedded in a swirly gold setting. I was twisting it around my finger and lost it at the movie theater. Here’s that post in case you missed it.
Now, I never would have entrusted another piece of jewelry to me and that time Mom did chastise me for losing the ring, but in the end she just “let it go” and was more forgiving than she should have been.
Mom had a story about quality versus quantity. She said she began her job as a bookkeeper with two wool skirts and a couple of pullovers for Winter and two cotton-blend skirts with a few white blouses for Summer. To dress up those Winter sweaters she bought pins and scarves and for Summer, it was pretty neckerchiefs. Mom tried to impress on me at an early age that quality was more important than quantity and also to strive to have a signature look, much as she had done on a shoestring. “Linda” she said “as you get older, you must have your own style and stand out in a crowd.”
Despite declaring that she would not gift me any more of her jewelry, Mom made one more exception. One morning, when I was still a schoolgirl, as Christmastime neared, Mom pinned three sterling silver deer onto my jumper and said “these were Mommy’s silver deer she bought with one of her first paychecks – now they are yours.”
I treasured that trio of silver deer and wore them on a sweater or cardigan for many years, even as an adult. When I thought about those dear deer recently, the kernel of this post was borne. I knew I hadn’t lost them; no, these sweet scatter pins were still nestled together in a tarnish-free jewelry box.
I opened the box – there they were, looking as bright and shiny as they did some sixty years ago when I got them from Mom. I pinned them onto a sweater to get this picture.
I was not content to just mention the deer, so I returned to rummage through the jewelry box and then a flood of memories enveloped me. Since I have been working from home since 2011, I admit I’ve not given a lot of consideration to my workday attire. I don’t do Zoom calls and I’ve not seen my boss since 2012. I return home from walking or errands and it’s either shorts and a tee-shirt in warm weather, or a sweatsuit in cooler weather, mooseskin moccasins and a messy bun. Where did the counsel about having my own style go? Sadly, all the accessories I amassed are languishing in various boxes or drawers, unused … but not unloved.
I picked up each pin in that jewelry box, reminiscing on when I got it, what I usually wore with it. Many of the pins were from my mom, like the pair of frogs scatter pins, also sterling silver, that were in the jewelry box compartment next to the deer.
There were scarves and scarf rings and clips and I looked at them all, but didn’t include them here, so yes I DID “let pins and scarves be my signature look” so the idea to have a style all my own was engrained in my soul. Yes, those words did sink in!
These are a few of my favorite things (as the song goes) ….
This pin I got when I was about eight or nine years old, a dog made of mink with a rhinestone collar to wear with my good dress at that time which had a mink collar and cuffs.
I wore it for a cringeworthy class picture in 6th grade.
Then I added to my furry pin menagerie with this fun feline with googly eyes, similarly made of mink.
Many moons later, Mom ordered me this cool cat from “Coldwater Creek” catalog – no, it was not on a hot tin roof, but instead made from the roof of a 1973 GMC truck and fashioned using a blow torch.
There were animals for every occasion. And traditional-looking pins, a few which I’ve included, most I’ve left out.
But through the years, the oldest pins remained my favorites.
Since unearthing all these treasures, especially the collection of festive holiday pins and silk scarves, each still carefully folded in their original boxes and my pins amassed through the years, I have decided I’m going to start wearing them and once again embrace the fun and festive flair I seemingly abandoned when choosing to work from home a dozen years ago.
I started by pinning “Santa’s Favorite Elf” to one of my wool hats.
The squirrels weren’t fooled by my festive pin – of course they knew their 5’ 9” (175.26 cm) “Peanut Lady” wasn’t an elf as she towers way over them. They were unfazed and just went on munching their peanuts.
Got your attention there didn’t I? Believe me, there is no sensationalism here in this blog, but maybe a wee bit of whimsy, hence my blog title. 🙂
While I do confess to telling a white lie above, indeed, as I rambled along the Rouge Gateway Trail, reindeer, er … deer did pause. But those cloven-hoofed cuties weren’t waiting on the Jolly Old Elf as Gene Autry’s song “Up on the Housetop” which debuted 70 years ago suggests. The deer were prancing across the pathway and then they saw me.
I had been poking around the Rouge River shoreline, hoping for some Wild Turkey shots to use during Thanksgiving week. Nope – no turkey photo ops were to be had, but, when I turned around to get back onto the trail, I saw them … count ‘em … five deer walking across the trail path just as pretty as you please. I was so gobsmacked by this nearly missed photo op, that I recovered from shock and hurried to get a few shots of the deer before they disappeared into the woods.
One doe in particular gave me the once over and studied me a little more thoroughly than did the button buck in photo #3 above. I’m sure she has seen plenty of humans on this trail, so perhaps, since I have “I’m a sucker for cute animals” emblazoned on my forehead, she was wondering if I had a carrot or some treat to offer before I could take her photo.
I wasn’t packing carrots and, as I clicked the shutter button a final time, they had exited single file into the woods and disappeared from sight in a heartbeat, despite the fact the woods are not dense. I didn’t attempt to enter the woods since portions of the 6.2-mile (10 km) Rouge River Gateway and Hines Park Trail have been closed for construction for a couple of years. It’s more of a biking path, but walkers and runners also use it.
Ah well … I was content with what photos I got that day. After all, everyone loves a parade and I loved this one!
As I continued my morning meander, I knew this encounter and photo op, already bubbling around in my brain, would be perfect for a Christmastime post, just like “Friends who are deer, er … dear” was last holiday season.
Rambling along the Rouge River Trail.
So the deer were the highlight of my .7 mile (1.1 km) walk along the Rouge River Gateway Trail on the first day of Fall, September 23rd.
Yes, there were some hints that Fall had arrived, despite our hot-for-September temps that week and this day.
Red-tinged leaves were evident …
… but green ruled in the woods, with a few gold leaves on trees or scattered on the bridge.
I paused at this bridge to take photos of the Rouge River which was calm – that is not always the case. The reflections were like a Monet painting.
I saw a different type of artist had left their mark at the bridge walkway.
When the short trail ends at Fair Lane Drive, I always turn left and I’m right there at Fair Lane, the Estate where Henry and Clara Ford lived. I went to the Estate grounds and explored a little and found the flowers flourishing, but mostly green leaves, no vivid red, orange or golden foliage colors. I returned a month later to take some more Autumn-like photos of the tree-lined Estate and the many Maples that were ablaze in shades of red and yellow along the Rouge River.
There were more folks along the trail as I made my way back to the car, another 1.5 miles (2.4 km).
I always park at Ford Field Park to make this excursion. It was a beautiful day, so I went over to see the picturesque covered bridge, a nice stopping point for viewing the Rouge River rapids beneath that bridge. I hadn’t been to the 520-foot long wooden bridge in a few years, so I was perplexed by the array of locks clipped onto the green mesh inserts in the covered bridge. Having piqued my interest, I took a few photos of the bridge …
… and some of the locks. A few had initials, hearts or short messages inscribed on the locks.
[That night Google told me “the practice of love locks is a symbol of love and commitment, inspired by an ancient custom, which is believed to have originated in China – where lovers lock a padlock on a chain or gate and then throw away the key, symbolically locking their love forever.” Who knew? I didn’t, but of course any info you need to know is as easy as Googling and going here.]
The woodsy area around the covered bridge is a bit blah, but remembering my delight at watching the kids feeding the Mallards at the small duck pond, I strayed over there. There were no ducks to be found, so I ducked out of there and returned to my car to cool off from the balmy Fall morn.
[As I was proofreading this post, I realized my many years of studying French were not lost on me as the word “rouge” means “red” in French and this walk was taken on the Rouge River Trail.]
… as I enjoyed one of the last lazy, hazy, crazy days of Summer. Fall would officially arrive on Saturday, September 23rd.
As I flipped the page to December, the last month for “The Great Outdoors” nature calendar, with a featured locale of Mount Ranier National Park in Washington, I was pleased to see the quote was about walking and the words resonated with me.
I have written in the past how my morning meanders revitalize me and reset my soul, whether it is tripping along the walking path at cozy Council Point Park or traversing trails and crossing marshy overlooks at larger venues like Lake Erie Metropark.
My weekday walks are always in the early morning by necessity due to my work schedule, but even when I don’t have a watch strapped onto my wrist on weekends, I am lured to larger parks on the same schedule since mornings there are so quiet and peaceful.
I always wonder what winged or furry creature I will encounter first?
On each trip to Lake Erie Metropark, as I set out on my walk, I am curious what nature shots will fill up my camera’s memory card that day. It’s a sure bet my early arrival will glean some shots of critters foraging or waterfowl fishing in the still waters not yet choppy from the wake of motor boats or faraway freighters. I have a few favorite spots like an overlook by Cove Point where I always head first to glimpse Heron, Egrets, Swans or dabbling Mallard ducks.
Sometimes the still-sleeping Mallards are lined up on a log, with one “sentry” watching over its brethren and, if I’m extra quiet, on another log I might get a shot of turtles in a neat queue – that is before they catch sight of me and plop into the water.
This year I’ve been extra lucky to have multiple sightings of the pair of Sandhill Cranes.
Yes, this is my definition of a peaceful morning.
So, who else is a morning person, er … critter?
Along the Cherry Island Trail I saw a diving Cormorant – here he/she surfaced just long enough to get its picture taken.
There were a few broken trees, not the work of Beavers as I’ve shown you in the past. Yes, no whittling here, just the effects of strong winds, perhaps the tornado that touched down on the other side of the park on August 24th.
This bare trunk, minus some bark might have been the work of beetles.
And this wooden fence meant a graffiti artist with a penknife had been by.
In this swampy area I saw movement in the water. Figuring it was likely laden with mosquitoes I took this shot, then started to walk on by.
But the persistent wiggles in the water made me step closer and I saw this. I zoomed in on these critters, but I’m still not sure if they are larvae or baby minnows. I did an Google image search to no avail.
There were geese galore, all flying high and honking their heads off. These were in a sloppy formation – maybe practicing for the long haul down South, although I think most of our Canada Geese just stay put.
My Barn Swallows were gone – no more swooping and diving or perching, but I was pretty lucky getting up-close photos of them this Summer. I still have some shots of them to share with you.
Wildflowers were blooming and Cabbage Whites were taking advantage of them.
I spotted some Pretty-in-Pink Knotweed.
These Black-eyed Susans were blooming, but a bit bedraggled.
The resilient Goldenrod was still thriving and adding bright spots along the trail.
This pair of Bumblebees appreciated that Goldenrod.
The reeds were still green, but I saw no Red-winged Blackbirds nestled in them.
As I rounded the corner on this overlook, I saw these “hangers-on” creeping onto the walkway.
At the overlook I watched a Mallard ponder whether to eat some funky-looking green goo reckoning that if it’s duckweed, then it’s for ducks? She did a “sniff test” first like the squirrels do. 🙂
Great Blue Heron and some Egrets gathered together, co-mingling perhaps to share fishing tips?
This was a peaceful sight – I do love reflections, even with dead, bare trees.
The reality that Fall was not far off was this exploding Cattail. A fun factoid for you – only female Cattails explode into white, fuzzy seed-heads.
Red-tinged leaves and …
… a fallen heart-shaped Poplar leaf hinted that Fall was on the horizon.
HawkFest and some more fun facts for you.
I took this walk on Friday, September 15th, the day before the annual, two-day HawkFest Event held on the grounds next to the Marshlands Museum at Lake Erie Metropark.
My Metroparks newsletter told me between 2,000 and 4,000 people attend this free event every year. I always buy an annual Metropark pass, so what stops me from attending? Well, I am still cautious about being in crowds due to COVID – perhaps next year I’ll visit.
When I went to visit “Luc” the resident eagle …
… I noticed the set-up had already begun for the event.
Bales of hay were being unloaded and I know from photos of past events, they are used as seats for visitors to watch lecturers speak about various raptors while exhibiting and/or holding them.
HawkFest is held in September because this is the month which coincides with the largest Broad-winged Hawk migration, wherein sometimes, depending on wind velocity, tens of thousands of raptors may pass by the boat launch area in a single day. If there are steady northwest or west winds producing updrafts, the strong air currents are favorable for these predator birds. Broad-winged Hawks (like Red-shouldered Hawks or Cooper’s Hawks) prefer light tailwinds which enable them to travel 200 to 300 plus miles (320 to 480 km) in a single day, wherein winds over 15 to 20 mph (24 to 32 km/hr) can be too strong for them, so they will not move in large numbers then.
You may recall my recent post about the large groups of Turkey Vultures migrating through the area as well and that was the reason for my visit on that particular day.
To clarify, this area where HawkFest takes place is not where the migrating raptors are counted; instead the counting and viewing takes place in the boat launch area near the docks as you see below. Here, the official count takes place alongside photographers with long lenses and tripods or birders with binoculars pressed to their faces, all awaiting the anticipated arrival of these birds of prey.
I wanted to include the Detroit River Hawk Watch official counting website, but the link is unsecure.
Here it is if you’re game: detroitriverhawkwatchdotorg.
The signage near this “Count site” details what raptors will pass through from September through November.
I have stopped by this viewing location many times during the raptor migration since I bought my first Metropark pass in 2018 and unbelievably have not seen a single raptor pass overhead.
This day was no different, so I moved on ….
I decided to walk along The Trapper’s Run trail where I had the nice encounter with the doe … so did I see a doe? No doe, but there was an unwelcome visitor, not far from the tips of my walking shoes – ugh! I was nearly at the end of the trail and had already put the camera away when in my peripheral vision I saw movement on the path. A huge snake slithered by and into the ground cover. No photo – probably my hands were shaking and heart pounding too much anyway even if I had the camera ready. I know Eastern Fox Snakes are common around Southeast Michigan, so I shouldn’t have been surprised. Come to think of it, I used the expression “an unwelcome visitor” to describe the snake, when in reality, perhaps I was the unwelcome visitor in Mr. Snake’s territory???
It HAD been a peaceful morning until the snake discovery. I wasn’t far from the car, so that was a relief … not because the snake would follow me, but I was overdressed in my sweatsuit, so, unlike Mr. Snake, I had no layers to shed and a blast of cool air from the car’s A/C would surely be welcome.
Peace does not exist around the world, but there is peace to be found here.
The holly days, er … the holiday season has arrived.
Now, I’ll admit I’m a wee bit late reporting on a walk taken at the Gourdgeous Gourds Party since those gourds had their swan song a while ago.
There were perfectly rounded gourds paired with Chrysanthemums …
… or nestled near Sweet Alyssum.
I liked those bumpy gourds called “Knucklehead” or “Goosebumps” (a specialty pumpkin line known as “Superfreak” developed by Siegers Seed Co. right here in Holland, Michigan).
There were even odd-shaped gourds, some which reminded me of a muffin – perhaps I was hungry?
I photographed these gourds during a visit to the Taylor Conservatory and Botanical Gardens on Sunday, October 8th. It was nippy that early morning and, at 42F (5C), it was the first time I pulled on gloves and donned a hat. The wind was gusting to about 25 mph (40 km/h), all just a preview of the weather on the horizon. And, while the proverbial frost was not on the pumpkin(s) yet, it was still a shock to the system when temps flirted with the mid-80s mark just a few days before. I figured the pumpkins in harvest displays in the ‘hood were about to be pumpkin puree with those temps.
The flowers were flourishing on that bright and sunny morning, thanks in part to the volunteers who tend to them all Summer.
Flash forward a few weeks and the beautiful harvest display was whisked away to usher in the Gardens’ Conservatory décor, i.e. the tall Christmas tree, pine boughs nestled in pots and strung in festive loops with jaunty red bows, just in time for the tree lighting and Christmas singalong this past Saturday.
Yes, the Christmas season is here.
How did you fare with the Thanksgiving holiday fare?
With the official holiday season off and running, I hope you are not feeling weighted down like those rounded gourds pictured above. I know it is difficult to restrain yourself when presented with a steady stream of treats. Do you take one or two, or both treats – you must be polite to the hostess you know!
Decisions, decisions … “so do I want walnut pie or peanut pie … or both?”
“Hmm – I could put back this peanut and grab a walnut … or is that uncouth to do so? No one will notice I slobbered on the peanut, right?”
I’d even go out on a limb and say your face registered shock when you stood on the scales (“OMG, no way!”) …
… and you’ve worn sweatpants or stretchy pants with a little give to them ever since!
“Oh my – how did Linda know that? Whew – I thought it was just me!”
But, you’d better watch out, or you will be looking like the Jolly Old Elf himself, or maybe like Parker and his pals who are plumping up and looking very rounded these days. Of course, it isn’t just me feeding them. They’ve been foraging for months, scarfing down lots of peanuts, but also hiding them all around the Park, or up in their nests. They are roly-poly now, or to use more current internet lingo, they are “chonky” these days, but that is just the fat layer that helps insulate them, plus Mother Nature provides them thicker fur to get through those brutally cold Winter months.
So, Parker has an excuse for his usual boyish physique looking a little, ahem, should we be polite and just say “rounded” these days?
Fat-bottomed squirrels.
Now, I’m not here to fat-shame my furry pals, but here’s a few photos of them out and about and enjoying some walnuts, which were just as rounded as they were.
I’m just having a little mirth at their girth is all.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 