Great expectations and gratitude.

Posted on November 19, 2023 by Linda Schaub

It has been a long time since I attended a holiday gathering with family and friends to break bread and engage in camaraderie and conversation. And, just like most holiday gatherings, there were always great expectations, not necessarily for the pinch on my cheek by my Aunt Frances, but more so for the holiday meal. Ah yes, to dig into the abundance of stuffing … lots of stuffing, a treat we only had when there was a holiday bird. (This was long before Stove Top Stuffing debuted 50 years ago, in March 1973.) We didn’t have ham very often as my grandmother always had a ham in the fridge, so it wasn’t really a holiday treat.

There were also Mom’s prized pies, tiny tarts and shortbread breakers to savor and, because I was the “baby” in the family, I always got the drumstick (sometimes two, depending on the size of the bird). Then there was the expectation of breaking the wishbone the following day once it dried out– would I get the bigger piece and my wish would be granted? Now, many years later, those gatherings are mere memories to reflect upon like vintage movie reels running in my mind. Photo albums brimming with images of our smiling faces as loved ones locked arms, are remembered moments that help keep those small family gatherings alive, especially since all of the participants but me are now gone.

These days I have a different type of holiday gathering and it’s not an idyllic Norman Rockwell-type scene, but instead one where I, alone, preside at the “dinner table” and dole out goodies, but, instead of passing the mashed potatoes, then handing over the gravy boat, I am sharing treats with my furry and feathered friends at Council Point Park – yes, it is our annual Thanksgiving feast which I will memorialize in today’s post.

Admittedly, there are great expectations on both our parts: the squirrels and birds anxiously await the goodies I have toted along and, as for me … well I hope for fun photo ops to share in this forum. So, in our respective ways, we find gratitude and give thanks for one another.

I find peace and happiness there.

If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you know 2023 marked one decade of walking at my favorite nature nook and, even though I may stray to larger venues on most weekends, I always return here where I got reacquainted with nature and my camera back in 2013. (I began my walking regimen in 2011 when I started working from home.)

My morning meanders are the best part of my day and I’m grateful to “get away from it all” just one mile away at Council Point Park. My weekday morning routine, all year around, unless I have errands/appointments, or the weather outside is frightful, is to head to this venue to “reset” my mind. After sipping coffee and downing a bowl of oatmeal, having absorbed the often horrific morning news headlines, I find gratitude that I have an option to escape from it all by simply snapping off the radio, stepping out the door and enjoying this little nature nook embedded in the middle of our City. It’s a peaceful place to “walk on the wild side” that is, until I eventually leave to return home and begin my workday.

Truth be told, I am happy if I get to the Park and no one bothers me … that is, except for the squirrels and birds … they are allowed. No, I don’t want to re-hash the political events, murder or car crash stats, or any of the other local, national and international sordid and horrid things that made up the newscast I just left behind. Since I don’t have pets, I am more than happy to have adopted my Park pals, be they feathered or furred and, whether they look at their benefactor as “The Peanut Lady” or “Snow White” I nurture them and give them sustenance, especially now as they frantically cache food for the Winter. I think and hope they know I am a constant all year around, but fractious Winter weather sometimes keeps me housebound, rather than risking a car crash, or a tumble on snowy and icy roads or Park walking paths. I try to make up for it when I return, lavishing extra food on them.

The critters anticipated their goodies, which I dropped in three places.

On that beautiful October morning …

… I arrived juggling two large store bags, one hooked onto each elbow, I saw many pairs of eyes peering at me. Yes, they scoped me out from their respective perches, like these squirrels …

… or the various birds that have a “bird’s eye view” to scope out my arrival, like “Rex” the Red-bellied Woodpecker.

Though I got no photos of Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal that day, they perch nearby every day for peanuts or sunflower seeds, patiently awaiting the more-boisterous Blue Jays to swoop down and then they venture forth. Here are a few Jays waiting for me to leave to grab a peanut. They announce my arrival to other Jays in a cacophony of noisy shrieks.

I’m sure their eyes took in the size of the bags and their brain gears clicked: “whoa, are those bags all filled with peanuts or maybe walnuts, or sunflower seeds?” Yes, visions of those goodies danced in their heads like those proverbial sugarplums.

The Black-capped Chickadee positioned itself under the Safe Haven Tree, checking for “leftovers” from my last visit.

Moments later, having shimmied down trees, or having stood up so they can see what’s happening, a scurry of squirrels scurried over to greet me, bobbing and weaving through the crispy leaves …

I am sure there was gratitude as I neatly stacked corncobs and pumpkins side-by-side, though the often precocious and sometimes petulant Parker whined on behalf of this munch bunch: “but where are the peanuts Linda?”

Various birds swooped down, mindful of their much larger, peanut-eating counterparts, but hovering close by anyway, awaiting the doling out of goodies.

But, no worries guys and gals because yes, I was toting peanuts too, so the critters purposely stood their ground, (or perch as the case may be), knowing full well that they could disregard those veggies, but they’d still get peanuts and sunflower seeds. So yes, I relented, sucker that I am. 🙂

A few corncobs and pumpkins were left at the pavilion area …

… followed by a “drop” at the Safe Haven Tree (named because it protects the critters from Hawks swooping down while my Park pals are eating).

Last, but not least, was my final stop by the bushes near the Creek shoreline, also a safe spot for critters to dine without fear of Hawks.

They humored me, tried the weird treats but did a “sniff test” first.

Here are some of my little friends gathered ‘round one of the “holiday tables” and deciding peanuts or sunflower seeds were the safest bet and they’re easier to carry away too.

The “doubters” insisted on inspecting unidentifiable objects nestled next to their beloved peanuts, before they indulged. As usual, a “sniff test” was in order.

Meanwhile, back at the pavilion area, the odd-shaped treats had been investigated and tried, but only after peanuts and sunflower seeds had been eaten.

A Blue Jay ate the corn kernels from the bottom of the bag that I scattered around the pavilion area.

My woodland friends pals were happy for their treats … yes there is gratitude for full tummies, but there is gratitude on my part too for this mini-escape to walk and tender treats and I’m always happy for the respite to get away from it all, albeit briefly.

Are you wondering about the header image? My high school pal Carol, whom I’ve not seen in 50 years (since high school graduation) and now lives in New York, sent me this mug earlier this week. She is a fellow nature lover and knows I like squirrels, so she sent it as a surprise. The name of the mug design is “Party Under the Feeder” – next year I will insist Parker don a corn cob hat for my Thanksgiving post.

Click here for a Thanksgiving week card … a moment of bliss to enjoy.

I hope you have a safe and joyous Thanksgiving holiday.

I am joining Terri Webster Schrandt’s Sunday Stills Challenge: #Finding Gratitude, Giving Thanks

Posted in nature, Thanksgiving, Harvest time,, walk, walking | Tagged , , , , , | 66 Comments

I was in luck: a Wood Duck in the muck! #Wordless Wednesday #I’m a Dr. Seuss wannabee.

Posted on November 15, 2023 by Linda Schaub

Wordless Wednesday – allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

Posted in #WildlifeWednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, birds, nature | Tagged , , , , | 56 Comments

Swan song at the Marsh.

Posted on November 12, 2023 by Linda Schaub

Lately I’ve regaled you with images of colorful leaves and there will be a few more posts brimming with lovely leaves down the pipeline. But for now, frost and rain have diminished the vivid colors of most of that Fall foliage and back-to-back gusty days have left only the most-tenacious leaves still hanging on for dear life. These days, instead of admiring the leaves, the soles of my heavy walking shoes tromp along the walking path, alternately crunching them underfoot, or they end up clinging to my shoe soles with a faint, musty smell from recent rains.

Sadly, we’ve gone from beautiful to brown and blah.

But, even before the leaves were all aflutter, the beauty of the various marshes I routinely visit also began to diminish. There are Pond Lilies plus American Lotus beds at Sterling State Park in Monroe, Michigan, but the beds are not as large as those at Lake Erie Metropark – they are just scattered throughout the marshy lagoons. Those Lotuses take months of growing time before they bloom and dazzle us with their beauty, then, after a few days’ blooming time, the leaves are all that remain. By Fall, those wilted, brown leaves remain on the water’s surface and eventually the similarly colored seed pods on their stalks look like periscopes rising out of the water, a somewhat eerie scene once the marshes freeze over.

I visited Sterling State Park in early October, just as the first bite of cold had dried up those large Lotus leaves and turned them brown. While very few trees in this 1,300-acre park had yet to erupt into color, the Pond Lilies, Lotuses and some reeds had already dried up. Initially, I was a bit disappointed I’d made the 60-mile round trip with not much to photograph, but I logged a 7.5 mile (9.7 kilometer) jaunt around this entire park and gleaned enough photos for two, maybe even three posts – part one will be today.

Meandering around the marshes.

The Sterling Marsh Trail encircles the large lagoon at Sterling State Park. As I walked along I had to be mindful of my footing. Although it is an asphalt path, many tree roots have poked through that paved path leaving it broken and uneven, plus lots of fallen Poplar leaves littered the path, so I couldn’t always tell where that uneven payment might be. After carefully navigating that pathway for a while, I took a break from the rigors of studying the asphalt and stepped over to the shoreline and soon thereafter spotted a gathering of Mute Swans.

So, what can brown do for you?

Well, besides brown being my favorite color, on this day, the sun was out just enough to cast reflections of those brown leaves onto the water, as well as the waterfowl gliding around peacefully in the marsh. It was a prettier sight than originally anticipated when I set out on this walk. In fact, I thought the blah, brown background with only the bright-white swans’ plumage makes these pictures look like vintage sepia prints with colorized swans.

These are Mute Swans, instantly recognizable by their orange bills. The males are called “cobs” and the females “pens” and to tell them apart you look at the black knob at the base of the bill. The knob at the base of the male’s bill is more bulbous than the female’s knob, especially in the Spring during mating season. Unlike raptors where the females are usually larger than the males, this is not the case with swans.

These group shots really do not do them justice. I took this photo while wondering how many “swans a swimming” were in the group for a potential Wordless Wednesday post at Christmastime. But, while Googling later, I learned I was one shy of the “seven swans a swimming” from “The Twelve Days of Christmas” song – there were just six in this “bevy” which is the collective word for a gathering of swans in the water.

I took many photos that morning, but my favorites are the close-ups where these graceful waterfowl are mirrored in the water’s surface.

I stayed put for a while, gazing at those beautiful birds, just them and me. But, of course, all good things must come to an end in a nature setting, usually the result of humans. In this case, it was not a vehicle that zoomed by and spooked the swans, but a gunshot by waterfowl hunters at Pointe Mouille, just ten miles away.

Only two nearby swans remained in place, seemingly unfazed by the gunshots.

I didn’t know then, but the best was yet to come!

After the gunshot and mass exodus I walked along the shoreline where I saw a lot of Egrets … here is one of them.

Then there were two more swans. I took these shots as one swan rose out of the water displaying its wide wingspan. Its mate (likely, maybe a friend) seemed unimpressed and returned to preening. 🙂 Similarly, a Mallard just paddled on by … whatever, right?

The blasé attitude of the waterfowl brethren made me smile, but I smiled even more when I saw these photos on the computer screen a couple of weeks later and instantly recognized the long and pointed black bills of Trumpeter Swans, my first time photographing them, although I’ve often seen them in flight.

When all swans are in flight, their wings make a humming or whistling sound that carries more than a mile and may help the birds communicate with each other. So, whenever I hear that humming noise, I instantly look up. I found this very short video on YouTube for you to listen to if you click here.

I finally went back to the walking path as I knew I had a lot of ground to cover before I reached the trailhead where I had parked my car.

There were still a few wildflowers blooming, offsetting the drab, brown Teasels.

A dainty Cabbage White butterfly nestled in between these petals …

… probably because this thistle was spent and too prickly.

Although I stood patiently beneath this eagles’ nest hoping its inhabitants would return, thus giving me a photo op, it was all for naught as I just wasted 20 minutes’ time – no eagles. It’s not the first time this nest was empty when I visited this park.

It looked like no one was home in these brown, nondescript and rather dilapidated birdhouses either.

Sadly, Summer’s swan song is just the precursor to Fall’s beauty and eventually Winter’s blah and boring landscape.

I am joining Terri Webster Schrandt’s Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge: SundayStills; #Brown

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Rocky start to the morning.  #Wordless Wednesday #Ouch!

Posted on November 8, 2023 by Linda Schaub

Wordless Wednesday – allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

Posted in #WildlifeWednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, nature | Tagged , , , , , | 36 Comments

In awe of Autumn leaves.

Posted on November 6, 2023 by Linda Schaub

It’s the first Monday of a new month and November’s featured calendar page is Tuscany, Italy. The photo looks a bit nondescript in my opinion and I’ll freely admit that a long-distance hike for me is six, maybe seven miles, only on my weekend wanderings – more miles in a single outing risks shin splints.

The site for this morning meander was Lake Erie Metropark at those marshes and woodsy areas where I’ve logged countless hours and miles already.

Well I was torn while preparing this post.

I could have tied John Burroughs’ quote to an equally colorful Autumn visit I made at Fair Lane Estate. After all, John Burroughs, an American naturalist and nature essayist, was a very good friend of auto magnate Henry Ford. They were both “birders” before the term became commonplace. Their shared love of nature caused Henry Ford to create a shrine to his friend called “”Burroughs’ Grotto” where a stone with Burroughs’s signature, a statue of his likeness and a heated birdbath is located near the banks of the Rouge River at the Estate.

But here’s why I chose this walk instead.

While I promised in my recent “Walktober” post not to inundate you with colorful leaves shots every week, embedded in this post will be a nod to Veterans Day, November 11th – you will see a jeep flying military flags driving through this 1,607-acre park. The first time they zoomed past me, but on their return trip, I got a few shots.

The Fall foliage was at peak when I took this walk on October 22nd, but leaves weren’t solely on my mind on this jaunt; this Twitter post earlier in the week intrigued me.

Yes, I know Turkey Vultures are not cute, nor do they give you warm and fuzzy feelings like my peanut pals, but imagine how impressive it would be to see and photograph a “kettle” (the collective word for a group of Turkey Vultures, or other birds flying overhead of this magnitude). You may recall I’ve written about the raptor migration at Lake Erie Metropark which takes place from mid-September until the end of the year. Thousands of raptors wing their way to warmer climes – remember this seasons totals stat posted at the Marshland Museum a few years back?

I will have a post next month about a visit I made to the boat launch area to watch that migration. While the visit WAS supposed to be to watch the raptors and I did position myself at the boat launch area alongside a few birders with binoculars, photographers with long lenses and an “official counter” I did not have the good fortune to see any raptors. Perhaps I should have looked for Monarch butterflies instead as they similarly migrate through there and are counted as well.

Leaves – lovely, yet fleeting beauty.

I took a long look around. It was difficult to choose what trees were the most vibrant, so here are a few I really liked as I meandered along.

The backdrop of the marsh was a mishmash of color. I sure wish the powers that be would remove that dead tree which continually mars the view, but that said, the starkness of the dead wood against the colorful background looked interesting.

I was the only person on the overlook that crosses the marsh. Surprisingly, no one was fishing from the overlook, so I enjoyed the solitude … just me and a few fine-feathered friends that were already out and about like these Mallards which formed a near-perfect queue … I asked the first duck to paddle ahead so I had a ready-made Wordless Wednesday post entitled “I had my ducks in a row” but it wasn’t meant to be.

The Mallard males, having finished their molting and “eclipse phase” are once again resplendent in their coloring.

A Great Blue Heron and a Great Egret were wading in the marsh, both intent on scoping out breakfast and paid no attention to me.

The Barn Swallows that congregate, chatter and endlessly swoop near this overlook are long gone to South and Central America. I have some fun up-close photos to share on a future post where they were posing, er … perching on a dead tree branch, with a few giving me “the look” for hovering nearby and interrupting their morning get-together.

I crossed the overlook in three long strides – on the horizon was a freighter.

I next headed to the other side of the park, hoping for a little more action there, just as a skein of Canada Geese flew overhead.

Although the picnic tables remained, they were empty, a stark reminder of colder, cocooning days ahead.

Wish I could swap the proximity of the critter(s) in these three photos.

I eventually navigated toward a cement path, which I was happy to find since the grass was still damp with dew. A random Goldenrod plant along that path had me stopping to get up close to this fuzzy, winged creature …

… then a few geese were lazing near me with colorful leaves in the background…

… while yonder, (you will have to squint to see them), were these five deer.

“Hey, wait up!” I called out as I hustled over to get better shots, muttering that the deer should have been where the geese were.

Along the way I saw the turtle crossing sign – at least a turtle was a critter I would not have to race to keep up with. Grrr!

Out of breath, I finally caught up with those deer, then they rudely disappeared into the brush. Well thanks a lot. I still got one shot and a workout in the process. 🙂

I went to visit Luc, the park’s resident Bald Eagle. He gave me a chirp “hello” then promptly turned his back on me. I never look down to the tree stump where his breakfast of a white rat or rabbit is usually served, so I don’t know if I interrupted his mealtime.

I began the long trek back to Cove Point where I’d left my car about two hours before. Enroute, this Jeep passed me flying these flags proudly. Although it was not near the Veterans Day holiday, I decided these photos were keepers to use in conjunction with this holiday to honor our servicemen and servicewomen.

This week I am joining Terri Webster Schrandt’s Sunday Stills #Leaves of Autumn or Spring Photography Challenge.

Posted in nature, Seasons, walk, walking | Tagged , , , , , | 40 Comments

Double Dippin’ #Wordless Wednesday #Winter’s a’comin’ – must eat/bury peanuts!

Posted on November 1, 2023 by Linda Schaub

Wordless Wednesday – allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

Posted in #WildlifeWednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, nature, Seasons, Squirrels | Tagged , , , , , | 34 Comments

Spooky stuff (kinda sorta) for your Halloween.

Posted on October 30, 2023 by Linda Schaub

Things are not always as they seem to be in THE WITCHING SEASON. In fact I am going to share a few instances from my recent Fall meanderings illustrating that fact.

But first, I have to tell you that over the years my mom often shared her words of wisdom or tidbits of knowledge which I have fondly remembered and mentioned here in this blog as Mom’s “Momisms”.

One of her favorite expressions when I told her some titillating or unbelievable news was “Linda dear, believe half of what you hear and all of what you see.” “Okay Mom” would be my meek response.

Well, fast forward a decade (or three or four) and the kid realizes this “Momism” and the many others I heard in my formative years, were spot-on. Yes, things are not always as they appear to be, so don’t simply take things at face value and … rumors – well investigate ‘em before you spread ‘em.

Sometimes things appear to be scary, even frightful. But, if you let calm prevail and you do not scream and thus lose your credibility, all will be fine, even in this frightful season. Here are a few examples.

Oh no, a black cat has crossed my path – should I worry?

If you’re superstitious, like folks in the 17th century who believed that black cats were associated with witchcraft, you might walk the other way if a black cat is headed toward you.

Should I have worried when this black cat was studying me so carefully? Nope, this is Binx, the barn cat at Heritage Park’s Petting Farm and he loves the Farm’s visitors or passersby. I often see Binx when I visit the Botanical Gardens.

And really … how scary could a black cat with a heart-shaped nametag be anyway?

Yikes! Look at that big black Crow checking me out!

Most of us have seen Alfred Hitchcock’s frightful movie thriller “The Birds” and the scene where a flock of Crows are chasing the children. If you haven’t, well sneak a peek at that scene here.

Pretty scary stuff wasn’t it and, after all, a group of Crows is called, wait for it … a “murder” adding a little more sensationalism to these glossy black birds. But what about this Crow I saw in the ‘hood when gathering harvest pics for a recent post? Was it scary? Would it dive bomb me? It wasn’t interested in me – it had scored a glazed donut someone tossed onto the sidewalk. “No, you don’t need to share your donut with me” I called up to the Crow. “Go ahead and chow down!” So it did.

While it didn’t intend to share any morsels with me, it kept glancing down at me, dubious that my intentions were purely to take photos of it.

This Crow was doing nothing nefarious. It simply swooped down to the ground as I rounded the corner to return home. It took that donut “to go” while wishing it had a little coffee to wash it down with. I watched it poking and pecking at the sweet treat for a bit, then our feathered friend finally gulped it down. I’ll bet its beak was sticky, a minor inconvenience for a Crow with a sweet tooth.

Here’s a twist on a popular painting for you.

Life imitates art far more than art imitates life—Oscar Wilde

Well, that’s a fair statement, but what about when nature imitates art?

When you look at the photo of this tree …

… do you see the famous 1893 painting “The Scream” painted by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch? I noticed this tree on one of my Autumn woodsy walks and I saw the resemblance right away. What say you? Did this tree look frightful to you?

(Painting “The Scream” from Wikipedia)

Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus ….

… but really, despite their dissimilarities, remember that we all hail from Earth, the third planet from the Sun.

I am an alien as many of you know … just not THAT type of spooky alien with pointy ears, a third eye, or having an ethereal presence, nor do I glow in the dark.

(Image of alien girl from Pexels)

I am reminded of the fact that I am a Canadian living in the U.S. once every decade when I must renew my green card. But every so often I admit to doing an eye roll when Comcast, my ISP, goes wonky when I attempt to retrieve my web-based e-mail and I’m greeted with this message … cue the spooky music.

So, yes, things are not always how they seem. They may appear frightful, but are not frightful in reality. So, I concede Mom was right. As to the photo at the top of this post …

Query: is that a selfie of Your Roving Reporter, or a witch seen in my wanderings around Heritage Park after the Scarecrow Stroll? Here’s your clue: I am scared to death of spiders, so I would never allow one to crawl on my hat, nor my chest.

On the subject of WITCHY WOMEN, please click here for your Halloween card.

This week I am joining Terri Webster Schrandt’s Sunday Stills #Frightful Photography Challenge.

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“Walktober” – what a concept!

Posted on October 26, 2023 by Linda Schaub

When I learned about “Walktober” last year after fellow blogger Barbara had a picture-laden post of Fall foliage from a walk with husband Tim, I wondered how I had never heard this phrase before. So, I made up my mind that in October 2023, I would ensure I collected some photos of Autumn’s exquisite color palette to post, not weeks or months later as is usually the norm for me, but in October and I decided those photos would be taken while walking at my favorite nature nook, Council Point Park – this year I celebrated my 10th year walking at that venue.

Since I am both a longstanding, plus frequent walker at the Park, I know which trees turn first from green to their burnished shades every year. The Locusts are the first to go, dropping a flurry of endless tiny yellow leaves and stems all over. The squirrels and birds aren’t fond of those trees as the multitude of leaves littering the path makes it difficult for them to see the peanuts and sunflower seeds, so yes, I use my shoe to swish away the leaves to make a bare spot, much like I do in Winter, stomping out a flat surface in the snow with my boot, to place the peanuts and sunflower seeds for them. Spoiled rotten little squirrels. 🙂

The squirrels are burying their peanuts more quickly than they eat them and soon my furry friends will be fattening up for the Winter.

Begging is stepped up at every twist and turn of the perimeter path. Parker is shameless, sometimes stopping me several times in one trip.

The Black Walnut tree is a good source for nuts when I don’t make it to the Park due to errands or bad weather and a few more walkers have been feeding the squirrels this year.

Some kind soul brought in lots of garden veggies and a huge sunflower “pan” of seeds for the critters and left them at the pavilion area and several places along the perimeter path. I saw ears of corn and lots of gourds too.

Here’s a factoid in case you did not hear or read this: Earth had its warmest September on record, absolutely destroying the old record. So I shudder to think of Septembers down the road. On the calendar, Autumn arrived and color-wise it began to slowly unfold, but Summer-like temps were in full force for the first few days of October, until suddenly on October 5th we dropped almost 40 degrees. I guess I am a malcontent as I had complained too much about the heat and humidity, only to grumble about needing to layer up more and I even added a hat and gloves on the way out the door; I eliminated wearing a scarf thinking that might be overkill.

Much as you collect the leaves and bag them, I have been collecting colorful photos of the foliage at the Park. I admit the colors were not as vibrant this year and local meteorologists have speculated that is in part due to June’s three-week drought-like conditions. We are about a week behind for our colors due to the warm weather and several rainy days. I figured I’d better hurry or it would be November to finish up this post. I have been to other venues for the Fall color parade and those pics will be shared in dribs and drabs in the coming months. Here is a slideshow of some photos I took as I walked along the perimeter path over the course of a few weeks.

These fishing photos look very peaceful to me. Two different fishermen, sitting on or near the same cement ledge, dangling a line into the Ecorse Creek, with colorful leaves as a backdrop and also reflecting on the water.

Even this pair of Mallards makes for a peaceful setting.

Sometimes its best to enjoy your peanut at the pavilion away from the other squirrels.

If only we could have two Autumns and skip Winter – sigh. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy the season and concur with L.M. Montgomery’s quote: “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”

I hope you enjoyed the photos of the last gasp of beauty before it is bare branches and brrrrrr!

Posted in nature, Seasons, Squirrels, walk, walking | Tagged , , , , | 129 Comments

I love to gaze out to sea (‘til I get seasick from the waves).  #Wordless Wednesday 

Posted on October 25, 2023 by Linda Schaub

Wordless Wednesday – allow your photo(s) to tell the story.

Posted in #WildlifeWednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, nature | Tagged , , , , , | 36 Comments

The GRRreat Groundhog Debacle.

Posted on October 22, 2023 by Linda Schaub

It is good to have a sense of humor as we go through life, though I admit as I get older, (or perhaps it is just the state of the world these days), I do find at least one instance daily that makes it difficult to remain unflappable.

This September 13th discovery would haunt me.

After a hot, humid, often rainy Summer, I was ready to welcome Fall, my favorite season, with open arms. But there was one cloud on the horizon as to those highly anticipated long walks, cool days and fabulous colors – Fall was tainted by my September 13th discovery of a huge hole and burrow at the back of the house against the foundation.

I was in the backyard, which still looks like a disaster area, first ravaged by last December’s fire, plus the aftermath of the removal of two medium-sized trees and a slew of burned bushes in late July. The tree cutters stacked up assorted trellises and flower pots onto the back patio having been pulled from that corner of the yard/garden. Since it was too late to plan or plant a garden, disinterested and disgusted, I left it all sitting there, while I instead would dwell on backyard possibilities for 2024.

And then I saw it … a humongous hole in the ground at the foundation. Red lava rock was scattered and dirt and white marble from years ago was pushed aside, obviously by a pair of paws digging fast and furiously …

… to get to their destination, wherever that might be? I bent down close, but not too close, lest some furry critter scurry out and I’d likely keel over with a heart attack. Momentarily I mused that on weekends I travel many miles to walk in the woods at larger parks and get back to nature, see furry or feathered critters, hone my photography skills and bulk up my miles. Well, who knew I needed only to walk mere steps where some big, bold critter decided to take up residence at MY residence?

I looked over at my neighbor’s house, but, since Jeff wasn’t outside I called and reported my “find” and asked if he had seen a large critter ambling about in my backyard; after all, the night of the fire as we stood outside until 2:00 a.m. waiting for the “all clear” to go inside, he pulled out his phone to show me a photo of Mama Raccoon and her offspring rooting around in his garbage can.

Well, Jeff’s answer left me gob smacked: “oh ya, I haven’t seen you, but meant to tell you that I had two burrows at the back of my house, plus a burrow under my A/C unit slab, so I went into your yard to see if you had any burrows and saw yours – I’m sure it’s a groundhog, maybe a skunk.” I know I audibly gasped at this news. Jeff aimed to deter the critter from digging additional burrows, so he bought and buried copious amounts of mothballs in each hole and sprinkled more on top – yep, I had detected a funky smell of late, but didn’t look over at his house or I’d have seen those mothballs.

Jeff offered sympathy and some of his mothballs, but I decided to do more than put a Band-Aid on the problem .

So, I e-mailed my now-retired handyman to whine a bit about my plight and ask for advice. Jim offered to loan me a trap and have his son-in-law Brett bait it for me, but after sleeping on that idea, I decided to hire a pest control service – with colder nights, I didn’t want this beast settling in for the Winter. I wanted it gone NOW!

I was ground off with this groundhog, but there was more to come.

Chad, the pest control guy, arrived bright and early Monday, September 18th and explained how this capture would work. I had already been advised of the fee schedule, i.e. $185.00 for the consult, setting and baiting the trap and $75.00 for each critter trapped, then released humanely within 24 hours into a wooded area five miles from the house. After listening to Chad’s spiel I quipped “well I sure hope there is not a family of groundhogs in the burrow at $75.00 a pop!” Chad just smiled. Later, as I reflected on our initial meeting, I am sure Chad said to himself “wait ‘til she finds out that groundhogs may not be the only critters captured in the trap.”

As to luring the critter into the trap, Chad sprinkled out a special treat suited for groundhogs and chuckled, as he showed me the bait, which looked like pumpkin seeds. He said the pest control guys jokingly refer to the bait as “groundhog cocaine” as it lures them into the trap quickly. You can see the “treat” here in this picture and also if you look closely in the picture of the entire trap.

Here’s a close-up of the trap.

Chad also explained that once the groundhog was captured, I needed to fill the hole right away, layering dirt on the bottom, then lots of pea gravel because “groundhogs don’t like the feel of pea gravel on their paws.” (Hmm – how did you know that – have you asked them or witnessed them shaking their head and muttering to themselves: “nope, pea gravel, not going there” and ambling off?) Nonetheless, I took Chad’s word as gospel. He gave me his card and said “call me on my cell anytime, even on weekends and I’ll come pick up the critter.” I nodded meekly.

At 7:00 a.m. the following day, I decided I was not lugging 48-pound bags of pea gravel around from the nursery/car/backyard, so I ordered two bags of pea gravel, a 40-pound bag of potting soil and lava rock to fill the hole once the critter was caught. I had high expectations, so I just wanted the landscape materials here. With the delivery charge, it was $60.00 – sigh. They would deliver the order sometime that day and in special instructions, I put “pile it on the back porch.”

That chore done, grumbling I got my peanuts and sunflower seeds ready for the “acceptable critters” and headed out the door to the Park. I remembered to check out back and poked my head around the corner.

There was a live one in the trap!!

Good going! But one minor detail – it wasn’t a groundhog, just an opossum that looked at me down that long snout, snarled and bared its teeth. By the way, did you know that opossums have 50 teeth? I believe I saw all of them, including four fangs. As I stood there ruminating over the critter capture, I did the math with the concept of $75.00 for each critter removal/relocation sinking in. Yep, I swore softly, just as the Lowe’s delivery person saw the gate was open and startled me when he said “Ma’am – where did you want your landscape materials?” I pointed where to place the bags, then pointed at the opossum, which I dubbed “Oscar” (after calling it a few choice names which I won’t mention in this forum.)

I returned from walking and decided to photograph the opossum as a post was already bubbling around in my brain. He/she wasn’t keen on posing, but I got this profile shot, this time minus the toothy snarl.

I left Chad a voicemail. He arrived later that day, having alerted me to his ETA, so I met him in the yard, holding the check and I watched as he spoke to the critter. Was Chad an opossum whisperer? After all, the critter didn’t snarl at him like it did me. He told me it was just a baby. “And it’s that big? Surely it’s not still dependent on its mother for food, right?” After my rapid-fire questions, Chad said “nope, it’s fine to be on its own – no worries, opossums grow up quickly – it’ll be fine.”

So off my little friend went to the big red truck bearing the logo “All Seasons Pest Control” to the forest five miles away. However, Chad was out of traps so had to return the following day. I figured the groundhog would feast on the groundhog cocaine, then slip into its burrow, blissfully sated at my expense.

Chad returned the next day with a new trap and some cantaloupe chunks which he placed in the burrow …

… and in the trap.

As you can see, Chad placed the trap close to the burrow and used two, tipped-over, broken flower pots as a barricade. There was no way this groundhog was hopping out of the burrow without ending up in the trap or tripping over the pots.

Even the groundhog’s cousin “did me wrong” …

It was a bad week … I came home from walking and errands the following day and the garage door wouldn’t close due to an errant cable, so I had to have a service call and emergency repair. My former good intentions for doing errands, decluttering and much-needed yard work that weekend went up in flames as Sunday I rewarded myself with a trip to Lake Erie Metropark where I met up with a groundhog.

That beast greeted me with a sneer, then saw the camera and closed its eyes …

… before turning its back on me.

Nothing like being disrespected by a groundhog!

Elvis has left the building.

Two weeks went by with no visitors – the cantaloupe shriveled up and the groundhog cocaine went untouched in the trap and in the burrow. I faithfully checked the trap three times a day and my neighbor Jeff checked at least once a day. One day he noticed the trap was tripped, but the critter was small enough to back out and escape and didn’t disturb the flower pots, so he reset the trap and cut up an apple to entice the groundhog into the trap.

Another week went by – nothing. I figured “Elvis has left the building” as the saying goes, or who knows … maybe he left before we even started on this costly and ridiculous venture?

A groundhog and an opossum walked into a …

… bar, er … yard.

Obviously the groundhog, if it was still lurking about, was savvy and, though a glutton for goodies, was not about to tread into the trap, so he/she kept on waddling.

But the morning of October 12th, I rounded the corner to check the trap before going on my walk. A big furry bum was all I saw. I knew it wasn’t a groundhog, but another *&^% opossum! I watched its measured breathing – it was dead to the world.

I took a picture of Sleeping Beauty …

… then left on my walk. It was a gorgeous morning, so I would call Chad when I returned from walking.

Ninety minutes later I checked on the critter, which I nicknamed “Ollie” and it was still sleeping. I took another picture…

… then I woke it up. It was still sleepy and did not bare its teeth at me, despite the fact that I was looming large but I spoke softly.

Ollie looked at me, a tad bleary-eyed, a woeful expression on its white furry face.

I told Ollie that I’d call Chad as you see/hear by clicking here.

But I got Chad’s voicemail and I reported that to Ollie (click here).

Neither of us were happy. Ollie went back to sleep and I went into the house and wrote another check for $75.00 for Chad’s arrival.

Chad picked up Ollie later that day and said he’d feed him before he was released into the woods. We decided together it was time to close up the hole/burrow. The groundhog had likely moved on.

The photo in the header image is from this groundhog encounter I had at Elizabeth Park on the Boardwalk back in 2020.

After crunching the numbers, this groundhog fiasco cost me almost $400.00.

I am not amused and all I got out of the ordeal was this post and a chance to participate in Terri Webster Schrandt’s “Sunday Stills Photo Challenge: PHOTOS FROM THE FUNNY PAGES”.

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