WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY

Run for the Trees 5K 2022.

Posted on May 23, 2022 by Linda Schaub

This was my second time to participate in the virtual Run for the Trees 5K event, which was sponsored by the Bob Ross Inc. Foundation and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.

The premise was simple: participants chose any time between April 22nd (Earth Day) and April 29th (Arbor Day) to run, walk or hike 3.2 miles/5 kilometers at the woodsy venue of their choice. All proceeds from registration fees support the “Happy Little Trees” planting and preservation efforts, like invasive plant species and pest management, in Michigan’s state parks and recreation areas. In recent years, our state has had widespread devastation from tree pests and diseases like the Emerald Ash Borer, a beetle now in its 20th year of destroying our Ash trees and Oak Wilt, a fungal disease which decimates Oak trees.

Though the threat of wildfires and resulting widespread devastation is not as prevalent here in the Mitten State as in other states, this invaluable reforestation program is responsible for sustaining our natural forests. Department of Corrections inmates raise native saplings that are later planted by volunteers at the aforementioned state parks and recreation areas. In its first two years, 2020 and 2021, this 5K event, coined “Happy Little Trees” for painter Bob Ross’ love of painting nature, has raised more than $600,000.00 for reforestation efforts. The Michigan Department of Natural Resources vows to plant 50 million trees by 2030!

Whew – it was a hot one!

There is nothing like that first balmy Spring day when the bare trees finally leaf out and form a canopy across the forest, or in your neighborhood if you’re lucky. Shortly thereafter the blossoming trees, wearing their pretty pastel hues, erupt everywhere. But, Spring 2022 here in Southeast Michigan, as well as many cities and states across the U.S., was NOT business as usual.

So, on the 23rd of April, for the most part, there were leafless trees, buds were still wrapped tightly, yet the oppressive heat and humidity made it feel like an August day. Before sunset we had climbed to nearly 80F (26C), yet unbelievably, a mere four days before we had a two-inch snowfall. Sigh.

I originally intended to finally venture to Sterling State Park in Monroe to complete this 5K event. That venue, one of Michigan’s 101 state parks, has seven miles (11 kilometers) of hiking trails within the park, but, thanks to Mother Nature’s snow and some rain in the preceding days, I was stopped in my tracks. Since I’ve not been to this venue since visiting with my parents as a pre-teen, I wondered about the trails … were they rustic or paved and would I be slogging through water and/or mud? So, I made alternate plans and decided to venture to two other woodsy parks instead.

“The creation of a thousand forests is in one acorn.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

I purposely chose this quote as there are an abundance of oak trees at Elizabeth Park. Every Autumn, after oohing and aahing over the beautiful foliage, a week or so later, you’ll find a carpet of oak leaves throughout the entire park.

So, although Elizabeth Park has its own flooding issues when the canal spills over its banks, there is a long and scenic boardwalk and paved perimeter road, so this was my first stop on my trek for the trees.

Here are some photos with captions of what I saw that morning:

**Yep, it was early and I was yawning as well.**

**This guy was getting his exercise paddling down the center of the canal.**

**This twisted tree was still bare, limbs almost touching the water.**

**Elizabeth Park endures flooding from the canal – the geese don’t seem to mind.**

**“Hey good lookin’! Yep, I like what I see!”**

**“I’m soaking my feet, even though I don’t walk as many miles as you do Linda.”**

**… and a human had an near *“oopsie”* and almost landed in the canal.**

**A Red-winged Blackbird singing its heart out on reeds at the canal.**

**The water was sparkling as I walked along the Boardwalk.**

**A hint of green along the Boardwalk.**

**Another Red-winged Blackbird perches in a budding tree along the Boardwalk.**

**Along the shoreline, a hollowed-out, long-dead tree.**

**I saw this park bench along the Boardwalk with its powerful message.**

I returned to the car, a little weary from the heat. Who could have predicted this much heat in April? As luck would have it, I had not yet scheduled my car for the A/C repair so, even with the windows down, I felt like a wilted flower on that five-minute drive to the 300-year-old forest at Humbug Marsh at the Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge.

Well, I never made it to the ancient forest and here is why …

Long-time followers of this blog may recall I took an interpretive walk called “Walk, Talk & Sketch” at Oakwoods Metropark back in the Summer of 2019. Our small group walked and occasionally paused to sketch items along the trail. I’d sure not win any prizes with those simple pencil sketches. I’d taken some sketching classes as a teenager and enjoyed them. Also, on a trek at Heritage Park I encountered a couple of women painting a historical home and a garden respectively. I wrote about them and took their photos and in the comments section of that post, the subject of plein air painting came up. Plein air painting is simply painting outdoors. That topic piqued my interest, not for now, as I struggle to maintain a work-life balance with walking and blogging, but down the road when I’m retired.

In Googling around to learn more about plein air painting, I discovered John Vassallo, a local artist, who also leads a plein air painting group on different excursions to park venues where I frequent. So I followed John on Facebook and noted he and his group would kick off their 2022 get-togethers on April 2nd at Heritage Park. I wanted to meet John and the group members, so I headed to Heritage Park for a meet and greet on that day. I took some photos, shared them with John and received the schedule of venues the group would visit in 2022 and I said I’d be occasionally stopping by to say “hi” and otherwise lurking, but not participating – not just yet.

So, with that backstory in mind, once at Humbug Marsh, it was not difficult for me to find John and a few members of his group, at that chosen venue of the day.

I located John near the entrance to Humbug Marsh. We chitchatted a bit and, while I knew why John and the others were at this venue, I said I was here as part of a 5K event to help Michigan’s trees. I asked John if I could use his photos of his painting for this post. He was happy to let me do so and those are the images you see below and a smiling photo of the artist as well.

Here is a close-up of plein art painting in progress.

Here is the actual landscape scene.

Group members Chris and Diana had ventured off on their own to paint their respective oil-painting views of nearby Humbug Island …

… while Jim worked on a watercolor of trees at another location.

I never made it to the ancient forest and that was okay too. Visiting with the plein air painting group was fun – Humbug Marsh and its 300-year-old trees will always be there and by then it was really hot, so I headed to the car (where it was even hotter).

I would be remiss if I didn’t include a few photos of my race swag. As mentioned above, Bob Ross is our mascot of sorts, so his image is emblazoned on the tee-shirt and finishing medal for the event, along with a few quotes about painting and life.

Posted in 5K events, nature, Plein Air Painting, walk, walking | Tagged 5K event, nature, Plein Air Painting, Trees, walk, walking | 91 Comments

Any port in a storm – whew! #Wordless Wednesday #The eagle up top means birds are welcome here, right??

Posted on May 18, 2022 by Linda Schaub

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

Posted in #WildlifeWednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, birds, nature | Tagged #Wildlife Wednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, birds, nature | 34 Comments

Stockpiling sunshine and vitamin D.

Posted on May 16, 2022 by Linda Schaub

Here in Southeast Michigan the sun was not around much in March, nor April and the first week of May was nothing special either. I’m convinced the Groundhog doomed us, not only for the six-week period after his February 2nd prediction, but for early Spring. Grrr to that miserable rodent.

So finally, on Palm Sunday, April 10th, we had a glorious day, full of sunshine and even climbing to 60 degrees F (16 C) – yay! I aimed to savor the daylight hours. Even though I was bundled up to be comfy from the shoreline breezes, there still was a nip in the air, which made me think, despite the weather folks’ declaration that we had FINALLY turned a corner, that was not so.

The past few Spring/Summer seasons have often had crummy weather weekends resulting in rain-soaked shoreline parks. If that is the case this year, I’ll be marking my miles at Council Point Park where it never floods. I’ll probably resurrect my occasional “Seize the Day” impromptu jaunts to larger parks on favorable weather weekdays before my work day begins.

The first stop of Palm Sunday was at Council Point Park where I walked one mile to visit and feed the critters, then set out to give the car a 30-mile roundtrip run to Lake Erie Metropark. It was my first visit here this year, though I’ve had the 2022 pass since mid-November. In Spring 2021 I saw the beaver chews, a goose sitting high up on a nest in the marsh and her mate chasing off an interloping goose, all interesting to see and the images made for a picturesque post. Though the landscape was still dormant and blah, I was hopeful for a handful of interesting items to photograph today.

Lake Erie Metropark is located at the western shoreline of the Detroit River and Lake Erie and encompasses 1,607 acres and three miles of shoreline. Because this venue is so large, I generally alternate which part of the park I will visit. For example, I could begin at the Marshlands Museum, visit Luc the resident eagle, then trek down to the boat launch and along the Cherry Island Trail, or, clear on the other side of the park, an alternate trek would be to walk the rocky shoreline of Cove Point and visit the marina. Since we had a lot of rain that past week I decided on the latter.

Ambling along Cove Point.

The Cove Point stroll is always picturesque with Windsor’s wind farm just across the water and most times you’ll see a freighter or two on the horizon. If you’re lucky, you’ll catch a glimpse of a Great Blue Heron or Great Egret in one of the many marshy areas. The last time I walked along Cove Point was July when I saw the fawn and its mom, which made that walk my favorite of 2021, if not all time.

The Park was not ready for primetime yet.

Park benches looked a bit forlorn and the picnic tables were still leaning against one another, like dominoes waiting to fall and, unless you had an intense hankering for a hotdog or burger on the grill, you would not want to be cooking them while standing in ankle-deep water. The hot coals cans were empty, all waiting for a sign of life to descend upon the park, i.e. warmer weather and more sunshine (yes, bring it on please).

Along the rocky shoreline …

I recently published a post recapping a trip here on November 20th and this Metropark looked the same as last Fall, with long-dormant Phragmites and/or Cattails that had burst out of their brown sheaths.

The water was sparkling , but choppy and waves were racing up and over the boulders. I decided that the bright-blue and cloudless sky more than made up for the blah landscape.

Well, what do you know – a paddle of Canvasback Ducks were bobbing around in the water. This would be my third sighting in 2022 and the solo male Canvasback Duck never returned to Council Point Park after a week of very windy weather – perhaps he joined his brethren down at the Detroit River.

This fallen log was new since I was last here – bet it made quite the splash when it fell. That was Mother Nature’s doing as the beavers do their handiwork in more secluded parts of the marsh.

The ever-present Trenton Channel Power Plant stacks are seen in any Downriver shoreline stroll photos. This partially decommissioned plant is scheduled to close completely this year as energy provider DTE converts to natural gas and renewable energy plants. I wonder if they’ll remove those red-and-white-striped stacks that mar the view of the Detroit River shoreline parks?

A Swallow scoped out future housing. Should I tell him/her that volunteers built and erected many nesting boxes along Cove Point to entice BLUEBIRDS? Swallows prefer nests in rafters, like in the covered bridge at Heritage Park, or below wooden outlooks. He alighted just long enough for me to snap its picture, then it left again, so perhaps it read my mind.

I had my first freighter sighting of 2022.

Flooding has been a problem at this park since I began visiting here in 2018 and today was no different. Three instances where water crept onto the paved pathway had me dodging those puddles by veering onto the spongy grass, which was a bit muddy. This was one of those puddles.

Someone had thoughtfully packed a low area with pea gravel and, as my heavy-soled walking shoes crunched over it, I hoped it would keep my feet dry for the duration of the trek, as walking any distance in vinyl boots is not a great option.

Frustrated after traversing the third large puddle, I finally cut across the soggy grounds, interrupting the grazing geese and sleeping gulls and walked on the dry vehicle road instead.

I walked the shoreline until I reached a dead end at this Huron River Watershed sign.

The marina was eerily quiet with slips awaiting sailboats and pleasure crafts once boating season begins in earnest.

I decided to visit the overlook for a view of the Canada skyline. The high-powered telescope reminds me a little of fellow blogger Peggy’s hubby’s robot/shop vac!

Some bicyclists hopped off their bikes, took a pause for swigs of water, snacks and a slew of selfies.

An angler was dressed for the chilly temps. I didn’t see a big bucket for her booty of fish, so perhaps she was tossing them back into the water.

Signs are everywhere.

Some are pretty obvious, but as best I can tell, if you pay attention, you’ll escape unscathed.

Alas, once again I was peeping for Peepers.

Every Spring I search for Spring Peepers a/k/a Chorus Frogs. I’ve never been successful seeing or hearing them. They are cute frogs, about the size of a thumbnail, that sing their heart out in mating season, which for them is early Spring.

Well, I don’t know if the Peepers got lucky, but I got lucky while walking back from the marina and, in the muck and mire of this water-filled ditch, those Peepers made themselves known.

It was a delightful sound and though I stood there peering into the water for the longest time, I never peeped at a single Peeper. I took a few more shots of their mini bog/living quarters, but I suspect they submerged or ducked once they saw this looming human.

Not a spent leaf stirred, nor did the algae surface wiggle, but they were there. Next year perhaps they’ll put in an appearance but this year no pics unfortunately.

I neared the parking lot and saw my car, but it was such a gorgeous day, I wasn’t ready to drive home – not just yet. I headed toward the overlook – you can see it in the distance in the header image and here.

These shadows and reflections show you how sunny it was …

I took a blissful pause to enjoy a cacophony of sounds … those Peepers, a nearby Killdeer, a trilling Red-winged Blackbird and several screeching Seagulls

I was hopeful more waterfowl would be here. Well, there was one Great Blue Heron who saw me and freaked and if I spoke fluent heron, I’m sure it said “I was enjoying breakfast until YOU came along!”

Enroute to the parking lot I heard more Peepers at this area and traipsed through the high, dead grass to scope ‘em out, belatedly remembering it wasn’t too smart to do this in lieu of the abundance of ticks this year.

As I headed to the car, it was more of a shuffle, than the spring in my step that I had many hours before; I thought of my outside chores ahead. I arrived home and scurried out to do yardwork/Spring clean-up, before I changed my mind.

Posted in nature, walk, walking | Tagged nature, Spring, walk, walking | 99 Comments

Harry the Heron goes fishing. #Wordless Wednesday #Watch his technique.

Posted on May 11, 2022 by Linda Schaub

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

Posted in #WildlifeWednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, nature, walk, walking | Tagged #WildlifeWednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, birds, nature, walk, walking | 73 Comments

Mother’s Day 2022.

Posted on May 8, 2022 by Linda Schaub

No matter the stage …

… or the age …

… a mother’s love is universal, human or otherwise. I’m sure we will all identify with this quote:

“The power of a mother’s love is greater than any force on earth.” – Anonymous

I was on baby watch in the month of April.

It all began with a trip to Heritage Park on Saturday, April 2nd. While walking around that park’s man-made pond, a/k/a Coan Lake, I discovered a Mama Goose sitting on a nest. nestled in the boulders near the covered bridge. I shared those photos in a Wordless Wednesday post entitled “Stone Age Goose”.

At the time I mused that this was not the comfiest of spots to be sitting for a month’s duration, but I recalled another Canada Goose sitting on a nest in the same location last year – perhaps the same Mama Goose?

My Easter eggs were a treat, but were neither chocolate nor cream-filled.

April 17th was Easter Sunday and I visited this venue again. I follow the Botanical Gardens on Facebook and they were touting their newly planted Spring flowers. I thought I’d take photos of those cheery Daffodils, Hyacinths and Tulips to contrast with any photos of the several inches of snow we were to receive the very next day.

Easter Sunday was very chilly and windy. Unbelievably I was the only one walking at this popular venue. I decided to check on Mama Goose and strolled over to her rocky perch. Imagine my surprise, not to mention my delight, to see Mama off the nest, stretching her legs and having a drink of water. She didn’t notice me as I stood under the covered bridge and evidently Papa Goose was not around.

I took a few shots of the nest from the bridge, then inched ever so slowly toward the unattended nest. Mama Goose saw me, but paid me no mind as she picked her way around the boulders. I could not believe the size of the eggs. I took my shots then slowly walked backward so I could continue watching the nest and Mama’s movements.

She approached the nest and began plucking at her downy feathers, letting them drift gently into and around the nest.

She bent down close to the nest – was she counting noses, er … future beaks?

After a few minutes, she plopped down and began her incubating duties anew.

I never did see Papa Goose – no telling where he was, but I was pleased to be able to get close to Mama and the nest and marveled at my good fortune in arriving at just the right time.

The next day, as predicted, we had a wintry mix bringing snow throughout Southeast Michigan. In my part of town, we received two inches of the white stuff. I worried about Mama – would she be okay?

Oh no – did Mama Goose just vamoose?

Friday morning, April 22nd was Earth Day and I made another 10-mile round trip visit to Heritage Park. I was dismayed to discover Mama and the nest had vanished from the boulders without a trace. I didn’t even see eggshells from where the hatchlings had emerged!

Quickly, I searched Coan Lake and the sloped grassy area around its perimeter. I took two tours of the historical area and didn’t see the little family. Past experience told me that the parents and their young goslings would not stray far from the water and seeing no sign of them was worrisome. I drove to Council Point Park to get in some more steps and feed the critters there, but in the back of my mind I worried about the welfare of this little goose family.

The next day, Saturday, April 23rd, was a volunteer clean-up event at Heritage Park, so I waited until Sunday to see if I could find the family.

Happily, everyone was present and accounted for – whew!

Well, there they were, lemon-yellow fuzzballs clustered around Mama, dining on dandelions and looking very sweet.

Here are my favorite shots from that day.

I especially liked this one of Mama watching over her brood – all you see is the shadow of her head and neck looming large.

I couldn’t resist and made another trip.

I returned again last Saturday, April 30th. It was a day as gray, gloomy, windy and cold as one could find in Spring. I had planned to go to Lake Erie Metropark but the gray day and impending rain stopped me from driving out to that venue. I was amazed to see how the goslings had grown in one week’s time. While happily taking way too many photos of them, I even got “the stare” and what could pass for a “mini hiss” from a couple of goslings. How quickly they learn to imitate their parents!

Although these photos below may not convey their newfound attitudes, are you able to tell how the goslings have grown?

While I was on baby watch, my blogging friend Barbara, was similarly chronicling the status of her Mama Goose who was sitting on a nest in Denison Pequotsepos Nature Center in Mystic, Connecticut. We compared notes and enjoyed the anticipation of the respective hatchlings and first glimpses of those goslings which brought many clicks of the shutter and smiles galore to each of us.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Posted in holiday, nature, walk, walking | Tagged Mother's Day, nature, walk, walking | 72 Comments

We don’t talk anymore .… #Wordless Wednesday #The feathered version of Johnny and Amber

Posted on May 4, 2022 by Linda Schaub

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

Posted in #WildlifeWednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, nature, walk, walking | Tagged #WildlifeWednesday, #Wordless Wednesday, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard defamation trial, nature, walk, walking | 73 Comments

Meandering around Fair Lane Estate – Part II

Posted on May 2, 2022 by Linda Schaub

I have visited the Fair Lane Estate multiple times the past few years. While walking through the woodsy area of the Rouge Gateway Trail, if one stays on the Trail, then veers left, there is easy access to view and/or stroll Fair Lane’s extensive grounds. Ongoing renovations to the entire Estate began in 2014, but inside renovations were curtailed in 2020 due to the pandemic and have resumed with no stated date for completion.

Last Monday’s post focused on the grounds of the Estate, including the Manor; the Fords moved into their home in 1915 and lived there until their respective deaths in 1947 (Henry) and 1950 (Clara). You can click here if you missed that post.

Clara Ford loved flowers and the 17 acres of gardens which are part of the Ford Estate would be the envy of any gardener, both back in its heyday and even now. There are many perennial and wildflower gardens, plus a courtyard filled with roses … thousands of roses. In its heyday, Clara could stand at the copper-roofed Tea House and gaze upon 10,000 different rose bushes, some 350 rose varieties, which lined up along the perimeter of the courtyard and surround the courtyard’s fountain.

Although the many birdhouses at the Estate are long gone, at one time there were 500 large and rather ornate birdhouses placed around the grounds, on tall poles or hung from trees. That was Henry Ford’s doing, as he was an ornithophile (bird lover) and enjoyed watching his feathered friends.

The facts and figures about the gardens and birdhouse tell you why a contingent of 26 full-time gardeners were needed to maintain the property.

This post is going to focus on the passions of the Fords … Clara’s flowers and Henry’s birds. I visited the Persian Lilac walkway in May 2021 [click here if you missed that post] and returned mid-Summer 2021 to see the roses in bloom. They were exquisite. I am sure you will agree. I’ll bet they were even more beautiful during the 30 years the couple resided at Fair Lane Estate.

“Don’t forget to stop and smell the roses.” ~Walter Hagen

The original garden featured tea roses, roses with a single bud, often prone to disease, but later all the roses were replaced with sturdier and disease-resistant shrub roses. Well I can identify with this swapping of roses as I did the same thing. My original rose gardens similarly were tea roses, but waiting forever for one bloom, then a rain or windstorm might scatter the petals was frustrating, so I replaced my original rose bushes with hardy Home Run Shrub Roses a few years later.

So come along through this wooden gate and take a look at Clara Ford’s rose garden. I wish I could create a panoramic view of the garden, but had to do various shots instead.

In 1930, Clara and Henry Ford visited England where they toured an old estate and admired the iron gate. Clara asked Henry if he thought the estate would sell it to them for her garden. Henry said he doubted they would part with it, so Clara forgot about the gate. Two weeks later when they returned from their trip abroad, Clara went out to check her gardens and discovered the same iron gate separating the perennial garden from her rose garden.

I found a few vintage photos and want to include them in this post. Unlike the photos that are featured around the Estate which were okay to photograph, I’m not about to tread on anyone’s toes regarding copyright issues, so I’ll include the links to three vintage photos from the Henry Ford Organization digital archives,in this post.

The first photo is Clara and Henry Ford standing at the above-mentioned gate and you can access it by clicking here.

The Tea House is located at the other end of the rose garden.

The life-sized bronze sculpture of Clara and Henry Ford was installed near the Tea House in 2018. The sculpture, which took 25 people and 18 months to complete was created by world-renowned Brooklyn-based StudioEIS and gifted to the Estate by Lynn Ford Alandt, the great-granddaughter of Henry and Clara. The life-sized bronze likenesses feature the couple with the Power House in the background. Henry Ford, at 5 feet 10 inches tall with a top hat in his right hand, rests his left hand on Clara’s lower back as she sits in her garden hat gazing toward her rose garden.

Clara was an avid gardener, so there were several gardens on the Estate,the most famous being the rose garden and English-style gardens, but back in the day her peony and rock gardens were also renowned as you see in these vintage pictures which I photographed at the Estate.

Henry Ford loved nature and wildlife.

Henry Ford, a brilliant inventor, had a soft spot in his heart for wildlife, which he said began when the four-year-old Henry watched, alongside his brother, as their parents pointed out a Sparrow’s nest containing four eggs in a fallen tree. This event fostered Henry’s life-long fascination with birds. Henry hired an artist to document many scenes revolving around his workshops, inventions and life at Fair Lane, so Henry commissioned this artist, Irvin Bacon, to recreate that fond scene in a painting for him.

Please click here to see the painting of young Henry Ford and his family circa 1867 from the Henry Ford Organization digital archives.

Fair Lane had over 500 birdhouses and an equal number of bird baths which were heated in the cold weather for his fine-feathered friends. Henry’s love of birds extended way past the grounds of Fair Lane as he used his influence to ensure passage of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act in 1918, the first national legislation geared to protect migrating birds and prohibit poaching.

Also, in looking through the Henry Ford Organization digital archives, I discovered this photo of Henry with a telescope enjoying the many birds that lived on the Estate. Click here to view that photo.

Below is a quote about Henry’s vast collection of birds:

“About ten years ago we imported a great number of birds from abroad – yellow-hammers, chaffinches, green finches, red pales, twits, bullfinches, jays, linnets, larks – some five hundred of them. They stayed around for a while, but where they are now I do not know. I shall not import any more. Birds are entitled to live where they want to live.” – Henry Ford

After I published the first post last Monday, several of you asked if I saw any birds around the Estate and were surprised to learn I did not. I only saw bees and butterflies enjoying the many flowers. I didn’t see any of the birdhouses or birdbaths and I wonder if they will once again fill the grounds once the renovations are complete? Perhaps I’ll poke around and see if I can get an answer to that question. Currently, you must be a member/donor at this organization to learn the status of the ongoing renovations.

In visiting Fair Lane Estate and its grounds, plus wading through significant online history to complete these posts, I think that Fair Lane was more than simply another jewel acquired by the Fords. Can you really call a 56-room mansion and extensive grounds a “home” in the sense that you and I define a home? Well, perhaps on a much-grander scale, but I like that the Fords not only enjoyed the opulence of their home in a manner befitting an automobile magnate and his wife, but they also used Fair Lane to fuel their respective passions: Henry for his brilliant ideas and forward thinking more than a century ago and, because the Fords enjoyed nature, Henry had his birds and Clara had her flowers – most of all they had each other, a beautiful love story that lasted until Henry’s passing in 1947.

Posted in walk | Tagged Fair Lane Manor and Estate, Roses, walk, walking | 106 Comments

Persian Lilacs and flagstone walkways at Fair Lane Estate. #Wordless Wednesday #I wish I could make this a “scratch and sniff” post!

Posted on April 27, 2022 by Linda Schaub

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

Posted in #Wordless Wednesday, nature, Spring, walk, walking | Tagged #Wordless Wednesday, Lilacs, nature, Spring, walk, walking | 81 Comments

Meandering around Fair Lane Estate – Part I

Posted on April 25, 2022 by Linda Schaub

Fair Lane Estate in Dearborn, Michigan was the home of Henry and Clara Ford from 1915 until Clara’s death in 1950; (Henry died three years earlier). This extensive venue is also referred to as the Clara and Henry Ford Estate and is one of the first historic sites to be designated a National Historic Landmark.

Henry and Clara Ford built this 31,000-square-foot mansion as their dream home and it takes center stage in this 1,300- acre estate which overlooks the Rouge River. This is a popular tourist attraction, with its enviable gardens and interesting architecture and was the final home of the pioneer of Ford Motor Company, whom, as you likely already know, was one of the creators of the automobile. The entire Estate in its heyday consisted of a working farm, pony barn, private garage/laboratory, greenhouse/potting shed, hydro-electric powerhouse/dam and staff cottages. A huge staff was needed to maintain the grounds i.e. the many stone walkways, rose, wildflower and perennial gardens, in addition to the English country manor-style mansion with its indoor pool, skating house and bowling alley. Amazingly, there were 26 gardeners attending to the various gardens and walkways.

I’ve visited this venue in three seasons.

From 2019 to 2021 I visited the Estate multiple times in different seasons and amassed a lot of photos. I discarded those photos taken in the Summer of 2019, because Fair Lane, which has been undergoing extensive interior and exterior restoration efforts since 2014, had scaffolding surrounding the mansion which detracted from the architecture. So, I returned in the Spring of 2020 when the outside mansion restoration was compete and took almost-identical shots, just minus that ugly scaffolding. One day I will return to visit the interior, but the renovations, done in phases, are as yet incomplete, partly because of COVID. I have been dragging my heels on getting these Fair Lane posts done as I wanted to include some historical info along with the photos, all which took time, but I figured the posts are evergreen.

A little backstory about the Ford Estate.

It seems incredible that I never knew this place existed until a few years ago – no big deal right? Except that I passed Fair Lane twice a day as I drove along Evergreen Road going to and from Henry Ford Community College. I will even sheepishly admit that for two years I was on the staff of my alma mater’s college newspaper, The Ford Estate. Query: did I not once wonder about the origin of the newspaper’s name which moniker was chosen for the nearby Ford Estate? Hmm.

Yes, the Estate grounds were next to HFCC, but tucked away from Evergreen Road where I blitzed by in my Biscay Blue VW Super Beetle five days a week. I guess I was not too mindful of my surroundings, or had other things going on. I was carrying a full load of classes, working at the diner part-time during the school year, full-time in Summer and on all school breaks. I was not only on the staff of the newspaper, but also an active member of HFCC Student Government. I wouldn’t want to try that juggling act now, but in those days, youthful stamina and lots of coffee got ‘er done.

Flash forward some 40 plus years later …

In 2019 I participated in the Mutt Strut, a 5K walk/run to raise money for a local animal shelter. The event route went along the Rouge River Gateway Trail and past the Henry and Clara Ford Estate. It was a gorgeous May day and the turnaround point was near the entrance to Fair Lane.

While passing the many flowering apple trees on the grounds, finally it clicked … the venue and the college newspaper’s name. Anyway, I liked that route and made a mental note to return to explore the Estate, which I did on a sunny Saturday afternoon in 2019. Before my return, I researched the venue online and knew there were renovations going on. This time I did not hike over to the Estate, but drove to Fair Lane and parked in an adjacent parking lot. I chitchatted for a half-hour with the guard before entering the grounds. She explained the extensive renovation to the Fords’ home prohibited interior access, but visitors were free to roam around the grounds. The interior renovation of Fair Lane is ongoing to this day and, when completed, will recreate artwork, window treatments, wooden floors and floor coverings in painstaking detail, all to ensure the 56-room Manor will one day look identical to when it was occupied by Clara and Henry Ford.

So, with all that history under my belt, I thanked her and prepared to explore. She called out to me “one more thing before you go dear – please be sure to return in the Spring when Clara’s lilac garden is in bloom – the smell and beauty will blow you away!” I thanked her and off I went to explore the grounds of Henry and Clara Fords’ Estate.

The first stop was Fair Lane Manor.

The Fords’ home took two years to build (1913 to 1915) and was the 15th and final residence of Henry and Clara. It was designed in part by famed architect Frank Lloyd Wright and is made of neighboring Ohio’s Marblehead Quarry limestone and concrete. This massive undertaking began after the success of Ford’s Model T. I’ll focus on photos of the house, but there are adjoining buildings where Henry Ford had a laboratory and a retreat area where he discussed his ideas with fellow inventor/pal Thomas Edison. Edison was instrumental in designing the power plant in 1914, which harnessed power from the River and directed it to the home, laboratory and Clara’s greenhouse/potting shed.

Below are the back of the Manor and two shots of the power plant/garage.

Here is how it looked back in the day.

Tootling along the Rouge River.

The Estate is built on the Rouge River. The rear of the home faces the River and that residence, along with the current 17 acres of gardens and grounds are located high above this River which is prone to flooding.

Below you will see the churning Rouge River …

… and these old photos show how that power was harnessed for use in the power plant.

One can have a peaceful stroll along the Rouge River on some of the stone walkways and there were stone steps as well – you had to have good footing as the steps were steep and uneven and that flagstone path was a bit slippery. The Redbud trees were in bloom and it was a very picturesque sight.

You can see the steps and stones were a bit precarious for walking. Below you can read how Clara Ford had the horizontal stones placed to form Alpine gardens.

Here are more photos around the exterior of Fair Lane Manor.

I stopped at Clara’s Greenhouse and Potting Shed.

I could tell there will be a lot more refurbishing done to the greenhouse area. The trails that lead to the gardens near the greenhouse were fenced off with signs that read “no entry” – oh well, as mentioned above, I’ll return when the restoration is 100% completed .

The potting shed (right) was quaint looking and was more like a small house. I peered inside where a slicker hung on a hall tree and there were high boots and a collection of garden utensils, gloves and potting soil.

There were plants lined up along the walkway awaiting one of the many gardeners still on staff.

Clara Ford loved her gardens and in these vintage photos, you can see all the planning that went into them with master gardeners and renowned landscape designers.

At the guard’s suggestion, I did return to see Clara Ford’s Lilac Gardens and my next post, for Wordless Wednesday, will focus on her Persian Lilacs. Unfortunately, as you see below, some of the Lilacs were lost or pruned back due to disease.

Next Monday’s post, will feature a section of the Estate known as the Formal Rose Garden where Clara Ford could gaze upon her 10,000-plant rose garden. Now you know why there were 26 full-time gardeners on staff!