WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY

“All gave some, some gave all.”

Posted on November 8, 2021 by Linda Schaub

The above quote in the title of this post is attributed to Korean War veteran and Purple Heart recipient Howard William Osterkamp from Dent, Ohio. In honor of Veteran’s Day this coming Thursday, I am straying from my usual type of post to write about the Wall that honors the Vietnam War vets.

Back in 1977, I spent a long weekend in Washington, D.C. On the plane trip home, I realized I should have allotted a few more vacation days, as there simply wasn’t enough time to see all the usual tourist sites, let alone the Smithsonian Museums. I always told myself I’d return to Washington, D.C. someday, but as time marched on, (even more quickly as I’ve gotten older), I know there are other bucket list venues I’d like to visit first.

So, when “The Wall that Heals”, a traveling Vietnam War Memorial, was slated to be in nearby Riverview (Michigan), I seized the opportunity to visit that exhibit in case I never made it back to D.C. The Wall is 3/4s of the size of the permanent Wall that was built in 1982 in Washington, D.C. This is one of two replica Walls that travel around the U.S. The other Wall replica is called “The Moving Wall” and has been crisscrossing the U.S. for two decades. Like the original Wall, this exhibit was open 24/7 with lights lining the top, so people were able to pay their respects at any time.

The stats are staggering.

The Wall honors the more than three million Americans who served in the U.S. armed forces during the Vietnam War; unbelievably, there were 58,276 men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in Vietnam and each and every one of their names is listed on the Wall (plus 5 – there are actually 58,281 names on the Wall). There are 140 numbered panels made of Avonite, a synthetic granite and those panels are supported by an aluminum frame.

Some more stats …

160 Medal of Honor recipients on the Wall
42 sets of brothers on the Wall
3 sets of fathers and sons on the Wall
8 women, all nurses, on the Wall
16 Chaplains on the Wall
15 years old, the youngest service member on the Wall
62 years old, the oldest service member on the Wall
22 years, 9 months old, the average age of service members on the Wall

1,500 service members unaccounted for
246 casualty deaths in one day: January 31, 1968
400,000 items left at the Wall
704 names on the largest panel; 5 names on the shortest panel

Service Branches on the Wall:
65.6 % Army; 25.5% Marine Corp; 4.4% Navy, 4.4% Air Force and .01% Coast Guard

I arrived early on Saturday morning, August 14th to avoid the crowds, but truthfully I needn’t have worried about a jam-packed event, because I had no idea how large this outdoor exhibit really was, a truly sad reminder of just how many American lives were lost in the Vietnam War.

As was the case here in SE Michigan for a significant portion of the Summer and Fall, the ever-mischievous Mother Nature had her way with the Wall memorial site, providing still another torrential weather event, yielding 2.73 inches of rain Wednesday into Thursday morning and then she added a stormy night for good measure. Over 3/4s of a million DTE customers in SE Michigan lost power which messed up many of the traffic signals enroute to the event.

It was the third day in residence for the Wall and the field was still soggy, (mostly muddy but straw was strewn over the muddiest areas), but that didn’t deter attendees from pausing to reflect and remember, many with tears in their eyes, or openly weeping, some placing flowers or a flag at the base of a particular segment of the Wall.

The Wall memorial was at Young Patriot’s Park in Riverview, Michigan. I’ve been to this park before. It has a small pond and fountain, though the pond is more ornamental and without waterfowl. A heron happened by and was spooked by my presence and took off.

Young Patriot’s Park has a small circular walking track, but its main attraction is not the water feature, nor perimeter path, but instead is known for the permanent patriotic display to honor the City’s fallen heroes from all factions and in various conflicts. Brave service personnel are honored here, not only by the Fallen Soldier statue, but also in the path of memorial bricks, each bearing a fallen service person’s name.

Here are some photos of the permanent memorial at this park.

As I pulled into the park, it was stunning to see rows and rows of flags flapping in the breeze. The flags circled the small pond and along nearby Sibley Road and up and down the area leading to the memorial which was NOT within the confines of Young Patriot’s Park.

I parked the car and gazed into the distance. I could see the Wall stretched forever. There were many booths where you could see and hear info on the Wall and there was a display of artifacts from the Vietnam War.

I saw many Vietnam veterans wearing hats that identified them as such and there were volunteers to answer questions. The Wall is organized so that there are three panels to indicate the three deadliest days in the Vietnam War. Some of the deaths were noted as to those who died from their injuries after returning home. I am glad I stopped by as it was quite moving. A few veterans locked arms and were weeping and I misted up seeing them. I am old enough to remember the Vietnam War, though none of my friends served. Two neighbor boys were wounded, but both survived. I originally intended to use the Wall pics for Wordless Wednesday, but at the last minute put everything in one post, so if you’re still here, thanks for hanging in here until the end.

Murder She Wrote. #Wordless Wednesday #Counting Crows. #A murder of crows in the ‘hood.

Posted on November 3, 2021 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, crows, nature, walk, walking | 65 Comments

“Trick or treat …

Posted on October 31, 2021 by Linda Schaub

**Who is that masked man, er … squirrel?**

… smell my feet …

**Parker makes no bones about sniffing my shoe.**

**My favorite peanut pal … always sweet, sometimes spooky.**

… gimme something good to eat!”

**M&Ms: They melt in your mouth, not in your paw.**

The phrase above was the cry uttered by my childhood friends and me, circa late 50s/early 60s, as we crowded together “begging” at homeowners’ doors along Sandmere Place, in Oakville, Ontario, where I spent my formative years.

The alternative call for candy was “shell out, shell out – the witches are out!”

I may have used the latter phrase, though I don’t recall donning a witch costume for Halloween. I vaguely remember those hard plastic masks accompanied by flimsy, satiny-type costumes, usually worn over heavy coats as climates were chilly, if not frosty, in Southeast Ontario by October 31st. I remember wearing costumes for Casper the Friendly Ghost and Snow White. One year I went as Little Red Riding Hood and it rained buckets – my red satin cape stained my new Winter coat and I dragged the plastic tote bag along the gravel road, creating a massive hole in the bottom, resulting in NO goodies that year.

Once I reached school age, our teachers passed out UNICEF collection canisters in the hope that our Halloween begging for candy also resulted in those same neighbors dropping coins into the canister to benefit the United National International Children’s Emergency Fund, which organization helped provide emergency aid to children around the world.

Mom stayed home to pass out candy on our porch. As a youngster I went out trick-or-treating with my father. We always stayed in the ‘hood as it was a large circular street. The houses were fairly close together, but had lots of property out front, so Dad would wait at the end of each driveway and I’d run up to each house.

Sometimes I’d see my neighborhood pals and we’d peer into one another’s plastic tote bags to check out the “loot” such as Smarties (similar to M&Ms), bags of Maltesers (malted milk balls) and yummy-tasting Coffee Crisp or Kit Kat bars. These delicious wafer bars always made the “cut” though Mackintosh’s Toffee, sticky and guaranteed to pull out your baby teeth, was always apprehended by the “Candy Police” a/k/a Mom.

Some neighbors were purists who handed out Jersey Milk chocolate bars. In Canada, we call them “chocolate bars” not “candy bars” and Jersey Milks are milk chocolate, devoid of nuts or fruit and comparable to the American Hershey’s candy bar. Jersey Milk also came in bite-sized swirly kisses called Jersey Buds. Jersey Milk anything were keepers. There were popcorn balls and apples too. Mom went through my “haul” and any apples were set aside for apple pie if there were enough. Those sticky peanut butter kisses encased in orange or black waxy wrappers were tossed out, as were candy cigarettes. My parents were strict about eating candy, so I got to pick a few treats that night and the rest were put away to be doled out in small increments.

Through the years, I’ve lamented that no photos were taken of me on Halloween, despite the fact my parents documented me posing at every holiday and tons of times in between holidays. Because I was an only child, many images fill the family albums, ranging from black-and-white to Kodachrome, thanks to Mom’s Baby Brownie, then Dad’s Leica 35mm camera respectively.

Ahh – not all memories were captured on film, but those memories in my head, just like the goodies, hearken back to sweeter and simpler times.

Flash forward more than a few decades.

As I wrote in Monday’s post “Autumn: Amble on!” I went to Council Point Park on October 17th to walk and also celebrate Halloween with my furry pals. This is an annual event for us and I am not sure who enjoys it more – them or me. However, I usually buy a few net bags of mini pumpkins, wait for the trees to turn vibrant shades, then take the camera for some (hopefully) cute shots. Well, I hesitated placing the pumpkins and peanuts along the Park perimeter path because of the hawks circling above, plus Mother Nature’s timeline for leaf loveliness was all off. So, I made trail mix instead and didn’t hear any complaints.

So, sit back and enjoy a little frivolity with my furry friends – the world needs to have more fun and frivolity these days and this gives me an opportunity to fulfill the “WHIMSY” portion of my blog’s title. At the end of the photos you’ll find a special greeting.

You don’t have to be a sleuth to know squirrels do have a sweet tooth.

I made up my trail mix and you may recall I treated the squirrels and birds to some trail mix last Winter and they loved it. So, I gathered my ingredients and made two batches – one for them, one for me. I added almonds and pistachios to their trail mix. I find whole almonds too hard for my teeth so I use slivered almonds for me instead of whole almonds.

**Some for me; some for my furry friends.**

Once at the Park I scattered half the mother lode of goodies under the Safe Haven Tree where they could nibble to their heart’s content while the weeping branches help protect them from predators. But the huge leaves made it too dark beneath the tree.

**“The Safe Haven Tree” at Council Point Park.**

Under the pavilion are picnic tables. In the early Fall of 2020 the City removed the tables from all parks due to COVID protocol. I hope they keep them there all Winter this year as I’ve fed the squirrels and birds here throughout the Winter in the past. I laid everything out on the picnic table.

At this time, a pair of Mallards (that you met in my last post) saw me and wandered up the Ecorse Creek banks, but they had no space to fly over/up, so they turned around and left (with much disdain for me – trust me). I already had the camera out, so let the watch party begin!

Gotta give the goodies the sniff test first!

Sometimes you feel like a nut …

… sometimes you don’t.

Candy is dandy, but nuts rule! Here’s a Halloween greeting for you – just click here.

[M&M snack pack image f/Pinterest]

Posted in Halloween, holiday, nature, walk, walking | Tagged Halloween, nature, Squirrels, walk, walking | 73 Comments

Grinning like a Cheshire cat. #Wordless Wednesday #1,122 of 1,256 mi./1,806 of 2,021 km.

Posted on October 27, 2021 by Linda Schaub

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

Posted in #Wordless Wednesday, goal, Uncategorized, walk, walking | Tagged #Wordless Wednesday, walk, walking, year-end goal | 58 Comments

Autumn: Amble on!

Posted on October 25, 2021 by Linda Schaub

So far, Southeast Michigan’s Autumn weather has had a little something for everyone. Prior to this past Saturday, when we suddenly went straight from Summer-like bliss to brrrrr (completely bypassing brisk), we had enjoyed the warmest October on record; those weather records date back to 1874! Our local meteorologists quipped that maybe October should have the moniker of “Augtober” or “Octoaster” when we had fifteen days in a row above 70 F (21 C).

Due to the unusually warm temps, those same weather folks said leaves have been at least a week later changing color, but I think it’s more than a week, since most trees remain green in the neighborhoods I pass on my daily walk. That said, the leaves on one tree at Council Point Park turn colorful early and drop every year ahead of the others– so much for colorful leaf-peeping!

Sunday, October 17th was one of those primo Autumn days. I decided not to gamble on the weather staying great and risking rain or a gray and gloomy sky for my Halloween trick-or-treat-with-the-squirrels photo shoot, so I took a lot of photos that morning.

Today’s post is only about that particular Autumn amble and what I saw in the ‘hood and the Park.

Homeowners here generally begin hauling out the harvest décor once the school bells ring and/or there’s a definite chill in the air. This year, I suspect some of those plump pumpkins sitting atop hay bales the last six weeks will be mush once they are ready to be carved into jack-o’-lanterns. In a typical Autumn, as I walk through the neighborhoods, my heavy walking shoes crunch, crunch, crunch the crumpled leaves, but with scant leaves on the ground, the only noise I heard was the rustle of the cornstalks in the breeze when I passed.

The squirrels are as diligent as ever hiding their peanuts and other nut treasures they glean from the Black Walnut and Oak trees scattered throughout the Park. My furry friends are not plump yet, so there will be no fat-shaming of my little buddies in this post.

The appearance of hawks cruising overhead has cast a pall on the Park. I scan the sky constantly and continue to sequester the peanuts in places I deem safe, where a hawk won’t try to swoop down on a squirrel munching contentedly on a peanut. But I can’t keep my furry friends from streaking clear across the Park to bury that one peanut, thus becoming a target for these birds of prey. Sometimes I see the shadow of large wings flapping overhead. I had hoped the hawks might migrate as do the feathered predators that fly over Lake Erie Metropark in their annual migration September through November, but fellow walker Arnie said he saw a hawk grab a squirrel a few weeks ago. I hope I never see that happen.

I’d much rather see a flock of Canada Geese crossing the sky and descending onto a field. Their noisy honking always prompts me to look up and watch them and/or duck to avoid any unforeseen plops if they get too close overhead.

If there are no geese around, the Park is peaceful. On a quiet morning, I hear the tap, tap, tap of claws on the path as squirrels race over to grab a peanut, whether from Arnie who doles out peanuts in the shell, or Alene who offers up a sprinkle of cocktail peanuts and then there’s me, The Peanut Lady. On the path, I tuck them close to a bush or tree, but they’ll dash back onto the asphalt, then I hear the peanut shells fall as they dig in. The sly Blue Jays scam peanuts from the squirrels every day and routinely screech to their brethren to alert them to a “drop” – I enjoy interacting with them. I was disappointed in the absence of Cardinals, Chickadees or Woodpeckers this Summer and early Fall. An unexpected and quick visit from a pair of Mallards to scope out the Halloween goodies gave me the header image and a few photos as Mr. and Mrs. Duck, with expectant faces, climbed up the banks of the Ecorse Creek and onto the perimeter path, but the goodies were up high, so they beat a hasty retreat.

The grass has been covered in dew during this most-recent warm spell and I don’t think the smaller gray and black squirrels like getting completely soaking wet, so they hop through the tall grass arriving on the perimeter path sporting only wet paws and snouts. I tried to get these pogo-stick-type images, but they were too fast for me and the photos were way too blurry.

These are some photos I wanted to share from my October 17th Autumn amble – I hope you enjoy them. Meanwhile, I’ll keep on ambling and I’ll take a tally of my miles for my Wordless Wednesday post.

Summer’s last hurrah.

**“Don’t toss any peanuts in here Linda – I’ll never find ’em!”**

**I’ve watched this tree turn colors and drop its leaves first every year since 2013.**

**“I’ll stand here in the middle of the path so you can see me.”**

**“Oh-oh, here comes trouble.**
**Quick … hide our Halloween goodies!”**

**Mr. and Mrs. Mallard sidled up the Creek bank for breakfast.**

**Mr. Duck scoped out the path – no treats here!**

**“Did you forget about us Linda?**
**We liked what you offered up in the Spring.”**

**These are Sumac saplings which grow along the Ecorse Creek.**

**They are vibrant and began to turn color way back in early August.**

**Teasels standing tall along the Ecorse Creek banks.**

**Goldenrod adds a nice touch of color along the perimeter path.**

**The wildflowers were still blooming – no killer frost yet.**

**These berries are vibrant, but never attract the birds nor squirrels.**

**Fungi growing on the log where I used to feed the critters.**

**One day a squirrel was nibbling on this …**
**maybe so I’d feed him more?**

**A spider, my nemesis and this sticky-icky web.**

**There were enough mushrooms on lawns to make pepper steak.**

**Or escape the crowd and just dine here.**

**Apple tree in the ‘hood in someone’s front yard.**

**No one, even the squirrels, swipes these apples.**

**Amble on!!!**
**P.S. The rust in the wet grass turns my shoes orange.**

Posted in nature, Seasons, walk, walking | Tagged Autumn, nature, walk, walking | 56 Comments

Farm-fresh goodies. #Wordless Wednesday

Posted on October 20, 2021 by Linda Schaub

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

Posted in #Wordless Wednesday, Street Photography, walk, walking | Tagged #Wordless Wednesday, Street Photography, walk, walking | 73 Comments

Having one’s ducks in a row.

Posted on October 18, 2021 by Linda Schaub

Back in the days when I worked on site, it was imperative I had my “ducks in a row” every morning. I took the bus to downtown Detroit for years and even though the bus may not have always arrived on time, I had to be at the bus stop waiting for it like it WOULD show up timely. I’ve long since strayed from that rigid regimen, because for the last decade I’ve been working from home, but I still need to put some pep in my step in order to get out the door daily to garner steps to attain my year-end walking goal.

Today’s post entitled “Having one’s ducks in a row” isn’t all about ME getting out the door to walk and visit my favorite parks – instead, it’s about three posts in a row centering around Mallard ducks, with an identical venue, Heritage Park. So, what’s up with that you ask? Well, the general consensus is you all seem to like ducks, so I’ll indulge you with one more duck post. Lots of squirrel posts will fill my blog in coming months, I assure you.

Ducks are a happy lot and to me they seem to be perpetually smiling … I mean, have you ever seen a duck having a hissy fit the likes of the histrionics exhibited by a Canada Goose? It’s fair to say that next to squirrels, ducks are my favorite critters to photograph.

So, after that siege of rain and flooding of Biblical proportions on June 25th, I knew any excursions to bigger parks would have to wait a while. Not only would my favorite shoreline parks have trails underwater, but the grounds would be soggy as well. Yes, I have rubber boots, but they aren’t conducive for long walks. So, I spent a lot of the soggy, foggy, buggy and muggy Summertime mornings walking at Council Point Park, as torrential rains and storms regularly wrecked havoc with my weekend walking plans. I had a few alternatives like Bishop Park or Dingell Park, along their respective cement Boardwalks, as well as tripping along lovely historical Heritage Park’s paved paths.

So I drove to Heritage Park the following weekend after “The Siege” where an unusual sight greeted me.

Weather for ducks.

I admit I’ve had some fun riddling this post with clichés like “ducks in a row” or “weather for ducks” and yes, you might have “quacked up” or chances are you’re rolling your eyes and groaning. It’s not as if the ducks and geese at Heritage Park don’t have a place to park their feathery butts. They have beautiful Coan Lake, the man-made pond that covers three acres and has a depth of 9 to 18 feet (2.7 to 5.4 meters). Coan Lake is stocked with a variety of fish, for catch-and-release fishing, thus it provides the waterfowl residents like Mallards and Canada Geese, as well as visitors like Cormorants and Ring-billed Seagulls, an opportunity to snag a snack.

**Coan Lake is NOT where you catch dinner for Friday’s Fish Fry.**

**Yep, Heritage Park takes care of its feathered friends.**

But despite the amenities, as you see below, the Mallards meandered over to the saturated lawn near the parking lot where they discovered this pond. You may think it is a gulley, but no, it is not – the lawn was so saturated and nowhere for the water to drain, that this pond formed.

**Water encroached onto the walkway for the memorial trees.**

I whipped the camera out then stood there awhile watching them paddling and preening.

Duck, duck, goose.

What we had here was a case of “the haves and the have nots” as a small flock of Canada Geese were flying overhead, so their incessant honking had me tilting my head upward. They passed this pond and parking lot, no doubt heard the “quackcophony” of ducks at the new swimming hole, so they doubled back and landed near the pond.

**A gaggle of geese giggled with glee about this new pond.**

“Wait, what?” is what their leader seemed to say as he shepherded a small group over to this newfound watering hole, then “what the hey, the more the merrier!” then promptly plopped into the pond to join their feathered, smaller brethren.

The Mallards didn’t seem to mind until this Canada Goose got a little too cozy with one of them.

The scene was picturesque and if I didn’t tell you it was just low-lying ground, saturated from “The Siege” and subsequent rainfall, you’d never have known, would you? There were some pretty reflections of one of our fine-feathered friends, like up top and right below.

This Mallard seemed to test the depth of the water by waddling along with its bright-orange webbed feet on the grassy pond bottom.

**“Cool!!! No worries that I’ll drown here – it’s just past my kneecaps!”**

The reflections on the water of the 139-year-old West Mound Church, which has been going restoration after a devastating fire nearly gutted the interior on November 2, 2020, were better than looking at the original.

If the windows weren’t boarded up, you’d never guess the extent of the damage.
The inside is gutted from fire, plus water damage from dousing the flames.

The waterfowl wading pool party was the highlight of this excursion.

I meandered around the historical village area …

**A view from the overlook – it would appear this green goo is pond scum/algae.**

**This is Frogbit, an invasive aquatic plant.**

… then over to the Community gardens.

**Eventually that table will be used to sort through all the produce gleaned from these gardens.**

**This pool of water should be siphoned into the gardens.**
**No ducks or geese had discovered this … yet.**

**Abundant sunshine and rain made beaucoup blooms at the entrance to the Community Gardens.**

I finished up at the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens where I got the only butterfly shots of the entire Summer and those photos will be fodder to share in a separate post.

Posted in nature, walk, walking | Tagged nature, walk, walking | 45 Comments

Molting Mallards #Wordless Wednesday #Poor feather babies

Posted on October 13, 2021 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, Mallards, nature, walk, walking | 42 Comments

Seize the (Week)Day #8. Feelin’ Ducky at Heritage Park.

Posted on October 11, 2021 by Linda Schaub

This is the eighth and final post in this limited series of excursions taken on early weekday mornings in the month of June. If you missed the reason I ventured out so early, you can read about it here.

This morning meander was taken on June 24th at picturesque Heritage Park, in Taylor, Michigan. We had enjoyed three days in a row of coolish temps, so, as you know from prior posts, I escaped for excursions at larger parks to enjoy a walk with temps that were not humid and/or oppressive. I knew I would enjoy this trip as rain was in the forecast, but, as I headed out that morning, I had no idea just how much I’d savor this particular excursion, because the following day, Friday, June 25th, was the beginning of a siege of torrential rain, severe weather and/or storms, heat and humidity that has lasted into October. This weird and wacky weather pattern has never been the norm for Southeast Michigan and I despair how climate change has wreaked havoc on what used to be four distinct seasons and a temperate Summer, but for those few Dog Days of August. As I write this post, while reflecting on the weather this past week, unbelievably, we soared to nearly 80 F (26C) most days, with icky-sticky humidity and dew points. Sure, I got my steps in as I continue to chase my year-end walking goal, but it felt more like August than October.

I was up at the crack of dawn and out the door shortly thereafter.

While at Heritage Park on June 24th, there were the usual serene scenes, perfect for picture-taking. I’m sure by now you are familiar with the sights around this historical village that surrounds Coan Lake from prior posts.

**It was so early, the floodlights were still on!**

**The covered bridge and Coan Lake fountain in the foreground.**

I was enjoying the serenity of the still morning, the reflections on the water and was surprised to discover I had the venue all to myself … well, me and the many mallards that were milling about. Usually, there are a few dog walkers or folks jogging or walking, but maybe this was because it was a weekday?

But suddenly there were clouds on the horizon ….

Though there was no rumble of thunder, I had the sensation of the sunlight being turned off, just like that … almost like Mother Nature had turned off a light switch. I looked up to see a dark and brooding cloud overhead. Yikes! It looked like it would pour any minute and I had parked far away to get extra steps in. So, should I assume it was going to pour, thus I needed to scurry back to the car – there was really nowhere to duck for cover here in the village. But, I opted to stay and was glad I did because that pesky dark cloud stayed parked overhead the rest of the time I was at this venue and did not yield a single raindrop. But it sure looked ominous the entire time.

**Blue skies, nothing but blue skies … then this.**

For my perseverance, I got a treasure trove of Mama and duckling shots.

In years past, many times I’ve gone to Heritage Park hoping to get shots of fuzzy ducklings. This was certainly my year for doing so, as I got close to and photographed several of these cutie pies. So, when I saw this family of older ducklings, I couldn’t help but wonder if they were the same babies I’d oohed and aahed over about six weeks before during the Fish & Loaves Virtual 5K event.

The plumage on these ducklings looked just about as dark as the brooding clouds overhead. I love how they were snuggled up with their siblings.

**Hey lady – did you bring treats in exchange for the photo you’re about to take of me?**

**Ho hum, yawn – just another morning being especially cute and photogenic.**

**Sometimes ya gotta get away from the maddening crowd – know what I mean?**

**Interacting with my siblings downright bores me and tires me out!**

The inquisitive ducklings watched my every move and Mama monitored me as well, in between standing guard and having a brief cat nap, er … duck nap, while debating whether she should take her babies to the water away from the big, bad stranger who loomed nearby. Notice that she always has one eye on me, ever watchful of my movements.

**Mama decides eyes at half-mast while “on guard” is permissible.**

**A plop in the grass for a quick minute; standing one-legged is not all that comfy.**

This Mallard Mama steered her tiny ducklings to the edge of Coan Lake, so obviously I was perceived as a threat to her little family.

**Evading that tall person who is encroaching in their personal space.**

Happily I managed to duck the rain …

I left Heritage Park a little earlier than planned, but that was okay too as I had a treasure trove of photos to create this blog post and also this week’s Wordless Wednesday post that will feature some of the male Mallards I encountered that morning. Those adult males were molting and had quite an unusual look to their plumage than you would usually see.

The day after this delightful, just ducky walk, Southeast Michigan got what was termed a “once-in-500-years-rain event” when 6.8 inches (17 centimeters) of rain fell in 24 hours, leaving countless homes with severe flood damage and a whopping 1,000 vehicles abandoned and bobbing around on the local freeways, a sight that made the national news. In early June Michigan HAD been classified as being in moderate drought, but after this weather event and subsequent flash floods and torrential rains, that classification was wiped out, leaving us with the buggiest, muggiest Summer that I have ever experienced.