Over the weekend I hustled down to my favorite nature nook to get photos of what I figured would be the last of the colorful leaves. We have had September-like weather and those still-beautiful leaves added some welcome pops of color in the Park.
It was hard to believe that only a week ago, give or take a few days, the leaves were gently fluttering down, but suddenly they began to drop in earnest, as if Mother Nature had wagged a finger at the trees and set a deadline for them to get bare. Now the squirrel and bird nests were visible, much to their owners’ chagrin I’m sure. If I put down peanuts now, unless my furry friends are paying attention, they’ll likely get lost in the leaves.
I noticed leaves had swirled about and collected near some of the park benches …
… making it look a little desolate to me, especially as I saw no squirrels or birds. Where was everyone? I usually don’t need to announce my presence. Hmm. No one showed up until the second time around – they must’ve slept in.
It was a delightful six-mile stroll and the sun finally peeked through the clouds just prior to leaving the Park, which prompted me to make a detour, as I decided the pileup of chores that awaited me at home could wait because I was making one more stop, which you’ll read about in my next post.
As the days grow colder and Winter weather is on the horizon, the squirrels become desperate to create a cache for Winter. Of course, I want to help my furry friends all I can so they can gather and stash. I can relate … after all, throughout the month of October, I made countless trips to the grocery store to stock up on shelf-stable provisions to eliminate trips to crowded Meijer, as COVID-19 stats continue to climb here in Michigan.
Perhaps I walk a fine line between lavishing the squirrels with peanuts, while simultaneously providing ongoing photo ops for myself. I assure you my intentions are not self-serving and it is a win-win for both of us.
I was strolling in the Park in early October, long before the leaves began fluttering down, when, in the distance, I saw a Fox squirrel sitting on top of a park bench.
I couldn’t tell if it was Parker, and, as I approached that bench, the squirrel did not run over to greet me, nor stomp on my shoe and beg for peanuts, so I figured it was either a newbie to the Park, or a youngster, not brave enough, without benefit of its brethren being around, to approach me. Usually the Fox squirrels are fearless, while the gray and black squirrels are always skittish and reluctant to venture too close to me.
I am amused when I toss down peanuts that they obviously want, but they are fearful of coming too close to me, the tall hulking human who looms large. I can almost hear the gears in their brains clicking fast and furiously about my presence. Nowadays, they might even be thinking “what if it is a ploy … you know, a snatch-and-grab, like that flying squirrel trafficking ring in Florida last month that we heard about?”
Sometimes the squirrels study me and I daren’t make any sudden move without them retreating, that is, until hunger pangs, or their nut-gathering efforts overtake any fear of their human benefactor. Then my furry friends will give me and the peanuts on the path wide berth as they calculate how quickly they may zoom in and snatch a peanut … or two or three, only if I am deemed “safe” to be around.
Your Roving Reporter is always on the lookout for cute squirrels.
So, back to my Saturday stroll, when I saw the Fox squirrel sitting on a park bench a few paces away from me and I figured “no problem – it will stay there and perhaps I’ll get a cute shot like this photo of Parker taken on one of the memorial benches a few years ago.”
However, that idea quickly backfired when the squirrel took one look at me and sped up the tree to the highest branch. Really?! Note to self: “look in the mirror when you get home … are you looking especially scary today – it is the season of the witch after all.”
I really wasn’t fazed in the least by this bad behavior, so I drew the camera out of its pouch with my left hand and reached into the bag of peanuts with my right hand and quickly tossed a handful down, but not on the ground … on the park bench in two different spots.
Of course peanuts always pique their interest.
Meanwhile, my furry friend hovered nearby, scoping me out from the tree branch. “C’mon sweetie” I cooed softly to her. “Come get these peanuts I put here for you; they’re in two different spots – take your pick. C’mon down and you can feast while I take your picture.” That squirrel looked at me a bit dumbfounded – clearly she was a newbie and couldn’t grasp this concept of peanuts on the park bench.
I coaxed her a little more, while she continued to practice social distancing from the tree branch. My patience was wearing thin, even though it was a Saturday and I had all the time in the world. I told her “well, so be it – I’ll wait a few more minutes, otherwise Linda will be on her way as there are other hungry squirrels to feed who are more trusting.” Well, whether my furry pal comprehended what I said (highly unlikely) or curiosity and hunger got the best of her, she quickly descended from her perch and scampered over to the bench. (“Now, we’re finally getting somewhere” I thought.)
So take a look at what happened next. This would have made a great slideshow, but the slideshow feature in the Block Editor is not great, so here goes:
As you can see, I did not convince Ms. Squirrel to climb onto the graffiti-riddled park bench to get those peanuts – instead, she rationalized it was safer and easier to simply retrieve them from beneath the mesh metal seat. Hmm.
By now, I couldn’t keep from muttering to myself “really – you were just up on the seat – in fact you were sitting on the top of the back of the seat, so it’s not like you’re afraid of heights, or you’ve never climbed up here before – gimme a break!”
Nope, she continued relentlessly poking a claw through the mesh to retrieve a peanut with no success, as she went from one side of the bench to the other. Yes I thought of throwing out some more peanuts, but no, that was downright silly. I realized that although I still retain my moniker of “The Peanut Lady” apparently “The Squirrel Whisperer” not so much.
I stayed a little longer, as I could afford to linger and it was a gorgeous Fall day. As I tapped my foot, camera in hand, I remained hopeful she’d come to her senses, but she finally scampered away, dejection written all over her furry face.
Wait, there is a “take two” in this scenario.
Just as I decided to move on, (away from all this foolishness), suddenly an inquisitive black squirrel came bounding over and approached the park bench, sniffing appreciatively from ground level, then decided to have “a go at” those peanuts.
Just like her counterpart, this squirrel poked along the bottom, even stood up on its hind legs to check out the goods, then, if it did not persist in trying to pull a peanut through the mesh … nope, that was not happening, as these are Hampton Farms Jumbo Peanuts, usually a double nut, if not a triple nut inside the shell. So, slipping them through the tiny holes didn’t happen as you see in this brief sequence of photos.
After poking and pulling, this squirrel similarly gave up, and, if a squirrel could shrug its shoulders, it would have done so.
I felt badly and was about to toss some peanuts on the pathway and just leave, when squirrel #1 returned to give it another go. I watched and waited while she positioned herself just right, latched onto a peanut with one sharp claw and gave it a tug …
… nothing happened, so she circled around again, determined to give it the “old college try” …
… then, without further ado, she leaped onto the bench like she’d never been there before. Well “yay, you go girl!” I told her.
Shaking my head I could not help but say “I dunno about you – why didn’t you just do that the first time – are you daft – you give women a bad name!”
Fall is fleeting … my favorite season that fills me with awe. I am sorry to see the leaves fluttering down to the ground, now scattered in a palette of burnished hues, those burnt oranges, rich reds, beautiful burgundies and glorious golds. I enjoyed them the best I could, until a wicked windstorm began ripping those leaves that were hanging precariously by their stems and sending them flying. In a four-season state it is what it is: Fall temps fall and so do leaves.
But before the leaves fell, the ‘hood was ablaze in Autumn hues.
The flowers and birdhouse complement each other don’t they?
Here in Michigan, the harvest décor starts appearing on homeowners’ properties right after Labor Day. One September Saturday, I took the long way home, as I strolled through the ‘hood to check out the displays before Mother Nature’s wicked windstorms and/or torrential rainstorms decimated them. And, it’s not only Mother Nature messing up the décor, but our furry friends also love Autumn in the ‘hood. It’s great fun to scale the corn stalks and grab a few ears of Indian corn to munch on, or, why not take a big bite out of a previously unblemished pumpkin? Yes, those same cute squirrels you may ooh and aah over are mischievous little buggers sometimes. You’ll recall I wrote a post or two last year after I watched one squirrel tear apart a homeowners beautiful display, just to nibble on some Indian corn. When I was taking pictures, the squirrel looked at me through the corn stalks and the definite look of defiance on its furry face was priceless.
Mum’s the word …
The mums demand equal time for Fall flourishes in homeowners’ front yards. In my opinion, nothing is more vibrant. as Summer wanes and Fall ramps up, than to see cushion mums gracing porches and front gardens. I am envious of these beauties as all my chrysanthemums got leggy or water logged and turned brown … some green thumb I had.
Once again, I stumbled upon sunflowers without searching for them.
It seems ever since I went looking for sunflowers in late Summer, they keep popping up … everywhere. Yes, these are a different variety and a smaller “face” but they gave me a smile when I passed them. There were several sunflowers, some which were top heavy and the stalk was bent over.
Here are some of the sunflowers close up.
The heading said “Autumn Amble” and I’ve been ambling along, still hoping to reach my goal by year end. We had a nice run of clear weather up to the last two weeks, but I concede we needed the rain. I am happy for the time change, because on gloomy mornings, it did not lighten up until 8:30 – 8:45 a.m. sometimes.
So, this image below would be me, ambling along and happy to have accumulated 1,102/1255 miles or 1,773/2020 kilometers in 2020 – amble on!!!
While roaming ‘round the ‘hood lately, I noted the themes for Halloween range from ghostly to ghastly. Each year there is one homeowner on Emmons Boulevard that devotes the entire front lawn to recreating a ghastly graveyard, complete with wacky tombstones and ghoulish figures rising from the grave. I have shared some of those images in my blog in the past, but today, I’ve got something better for you. This cemetery is the “real deal” with vintage tombstones and it comes with a little bit of history too.
If you are really brave, you’d visit a very old graveyard on Halloween night, especially this year, when there is a full moon … a blue moon to be exact. But I am not THAT brave, so I visited the “Old Burial Ground” as locals refer to it, on a sunny Summer afternoon. The graveyard is located just a stone’s throw away from Elizabeth Park. It was a long-time bucket list item, as I’d wanted to check it out whenever I passed by when driving to/from Lake Erie MetroPark. It is located on the corner of West Jefferson and West Jefferson … yes, it is a corner as West Jefferson Avenue wends around that bend once you leave downtown Trenton.
First a short backstory …
A couple of years ago, I stopped by Oakwood Cemetery, long rumored to be haunted. It is in Wyandotte, Michigan, which is just a few miles from my home. I had not been to Oakwood Cemetery, which was built in 1869, in almost 50 years, though I pass it all the time when going to downtown Wyandotte to walk along the Detroit River boardwalk at Bishop Park.
The occasion for visiting that ancient graveyard as a young teenager was because I took a free art class offered by our City, wherein every Wednesday we traveled to different sites to sketch charcoal images. I wrote at length about visiting Oakwood Cemetery in my blog post “Tiptoe through the tombstones with me.”You can read that post by clicking here if you are interested.
So, in the spirit of Halloween, I’ve got another graveyard trek to share.
I was not brave enough to visit the Old Burial Ground in the dark, so I hope you are not disappointed. It is a small graveyard, tucked away on this busy street corner. If you blink, you might miss it. The site is surrounded by a fairly high wrought-iron fence which gates were left ajar, so it was easy to just sneak in and get some pictures.
Once I passed through the gates, at once I noticed the cemetery was chock full of very old tombstones, some quite dilapidated, a few were listing to one side and one was pieced together. In some cases, the words were worn off the stones. I found it interesting reading the descriptions on the tombstones, that begun “here sleeps” or “aged 71 years and 3 mos.” or perhaps identified as “Little Willie” – what a step back in time!
Just like Oakwood Cemetery, there is some historical significance to this graveyard. To save you straining your eyes on the historical marker, here is what it says. I have put the more interesting facts in boldface:
In 1849, Giles & Sophia Truax Slocum deeded this land to be held in trust to the Trenton Odd Fellow Lodge No.33. In 1867, it was deeded to the Masonic Lodge, F & AM No.8. In 1918, the deed was transferred to Monguagon Township. Here rest forty-four early pioneers, Civil War veterans, and Trenton’s first doctor. The cemetery was once larger and the grounds unfenced. Townspeople objected to children from the adjoining “South” school playing among the tombstones, and re-interments occurred in 1874 and again in 1890. In 1929, the ornate fence was installed. Named the Odd Fellow, Masonic, and finally the Walnut Street Cemetery, it will always be known as the “Old Burial Ground”. It is now maintained by the City of Trenton.
So come and join me in my meander around the Old Burial Ground.
P.S. – In visiting this graveyard, I was reminded of my late mom, but in a fun, not macabre way. When I was a little nipper, we often went to visit and enjoy Sunday dinner at my grandparents’ house. We would drive from where we lived in Oakville to Toronto. We went past a cemetery and my mother would say “I wonder how many are buried there Linda?” The first time I “fell for it” and took a few minutes calculating how many people rested there and whatever number I said, Mom said “all of them Linda!” Even when I was older, whenever we passed a cemetery anywhere, Mom always repeated her line from this old family joke … but I never fell for that trick again.
See what I did there? In the interest of keeping the headline short and sweet and because I like alliteration, I combined the words “gold” and “orange” and “red” all which are colors that dominate Autumn.
Outta my gourd.
Over the years, expressions fall in and out of fashion … “out of one’s gourd” is one such expression. I never hear it anymore. Back in the day kids used to say “I’m bored out of my gourd” or, if they thought you said something crazy, they’d reply “you’re outta your gourd!” I suspect I probably just dated myself.
So, I figured I should have at least one post that mentions pumpkins since we are immersed in harvest season and also embarking on Halloween week.
Pumpkins – like ‘em, love ‘em?
When you think of pumpkins, what comes to mind first? Beautiful harvest displays in the neighborhood with pristine pumpkins sitting atop hay bales? Perhaps those scary-looking jack-o-lanterns come to mind, or Autumn delights like sipping a pumpkin spice latte or savoring pumpkin pie?
I waited until mid-September to go to take any pumpkin pictures. My first stop was a local gas station about four miles away. You may recall I went on a wild-goose chase looking for sunflowers at the tail end of August, only to find a large garden of sunflowers at a gas station located on a busy intersection. I got some pictures and took note that at the base of those sunflowers was a tangle of large leaves and delicate yellow flowers. I figured those blossoms surely would have morphed into pumpkins by now, so off I went to get some pumpkins-in-the-raw photos.
Well, so much for that idea, as those gourds had already been harvested. I walked back to the car and continued on to Heritage Park. I knew that soon the Botanical Gardens would be dismantled and the annuals and tropical flowers hauled away to overwinter safely from the harsh weather elements, so it was best to hustle up there and get some pictures.
It was a gorgeous September day, so I planned to spend a few hours walking at this picturesque venue.
First up – the Botanical Gardens.
This beautiful venue never disappoints and as I stepped into the Conservatory area, I had to chuckle to myself, as the volunteers who take care of the Conservatory plants and adjacent gardens, had placed gourds in many of the large planters. Here are few of them:
I walked around the Gardens and decided “why not capture images of the golds, oranges and reds that so define this season?” Here are few of those blooms and an ornamental pepper plant:
I then had the bright idea to check out the Community Gardens and see if people were growing or ready to harvest pumpkins and gourds there.
The Community Gardens were looking a little desolate.
Most gardeners are a bit wistful when growing season is officially over. They pull out the annuals, packing away the pots and baskets for next Spring. Perennials and rosebushes are lopped off in advance of next year’s growing season after many months of dormancy. As I walked through the Community Gardens, it looked like most gardeners had already put their gardens “to bed” for the 2020 growing season. I managed to get a few shots of gourds, still growing and almost done.
And, as I walked down the center mulched pathway looking for pumpkins and/or gourds, I found some fun items in the various Community Gardens plots.
I may have to use this door for Norm’s Thursday doors blog site.
The goose-crossing sign near the Petting Farm was laying on the ground while a new driveway was being put into place … hmm, hopefully drivers will beware of the Canada geese as they cross busy Pardee Road, because everyone knows those lazy geese never cross with the stoplight.
I have not returned to Heritage Park during Autumn for several reasons. There were activity weekends for kids at the Petting Farm and at/around the Park in September and October, plus all the historical buildings are being revitalized, including paint jobs, so this year I skipped my usual outing to capture images of the beautiful leaf colors.
Autumn arrived without skipping a beat, even though life, as we’ve always known it, seems to take stranger twists and turns daily. But in 2020, the leaves still fall, as do the temperatures. We still reach for a coat to ward off the chill and search for our hats and gloves … just in case we need ‘em. But gone are the hayrides and corn mazes this year, although we can still enjoy cider (maybe even donuts) and similarly feast on Mother Nature’s eye candy, those glorious leaf colors – to me, this is what Autumn is all about.
I always have my compact digital camera within easy reach, so last Sunday, when it poured raining the entire day (grrr), it gave me a much-needed chance to check out the photo card which I hoped was groaning with awesome Autumn shots. You already saw those cutie pie squirrels and cunning Blue Jays, all clamoring for and devouring peanuts and the (too) many signs around the ‘hood these days. I’ve also collected some harvest décor display pictures which define this too-short season – they’ll be in a post in November as I have some Halloween pics to share first. I do love Autumn, even if clouds are on the horizon … those clouds being snow and ice. The cold temps I’m fine with, just not the icky precip.
Since I last did a post about Council Point Park, the transition to Fall began with bushes suddenly bountiful with vibrant berries, snatched by eager Robins, who bemoaned the cooler weather and wondered if their worm supply has suddenly become freeze-dried.
Tinges of red and yellow on raggedy bushes and saplings along the Ecorse Creek made for a pretty backdrop in the morning sun.
And the many Maple trees slowly began to turn beautiful shades of gold.
It’s been an interesting month at my favorite hangout and with each passing day, more thoughts and comments crowded my brain, until I knew I just had to commit them to a blog post.
Like this funny item I noticed. Someone was feeding the critters veggies from their garden. One day it was a large green cabbage and a couple of red peppers. I had not taken the camera that day as it looked like rain, but the next day, the remaining split-open red pepper made a nice spot of color in this tiny alcove.
This is the same sweet gray squirrel that gave me multiple poses; he was eyeing peanuts, not the red pepper below.
But there were other changes afoot in and around the Park besides veggies … some were/are annoying or worrisome.
One morning as I started on the perimeter path, in the distance I saw big orange signs. I strained to see across the Park, and, while I could not read the signs, I saw a tree-cutting service and a couple of tree cutters hard at work. The signs were to beware of the machinery. We walkers were forced to veer off the path onto the wet grass to avoid getting too close to the wood chipper, which was busy gobbling up branches and saplings.
The two or three times I walked past them, the workers were tackling the growth of straggly-looking bushes along the banks of the Ecorse Creek. “Good” I thought, thinking I’d have a better view of the waterfowl who frequent the Creek, without my having to climb down close to the edge where it’s often slick. I must admit I wondered about lopping off this branch?
But my happiness over the potential better view was short-lived, because the next day I quickly noticed several nice trees had been chopped down. Unfortunately, none were the long-dead tree you see overlooking the Creek …
… but instead, one was this Common Juniper where a Golden-crowned Kinglet had its nest and trilled its tinny-sounding notes to me on bitter cold Winter mornings. The Juniper berries take three years to ripen to a bluish color, then they provide some sustenance for our Park birds. A small branch with a few ripe and unripe berries was left behind after the tree was felled.
This is all that remains now of the Juniper – I hope that Kinglet had a Plan “B” for the family.
A little farther along on the path, I stared in disbelief at the twin stumps of two Redbud trees, similarly cut to the ground by the tree cutters. The remnants of the Redbud trees left me in dismay.
This spot was a favorite hangout for the geese and their goslings every May and photos of it were often featured in my Spring blog posts. Since the Park was closed this May due to the pandemic, I dug into my blog media files to show you this lovely tree.
The next time I saw fellow walker Arnie, we collectively shook our heads, lamenting over the loss of these two trees, which we both have passed for many years while walking at this venue. All we could say was “why … such a loss.” He said they should have let an arborist pick and choose what trees to remove as those trees were an asset, not a hindrance and would never have gotten so large that their roots would have been destructive.
In early September, I shared the path when the local cross-county teams began running every morning. I took a few photos of them as they passed me by on their morning practice sessions. One day I went to the Park and there were painted lines everywhere, i.e. across and encircling the perimeter path and running across the “donut hole”(the grassy area between each walking loop). I learned the painted lines were in advance of a cross-county meet. The event is long gone, but white paint remains, competing with the ever-growing graffiti.
There is scuttlebutt in the Facebook Neighborhood Forum that the City is looking into turning my favorite nature nook into a dog park, or portioning it off for a miniature golf course. Well, I may not be able to vote as I’m not a citizen of this country, but I fired off a message to a mayoral candidate asking if we could not utilize any of the other 21 parks in this City for those two ventures and keep this natural setting intact? I hope the points I shared are taken into consideration. Council Point Park actually prohibits domestic animals on the premises; a sign with an ordinance and fine info is posted at the entrance of the Park. However, the ordinance has never been enforced and dog walkers blitz past the sign, then you get this … a dog which terrorizes the squirrels on a near-daily basis.
Well – what are you going to do? I had been standing feeding and taking photos of the squirrels and Jays on the path (pictures that were the subject of this past Monday’s post) – they all quickly scattered to the wind when they saw this dog. But, as you see above, one squirrel scrambled up the high chain-link fence and was trembling.
It’s not just the dogs at the park … the Cooper’s Hawks have returned (sigh).
Much to my chagrin, the Cooper’s Hawks have made an encore performance at Council Point Park, bringing with them the sad predator versus prey scenario to contend with, something that fills this bleeding heart with worry. A few years ago, my first encounter with one was directly after feeding Stubby, the Fox squirrel missing half his tail, and, just as I whirled around to resume my walk, suddenly a brownish blob was in my peripheral vision. With talons outstretched and an artful dip and dive, that hawk honed in on Stubby, whose only thought at that time was enjoying his pile of peanuts on a beautiful Summer morning. The hawk was also thinking about breakfast. Just then I screamed “oh no” and Stubby dropped a peanut and ran as fast as his four legs could carry him, diving under a picnic table for shelter and the hawk angrily sped away.
After that occasion, (wherein I was likely more horror-stricken than Stubby), it taught me that unless I have some extra time to kill and can hang out on the path with my peanut pals, I must try to put the peanuts near the base of a tree or a bush for their easy access and getaway.
The other morning, the same scenario played out before my eyes when a black squirrel, happily noshing on nuts, was blissfully oblivious as a Cooper’s Hawk sped past me, swooped down, its huge wings flapping silently as it aimed for the squirrel. This time it was not me that cried out, but a nearby squirrel sounded the “alarm cry”(a loud noise that resembles a caterwaul) in the nick of time for that little fellow to beat a hasty retreat. The hawk did an about face, flew over to the chain-link fence where it pouted and glared at the Town Crier. I didn’t have the camera out and was a bit too shaken up to drag it out for a photo of the hawk who took off a few moments later. I was uneasy the rest of my walk and ended up leaving instead of going around another time on the loop.
And finally, there’s this. For some reason the picnic tables have been removed at the pavilion.
The City’s Parks and Recreation workers used to move the picnic tables to a fenced-in area every year as Winter approached. The last two or three years, the workers left them under the pavilion roof all year around. There are no organized Winter activities at the Park where people might want to bring food and/or hot drinks and sit a while, but the tables were a boon to me as I placed peanuts and treats, including birdseed bells and sunflower seeds, even cookies, for the squirrels and birds, especially when the weather forecast was for prolonged periods of ice or snow and I might not be around. So, I don’t know what’s up with that as the picnic tables are MIA for two weeks – perhaps off being refinished from the last round of graffiti?
Other than these blips on the radar at my favorite nature nook, life goes on … the crisp leaves crinkle and crunch beneath my heavy walking shoes and when it rains, those same wet leaves plaster themselves to the soles of my shoes, sometimes riding up the sides as well.
I’ve watched the crescendo of color for the last few weeks – below is an array of leaf colors encountered recently at Council Point Park; this past week was considered peak time for leaf colors here in Southeast Michigan.
I look forward to the time change on November 1st allowing me to bulk up my steps with the added daylight.
Linda Schaub
WALKIN', WRITIN', WIT & WHIMSY 