So, am I any wiser in 2019?

Did I gain any more smarts than I had on the last day of the old year, which was already one week ago today? The jury is still out on that question as of the 7th day of this newly minted year.

"Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on ME."

There is an old adage that goes like this: “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” A few Summers ago when I was whining about the weatherman making still another wrong prediction, my friend and neighbor, Marge Aubin, said “I don’t understand you Linda – can’t you just look out the window and see for yourself whether you should stay home or walk?”

Well, of course that logical statement made perfect sense. But, as an avid walker, who was up daily at the crack of dawn to get out and walk, especially during Michigan’s hot and steamiest months, if bad weather was forecast, and a walk was definitely not going to happen, I’d set the alarm later and enjoy the extra slumber time. I follow several well-respected meteorologists, and if they all say bad weather, I figure it will be bad weather. However, after I missed several walks after taking the weather folks’ predictions as gospel, I decided to take Marge’s advice. The next time an early morning thunderstorm was predicted, I just sloughed off that dismal forecast, got up as usual, had breakfast, and, once it was light, I set out very confidently, with no umbrella and no raincoat. As I walked down to Council Point Park, I chastised myself saying “Marge was right ... just look at all the walks you’ve wasted listening to these weather folks – I hope you are smarter now.” However, halfway through my walk, the sunny sky opened up and a big downpour and rumbles of thunder ensued. I got drenched, so instead of telling Marge when I arrived home, dried off and was sitting in front of the computer “thanks for your advice”, instead I sent a snarky “I told you so” e-mail to her. (It’s a wonder we stayed friends sometimes because we both spoke our mind to one another.) Marge’s response was quick and equally snarky: “these things happen sometimes Linda, I am not God, and neither is the weatherman and you are not made of sugar!” It seems to me Mom used that expression as well. Sigh.

So, I was reminded of that little episode this morning. I got up very late ... for me. I am a weather worrier and when ALL forecasts pointed to a sleet/freezing rain-filled morning, I set my alarm clock three hours later than usual. I knew that late start would be a treat, and even justified, since I was still busy blogging and catching up on comments and posts at nearly 1:00 a.m. I am really not a night owl, believe me, though my late hours here on WordPress might seem to the contrary. So, I got up, had some coffee, meandered a little online, then remembered - OMG, I forgot to feed Grady, the little gray squirrel. Soon he (or the Fox squirrel who scams Grady’s peanuts) will be knocking on the door asking why I am tardy with their breakfast! So, off I raced to the front door where I saw through the peephole that it was already light. I prepared to snake my arm into the frozen precip to drop some peanuts onto the porch. Instead ... just picture this ... I opened the door, it was clear as a bell, albeit windy! So, I lost a walking day and I will lament loudly over my blind faith to the weather folks still again. This was the absolute last time, and mark my words, that if I come up four miles short at year end, I will blame myself for deciding to rest on my laurels and languish in bed this morning.

It’s a normal work week.

I hope I have it together on whatever day it is today. My brain is still trying to process what day of the week it is. My boss left for a holiday in Mexico on December 20th. He was gone for eight days, then it was the weekend before New Year’s. We've been so busy the last few years, that often when he was gone, even for a short trip, there was always work for me to do - this time, I only needed to check voicemail and e-mail remotely, and I was online all the time anyway, so that was easy to do. I really needed that break. Then last week was short due to the New Year's holiday. With all the time off, I certainly could have been a little more productive here at the house, but I chose to take advantage of the nice December weather to walk extra miles and write more blog posts … hey, if that is what makes you happy, I say go for it. Dust – well pfft ... dust is like weeds ... put on some blinders and get out and enjoy your day. So, now we have an entire work week to get through and maybe I'll be able to remember what day it is, because the calendar, as well as the weather thus far in 2019 have me stymied for sure.

Who is this feathered fellow gracing today’s blog post you ask?

So, yesterday’s trek to the boonies in search of a snowy owl gave the car a good run and I capped that quest off by a long walk at Lake Erie Metropark. But, as you know, no snowy owl was to be found. This morning, a fellow blogger named Pril gave me some insight to other options to enjoy Pointe Mouillee and also informed me there are Great Horned Owls at Elizabeth Park, another favorite venue of mine. Whooooo knew?

Many posts in my blog are about the squirrels at the Park. But I also write about some of the people I encounter while on the trail. Back on October 30th I met Joe at Council Point Park. Joe had his camera with him and was taking photos of a gorgeous tree ablaze in color at the entranceway to the Park. I waited until he finished his shot and told him I had also taken the same shot earlier because “a big wind might come along, and the leaves would be scattered on the ground tomorrow.” We chitchatted about living in the neighborhood, our love of nature, and photos we’d taken at the Park through the years. I pointed to my feet and suggested he take a picture of Parker who was clamoring for peanuts while I was talking. I fed Parker a few more peanuts and Joe took some photos of him. Later that day, he subscribed to my blog and sent me photos of Parker, Harry the heron and the tree with its burnt-orange leaves taken earlier that day. This morning, sensing my disappointment in capturing an image of the elusive snowy owl, Joe e-mailed the above picture – he told me he found this little owl, just a mile from our neighborhood, at the local Department of Public Works site. This is not a woodsy or natural locale – it is on busy Southfield Road where City trucks zoom in and out of the service yard all day. Go figure! Joe said he spotted the owl and went home and got his camera and returned to find him still there. Obviously, here was an owl who was agreeable to a photo op.

So isn’t that a hoot?

Whooooo knew owls were lurking in Lincoln Park? Well, I am suddenly smarter than when I woke up today.

[Image provided by Joe Mosolits]

You can catch up on my blog posts before I started blogging at Patch in August 2013 by going here: http://lindaschaubblog.net