Today Lise dragged me down to Toledo, Ohio to view a couple properties she will be working on. One place was almost as classy as the area of Detroit she took me to last year. I believe the idea was for me to jump in front of any bullets headed her way.
So inviting.
The neighbors.
The park to be.
Toledo strikes me as a sorry kind of place. One of these places that has seen better days. Around 1835 Michigan and Ohio fought the great Toledo War over an area called the Toledo Strip. Apparently there was a lot of name calling and firing of militia muskets in the air but only one real casualty. A Michigan deputy was stabbed with a pen knife by an Ohioan named Two Stickney when the deputy tried to arrest Two’s father, Major Stickney. Two had two brothers that I’m assuming were named One and Three. The upshot of the great war was that Ohio got Toledo and Michigan got the Upper Peninsula. I’d say Michigan won.
Where would you rather be?
Pure Ohio – Toledo
Pure Michigan – UP
Pure Michigan – UP
Pure Michigan – UP
Coming back we stopped in Michigan at an area called Erie Marsh. This area always has a lot of good Michigan rarities but it is a couple hours from Lansing. Glossy ibis was reported there yesterday and since we were going right past we stopped. We got the ibis as well as double-crested cormorant, Eastern towhee, barn swallow, spotted sandpiper, Caspian tern, Forster’s tern, great egret. The ibis was a really good Michigan bird to get.
Tuesday morning we did Fenner before I went to work. Warblers are drifting in. We got black-throated green warbler, pine warbler, and field sparrow. I had to change clothes in the front seat of the car again but this time we took the Subaru, not the van. I felt like a chained Houdini trying to get out of a box sinking in the water.
The count now stands at 131 for me and 130 for Lise. I’m at 52.4% of the goal and Lise is at 52.0% with 31.51% of the year gone. We are on the cusp of the Spring migration so numbers should be picking up pretty quick. I think we will get to ~200 and then have to really start working for the last 50.
Ed's and Lise's Biggish Years 