Saturday morning dawned bright and beautiful. The day was forecasted to be hot. My dog got me up early for her morning routine including going out and getting the paper. I had brewed myself a fresh cup of coffee, settled into the couch, and opened the morning newspaper. This Saturday routine is so peaceful; the perfect beginning to the weekend. Part way through reading about the impending hurricane, movement outside my large picture window caught my eye. The movement proceeded a major crash. It sounded like, whatever hit the window had shattered it. The dog quickly scooted up the stairs. I immediately peered over the couch and out the window and down to the ground looking for the cause of the "big bang". Birds hit the window frequently. The window reflects the surround trees and creates a deceptive "
forest" view that has caused more than one bird a perilous end. Today, however, the bird that hit the window was a large dove. As soon as I spied the unfortunate bird laying almost motionless on the mulch, it breathed its last breath. Suddenly, a cooper hawk swept in. Wow! The situation was becoming more clear now. This hawk had been chasing the dove and was swooping in to collect its trophy. To my amazement, my camera was sitting on the coffee table. Grabbing it, turning it on and focusing all in one graceful movement, I quickly snapped two shots of the hawk and one of its trophy. The hawk must have seen my movement in the window and quickly grabbed at the dove, 
only to miss. It quickly retreated to a tree, watching carefully over its prize. After fifteen minutes the hawk charged its prize, grabbing in vein and flying off. I was left in awe, torn between sadness and amazement. After a long moment of gazing down at the dove, I decided to return to my paper and just watch to see what, if anything would unfold. After an hour, the hawk had not returned. I headed out to provide a resting place for the dove. This Saturday morning was certainly not routine. To learn more about the cooper hawk, click here. 
were numerous (a blog for another time). The end of our day was an introduction to our first "regional" tour. A ranger from the Oak Openings Metropark system introduced us to the wonderful metropark system in Lucas county and the numerous volunteer activities available to us. The ranger explained that Northwest Ohio and the Oak Openings area sits on a sandy crest left by the melting of the ice glaciers 12,000 plus years ago. East of the Maumee River, eastern settlers moving west to experience the abundance land encounter the "Black Swamp". Upon crossing the Maumee River, the settlers arrived at the Oak Openings Region. An area that was appealing to settlers. The ranger explained that the Indians of early Ohio often used controlled burns to "spark" the amazing habitats and plant life, once abundant in the area. Since the metropark system acquired the land they too have turned to control burns much like the early Indians. As a result, new plants and habitats have been "discovered" and reappearing within the park system. Everything fro
m wild blueberries to wild turkeys. After his informative presentation about various plants, flowers, birds, butterflies and habitats, I was ready to explore. Once the group of dismissed for the day, I wandered along a near by trail, but to wet my appetite for future forays into the region. Along a brief walk I encountered very small, very active frog in an area called the "Swamp Forest". I discovered a woodpecker house in a tree. My exploration didn't allow me to explore the various areas, I was able to enjoy a number of plants that I didn't recognize. I'm looking forward to learning more about the natural areas in the Oak Opening area during future visits. 
hit off Tiger starter Armando Galarraga. Then in later in the game Sizemore hit a 405 foot homer over the right field fence, that propelled him into the 30-30 club (for my non-baseball friends - 30 homer and 30 stolen bases). The Tigers weren't to be outdone. Marcus Thames homered in the second inning off of Indian's starter Zach Jackson. Edgar Renteria hit one in the 5th. With the game tied 3 to 3 in the bottom of the 8th inning, the Tigers managed to get runners into scoring position with one out, only t
o come away empty handed. The game progressed into the 10th inning. In the top of the tenth, Indians infield Gutierrez hit a homer to propel the Indians into the lead 4 to 3. The Tigers mounted no thret in the bottom of the inning to lose the first game of the three game set. While I really enjoy a close game with several homers and a few great defensive plays, I also enjoy the atmosphere of the game. The atmosphere was awesome. A Monday night game. During the week the stadium seems filled with many "true" baseball fans. Having purchased the tickets on Stub Hu
b, it was clear we were sitting around a number of season ticket holders. Clearly they had many opinions about the variety of Tiger players. Over hearing the conversations about this under achieving team and the critiques of the Rodriquez for Farnsworth trade was cool. The weather was amazing for August. At game time the low 80s were pleasant. As the sun set and the 80s game was to the upper seventies, I could sit back and enjoy the sites and smells of a perfect summer evening. The game just always seems better when you can smell the ball park franks passing you buy every other inning as vendors call out to fans enticing their appetite. Once the game was over and we began our walk to the car, the lights of the stadium illuminated the surrounding city. This outside of this stadium comes alive with "Tigers" as lights illuminate the statues that seem nondescript upon entering. This was an absolutely awesome night, which could have been a perfect night had the Tigers won the game.