NOV 1, 14 .. JACK MINER’S BIRD SANCTUARY ..
“WELL DAD !! .. FINALLY DAD !! .. It sure took you a while to get back to me now didn’t it Dad!! ..
DAD YOU HAVE FINALLY GOTTEN BACK TO US !!
You are one silly Canada Goose my fine-feathered friend! It was you not me who inserted yourself into the end of my previous post below. So yes .. here we are with far FAR more photos of you and your Canada Geese buddies than my readers here ever thought existed or wanted to see.
For those of you who do not have Canada Geese as friends .. this breed of waterfowl is extremely precocious.
Precocious is an Adjective that means to be unusually advanced or mature in development, especially mental development: As in a precocious bird.
“Thank you so very much you mere human being! ” .. honk-honk-honk .. “Now let us get back to what we were doing before YOU came in here Dad! ” .. honk-honk-honk .. /s/ Canada Goose named Precocious ..
” ‘Zilla Canada Geese HONK. They do NOT quack like ducks quack.” .. “I know ‘Zilla! Not only are you confused .. but all of those following along here with us .. are also confused about this Canada Goose who has inserted himself into our lives here! ” We first met him (or is he a she?) last Wednesday the 29th at Jack Miner’s Bird Sanctuary in Kingsville Ontario Canada and he or she has decided that ..
“Dad .. I AM here-to-stay with you and with Patti!” .. so honk-honk-honk .. “Get used to me! “
“Lord God of Abraham .. Creator of Heaven and of Earth .. Will you help me out here? Where was I before this silly Canada Goose inserted himself into our lives. It must be a HE .. Ladies are more lady-like! “
“Ah-h-h-h Thank You God .. Prayer Works! ” .. “Captain? ” .. “Yes God.” .. “The Dinkey Bird IS singing in your Amfalulu Tree! ” ..
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It was late September 1994 when Patti first visited Royal Oak, Michigan and Little House with me. We two were getting-to-know one another and had driven across the United States from San Francisco, California to the Detroit Michigan area. Meet Little House at ‘1709’ .. The home into which I was taken in early September 1936 from birthing. It remains a home some seventy (78) eight years later. Oh yes .. a lot of ghosts are here.
Now a view of the back of Little House.
“No my friend ‘Zilla! I was not born in Little House. I was born in .. and I am proud of it .. DETROIT MICHIGAN.”
“Take a slice out of my arm and the blood that runs out will be MICHIGAN BLUE !!”
Think what you will .. DETROIT MICHIGAN IS BEAUTIFUL TO ME !! Go Red Wings and Tigers and Pistons and Lions!!
These four photographs of Detroit Michigan were taken from Windsor Ontario Canada. Windsor is located across the Detroit River from Detroit.
One long-ago-Saturday morning back in late September or early October 1994 .. Patti and I were visiting the Saturday Morning Farmer’s Market in downtown Royal Oak Michigan. Suddenly .. not 10-feet in the air above us .. just outside of the market .. a small flock of from 6 to 10 Canada Geese honked their way overhead and past Patti and me.
Patti SQUEELED IN DELIGHTand exclaimed with a question!
“Canada Geese? Here in Royal Oak?”
I replied .. “Oh yes. I will have to take you to Jack Miner’s Bird Sanctuary over in Kingsville, Ontario, and show you where many of the migratory Canada Geese en route South from Hudson Bay and other Northern environs stop for a rest before continuing their migration.”
Captain .. THAT was quite a sentence !
And so our visits to Jack Miner’s began with Patti and myself. I have memories dating back into the 1940s of visiting Jack Miner’s with my parents.
GOOGLE .. Jack Miner’s Bird Sanctuary .. or .. jackminer.ca .. For all you need or want to know!
So here we go with our visit to Jack Miner’s this past Wednesday the 29th of October 2014.
The migrating Geese .. and Ducks too .. will stop to overnight in the fields below.
Patti and I have seen these fields almost covered with migrating Geese. For reasons I do not understand .. only a very few .. they are tiny specks visible only IF you really look closely at the below photo .. were on-hand when we visited this trip.
The Jack Miner family home.
Below I will ‘pan’ to the left to show you the front of the site.
Looking to the left of the above photo.
The above photograph shows a large pond on the other-side-of-the-fence that was well populated with Geese which you will clearly see further below.
The family home. Do all of you see a pumpkin on the right side of the above photo? There were pumpkins free-for-the-taking and Patti and I brought this pumpkin home with us to celebrate Halloween.
Below is Patti’s loving and carefully crafted pumpkin you see in the above photo.
And since you have now seen the first of Patti’s Halloween Pumpkins .. why not show you the other two?
And now.. Taa-Daa .. ALL THREE OF PATTI’S HALLOWEEN PUMPKINS.
Continuing our walk around the home you see the below memorial.
And below .. straight ahead of you .. is the view you see en route to the rear of the home. The Museum (I am going to show you shortly) is on your left in the below photo. The crew who manage the site hang-out in the building on the right which is also a Club House.
Below are photos of both the Museum (left above and below) and of the Club House (right above and below).
The Museum was closed during this visit. Patti and I have been inside of the Museum many times. However I was hoping that after our visit I could post photos of its interior. This was not to be.
And now .. finally .. we are looking at the backyard-view of the home. The Museum and Club House are behind us to the left.
Looking to the left of the above photo we see Ty Cobb Field in the distance.
ATTENTION TOM TIGER 48067 LISTEN UP!
I believe Jack Miner and the legendary Detroit Tigers baseball player .. Ty Cobb .. were friends.
Looking back below from the highway at Ty Cobb Field as we drove away following our visit. The pictures are dark because it was a dark day. Winter is slowly creeping into the midwestern United States.
The below memorial to Jack Miner’s son Jasper is in the back yard.
The Time Has Come The Walrus Said .. To Show You Photos Of The Geese!
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Hi Precocious .. Fancy Seeing You Again !
“Yes Precocious ! ” .. “I am going to show many photos of you and of your friends ! “
On the other side of the fence you see above .. is the pond you see below.
Birds of a feather .. Flock together .. It must be true!
You Are One Handsome Canada Goose !
And You Know You Are !
And what might you be thinking ? To get wet OR not to get wet ?
All the time we were inside their pond area .. they were all pestering Patti for corn and for more corn. I was busy with my camera and .. undaunted .. they came right up to me for a hand-out also ! Because they approached me of their own free-will I was able to get the above close-up photographs of them. They seem to have absolutely no fear of humans.
“Mom .. I know what you have there in that cup and I want some! “
“Empty? I see that .. Mom! Go back and get more corn! “
Below Patti’s right hand .. one of them is actually pecking at Patti’s blue jeans !
Undaunted .. Blue Jean Lady remains fascinated with Patti’s blue jeans !
Below you see the backyard side of the home. Blue Jean Lady is now more interested in Patti’s corn !
Oh My Goodness .. Turkeys ?
Well Hello Mister Tom Turkey !
“Hello up there! Are You The King of The Roost? “
The Time Has Come The Turkey Said .. To Wrap This Up!
And so we shall!
We Hope You Had A Nice Halloween!
With Much Joy .. Cap and Patti ..
A short Post Script .. Over the years we have gotten to know Kirk Miner and assistants Joe and Zack. I believe Kirk is now in Arizona. Because the site was pretty well closed .. we did not get to see either Joe or Zack. I am not sure if they are still there. I will try to contact Kirk and plan to mail a note to the Jack Miner mailing address in Kingsville Ontario to ask them for any input they might care to give us regarding this Post.
Kirk, Joe, or Zack .. To possibly refresh your memories .. below is our photo .. we are from ALASKA ..
![DSCN6138[1]](https://babakaps.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/DSCN61381-600x450.jpg)
You may recall our truck ..
We hope to hear from you!
Cap and Patti
5 thoughts on “NOV 1, 14 .. JACK MINER’S BIRD SANCTUARY ..”
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I don’t know what to say. I think I like the close up photo of the goose the best of your geese photos. Although, I liked another one where a goose in caught in the middle of a step.
Patti did a fine job with the pumpkins. I love seeing them all lit up against the black background. I love the smell of pumpkins with candles burning inside.
I can see why you love Detroit. We can’t help but feel attached to where we were born. I’ve never lived anywhere other than Beloit, WI.
I’m off to see what else you’ve been up to.
Smiles,
Shaddy
Terrific little article about one of our very friendly geese! It is hard to believe but all of us here have ones to which we have become extremely attached. Mine is “Tiny Tim” (named thus by our summer fun daycamp kids). My Tim has double angel wing and is unable to fly – he had a rough start but has become quite independent and we are all happy to see him learn to swim, eat corn off the cob, and make friends with our resident birds. He’s a charmer.
Thank You Mary for your comments. I first visited Jack Miner’s in the 1940s with my parents. Such a special place. Smiles.
Further to your query, the site is actually open everyday, dawn till dusk to feed the birds. The historic house, which only opened to the public in 2012, and the Museum are open by appointment at this time of year, and for our Christmas Event weekend, Dec. 5-7pm. We will also be open Dec. 13-14. Kirk Miner has been retired from the Foundation and the Sanctuary since March 2012. Zack hasn’t lived on the property for several years, but Joe is still our superintendent, and as always, rarely takes time off! He was sorry to have missed you on your visit, but if you’d like to contact him, his email is jvermeulen@jackminer.com. Cheers
Wow! August 28th, 2023, and a return visit here to Jack Miner’s. What an amazing experience it was for both of us. So happy to see Jack Miner’s Bird Sanctuary is still there. Cap and Patti in Anchorage.