Huron, Ohio.......

I never lived in Huron, Ohio but it always felt like a second home.  I had an aunt and uncle who lived there when we were children and we spent our vacations in that area every year.  My grandparents and other relatives farmed up in that area, too.  Then my parents retired to Huron after I got married.  So all of my own children's vacations were also spent in Huron until my parents died.  So when my sister and I went to Ohio this past week for a visit with relatives who still live in the area, Huron was at the top of the list of places we wanted to visit

This is the old beach at Huron where we played and swam as children.  I am looking out towards a breakwater/park that has been built over the past 30 years with dredge material from the lake and river channel.  We watched it being dumped there over the years and this is the first time I have been there when it is almost full and now a green place.  Beyond it is the Huron lighthouse, which is no longer visible from the beach.  We decided to walk out to the lighthouse.

But first a squirrel in the park :-)

Along the beach side we saw this Cormorant swimming.

On the Huron River side an Egret landed while we were looking out that way.

Looked like he had a twist in his neck.

Back over on the beach side there is a green area between the water and the walkway.  I took photos of various plants growing there....morning glory.

We saw a mother duck with her 6 babes in the river.

Cute little things, but looked so small to be out swimming in the big lake!  It was hard taking their photos as the waves surged up and down....I have lousy timing.

They bobbed around on the swells and swam steadily toward Lake Erie where the river ends.

Wild grapes along the beach side.

Another egret

A different duck

A boat coming in the river......we did the same thing so many times in my dad's boat, that I had to take a photo.  The gulls on the rock pile in back were my main focus :-)  I wish that I had been interested in photography during the days when we boated up and down the river and out into the lake.  There were lots of birds to see.  I watched them, but didn't take many photos back then.

 A close up of the gulls on the rocks.

That dark one on the right.....a juvenile?  A different kind?

One end of the rock pile was also the roosting place for some vultures.  These three were spreading their wings when we first got there.

A Great Blue Heron....another regular to the area.

There were two types of Thistle growing in the green area....these large ones....

....and small ones that grew in large masses.

Some gulls sitting on the beach

This one stayed off to the side by itself.  I wondered why it didn't mix with the others.

Sumac

And finally the Huron lighthouse. 

This is as close as I could get.  At this point there was a large step up onto a short "wall" around the park area....with no rail of any kind.....and with my short legs and bad knees there was no way for me to get up.  So I leaned out around the rocks and took a photo of the lighthouse.  Mike and my sister went on out.  Mike says the park area is not yet full and more dredge is still being added.  He said there was a wet area in the middle and some ducks.  My other favorite thing to do near Lake Erie is eat Lake Erie perch....I managed that several times while there!  And another Huron favorite is the Pied Piper ice cream place....which we were happy to find was still there and still serving vanilla/orange swirl cones.  We drove by mom and dad's house and also visited my aunt and uncle's old house which is now a B&B.  I may post some photos of it in my other blog eventually.  It was neat to get to see inside again after all these years.  My relatives lived in it in the early 50's, but my sister and I remember it very well and could tell what had changed and what hadn't.