Gulls and Groves on Kelleys Island

One hot summer day my Honey and I left the Ohio shore by ferry and sailed into Lake Erie. We landed on Kelleys Island, explored all over and saw two things we had never seen before.

Groovy Groves—on the north side of Kelleys Island we found the first of many fascinating sites—Glacial Grooves. After staring for some time with my mouth open…pointing…looking back and forth at my Honey and motioning for her to look at what appeared to be deep scoop marks in stone made by some beast of unfathomable size, I read the sign.

Glacier Grooves in limestone on Kelleys Island

It is believed that these groves were cut in the limestone by a large sheet of ice. The largest grooves like this in the world that you can get to easily. The sign went on to tell us in print that this display of power passing through left a trail about 400 feet long, 35 feet wide and as many as 10 feet deep.

What did the groovy Ice Berg say to the Limestone? I think I can dig it! … and deep grooves containing marine fossils were left behind.

Feeding Frenzy—Just around the time humans often eat dinner, several dozen seagulls got the same idea. We had stopped from our island exploring to rest on a little deck that overlooked the lake. A super cute romantic kind of spot. As we gazed quietly over the large expanse of water—my arm around my lady love and her head on my shoulder—seagulls began to gather and just sit on the water.

Odd, I remarked to my Honey, that they are just sitting there so far from shore…bobbing like buoys. I didn’t know how smart Gulls are so I was really surprised when a large school of fish started jumping out of the water within 20 feet of the quietly waiting birds. All birds flapped into action to eat fresh fish. Then quiet again as the fish escaped and the gulls rocked gently like little boats on top of the water. When the fish went crazy again jumping out of the water about 20 feet away, the bird frenzy followed again. We watched spell bound as this cycle was repeated 5 or 6 times.