RIGHT ON THE HEELS OF TWO CHOCOLATE PUDDING INCIDENTS LAST WEEK

  NICE TO SEE SO MANY TULIPS IN BLOOM AND THESE ARE AT A NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE ACROSS THE ROAD

Well, I figured the best way to deal with aching muscles is to put em back to work again so that is what I did.  After Pheebs and I returned from our morning country road walk under cloudy skies, I grabbed my shovel and fired up the wheelbarrow.  I was hoping that the waterlogged stone dust had lost some of its weight overnight but it hadn't.  It still felt like each shovel full weighed about 112 pounds.  And, for the second day in a row I am very appreciative for the cooler morning air.

 IT'S A BUSY TIME OF YEAR FOR FARMERS RIGHT NOW

As morning gave way to afternoon our cloud cover dispersed and with it the cooler air.  With humidity building and soon beginning to turn me into a sticky ball of paste, I had to finally pack it in and head for the cool confines of the house.  But that was okay because my legs were well overdue for a rest.  Also, I had the bulk of the stone dust in place.  I'll be back at it tomorrow if my aching muscles will let me out the door.

 MY STONE DUST PILE AT THE BEGINNING OF TODAY

 THE PILE AT THE END OF THE DAY

 HERE'S MY BEST PAL KEEPING A CLOSE EYE ON ME

While wheelbarrowing this stone dust over the past couple of days, my mind tossed some old memories at me.  The last time I worked on a project like this was in November of 2012.  That project was at our house in Congress, Arizona and it was some of the same gardening tools I used today that I used back then.  I still work with my red-handled round-mouth shovel, blue-handled square-mouth shovel, and red-handled garden rake all of which I bought at Ace Hardware in Wickenburg, Arizona.  In the following paragraph, 'A Blast From Our Past' you can read about those days when I had a similar project going on but that one in Congress was bigger than this one.

A Blast From Our Past:)) On November 8th, 2012 I wrote, As Soon As He Dropped The Crushed Stone, I Thought 'Oh-Oh'  On November 9th, I wrote, Trimmed A Few Trees, Moved A Little Gravel, and Grabbed Some zzzzzz's.  On November 13th, I wrote, With Help From 'The Sons Of The Pioneers' I Finished My Crushed Stones Project Today

 I HOPE I HAVE ENOUGH STONE DUST LEFT TO DO THIS SECTION

Kelly slipped into the Bayfield Library and Foodland this afternoon returning with 4 grocery bags.  I always go out to carry the groceries in and I noticed a square white box sitting horizontal in one of the grocery bags.  I recognized it right away as a pie box and instantly gained two pounds.  'Oh-No' I thought, am I going to end up having to eat this pie if Kelly doesn't like it.  This sometimes occurs around our house ya know.  Luckily for me, Kelly did like the apple pie she had bought at the Mennonite Country Market south of Bayfield.  In fact, she said it was the best apple pie she's had in a long time and I had to agree with her.  'Whew', close call for me considering it was right on the heels of two chocolate pudding incidents last week.

 HERE'S KELLY CATCHING A FEW RAYS THIS AFTERNOON ON OUR FRONT DECK

Hard to imagine that we are in the month of May already.   It seems it was just January yesterday or something.  I think the Earth is in some kind of a fast-forward time warp or something.  Before we know it, Walmart will be putting out Christmas decorations again.  Oh, say it isn't so.....................:((   

 THIS IS WHERE I LEFT OFF TODAY

Al's Music Box:)) Mercy Mercy Me is the second single from American singer-songwriter Marvin Gaye's 1971 album, 'What's Going On'. Following the breakthrough of the title track's success, the song, written solely by Gaye, became regarded as one of popular music's most poignant anthems of sorrow regarding the environment. Led by Gaye playing piano, strings conducted by David Van De Pitte and Paul Riser, and multi-tracking vocals from Gaye and the Andantes, multiple background instruments provided by the Funk Brothers and a leading sax solo by Wild Bill Moore, the song rose to number 4 on Billboard's Pop Singles chart and number one for two weeks on the R&B Singles charts on August 14 through to August 27, 1971.  The distinctive percussive sound heard on the track was a wood block struck by a rubber mallet, drenched in studio reverb.  The song also brought Gaye one of his rare appearances on the Adult Contemporary chart, where it peaked at number 34. In Canada, "Mercy Mercy Me" spent two weeks at number 9.  Cash Box described the song as being "a similar chugging ballad effort" to "What's Going On," stating that "the easygoing surface lies gently above an exciting rhythm track."  Record World said that the song "couldn't be more perfect" and reflects how Gaye "developed a style uniquely his own."

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Kenny, a city boy, moved to the country and purchased a donkey from an old farmer for $100. The farmer agreed to deliver the donkey the following day.  The next morning, the farmer drove up and said, "Sorry, son, but I have some bad news. The donkey died."  "Well, just return my money to me," Kenny said.  "Sorry, can't do that," said the farmer. "I already spent it."  "OK then, just unload the donkey," said Kenny.  "Whatcha gonna do with him?" asked the farmer.  "I'm going to raffle him off," Kenny replied.  "You can't raffle off a dead donkey!" the farmer exclaimed.  "Of course I can," replied Kenny. "Watch me. I just won't tell anybody he is dead."   A few weeks later, the farmer met up with Kenny and asked, "So, what happened with the dead donkey?"  "I raffled him off. I sold 500 tickets at two dollars a piece and made a profit of $898.00," explained Kenny.  "Didn't anyone complain?" inquired the farmer.  "Just the guy who won. So, I gave him his two dollars back," Kenny proudly replied.

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knock knock
who's there
oddley hee
oddley hee who
I didn't know you could yodel!

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Teacher to a student: "Can you think of a solution to end unemployment?"  "Yes, sir! I'd put all the men on one island and the women on another."  "And what would they be doing then?"  "Building boats!"

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