SLEEPING THE DARKNESS AWAY

I'VE NOTICED A LOT OF BEAN FIELDS IN THE COUNTRYSIDE THIS YEAR

Little did I know when I slipped out for a short Saturday night spin around 7 p.m. that I wouldn't be back until four and a half hours later.  And, little did I know that I would take 126 photos in that time frame.  My idea was to slip out to my country road walking spot, but pulling out of the Park, I turned left heading for Bayfield instead.  Hmmm, an instant change of plans.  Figured I'd pick up a coffee to go and head southeast of Bayfield to a walking spot Pheebs and I always liked.  The Linwood Conservation Area on Pavilion Road.  So, on another beautiful summer night, that is what I did.  And, how nice to have Pheebs along with me in spirit.

 I THINK THIS MIGHT BE CALLED A CABBAGE BUTTERFLY

From there I contemplated going back to Bayfield, but instead of turning left out of the parking lot, I turned right.  Hmmm, another instant change of plans.  Figured I'd follow our old road over towards Varna and then head for home.  My slow journey took me through big wind turbine country, and when I saw a narrow dirt road leading to two turbines through a wheat field, I decided to drive in and have myself a close-up look at the big mechanical windmills.

 ON A NARROW DIRT ROAD CUTTING THROUGH A WHEAT FIELD

 I TOOK THIS SELFIE AND THE ONE BELOW IT TO SEND TO LORRAINE IN STRATFORD WHO IS BABY SITTING A FRIENDS PUSSY CAT FOR A FEW DAYS

HEADING BACK THE DIRT ROAD TO THE COUNTRY ROAD

 I'M JUST GUESSING THIS IS WHEAT, MAYBE IT'S BARLEY....BUT HEY, AT LEAST I KNOW IT ISN'T CORN

It was while at one of the wind turbines that I remembered it was a few nights ago when I was in this same area looking for that second elusive flashing white white.  I wondered what my chances were if I were to go have myself another look for it.  It was dusk by this time, and I knew all the wind turbines would have their red light flashing and the communication towers with the white flashing lights would be easy to spot.  So, off I went, front windows down and the sunroof open with the evening's breezes blowing my hair all over the place.

 THAT TALL SKINNY GRAY TOWER ON THE RIGHT IS ONE OF THOSE COMMUNICATION TOWERS THAT HAVE THE WHITE FLASHING LIGHT ON TOP.....THIS ONE IS ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE BRONSON LINE

 IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL SUMMER'S NIGHT DRIVE IN THE COUNTRYSIDE AS I POKED ALONG AT MY USUAL 15MPH

 THIS CHAP WAS NIBBLING THE BRANCHES OF AN OLD WILLOW TREE

 SAW A FEW HORSES

'HOLY SHEEP BUNS BATMAN'

 EARLY TWILIGHT SILOUETTING THE WIND TURBINES

 I SENT THIS UNEDITED iPHONE PIC TO WOODSY

To make a long story short, I not only found that second white flashing light tower this time, but I saw five more scattered about on distant horizons.  By this time, my travels had taken me all the way to Zurich, and no, I did not go off chasing after those other light towers just to see exactly where they were.  My white flashing light curiosity was finally satisfied.

JERRY RADERS HOMESTYLE IN ZURICH, ONTARIO....ANOTHER iPHONE SHOT FOR WOODSY

Oh my, what a lovely sunset drive it was after leaving Zurich behind and heading north for home on the Bronson Line.  The wind turbines to the west looked beautiful against the orange horizon on my left.  And, an added bonus....there was a beautifully bright quarter Moon in the sky out over Lake Huron as well.  It just added to the magic of the evening.

 THE NIGHT'S QUARTER MOON

 A FEW SUNSET PICS ALONG THE BRONSON LINE WHILE HEADING BACK TO BAYFIELD

Nearly back to Bayfield, I suddenly heard a lot of popping sounds somewhere off to the northwest, and as I reached the intersection of the Bronson Line and Crystal Springs Road, I saw fireworks above the trees near somewhere near the lake at the south end of Bayfield.  I stopped and took some very long-distance telephoto shots of the fireworks and then headed in that direction.  Turns out it was a Canada Day celebration at the Paul Bunyon mobile home Park.  I arrived there just as the fireworks ended.

From there, I drove the short distance into Bayfield and down the busy summer Saturday night Main Street.  It was dark by now and I almost headed home until I thought of that quarter Moon in the sky.  So, with that thought I instead headed down to Bayfield's beach, hauled my tripod out of the car, mounted the camera, and proceeded to walk out to the end of the south pier, taking a number of photos along the way.  Not a soul around anywhere, and I thought, 'how nice to have all the night's quietness envelope me.  I think I was born part Nighthawk and part Owl, but spent most of the rest of my life sleeping the darkness away.

 AN iPHONE SHOT ALONG BAYFIELD'S MAIN STREET

 A SHOT OF BAYFIELD'S SOUTH PIER FROM THE BEACH

 WALKING OUT TO THE END OF THE PIER

 ANOTHER iPHONE SELFIE FOR LORRAINE IN STRATFORD

 THE MOON'S WAKE AT THE END OF THE PIER

 LOOKING BACK TO SHORE AND NOTE THE DISTANT HOUSE ON THE RIGHT

 AMAZING WHAT A TELEPHOTO LENS CAN DO EH

BOATS RESTING AT THEIR DOCKS IN THE BAYFIELD RIVER

 THIS iPHONE SHOT WAS MY LAST PICTURE OF THE DAY AS I FINALLY HEAD FOR HOME....I SENT THIS ONE TO WOODSY AS WELL  NOTIC THE TIME ON THE CLOCK, IT'S 11:30

I woke up to lots of sunshine on the living room floor this morning after a cool night that had dropped into the high 50s.  I skipped my morning car ride and a walk because I wanted to take advantage of the cooler morning air and get some outside things done.  First thing on my list was the poor condition of our backyard grass.  As pet owners know, female dogs have something in their urine that kills grass, so there was a lot of patches of yellowed dead grass where Pheeb had gone pee over the winter.  I raked all those patches out, worked up the soil and sprinkled in new grass seed.  We'll see what happens.  The second thing on my list was to get the utility trailer hooked up,  hauled to the Park's recycling area, and unloaded.  So, I did that.  The third thing on my list was to finish the clean-up behind the carport by moving some cement blocks out of there.  I also began raking up and shoveling a lot of pea stone out where we once parked the RV's.  I plan to simply turn that area into grass now.  It is very unlikely I will ever have another RV anyway.  But..................

A Blast From Our Past:)) It was 15 years ago yesterday, the 28th, that Kelly and I brought our first Jeep home.  It was a 2007 Jeep Wrangler, and we had bought it used in Waterloo, Ontario.  Our Jeep Comes Home.  Just skip the first 3 paragraphs in my post to get to the Jeep story.

Al's Music Box:)) Big Iron by Marty Robbins.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( So this reporter checks in at some old hotel smack in middle of nowhere. Coming into the lobby, he is confronted with the strange sight of an old Indian, whittling stick, long black hair, reddish skin, sitting on one of the chairs as if he intends never to get up.  "That's Old Chief Forget-Me-Not," whispers the man behind the desk reverently, "he is allowed to stay here for free because he let me build my hotel on his reservation."  "Why the weird name?" whispers the reporter.  "Old Chief never forgets anything that happened to him since he was two. Now he is 102. Fantastic memory."  Once the reporter has checked in, he decides to check out old Forget-Me-Not.  "Hey Chief!" he calls, "What'd you have for breakfast on the morning of your 21st birthday?"  "Eggs," replies the Chief without even looking up.  The reporter is so amazed, he jumps in his car and drives at least two hours over to where his other reporter friend is staying. Once telling the story over, both reporters jump in the car and drive right back two hours to the hotel, smelling a big scoop.  On the way, the second reporter tells the first: "Why don't you address the Chief more respectfully, so he'll tell us more?"  Following his friend's advice, the first reporter greets the Chief with a resounding "HOW!!"  "Scrambled," replies the Chief.

----------------------------------------

Q: Why don't blind people skydive?

A: Because it scares the ba-jeebers out of their seeing-dogs.

----------------------------------------

 - What do you call an encyclopedia in the fridge?  Cold, hard facts.

- How can you tell if there is an elephant in your fridge?  There are footprints in the butter.

- Did you hear the one about the ice cube’s great escape from the freezer?  You could say it was a well-thawed-out plan.

- Is your refrigerator running?  Yes.  Mine too. See you at the refrigerator race tomorrow.

- What do you get if you cross a stereo and a fridge?  Very cool music.

----------------------------------------

A minister who was very fond of pure, hot horseradish always kept a bottle of it on his dining room table. Once, at dinner, he offered some to a guest, who took a big spoonful.  The guest let out a huge gasp. When he was finally able to speak, he choked out, "I've heard many ministers preach hellfire, but you are the first one I've met who passes out a sample of it."

-----------------------------------------------

Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Kelly & Pheeb's Corner

Al's Art Gallery