'AWWW NUTS'!!!! THE GRACKLES ARE BACK!!!!

MONDAY EVENING'S LAKE HURON SUNSET IN BAYFIELD

A rather dull day going on but we were close to 50F so I again spent a couple hours outside working on the early Spring clean-up.  I figured the more I could accomplish today, the less I would have to lay awake tonight worrying about what I had to do tomorrow.  Besides, with rain nearly upon us and our weather returning to winterlike conditions beginning tonight, it just made a whole lot of good darn sense to keep plugging away at the yard clean-up.  Sure beats sitting around the house looking out the window.

I THINK WE'LL FILL THIS NEWER FLOWER BED UP WITH AN ASSORTMENT OF HOSTAS

 THE FRONT YARD FROG POND IS STILL FROZEN BUT A MONTH FROM NOW THERE WILL PROBABLY BE A FEW FROGGY GUYS ALREADY IN THERE

ONE OF MY YARD WASTE PILES WAITING  TO BE LOADED INTO MY UTILITY TRAILER

Woodsy and I took a drive into Bayfield Monday evening and caught ourselves another sunset.  It is with great expectations that we patiently await the opening of Bayfield's ice cream parlours to pleasantly enchance our upcoming sunsets this season.  Our two favorite places are Rosie's Ice Cream Shoppe and the Woodland Drive-In.

 MONDAY EVENING'S SUNSET AS SEEN FROM BAYFIELD'S PIONEER PARK

NOTICE THE FLYING CANADA GOOSE TOP RIGHT

 SAW THE OLD FELLA WITH HIS BICYCLE AT PIONEER PARK FOR ANOTHER SUNSET....I WONDER WHAT HIS STORY IS

 AND, BY GOLLY, HERE'S WOODSY SNAPPING A SUNSET PIC WITH HER PHONE

'AWWW NUTS'!!!! The Grackles are back, and they are already dominating the bird feeders.  They will be here now every day until late Summer and early Autumn:(( I'm gonna need part time job now just to afford all the birdseed these bullies are hogging.  But hey, on a brighter note....I saw my first Robin today:))

Al's Music Box:: Sunday Will Never Be The Same by Spanky and Our Gang.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Little Johnny was having problems in English class, so his teacher, Miss Figpot, decided to stop by Little Johnny's house on her way home. She wanted to discuss Johnny's poor performance directly with his parents. When she rang the door bell, Little Johnny answered. "Hello Johnny, I'd like to talk to your mother or father," she said. "Sorry, but they ain't here." He replied. "Johnny!" She said, "what is it with your grammar?" "Haven't got a clue," Johnny replied, "but dad sure was mad that they had to go bail her out again!"

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How do you keep the Little Moron in the shower all day?  Give him a bottle of shampoo which says "lather, rinse, repeat."

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Health inspector: "I'm afraid you have too many roaches in here." Restaurant owner: "How many am I allowed?"

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The owner of a drug store walks in to find a guy leaning heavily against wall. The owner asks the clerk, "What's with that guy over there by the wall?" The clerk says, "Well, he came in here this morning to get something for his cough. I couldn't find the cough syrup, so I gave him an entire bottle of laxative."  The owner says, "You idiot! You can't treat a cough with laxatives!" The clerk says, "Oh yeah? Look at him, he's afraid to cough!"  

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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Al's Art Gallery

NOT WANTING TO UNNECESSARILY CONFUSE MYSELF

 GODERICH'S HARBOR ICE CONTINUES TO MELT

I amazed myself Sunday morning when I was able to change the Subaru's clock one hour ahead to Daylight Saving Time without my usual laptop in hand with a 'how-to' instruction video on the screen.  I'm not sure how I did that and not wanting to unnecessarily confuse myself, I will simply chalk it up to 'divine intervention.  

MAPLE SYRUP PAILS COLLECTING SAP

 A GREEN SUGAR SHACK CAN BE BE SEEN THROUGHT THE TREES

 LOOK CAREFULLY AND YOU WILL SEE FOUR SAP PAILS

A nice drive through the countryside this morning along the Bannockburn Line netted me a few photos.  Driving along slowly, it was a good opportunity to open the sunroof to make sure it was working okay after the long winter.  It was, and with the two front windows down, and the heater on, the only thing missing was Pheebs riding with me, enjoying the Spring scenery going by, and the morning's cool breeze flopping her ears around.  We hit 60F today but strong winds drove the windchill factor down to 43F.

 WITH RECENT RAINS AND THE SNOW MELT, AREA CREEKS AND STREAMS ARE FLOWING

SPRING'S YELLOW WILLOW BRANCHES

Home again, I only spent a half hour or so on outside things like raking up more yard waste.  I have a real good start on the Spring clean-up this year and I am quite happy about that.  

 A CLUSTER OF LAST YEAR'S BEACH TREE LEAVES

 COUNTRY ROADS IN SPOTS WERE SLIGHTLY MUDDY TODAY

With a Doctor's appointment coming up next week, Woodsy and I slipped up to Goderich this afternoon, where I dropped into the Dynacare Centre and left behind a few vials of blood.  Surprisingly, I was the only one there and they took me right in.  No waiting time is unusual.  From there we took a drive down to the harbor and out to Rotary Cove.  There is still ice on the lake, but it is melting rapidly.  A quick stop at the Food Basics grocery store and off for home we went.      

 LAKE HURON'S ICE IS MELTING AND ON THE MOVE

 AN ODD CLOUD PATTERN OVER GODERICH'S ROTARY COVE

 CHUNKS OF LAKE ICE

 LOOKING SOUTHWEST ALONG LAKE HURON'S SHORELINE

 GODERICH'S HARBOR ICE IS BEGINNING TO FINALLY BREAK UP

 SEEN IN GODERICH TODAY

Al's Music Box::  Michael Rowed The Boat Ashore by the Highwaymen.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Three unfortunate contractors find themselves stuck in a Gulf prison. One starts to pick away at the cement between two blocks of concrete. To his surprise, he spots something shining. It turns out to be a tiny brass lamp. He brushes away the dirt, and suddenly a cloud of red smoke appears from the spoat. As the smoke clears, a big genie floats before them."Thanks, guys! You've freed me from that miserable lamp and as you probably already know, we genies can grant three wishes. But only three wishes. Ok, let's get on with it." The three prisoners have a quick discussion but it's obvious that since there are three of them and three wishes they should simply have one wish each. First prisoner, "Genie, I wish I had never left my old job in Manchester and that I was still there." Wooosh! He disappeared.  The second prisoner steps forward eagerly, "Genie, I too wish I had never left my old job in Birmingham and that I was still working there." Wooosh! He also disappeared.  The last guy stood pondering, "Genie, I'm not so sure about going straight back to my old job in London. Should I go to see my mum or to my girlfriend's flat. I wish my two mates were still here to help me decide." .... Wooosh! Wooosh!

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I didn't realize how bad of a driver I was until my navigation system said: "In 400 feet, do a slight right, stop, and let me out."

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- You know it's cold outside when you go outside and it's cold.

- “Due to the cabbage crop failure it was really hard to get ahead!”

- How many Germans does it take to screw in a lightbulb? One. They're very efficient and don't have a great sense of humour.

- What should you do if your round of golf is interrupted by a lightning storm? Walk around holding your 1-iron above your head, because even God can't hit a 1-iron!

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Things Mom Would Never Say::
- "How on earth can you see the TV sitting so far back?"
- "Yeah, I used to skip school a lot, too"
- "Just leave all the lights on ... it makes the house look more cheery"
- "Let me smell that shirt -- Yeah, it's good for another week"
- "Go ahead and keep that stray dog, honey. I'll be glad to feed and walk him every day"
- "Well, if Timmy's mom says it's OK, that's good enough for me."
- "The curfew is just a general time to shoot for. It's not like I'm running a prison around here."
- "I don't have a tissue with me ... just use your sleeve"
- "Don't bother wearing a jacket - the wind-chill is bound to improve"

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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Al's Art Gallery