OVERDUE FOR A STAR FIX

 CLOUDED SULPHUR BUTTERFLIES ACCOMPANIED ME ON MY WALK THIS MORNING, AND I THINK THAT IS A KNAPWEED FLOWER IT IS ON

I always know when it's Tuesday morning.  The almost pre-dawn rumbling and clunking of the garbage truck generally wakes me up.  Clankety clunkety bang!!  But that was okay; it wasn't raining for a change, and before too long, morning sunshine came streaming through the living room window.  With my spirits lifted, I was soon out the door and off to my walking road. Humidity was at 97% and it felt a bit muggy.  But that didn't deter the butterflies and grasshoppers alongside the road from accompanying me on my morning gravel road stroll.

 I LUCKILY CAUGHT THIS LITTLE GUY IN FLIGHT

Had some errands to run in Goderich, so after my walk, off I went.  Coffee to go at McD's, and down to the harbor I did go.  Driving out to Rotary Cove, I saw a couple of people looking up over the lake, with one person pointing up at something.  A quick glance skywards, and I saw a large four-engine plane, low, and heading shorewards.  Stopped quick and cracked off a few shots as the C-30 'Hercules' flew straight overtop me.  In my navy days, I once caught a ride on one of these from the naval base in Shearwater, Nova Scotia, to an airbase inTrenton, Ontario, and then hitchhiked 175 miles farther to my hometown of Tavistock, Ontario. (near Stratford) Back up out of the harbor this morning, I made a couple of stops in Goderich, with Walmart being one of them.  I was home again shortly before noon, and amazingly enough.....the sun was still shining.

With temps at 80F and the humidity high, I spent most of the afternoon inside, with the exception of raking up a wheelbarrow of pine needles out behind the carport.  Had it not been shady there, I would not have done that.  Inside again, I spent some time on my exercise bike watching a few YouTube videos of interest.  What a great and enjoyable way to educate oneself.

 SPOTTED THIS YELLOW GARDEN SPIDER ON MY WALK THIS MORNING

 A VERY HANDSOME CHAP INDEED

 MY iPHONE IDENTIFIED THIS SMALL BEE-LIKE CREATURE AS A DRONE FLY

I had my fingers crossed for clear skies Monday night, but it didn't happen.  I'm hoping today's sunny skies extend into this evening.  I think it's been almost a week since I was last out at night, and I am definitely overdue for a star fix.

 CAME ACROSS THIS GROUP OF SHEEP EARLIER TODAY

 I THINK THIS FELLOW HAS A SMILEY FACE

Al's Music Box:: Unchained Melody by The Righteous Brothers, featuring Bobby Hatfield.

 A DRONE FLY ON A KNAPWEED FLOWER

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A doctor of psychology was doing his normal morning rounds, and he entered a patient's room to find his patient sitting on the floor, sawing at a piece of wood with the side of his hand. Meanwhile, another patient was in the room, hanging from the ceiling by his feet. The doctor asked his patient what he was doing, sitting on the floor. The patient replied in an irritated fashion, "Can't you see I'm sawing this piece of wood in half?" The doctor inquired, "And what is the fellow hanging from the ceiling doing?" "Oh. He's my friend, but he's a little crazy. He thinks he's a light bulb." The doctor asks, "If he's your friend, don't you think you should get him down from there before he hurts himself?" "What? And work in the dark?"

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

Coffee Jokes - to celebrate International Coffee Day

I like my coffee but not made by me.

Why did the coffee file a police report?
Because it got mugged!

What do you call sad coffee? A depresso.

How does Moses make his coffee? Hebrews it.

Why are Italians so good at making coffee?
Because they know how to espresso themselves.

What did the coffee say to its date? "Hey there, hot stuff!"

What's the best Beatles song about coffee?
"Latte Be."

Why did the barista get fired?
They kept showing up latte.

Why do coffee shops have bad Wi-Fi?
Because they want you to espresso yourself instead.

How is divorce like an espresso? It's expensive and bitter.

Why did the coffee bean keep checking his watch? Because he was pressed for time.

What do you call it when you steal someone's coffee? A mugging.

How are coffee beans like teenagers?
They're always getting grounded.

What did the caffeine addict name his cats?
Cream and Sugar.

Why do programmers prefer dark coffee?
Because light attracts bugs.

What do you call it when coffee hurts you?
A brew-tality.

What do you call a newborn coffee bean?
A little squirt!

Why do coffee beans always show up early?
Because they get roasted!

How did the hipster burn his tongue?
He drank his coffee before it was cool.

What do you call a cow who just gave birth?
De-calf-inated.

How do programmers prefer their coffee?
They like it in Java.

Why do coffee lovers prefer dark roast?
Because light roast keeps them up at night.

What happens when you steal someone’s coffee? It causes a mug shot!

Why was the coffee shop so quiet?
Because everyone was staying grounded

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

While the family was sitting around the dinner table, Jennifer, 5, turned to her brother Andy, 3, and pointed to her dad. "That's not your real father," she said, startling the whole family. "Yes, he is!" Andy replied. "No, he's not," Jennifer insisted. "God is your heavenly father."
Then, pointing at her dad, she said, "That's your homely father!"
---------------

Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Al's Art Gallery

OH YA, I FORGOT:((

With rain still pounding on the roof in the night, I woke up thinking, 'I've got a lot of odd pieces of lumber stored away here, and maybe it would be a good idea for me to quickly throw some kind of an Ark together, and load up all the chipmunks, birds, frogs, and bunnies I can.  Of course, with my carpentry skills, we would soon all be up to our necks in deep water, clinging to scraps of wood and floating debris. Luckily, the rain finally stopped, and I saw the first slivers of sunshine touch down on the living room floor shortly after 8 a.m.:))  But, oh dear, my in-house weather station said we had 99% humidity.  And then the sun went bye-bye and the rain returned with a big 'Hello'!!

 BETWEEN RAIN SHOWERS I SLIPPED OUT TO THE FRONT YARD LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND SNAPPED OFF A FEW QUICK PICS

A week or so ago, I think I made an incorrect assumption.  I thought the Park owners were maybe (heavy on the maybe) extending White Cedar Drive to Bayfield River Road, giving the Park a third entrance.  With Park owner Adam still digging up the area around the previous owner's house, I think something else is going on, but I am not about to make another assumption about what it is until I know for sure what's happening.  The house had been 'For Sale,' but the for sale sign is gone now.

I know that sometimes in my blog, I probably go on too much about our past RVing days, and I think these past few rainy days have brought on another one of my laments, so bear with me here. Because of my love for the Great American Southwest and the fact that we spent 13 wonderful winters there (four of those years owning a house and property) and mostly boondocking our way around New Mexico, Arizona, California, and Utah, the ache in my heart and my desire to return someday is still with me.  I am reminded daily of our travels when Facebook sends me sites and memories of so many places we had visited in the Southwest, and especially of our time spent in Arizona.  It is uncanny how so many of those sites that Facebook sends, Kelly and I have been to. The memories of our time in those places tug at my heartstrings.  With these rapidly aging days upon me now, I know it is unlikely I will ever see all of our old familiar and favorite beloved places again, but maybe that's best, because without Kelly, Pheebs, Max, Checkers, and little Cora, it just wouldn't be the same, and I think the sadness for me might be too overwhelming.  And yet, I still long to return some day, to see the mountains and the desert landscape with its tall, stately Saguaros.  The clear, starry night sky with its zillions of stars from mountaintop to mountaintop.  The sunrises, the sunsets, the desert campfires.  I long to see the dusty little desert towns we once knew so well.  The camaraderie of fellow RV Bloggers, the friends we made, the twisting and jostling Jeep roads winding their way through the cactus, canyons, and scrub. We spent so many bumpity miles exploring old mine sites, ghost towns, and anything of interest we could find.  And I so much miss our daily morning walks and rock scrambles.  Every morning with the dogs, we were out walking. At our house in Congress, I would listen for the neighbor's roosters in the morning, the sharp calls of the Curvebilled Thrashers and Cactus Wrens outside the door, and the weebling  Gambel's Quails along the fence line.  And although not in Arizona, I do miss our many treks up California's Ghost Mountain in the Blair Valley to the Marshall South homestead.  Always a special feeling place for me.  Today, Facebook tossed me this site... 10 Walkable Towns In Arizona, and when I went down the list, Kelly and I had been to nine out of ten and the tenth one 'Williams' Arizona, we had driven by on I-40 probably half a dozen times while either coming from or going to other parts of Arizona, and especially our house in Congress.  So many stories and so many memories of all these places overwhelm my mind. By the way, you can access all my posts from the 'Blog Archive' gadget on my right-hand sidebar.  90% of our 13 years of RV travels are there, almost from start to definite finish.  Okay, I will try to hold off on any more Southwest laments for a while.  Maybe till the snow flies, when I'm sure at some point I'll not be able to help myself again.

Well, here it is, the last day of August already.  It's unofficially the last day of summer.  Next week, the kids will be back to school. The first few touches of Autumn may begin to appear along the tree lines; nights are already cooler, and on my walk between rain showers this morning I was accompanied by tiny grasshoppers and serenaded by crickets along the roadside and in the fields.  The days are already noticeably shorter, and night skies are gradually becoming a touch clearer in the cooler air.  It will soon be time to get my list out for loading up the RV and...................Oh ya, I forgot:(( 

 TURNING ONTO MY WALKING ROAD THIS MORNING, I SPOTTED THIS FAMILY OF 12 WILD TURKEYS

 WHEN THEY SAW ME THEY HEADED FOR THE SAFETY OF A FOREST ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROAD AND I PATIENTLY WAITED UNTIL ALL THE GUYS SAFELY MADE IT ACROSS

Al's Music Box:: Cry Me A River by Julie London.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A man was driving to work when a truck ran a stop sign, hit his car broadside, and knocked him out cold. A passerby pulled him from the wreckage and revived him.  He began a terrific struggle and had to be tranquilized by the medics. Later, when he had calmed down, they asked him why he had struggled so. He said, a bit sheepishly, "I remember the impact, then nothing. I woke up on a concrete slab in front of this huge, flashing sign. Turns out somebody was standing in front of the 'S' on the 'Shell' sign."

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

I went skydiving today for the first time.
This guy strapped himself to me, we jumped out of the plane. As we plummeted, he said, "So how long have you been an instructor?"

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

Just remember: when you go to court, you are trusting your fate to twelve people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty!!

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

If you hold the soul of your foot up to your ear, you can hear the sound of your hip dislocating.

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

A lumberjack told me he'd cut down 27,352 trees.  "How do you know you cut down so many"? I inquired.  "Easy, I keep a log".

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

At the height of a political corruption trial, the prosecuting attorney attacked a witness. "Isn't it true," he bellowed, "that you accepted five thousand dollars to compromise this case?"

The witness stared out the window, as though he hadn't heard the question. "Isn't it true that you accepted five thousand dollars to compromise this case?" the lawyer repeated. The witness still did not respond. Finally, the judge leaned over and said, "Sir, please answer the question."  "Oh," the startled witness said, "I thought he was talking to you."

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

Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Al's Art Gallery