EVERYTHING IS AS IT SHOULD BE

 RED WING BLACKB IRD

I was hoping the smoke would have dissipated this morning, but it didn't, and it was a smoky walk on my country road earlier today.

 SUMMER'S WHEAT HARVEST IS FINALLY UNDERWAY

THESE ARE YESTERDAY'S RECTANGULAR ALFALFA BALES ALL WRAPPED UP

THE NEWLY WRAPPED BALES ARE ON THE LEFT AND THE ROUND WRAPPED BALES ON THE RIGHT HAVE BEEN LYING IN THIS FIELD FOR THE PAST YEAR OR MORE

Following my walk, and with a few errands to run, I headed for Goderich.  The smoke hung heavy in the harbor.  

A SMOKY MORNING IN BAYFIELD'S HARBOR

 FARM MACHINERY SITTING IDLE IN A WHEAT FIELD THIS MORNING

After a quick stop at Walmart, I headed back to Bayfield, where I picked up a 'booster' device at the Tuckersmith office.  I noticed earlier Thursday afternoon that both my sunroom computer and TV were having difficulty picking up the Tuckersmith internet/TV signal being transmitted from a router in the living room.  I had called Tuckersmith about the problem and they suggested that, with the distance between the living room and the sunroom, I probably needed a signal booster, and that is what I picked up atTuckersmith.  Home again, and taking another look at the Tuckersmith hook-up in the sunroom, I noticed a couple of discrepancies, so I gave their service number a call.  Now, from here it gets complicated, so I'm not going to try and explain what the service tech had me do over the next half hour or so.  Just know that at the end of that time, everything worked perfectly.  What I feel is more important and worth mentioning is how nice it was to talk to someone local who spoke perfect English.  The tech guy, who I assume might have been in Seaforth, a mere 15 miles away, was so patient with me that not once did I even get close to one of my fluster-bluster meltdowns.  He explained things clearly, and his instructions were easy to follow.  For an impatient fellow like myself with all this techy stuff, I kept my cool, and I give credit for that to the pleasant clear speaking fellow on the other end of the phone.  And, I kinda had a few little chuckles (whoever heard of having a chuckle during a high stress techy call) when I noticed this fellow verbalizing his thoughts between instructions to me.  I think we all do it, and it's when you are maybe looking for something online, washing the car, or shining your shoes, and are subconsciously humming a favorite song.  You know those times when you're doing a 'dum-de-dum-de-didly dee', or maybe you're talking to yourself out loud while assembling a BBQ or verbalizing yourself through a new and confusing kitchen recipes.  I liked when this fellow was doing that because I knew I was talking to, and working along with a real live person.  A friend, a neighbor, the guy down the street, someone who might have on the same orange plaid green and purple shirt I did.  Yup, despite my trepadations about phoning tech support, I had a pleasant, and educational experience.  Two thumbs up for Tuckersmith Communications.  As I post this tonight, everything is as it should be:))        

I AM GUESSING THIS BIRD IN THE FRONT YARD AS A FEMALE BALTIMORE ORIOLE

 A MOURNING DOVE GIVING ME A CURIOUS LOOK

Al's Music Box:: Good Morning Starshine by Oliver.

 A MALE ROBIN

GROANER'S CORNER:(( The Laws Of Golf::

LAW 1: No matter how bad your last shot was, the worst is yet to come. This law does not expire on the 18th hole, since it has the supernatural tendency to extend over the course of a tournament, a summer and, eventually, a lifetime.
LAW 2: Your best round of golf will be followed almost immediately by your worst round ever. The probability of the latter increases with the number of people you tell about the former.
LAW 3: Brand new golf balls are water-magnetic. Though this cannot be proven in the lab, it is a known fact that the more expensive the golf ball, the greater its attraction to water.
LAW 4: Golf balls never bounce off of trees back into play. If one does, the tree is breaking a law of the universe and should be cut down.
LAW 5: No matter what causes a golfer to muff a shot, all his playing partners must solemnly chant "You looked up," or invoke the wrath of the universe.
LAW 6: The higher a golfer's handicap, the more qualified he deems himself as an instructor.
LAW 7: Every par-three hole in the world has a secret desire to humiliate golfers. The shorter the hole, the greater its desire.
LAW 8: Topping a 3-iron is the most painful torture known to man.
LAW 9: Palm trees eat golf balls.
LAW 10: Sand is alive. If it isn't, how do you explain the way it works against you?
LAW 11: Golf carts always run out of juice at the farthest point from the clubhouse.
LAW 12: A golfer hitting into your group will always be bigger than anyone in your group. Likewise, a group you accidentally hit into will consist of a football player, a professional wrestler, a convicted murderer and an IRS agent -- or some similar combination.
LAW 13: All 3-woods are demon-possessed.
LAW 14: Golf balls from the same "sleeve" tend to follow one another, particularly out of bounds or into the water (See Law three).
LAW 15: A severe slice is a thing of awesome power and beauty.
LAW 16: "Nice lag" can usually be translated to "lousy putt." Similarly, "tough break" can usually be translated "way to miss an easy one, sucker."
LAW 17: The person you would most hate to lose to will always be the one who beats you.
LAW 18: The last three holes of a round will automatically adjust your score to what it really should be.
LAW 19: Golf should be given up at least twice per month.
LAW 20: All vows taken on a golf course shall be valid only until the sunset.

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A very traditional elderly woman was enjoying a good game of bridge with her girlfriends one evening. "Oh, no! I have to rush home and fix dinner for my husband! He's going to really ticked if it's not ready on time!" she exclaimed suddenly. When she got home, she realized that she didn't have enough time to go to the supermarket, and all she had in the cupboard was a wilted lettuce leaf, an egg, and a can of cat  food. In a panic, she opened the can of cat food, stirred in the egg, and garnished it with the lettuce leaf just as her husband pulled up. She greeted her husband and then watched in horror as he sat down to his dinner. To her surprise, the husband really enjoyed his dinner. "Darling, this is the best dinner you have made for me in forty years of marriage. You can make this for me any old day." Needless to say, every bridge night from then on, the woman made her husband the same dish. She told her bridge cronies about it, and they were all horrified. "You're going to kill him!" they exclaimed. Two months later, her husband died. The women were sitting around the table playing bridge when one of the cronies said, "You killed him! We told you that feeding him that cat food every week would do him in! How can you just sit there so calmly and play bridge knowing you murdered your husband?" The wife stoically replied, "I didn't kill him. He fell off the mantel while he was cleaning himself."

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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Al's Art Gallery

AND WE GOT TO CHATTING

 A MOURNING DOVE SITS IN THE FRONT YARD'S SUNBURST LOCUST TREE

I can sum up the big news in our area with one word....Smoke!!  With huge wildfires burning out of control in northwestern Ontario, westerly winds have brought much of that smoke this way and even stretched over into some of the Eastern United States.  I noticed the sky had turned yellowish Wednesday morning, but with my Tuckersmith Internet/TV line being installed, I didn't pay much attention to it.  It wasn't until later, when I drove neighbor Monica to Clinton and back, that I became aware of the hazy smoke.  And it remained smoky all day today.  I think Toronto, Ontario, declared that yesterday was the worst air pollution day they have ever recorded.

HEADING EAST OUT OF OUR PARK THIS MORNING, I COULD SEE THE SMOKE WAS STILL IN THE AIR

Despite the smoke, I headed out to my walking road, and in the distant haze I could make out large objects at the north end of the alfalfa field they had just harvested a few days ago, and one of those objects was moving.  As I drew closer, I could see the moving object was a tractor, and the large rectangular objects were hay (alfalfa) bales.  I parked Subie and walked up the road for a closer look.  The tractor came over fairly close to me and stopped.  A nice young fella emerged from the enclosed cab, headed my way, and we got to chatting.  He was waiting for another piece of farm machinery to show up.  A few days ago, they had cut, raked, and picked up the loose alfalfa with a Forage Shredder.  Knowing these bales must have been from an adjoining alfalfa field, I asked him why they decided to bale the alfalfa this time.  He said that they originally planned to do that field the same way as the first, but because of yesterday's smoke blocking out the anticipated 'drying' sun and the threat of rain on Friday, they decided to bale and wrap the slightly damp alfalfa today, ensuring it would properly dry when wrapped and not be susceptible to rain.

 SLOWLY DRIVING NORTH ON MY WALKING ROAD I COULD SEE THERE WAS SOME FARMING ACTIVITY GOING ON AHEAD OF ME TO THE NORTHEAST

AFTER PARKING AT MY SPOT ALONGSIDE THE ROAD, I WALKED UP TO WHERE I SAW A TRACTOR MOVING BALES AROUND

 AFTER TALKING TO THIS YOUNG FELLOW, I WALKED BACK TO THE CAR ABOUT A QUARTER OF A MILE AWAY

 I WAS ABOUT TO LEAVE WHEN THIS APPARATUS WENT  BY HEADING TOWARDS THE ALFALFA BALE OPERATION...I  KNEW RIGHT AWAY WHAT THAT ROUND THING WAS AND WHAT IT WAS ABOUT TO DO

 THIS IS THE MACHINE THAT WRAPS THOSE BALES IN A HEAVY DUTY WHITE PLASTIC...IT'S CALLED A BALE WRAPPER

 YOU CAN SEE THE BALING OPERATOR BESIDE THE MACHINE

 HERE, YOU CAN SEE THE WHITE PLASTIC BEING WRAPPED AROUND THE BALE

Everything had gone well with my Tuckersmith install on Wednesday, but this afternoon, my desktop computer in the sunroom began having trouble picking up the signal from the router in the living room.  It had been working perfectly yesterday and this morning.  My music channel came through alright, but other sites struggled and wouldn't download. I called Tuckersmith (how nice to speak with someone I can understand) and told them of the problem.  They suggested a signal booster to boost the signal to the sunroom.  I will pick up that booster tomorrow at Tuckersmith's Bayfield office.  Wish me luck in getting that booster thing set up!!

 A FEW PICS ALONG MY WALKING ROAD THIS MORNING....BUTTERFLY ON A CHICORY FLOWER

 THESE THISTLE FLOWERS ARE ALREADY GOING TO SEED

 YELLOW SOW THISTLE FLOWERS AND QUEEN ANNE'S LACE GROWING ALONGSIDE A WHEAT FIELD

Al's Music Box:: Imagine by John Lennon.

 A ROBIN HAVING A BATH IN THE FRONT YARD BIRD BATH THIS AFTERNOON

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Hearing little Johnny behind her turning the air blue, the teacher turned and said, "Johnny, "you shouldn't use that kind of language". Where did you hear such talk, anyway?" "My daddy said it," he responded. "Well, that doesn't matter," explained the teacher. "You don't even know what it means." "I do, too!" Little Johnny retorted. "It means the car won't start."

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My wife won’t let me get a tattoo of a grizzly bear on each bicep...She is infringing on my right to bear arms!
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Today is National Crayon Day::
- Crayons are just like M&Ms...
They taste the same no matter what colour they are.

I heard in the news that thay've found harmful materials in cosmetics and childrens crayons, but in the defense of the big corporations...They're doing asbestos they can.

My wife accused me of being unsympathetic and not listening, so I bought her a GI Joe coloring book...
Now she'll always have a soldier to crayon.

Fill out job applications in crayon...and if you don’t get hired, just blame it on your color.

I just can't draw blood with this orange crayon...It isn't sharp enough. 

This orange does not taste right...I think I'm gonna put it back in the crayon box.

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In a murder trial, the defense attorney was cross-examining the coroner:
Attorney: Before you signed the death certificate, had you taken the pulse?
Coroner: No.
Attorney: Did you listen to the heart?
Coroner: No.
Attorney: Did you check for breathing?
Coroner: No.
Attorney: So, when you signed the death certificate, you weren't sure the man was dead, were you?
Coroner: Well, let me put it this way. The mans brain was sitting in a jar on my desk. But I guess its possible he could have been out practicing law somewhere.

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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Al's Art Gallery