RAPIDLY UP TO SPEED ON THE 402 I NEARLY BLEW MYSELF RIGHT OUT THE WINDOW

The cloud cover was so low first thing this morning that it was almost sitting on the tree tops when Pheebs and I headed out to our country road walking spot.  We only did half of our half mile walk.  Pheebs wasn't into it so we headed back home.

WINDMILL LAKE EAST OF OUR PARK

A MISTY MORNING WITH CLOUDS NEARLY ON THE DECK

 CAN YOU SMELL THE NEW MOWN HAY?

Changing vehicles and with a bit of drizzle on the windshield Subie and I rolled out the driveway.  Heading south through Bayfield and tuned in to my favorite SiriusXM music channel, I grabbed a Hortons coffee to go and set a southwesterly course for Sarnia Ontario's Bluewater Hospital.  A nice morning for a drive with light traffic all the way including the 402.  By the time we reached the Bluewater Hospital skies had nearly cleared themselves.

 SARNIA'S BLUEWATER HOSPITAL

 A BRIGHT CHEERY HALLWAY

I was early for my appointment of course and things moved along quickly.  Two X-rays this morning instead of one.  Dr. Garach said the X-rays looked good and he was pleased with my progress.  I have to go back for another X-ray in September.  I asked him about the occasional pain in my right leg and knee.  He said that is normal and explained something about the new hardware in my hip.  He said that occasional soreness and pain will eventually go away.  Well, we'll see but I was encouraged by the fact that I didn't have a speck of soreness or pain in my right leg all day.  

 WAITING OUTSIDE THE X-RAY ROOM READING MY KINDLE

Upon leaving the hospital I found Subie in the parking lot with no problem and we were soon heading East out of Sarnia with both front windows down and the Moonroof open.  Oh, the pleasures of warmer weather.  Minutes later and rapidly up to speed on the 402 I nearly blew myself right out the window.  I had to get that moonroof closed and my windows back up to stop the hurricane going on inside the car.  With Subies aerodynamics restored I as able to roll along in quiet comfort listening to my tunes.  With a stop in Forest Ontario at Subway for a Tuna Sub which I somehow managed to not get all over myself, I wasn't long in getting home.

 EAST BOUND AND DOWN HEADING FOR HOME

Finally home and turning onto our street I saw something going on up ahead in front of our house.  It was a Seaforth cable company installing a line up our driveway to the house for a fiber optic installation.  Tuckersmith Communications is installing fiber optics in our Park.  They will be back again to hook that line up to the outside modem at the other end of our unit.  We are currently with Eastlink Communications and this Tuckersmith line will give us an option should we decide to make a change with our internet, TV, and phone company at some point.  Options are always good things to have regardless of what you are doing.

 OH-OH WHAT THE HECKS GOING ON

 IT'S A GOOD THING KELLY IS OUT THERE KEEPING AN EYE ON THE FLOWERS

An afternoon Park Pond and beyond walk for Pheebs and I netted me a few photos and we sure stirred up a bunch of Red-Winged Blackbirds on the East side of the pond.  They must be nesting in the Willows by the water and probably have young ones in the nests.

 THESE BIRDS WERE SURE UPSET WITH PHEEBS AND I

 LATE AFTERNOON SHADOWS ON THE POND'S BANK

 I LOVE A DARK FOREST WALK

 THIS MIGHT BE A BLACK SWALLOWTAIL

Al's Music Box:))  The Weight  is a song by the Canadian-American group 'The Band' that was released as a single in 1968 on the group's debut album 'Music from Big Pink'. It was their first release under this name, after their previous releases as the Canadian Squires and Levon and the Hawks. Written by Band member Robbie Robertson, the song is about a visitor's experiences in a town mentioned in the lyric's first line as Nazareth. "The Weight" has significantly influenced American popular music, having been listed as No. 41 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Sons of All Time published in 2004. PBS, which broadcast performances of the song on Ramble at the Ryman (2011), Austin City Limits (2012), and Quick Hits (2012), describes it as "a masterpiece of Biblical allusions, enigmatic lines, and iconic characters" and notes its enduring popularity as "an essential part of the American songbook."  "The Weight" is one of the Band's best-known songs, gaining considerable album-oriented rock airplay.  Cash Box called it a "powerhouse performance."  The 1969 movie Easy Rider used the song as recorded by the Band.  Robbie Robertson,  found the tune for 'The Weight when strumming idly on his guitar one day.  He noticed that the interior of the guitar included a stamp noting that it was manufactured in Nazareth, Pennsylvania (C.F. Martin & Company is situated there) and he started crafting the lyrics as he played.  The inspiration for and influences affecting the composition of "The Weight" came from the music of the American South, the life experiences of band members, particularly Levon Helm, and movies of filmmakers Ingmar Bergan and Luis Bunuel.  The original members of the Band performed "The Weight" as an American Southern folk song with country music (vocals, guitars and drums) and gospel music (piano and organ) elements. The lyrics, written in the first person, are about a traveler's arrival, visit, and departure from a town called Nazareth, in which the traveler's friend, Fanny, has asked him to look up some of her friends. According to Robertson, Fanny is based on Frances 'Fanny' Steloff, the founder of a New York City bookstore where he explored scripts by Buñuel. The town is related to Nazareth, Pennsylvania because it was the home of Martin guitars. (Robertson wrote the guitar parts on a 1951 Martin D-28.) The singers, led by Helm, vocalize the traveler's encounters with people in the town from the perspective of a Bible Belt American Southerner, like Helm himself, a native of rural Arkansas.  The characters in "The Weight" were based on real people that members of the Band knew, as Helm explained in his autobiography, This Wheel's on Fire.  In particular, "young Anna Lee" mentioned in the third verse is Helm's longtime friend Anna Lee Amsden, and, according to her, "Carmen" was from Helm's hometown, Turkey Scratch, Arkansas "Crazy Chester" was an eccentric resident of Fayetteville, Arkansas, who carried a cap gun. Ronnie Hawkins would tell him to "keep the peace" at his Rockwood Club when Chester arrived.  

 THIS BEGONIA HANGS ON OUR LAMP POST AT THE END OF OUR DRIVEWAY

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A priest, a doctor, and an engineer were waiting one morning for a particularly slow group of golfers. The engineer fumed, "What's with those guys? We must have been waiting for fifteen minutes!"  The doctor chimed in, "I don't know, but I've never seen such inept golf!"  The priest said, "Here comes the green-keeper. Let's have a word with him."  He said, "Hello George, what's wrong with that group ahead of us? They're rather slow, aren't they?"  The green-keeper replied, "Oh, yes. That's a group of blind firemen. They lost their sight saving our clubhouse from a fire last year, so we always let them play for free anytime."  The group fell silent for a moment.  The priest said, "That's so sad. I think I will say a special prayer for them tonight."  The doctor said, "Good idea. I'm going to contact my ophthalmologist colleague and see if there's anything he can do for them." The engineer said, "Why can't they play at night?"

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A zookeeper is ordering new animals. As he fills out the forms, he types “two mongeese”. That doesn’t look quite right, so he tries two mongoose, and then two mongooses.  Giving up, he types, “One mongoose, and while you’re at it, send another one.”

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Getting away from their high-stress jobs, a couple spends relaxing weekends in their motor home. When they found their peace and quiet disturbed by well-meaning, but unwelcome, visits from other campers, they devised a plan to assure themselves some privacy.  Now, when they set up camp, they place this sign on the door of their RV: "Insurance agent. Ask about our term-life package."

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