Monday, September 12, 2016

BAYFIELD, BOINKER BEACH, GRAND BEND, AND HOME AGAIN:))

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ON THE CLIFFS OVERLOOKING LAKE HURON AT BOINKER BEACH NORTH OF GRAND BEND

Had a little chuckle with myself this morning trying to decide what to wear.  Quite a change in thinking from last week’s hot to this weeks quite cool.  ‘No’ I refuse to use the ‘cold’ word yet!!  T-shirt, yes or no??  Long or short sleeve shirt??  Ok both.  Jacket??  Better take one along but maybe won’t need it with my long sleeve flannel shirt over top my short sleeve shirt.  Pants??  The usual of course.  Pants seem to mostly fit all temps.  Hat??  Oh stop it AL!!  Geeezzz and you Gals think you have problems with what to wear.  Hah:))

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SPOTTED THESE FELLERS IN BAYFIELD THIS MORNING

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IT’S QUITE A FAST GROWING CROP OF WIND TURBINES POPPING UP IN RURAL CORN FIELDS NORTH-EAST OF GRAND BEND ONTARIO

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Another beautiful Autumn morning and although I tried to convince myself to do a bit of yard work first thing I couldn't resist the urge to at least get out for an hour or two.  Hadn't been south of Bayfield for awhile so Pheebs and I were soon in the Jeep wandering our way along in the  direction of Grand Bend.  Of course we knew there to be a Tim Hortons there of course>))

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AT BOINKER BEACH LOOKING SOUTH TOWARDS GRAND BEND ABOUT 4 MILES AWAY LOOK CLOSELY AND SEE IF YOU CAN SPOT ANYTHING UNUSUAL ALONG THE SHORELINE BELOW THAT COPSE OF TREES ATOP THE BANK AT LEFT

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HERE’S A CLOSER TELEPHOTO LENS SHOT…….YIKES AND DOUBLE YIKES!!

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WITH HIGH WATER LEVELS ON THE GREAT LAKES THIS YEAR EROSION HAS BECOME A MAJOR PROBLEM FOR MANY COTTAGE OWNERS AND HERE YOU CAN SEE THIS ‘DIGGER’ WORKING AWAY ON A BANK PROBLEM….I THINK HE IS USING THE BUCKET TO HAMMER DOWN A STEEL PILLAR INTO THE SAND….WITH MY WARYNESS OF WATER I’M GLAD I’M NOT THE DIGGER OPERATOR

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LAND’S END AND CALM BLUE WATER

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A DEEP CUTTING GULLY WASH ERODES DIRT FROM A FARMER’S FIELD INTO LAKE HURON HERE

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ME AND MY BEST PAL ON THE EASTERN CLIFFS OF LAKE HURON

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Grand Bend is a quiet little place in the off season but it's not a place I would go on a summer week-end anymore.  Fifty years ago for me it was the place to be.  Party central.  Grand Bend is still that way for young people but I would never go anywhere near the place during summer months.  Curb to curb people and vehicles everywhere.  It’s a week day in the off season now so how nice to cruise into the Bend and down around the beach this morning with hardly anyone around.  Took a few photos of the new Rotary Band Shell and headed off for home.  So nice to be out and about on such a fine morning.

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FISHING BOAT IN GRAND BEND’S HARBOR

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MOST ANYBODY AND EVERYBODY COMING TO GRAND BEND MAKES THE PILGRIMAGE TO THE END OF THIS PIER…MY DAD WHEN STATIONED AT A NEAR BY AIR BASE DURING THE WAR CAME HERE TO WALK THE PIER, SWIM,  AND RHUMBA AT THE POPULAR DANCE HALL ON THE BEACH….I FIRST WALKED THIS PIER BACK IN THE 50’S

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FOLKS OUT ENJOYING A FINE SEPTEMBER MORNING…..DOGGY TOO

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STANDING IN THE PARKING LOT BEHIND THE ROTARY COMMUNITY STAGE

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BACKSTAGE WITH THE PIER AND LIGHT BEACON OFF IN THE FAR DISTANCE

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I’M STANDING AT CENTER STAGE LOOKING OUT OVER THE BEACH,  PIER,  AND LAKE HURON BEYOND

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SUNDAY NIGHT BANDS PLAY HERE…..SAY I WONDER IF THE ‘ROLLING STONES’ MIGHT DO THEIR FINAL CONCERT HERE SOME DAY

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IN THIS PHOTO FROM BOINKER BEACH YOU CAN SEE THE LARGE CONDO ON THE BEACH AND JUST TO THE RIGHT OF IT THE WHITE LOOKING  ROTARY COMMUNITY STAGE ROOF….THE WHITE PIN LIKE OBJECT TO THE RIGHT OF CENTER IS THE LIGHT BEACON AT THE END OF THE GRAND BEND PIER

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LAKE HURON CAN BE SEEN TO THE LEFT AND BEHIND THE STAGE A LARGE CONDO ON THE BEACH

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THAT CREATIVELY ARTSY WOODEN ROOF SIMULATES LAKE HURON WAVES

Back home I spent some time doing a bit of yard puttering.  Caught a couple more frogs and took them to the Park's big pond.  That's 8 frogs out of our front yard pond now.  Cut down some scrub Mulberry's and planted some more Joe Pye weed along with another clump of bull rushes.  Other than that it was a pleasantly quiet early September day. 

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SPOTTED THIS CORMORANT BESIDE A SMALL POND

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LOOK CLOSELY BEHIND THE CORMORANT…….DO YOU SEE THE SMALL GREEN HERON??

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Know what I like best about cooler weather…….the ‘warmth’.  No not that outside summer heat stuff but that inside warmth when one comes in the house from an outside cooler day.   Whether that warmth comes from a fireplace, a furnace, or an electric heater makes no difference.  It is that overall soothing feeling of being enveloped by a comforting blanket of warm cozy air.  It’s not only a feeling of warmth on the outside but it gives one a nice fuzzy reassuring feeling of warmth on the inside as well……………..:))

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HEY WHO THE HECK IS LOOKING DOWN THROUGH OUR SUNROOM’S SKYLIGHT!!

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AHHHHHH IT’S ONLY OUR GOOD FRIEND AND NEIGHBOR BRUCE

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BRUCE HAD DROPPED AROUND THIS AFTERNOON TO PUT SOME MORE TAR AND CAULKING AROUND OUR SKYLIGHT

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Yaaaaay, looks like the Blogger-Word Press problem has finally been resolved and Word Press posts are once again updating properly.  However looking for my buddy Jim's blog Lifetime Sentences it was nowhere to be found.  Luckily I was able to go into our Blogger Dashboard and re-install his blog and he's back up and running again.  If your a Word Press user and you were on my sidebar and don't see yourself there yet, let me know.

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HERE’S LITTLE MISS HAPPY-PANTS IN GRAND BEND THIS MORNING

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Kathleen Wynn, Ontario Canada's Premier, Donald Trump, and Vladimir Putin all die and go to hell. (a good start?) While there, they spy a red phone and ask what the phone is for. The devil tells them it is for calling back to Earth. ... Putin calls Moscow and talks for 5 minutes. When he was finished the devil informs him that the cost is a million dollars, so Putin writes him a cheque.. Next Donald Trump calls Washington and talks for 30 minutes. When he's finished the devil informs him the cost is 6 million dollars, so Trump writes him a cheque.   Finally Kathleen Wynn gets her turn and talks for 4 hours. When she's finished, the devil informed her that there would be no charge and feel free to call Ontario anytime.  Putin goes ballistic and asks the devil why Kathleen Wynn got to call Ontario free. The devil replied, "Since Kathleen Wynn became Premier of Ontario, the whole damn province has gone to hell, so it's a local call."

Sunday, September 11, 2016

THINKING BACK, THINKING AHEAD, AND THINKING WHAT A BEAUTIFUL AUTUMN DAY IT WAS:))

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NOTICE THE HORSE AND CART HEADING OUT THE LANE AT EXTREME RIGHT

Stepping outside into the refreshingly cool pre-dawn air with Pheebs this morning I was quick to check the overhead night sky.  Stars are what I was hoping to see through the pine trees and it was stars I indeed did see.  I knew right away Pheebs and I would be off somewhere this morning and a short 3 hours later we were cruising through the countryside on an absolutely beautiful September morn.  Big white puffy clouds with a cooling breeze in a deep blue sky.  Oh how I love these much healthier Autumn mornings.

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FAMILY TIME ON A PEACEFUL SUNDAY MORNING

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I HAVE NO IDEA AT TO WHAT KIND OF DUCKS THOSE ARE

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I THINK THAT LITTLE FELLER IS DANCING HIMSELF A JIG ON THAT LOG

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YEP THESE HERE ARE CANADA GEESE ALRIGHT

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Not a long Jeep drive today but we did make a few stops along the way at a few of our favorite spots.  Wished I could put into words the feelings of wellness I experience whenever surrounded by Mother Natures wonders.  We are so fortunate to live in the area we do.  DSC_0006

FOR ME PURPLE IS AUTUMNS FINEST COLOR

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SAW THIS YOUNG FELLA JUST A ‘SNORTIN’ DOWN THE ROAD ON HIS OLD FARMALL TRACTOR TOWING A BIG MANURE SPREADER

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HE HAD THAT TRACTOR JUST A COOKIN AND IT SOUNDED LIKE A HARLEY GOING BY

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While walking past the Jeep one morning earlier this week I caught my own reflection in the side window and stopped to take a photo.  A few days later I got myself to thinking about that photo and figured maybe it was about high time I updated my profile picture on several programs and sites I belong to.  The current photo of me with the sunglasses on my big 229 gallon cowboy hat was actually cropped from a photo taken by Kelly in Quartzsite Arizona back in late January of 2015.  We were at Bloggerfest’s first ever gathering and I was standing arm in arm with Judy Bell better known as ‘The Birdlady of Blogland.  Judy has since hung up her fulltime RV keys, taken a break from blogging and is currently living in the Escapee Club’s Jojoba Hills RV Park Resort in southern California……..Oh ya back to my profile picture……..While passing the rear of the Jeep this morning I again caught my reflection in the window.  A-ha I thought, here is my chance to finally take a crack at a new photo and below is what I came up with.  Now to get my sites changed over……………….

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NOT TECHNICALLY PERFECT BUT I LIKE IT BECAUSE MY FACE IS COVERED UP FOR A CHANGE AND HEY, NO BIG GOBY GOOB SUNGLASSES:))

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OH DAD REALLY!?!?

Our good friend, neighbor, and all round ace handyman Bruce finished up a little project in our Motorhome today.  As in other rigs we’ve had we wanted a curtain bar put in behind the driver and passenger seats and I knew to have this job done right and look professional I was not the one to do it.  A curtain behind the front seats serves several purposes.  First is convenience in that at night instead of pulling the two halves of the windshield curtains together which can be a bit of a PITA sometimes it is much easier to pull a curtain across a straight bar behind the seats.  Also on cold nights that big up front windshield and side windows can radiate a lot of cold inside the coach.  A curtain not only cuts down on that cold but also is a big help in keeping heat confined to where we enjoy it the most.  The curtain is in two parts and can easily be pulled to either side and secured while traveling.  Curtains can also be pulled closed while driving as well although I haven’t thought of why we might do that yet.  Nice to have the option though.  I also re-strung our Cactus/Cowboy lights this afternoon as well.  Yesireee we’re buzzing about excitingly getting things geared up alright:)) 

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BRUCE EXPLAINS A FEW THINGS ABOUT THE NEW CURTAIN BAR

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KELLY TRIES OUT A SET OF ‘TEST CURTAINS’

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MOST EVERYTHING YOU SEE HERE IS NOW LOADED INTO THE RIG WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THAT BLUE BIN AND HEAVY YELLOW 50 AMP POWER CORD

From a writing & photography stand point I’ll sure be glad to be on the road next month.  New things to write about & new things to take photos of.  Sunrises & sunsets again as we make our way along old familiar roadways and venture into new unfamiliar territories.  It's a time of excitement, a time of apprehension, a time of happy moments and a time of concern.  Some days as I sit here wrapped safely in the reassuring secure arms of my of my big old comfy recliner my mind wanders off into the weeds thinking, ‘wouldn’t it just be much easier to stay home, less stress, keep the daily routines intact, stay on track, & don’t do anything drastic to shake up my daily routines.  Heaven forbid we should ever shake up normal routines eh.  And wouldn’t it be much, much, easier on the pocket book as well.  Well the answer’s yes to all of those things & more which I’m sure dissuade many a dreamer to forever remain at home.   All solid reasons I’m thinking why many folks would never consider an RV lifestyle whether it be as Week-Enders, Snow Birds, or Full-Timers.

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LOOKS LIKE A BEAN FARM TO ME

I sometimes wonder where we would be had we not come into several fortunate financial windfalls 10 years ago.  When I posed that question to Kelly awhile back she said she figured we would still have found a way to get ourselves into an RV and on the road and I am inclined to agree with her because that is the direction we were agreeably headed after we met back in the summer of 93.  We were both very independent people looking for some kind of change, a challenge, a different lifestyle.  RVing was a perfect fit for us.  I’m guessing chances are we would have become Full-Timers working our way around the U.S. and Canada doing ranch sitting, property security type jobs etc.  We maybe would have even given camp hosting a try except I don’t think either one of us could have put up with that hosting thing for very long.  Fortunately for us we did not have to go that route.

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NOTICE THE WHITE DOTS ON THE HILLSIDE…….SHEEP

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I AM FAMILIAR WITH THIS PARTICULAR SHEEP HERD AND KNOW IT HAS SEVERAL GUADIAN DOGS WITH IT……ALTHOUGH I HEARD ONE OF THE DOGS BARKING AT ME I COULDN’T PICK IT OUT AMONGST THE SHEEP BECAUSE IT IS THE SAME COLOR THEY ARE

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Looking back over the past 10 RVing years I’m happy to say we have no regrets for most of the decisions we have made.  Oh there were a couple RV’s in there a few years ago we could have done without but other than that I’m happy we decided to take a chance on the RV lifestyle in the first place & follow our dreams.  Can’t even begin to imagine where we would be now had we not tweaked our adventurous spirits back then.  We are very thankful for the years of seasonal travel we have put in & I’m hoping we have many more years ahead of us.DSC_0044

GROANER'S CORNER:((  An Alphabetic Take On Life::

a.. Age is a very high price to pay for maturity.
b.. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you a mechanic.
c.. Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity.
d.. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.
e.. A closed mouth gathers no feet.
f.. If you must choose between two evils, pick the one you've never tried before.
g.. My idea of housework is to sweep the room with a glance.
h.. Not one shred of evidence supports the notion that life is serious
i.. It is easier to get forgiveness than permission.
j.. For every action, there is an equal and opposite government program.
k.. If you look like your passport picture, you probably need the trip.
l.. Always yield to temptation, because it may not pass your way again.
m.. Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks.
n.. A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel so good.
o.. Eat well, stay fit--die anyway.
p.. No husband has ever been shot while doing the dishes.
q.. A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand.
r.. Middle age is when broadness of the mind and narrowness of the waist change places.
s.. Opportunities always look bigger going than coming.
t.. Junk is something you throw away three weeks before you need it.
u.. There is always one more imbecile than you counted on.
v.. Experience is a wonderful thing. It enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again.
w.. By the time you can make ends meet, they move the ends.
x.. Thou shalt not weigh more than the refrigerator.
y.. I believe the only time the world beats a path to my door is when I'm in the bathroom.
z.. Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves for they shall never cease to be amused.

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And how's this for an answering machine message done to the song"Camptown Races":
I can't come to the telephone; doo-dah, doo-dah.
Leave your message when you hear the tone; oh, de doo-dah day.
Might be gone all night... Might be gone all day...
So leave a message when you hear the tone.
I'll call you back someday...