SO WHAT THE HECK IS.....HITCH ITCH!!

THE HITCH AND THE ITCH......SIDE BY EACH!!

Since one of my blogs last week I've had a few questions about......Hitch Itch!! For non RV (recreational vehicle) folks the term Hitch-Itch may sound rather medically serious. Let me first tell you that it is not something you need a shot of penicillin for nor is it an actual physical itch. That itchy hitch thing is all in the mind. The hitch part refers to the trailer hitch mounted on the back of a vehicle for towing various types & sizes of camping trailers. Motorhomes are equiped with a hitch for towing a car or truck commonly referred to as a toad. (towed) The itch part of the hitch originates in the brain but does not affect all brains in the same way. In fact some brains are not affected by it at all but for those of us saddled with a severe case of the itch it is a gnawing kind of thing that just kind of eats away at you all the time. Basically speaking it is the desire to move from the location you are presently at to another location where you currently are not. And the more severe the itch, the greater is the desire to keep moving. DOWNEY WOODPECKER

I am almost envious of the people who do not have a problem with hitch itch. (key word there is, almost) They are the ones who leave home, drive to their destination & stay contentedly camped for weeks or months at a time without any desire to move anywhere else. I'm sure these folks experience a degree of hitch itch before leaving or returning home but it is not the kind of itch that pesters those of us with the full blown itch affliction.

I'm OK for about a week or maybe two but by the third week I'm chomping at the bit to see some major scenery changes. Whenever we reach a destination we set up camp & first explore the surrounding area on foot for a couple days & then branch out doing day trips to all points of interest within a reasonable driving distance by car. If we don't care for a particular area we may only stay one night & move out the next day. I don't mind having a rest day every 4 or 5 days but to sit around doing nothing for days on end seems like a total waste of valuable time to me. Nothing like a good old case of hitch itch to help break the repetition of boring mundane days.

FEMALE CARDINAL

Dug out our Colorado Atlas to-day & had me a look at our Mountain Directory guide. The mountain guide is a "must have" book for anyone RVing through the Rocky Mountains. All truck drivers have them. It warns about steep mountain grades, twists, turns, & tells you where the "run-a-way" roads are & in some cases even advises certain types of RV's not to travel the roads. Always good to know where the mountain tunnels are as well. Although the mountains can be scary to drive through they are absolutely beautiful to look at & be a part of. It is probably the mountains I most look forward to seeing each year as we head west & my eyes are generally straining to catch that first glimpse of them as we near the western portion of the long flat plains country. In the spring when we begin our journey home I always have a sense of sadness as I watch them slowly disappear in my side view mirrors. I always wonder if I will ever see them again. We have been traveling about 4 years now & already the mountains are like old faithful friends. They are always there. NUTHATCH

To-day was humid & I very nearly flipped on the A/C. Had I done that it would have only been the second time this whole summer. Kelly & I headed out before 8 & cruised through Bayfield looking for Stella again but to no avail. Her owners are home now & we met them on their bicycles out searching as well. It's looking more & more like she was abducted Friday night by someone in a black Dodge SUV.

Had a short mobility van run earlier this afternoon & then it was back home to try my luck at photographing a few more birds in the front yard. Even did a bit of watering in the flower beds. The bird's really seemed to enjoy the erractic rain showers........................

AMERICAN GOLDFINCH ALSO KNOWN AS A WILD CANARY

GROANER'S CORNER: I relish the fact that you've mustard the strength to ketchup to me.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.

GUSTING WINDS TO-DAY REMINDED ME OF THE SOUTHWEST

QUEEN ANN'S LACE

Another quiet morning that lent itself to a peaceful motorcycle ride in the country. Sky looked dark & unpredictable to the northwest so after picking up some groceries in Goderich I turned back & headed for home. Not a lot of groceries of course because saddle bags don't hold too much. Kept an eye to the sky all the way back because belly swampin rain clouds can form out over the lake & come roaring ashore without a lot of notice so didn't want to get caught in a deluge of water. Been there, done that, not nice!! MAX'S NOSE IN THE AIR.....PROBABLY PICKED UP A DEER SCENT

Kelly phoned & said a lady had spotted Stella on a street near the lake so I headed over there but didn't see anything. Kelly was already cruising the neighborhood & putting more "missing" posters up. CANADIAN THISTLE

I had a mobility van run to London this afternoon but was back home again by 5:30. After supper we once more drove around in the area Stella had been spotted but didn't see anything. Needle in a haystack. We'll go again early in the morning because the lady said that's when she has been seeing a stray dog which she identified as Stella from the picture on the poster Kelly made up. Stella's owners will be home to-morrow so maybe they will have better luck in finding her. Ontario Provincial Police just called saying a dog wearing a green life jacket had washed ashore just north of Bayfield but from the description, it wasn't Stella. Must have fallen overboard from one of the many boats out there. Sad:(( COULD THIS BE AN INDIGO BUNTING??

Came across a completely blue colored bird in the forest this morning. Made a chip-chip sound like a Chipping Sparrow but that's not what it was. Managed to get a few pictures in the dim light at 200mm. My beginner's bird book leaves a little bit to be desired so I'm thinking I'll have to invest in a good Peterson Field Guide book. My uneducated guess as to the make of bird would be an Indigo Bunting. Some of you folks out there might remember John from John & Brenda's Incredible Adventure travel blog this past winter. Well, John has surfaced again with a new blog & you can currently find him, his horse Blue, & dog Meg trekking around out in the back 40 somewhere on his ranch in Alberta. John's a good tracker because he managed to track down the Bayfield Bunch last winter in Quartzite, Arizona. He found us camped on the fringe of literally thousands of RV's in the desert. No easy feat I'm sure but no problem for a true cowboy. You can find John riding the outback here......JOHNOur windy day reminded me of our winter travels in the southwest where the winds are strong enough to blow the stripes right off Zebras.......if there was any there. Might have been years ago but after having their stripes blown off the local ranchers & cowboys just figured they was short stocky white horses from Canada or something....................:)) I WAS A BIT OUT OF FOCUS HERE IN THE DIM LIGHT BUT AT LEAST MY CAMERA FLASH LIT HIM UP OK

GROANER'S CORNER: As a senior citizen was driving down the freeway, his car phone rang. Answering, he heard his wife's voice urgently warning him, "Herman, I just heard on the news that there's a car going the wrong way on 280 Interstate. Please be careful!" "It's not just one car," said Herman. "It's hundreds of them!"

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.

HOPE OF FINDING STELLA IS FADING:((

A ROBIN & CARDINAL CHIRPING A DUET TO-DAY IN THE PINE TREES

No luck finding Stella again to-day so we're beginning to think someone may have taken her. We did have a scare this morning when Kelly phoned the Bayfield Garage to inquire if any motorists stopping in may have mentioned anything about a dog. The young fellow answering the phone said there was a black colored dog lying dead on the shoulder of the highway across from the service station. There was little doubt in our minds that it was going to be Stella so I put a tarp in the van & we headed into Bayfield. I saw the body on the east side of the road but as I went by to turn around I thought it looked too small for Stella. I was right, it wasn't her but we felt bad for the poor dog & it's owners just the same. Kelly phoned the animal control fellow to inform him of the dog's location. SMALL RED ARROWS POINT TO BIRDFEEDER STATIONS

I returned home & Kelly went to Deer Park Lodge for the day & did up a bunch of "missing" posters. Stella's owner's son put them up around Bayfield this afternoon. Kelly also called a local radio station (The Beach 104.9) & they were kind enough to make several annoucements on the radio. I drove around Bayfield 3 different times plus went down to the beach but Stella was no where to be found. We are beginning to think that somebody has probably picked her up & kept her. It's a long holiday week-end here in Canada & Bayfield is bustling with thousands of tourists. The fact that no calls have come in to the animal control people or police doesn't bode well for her being found. We will continue our seach.................... STELLA.....PHONE HOME!! (Stella is a year old)

Great weather day so took the motorcycle for a spin up to Goderich for my 10 o'clock coffee. Picked up a Finch birdfeeder at Canadian Tire & headed home. We now have 7 feeder stations including 2 suet cages. Spent a few relaxing hours on the front porch reading my bird books, enjoying the weather, & watching the antics of the Blue Jays, Cardinals, Grosbeaks, Finches, Sparrows, & Chickadees. No sign of the rascally Chipmunks though. Figured because it's Sunday the Chippys were home relaxing & spending the day with their families. I wished the neighbor with his noisy lawn mower would have been considerate enough to do the same!! Would be nice if everyone could set aside their petty religious differences & feuds & all agree to at least have one quiet day of the week. Maybe just call it Family Day or something.........................well, I guess that is never going to happen!!!! DO YOU THINK WE HAVE ENOUGH TOYS FOR OUR 3 FURRY AMIGOS

Groaner's Corner: A prisoner's favorite punctuation mark is the period. It marks the end of his sentence.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.

SEARCHING FOR STELLA

STELLA IS MISSING:((

It's going to be a short blog. Last night around 7 our friends 1 year old part Burmese Mountain/German Shepherd dog went missing from George Street in Bayfield. Her name is Stella & we have been out looking for her to-night. I searched the beach area & harbor this afternoon but to no avail. Many trips around the streets of Bayfield but nobody has seen her. Our friends are in Quebec for the week-end & a teen-age son had been left in charge of things. Kelly has phoned the local vets, police, & animal control people but no luck so far. We will resume our search to-morrow. Stella is black with a brown face, very friendly, & playful. If anyone reading this in our area spots her just email us or phone Deerpark Lodge. Kelly will be there all day to-morrow. FLOWERS ALONG THE ROAD & A MARTIN HOUSE

GROANER'S CORNER: When the cannibal showed up late to the luncheon, they gave him the cold shoulder.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL

RUDOLPH THE RED NOSE REINDEER

WHAT KIND OF BRAMBLES IS THIS POOR LITTLE GREEN BUG HAVING TO CRAWL THROUGH??

It was Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer that caught my attention long enough to hear the next Christmas carol..... Jingle Bells!! I was on my way to London in the mobility van this afternoon & had just hit the "seek" button on the radio trying to get away from the usual collection of hip hop horrors when I came across the sounds of Christmas music. It took me aback for a few seconds & I did some serious thinking about the possibility I had been time warped into the Twilight Zone. But yes, it was definitely Christmas music I was hearing & yes, it was definitely summertime in Ontario I was seeing. After the third carol about roasting chestnuts over an open fire an announcer came on saying something about stay tuned to the soon to be launched new radio station in our area. 90.5 Exeter/Grand Bend. Thought to myself how clever those marketing people are. What better way to snag listeners than to put on Christmas music as an attention getter in the middle of summer. Good thinking on their part because it worked. Well, they got me didn't they & here I am telling you. Good work new radio station, bravo!! I will be tuning in to-morrow to see what kind of music your station will be playing when your officially on the air. Please, no rap crap, no horrible hip hop, & please.....no whining & moaning little baby talk girl Brittany Spears garbage. Puleeeeeeezzzz!!!! NICE FLOWER BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS

Figured out my mystery bird's identity this morning. Had posted a couple pics in the blog over the past couple days wondering if anyone knew what it was. Well, wouldn't you know it but I had already posted a picture of that bird at the beginning of the week identifying it as a Female Rose Breasted Grosbeak & totally forgot I had done so. I blundered across that photo in the blog this morning so accidentally ID'd the bird myself. Ya gotta love this aging stuff:(( THAT LITTLE GREEN BUG WAS ON THE BACK OF MY HAND

My mobility van drive will take me to the Stratford Hospital to-morrow morning so am looking forward to a nice quiet drive through our picturesque rural countryside. Had to attend a driver's meeting this morning in Clinton. The company I drive part time for is being meshed in with 6 other area transportation companies so changes are on the way. The mesh day is officially August 10th & we are supposed to up & running with our Blackberry knowledge by then. I haven't even seen a Blackberry yet, let alone know how to turn one on. Did you know those Blackberry's are made by Research In Motion (RIM) & that's only about an hour & a half east of us in Waterloo, Ontario. (thanks to my cousin Norma for straightening me out on the location of RIM & the correction of Blackberries to Blackberrys:)).

KELLY GOT HERSELF INTO A REAL PICKLE THIS WEEK

I have added a couple more (Picasa Photostream & Comments) little Blogger things to our website & you may have noticed them in the right hand column. For you folks using Blogger there are lots of little things to jazz up your site a bit if you wish & they are super easy to install. Go to your Blogger Dashboard & click on Layout. Scroll down page to the bottom & find the words, Add a Gadget. Click that & will take you to 20 Basic Gadgets. This is where you add all your neat-O side bar stuff. Look to the left side of the menu for the words, Featured, Most Popular, & More Gadgets & you will find even more neat-O stuff. Slide shows, Stat Counters, Picasa Photostream, Followers List, Comment Panels, etc. etc. Always lots to learn at Blogger.

AND AL WAS BERRY, BERRY, EMBARRASSED

Glad to see from the comments & emails by fellow RV'ers that I'm not the only one with these impatient hitch-itch desires. For awhile there I was beginning to feel like a single blade of goofy grass in the face of a force 10 hurricane. I guess it's a good thing we fellers have our steadfast wives to anchor us down or we'd be blowing around in the wind out there like a bunch of wingless gnats in a Kansas wind storm. Thanks girls......sort of!!

GROANER'S CORNER: If you step onto a plane and recognize a friend of yours named Jack don't yell out...... Hi Jack!

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.

HAPPY TO REPORT.......A MUCH BETTER DAY:))

OUR RESIDENT "ATTACK FROG" KEEPING A WARY EYE ON ME

Most days are OK & some days are even better than OK but every once & awhile you have one of those days that just kind of sneaks up on you & clobbers ya one. Had one of those last night when I sat down at the computer to work on the blog. Things just didn't come to-gether in a positive way & I posted a blog I should have re-considered. After the posting I backed away from the keyboard, headed out the door, & took myself for a drive down to Grand Bend, parked on the beach & watched the big red sun sink into a placid Lake Huron. A quiet country road drive home watching the twinkling lights in the farm houses winking on reminded me of how fortunate we truly are to be living in the country we do & the peacefully scenic area we call home. Our health is good & we have so much to be grateful for. I sometimes forget that!! OUR MAXWELL BOY

Kelly had the day off so we sat for awhile this morning talking about our long term future RV plans & it wasn't long before we had the train back on track with some new ideas. We concluded that full timing is still a viable option for us but we just have to be patient for awhile longer to see just where this economy thing is going to end up. We hope to begin doing some RV trips next summer too. In the meantime our snowbirding plans for this winter are still a go & we're planning to be on the road sometime in early October. Da earlier da better:)) MET THIS CHARMING FELLOW IN THE GARDEN THIS MORNING

Felt so good after our morning talk I hustled right out to the rig & within minutes bin doors were flying open, plastic storage containers were being rounded up, things were being moved around & the entire basement was bustling with re-organization. Boy, I love when that happens. My annual mid summer slump was finally over & I figured with less than 10 weeks to go before we get the big wheels rolling again I had better get into high gear, keep that adrenalin pumping, & let my excitment have it's way with me. YESIREEEE, ONLY A LITTE MORE THAN 2 MONTHS TO GO

Thanks folks for the encouraging comments & emails. Sometimes we all just need a lift, a kind word, or something as simple as a good swift kick in the pants. My personality is such that it is always looking down the road wondering what's around the next corner & over the next hill. My ancestors must have been travelers & explorers because I'm always chomping at the bit to be just about anywhere other than where I am at the moment. Kelly says I'm quite an impatient handful at times, & I say....................she's right. "DIDN'T THINK I COULD CLIMB THIS GREASED POLE DID YA!!"

Dug out a couple of old bird books I had back in the late 80's when I was a member of the Stratford Field Naturalist Club but still have not been able to identify that bird in Tuesday's blog. We added another bird feeder to the pond yesterday & have noticed the bird traffic is defintely picking up. The birdseed eating Chipmunk traffic is picking up as well so it is a constant battle of who is outsmarting who for the seeds!! So far it's Chipmunks 5 & Al......2!!

FINALLY FIGURED OUT THAT THIS IS A FEMALE ROSE BREASTED GROSBEAK

Missed the groaner last night so to-night's it's gonna be........a double groaner!!!!
GROANER'S CORNER:

1. A nut named Hazel held up a bank saying 'give me all the cashew have'.
2. At a pet store: 'buy one dog, get one flea'.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AND WITH THAT....I'LL CALL IT A DAY

I found the following quote on the RV DREAMS JOURNAL this morning.

"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us!"-- Joseph Campbell

I am so envious of all you fellow RV folks out there living your full time dreams. I had really been hoping we were going to make some decisions this summer but I'm afraid I will have to accept the fact it is not going to happen. And with that......I'll call it a day.

I RELAXED SO MUCH THIS MORNING I HAD TO TAKE A SIESTA THIS AFTERNOON

JERRY & MEL, THE ROADTREKING BROTHERS (Mel, in blue, was my former Airports Anywhere boss)

To-day just kinda turned out to one of those sort of nothing days. Sunshine & warm winds with increasing humidity made for the feelings of a real summer day finally. MALE CARDINAL ON THE FEEDER

Spent most of the morning on our front porch with my camera & scope just watching the birds coming & going. For long periods of time there would be no activity & then all of a sudden it was if someone had stopped out front & unloaded a whole bus load of birds. Robins chasing robins, Cardinals chasing Blue Jays & Blue Jays chasing home runs. Lots of black capped Chickadees & a Downie Woodpecker. The Grosbeaks were back as were the Mourning Doves, Grackles, & Nuthatches. In the nearly 7 years we have lived here this was the longest time I've ever spent sitting down on our porch. Probably the longest I've sat anywhere outside on our entire property. Seems whenever I sit down for a rest I always manage to think of something or see something that needs doing so up I get & away I go. COULD THIS BE A VERY YOUNG BLUE JAY?? DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT KIND OF BIRD THIS IS?? (no, it's not a Robin)

My relaxing morning & increasing humidity took a toll on me so had to have myself a little Siesta in the afternoon. About 4 an older beige Roadtrek van pulled into the driveway & out stepped a couple of fellas. It was Mel, my old Stratford Airports Anywhere boss from years ago. Mel & his brother Jerry from Sarnia were out on a little 4 day road trip around the area. Their ladies are not RV travelers so the brothers just took Mel's Roadtrek camper van & headed off on their own for a few days. Good for you guys!! Mel & his late wife Phyliss were RV travelers years go traveling in their Class C throughout the southwest in the winter months. Mel & Phyliss owned the Airports Anywhere company I was driving for so I used to email them from time to time with bits of local Stratford news. They used to pop into librarys to pick up their emails & Phyliss would type back about the good times they were having & the great scenery they were seeing. Many times I would be out on the infamous 401 in heavy Toronto traffic on icy roads & snowstorms thinking about the great sunny & warm days Mel & Phyliss were having in the deserts of the southwest. It was probably around this time that I began visualizing my RV dreams. Thanks Mel & Phyl:)) LANDING IN A FLURRY OF FEATHERS
BLUE JAYS

GROANER'S CORNER: A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France could result in Linoleum Blownapart.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.

TO-DAY'S BLOG MARKS MY 500TH BLOG POST!!

MALE ROSE BREASTED GROSBEAK

Well, if somebody had told me nearly 2 years ago that I would one day end up posting 500 blogs on the internet I would have told them they were nuts. I barely knew what a blog was let alone trying to write one. I used to sometimes write short little stories in public school & went through an embarrassing heavy duty hippy poetry phase in the late 60's (who didn't) but that was about it until the day we brought our first computer home about 12 years ago. I've always enjoyed typing, am fascinated with this new technology era, have always had a great imagination, am somewhat cautiously over opinionated, & am more comfortable communicating with people through the written word than any other form of communication so I guess it was just a natural progression for me to fall right into the blogging craze. And there ya have it......500 blogposts later & counting:)) CONE FLOWER (one of my favs)

Kelly had the day off & I didn't have any last minute calls from my mobility van job so we jumped in the van & went over to Woodstock to-day for a visit with my 93 year old Uncle Harry. One of his favorite places to eat is Wendy's so that's where we headed. It's been years since I've been in a Wendys. Haven't had a burg & fries for a couple months so I made an exception to-day. Probably be a long time before I have another burg & fries again too!!:)) AMERICAN GOLDFINCH GIVING ME THE COLD SHOULDER

My Uncle Harry is quite a pool shark & he basically beats me about 5 games to 1 everytime we play on the big billiard table in the Park Place Retirement Home where he lives, but I was finally able to turn the tables on him to-day & won 4 out of 7 games. Does this mean I'm getting better?? No, Harry's game just wasn't up to his usual standard. I made my usual amount of mistakes & Uncle Harry just made a higher number of unusual mistakes. I'm sure he'll be back in form & guning for me next time. BLACK CAP CHICK-A-DEE

I'll include a few bird photos from Sunday morning. Not the best yet but I'm kinda starting to get the hang of it a bit. For me with photography I have always found it isn't as much the finished product as it is the effort & patience involved in taking the photos in the first place. That's where the fun is:)) BROWN EYED SUSANS AGAINST A CEDAR RAIL FENCE

GROANER'S CORNER: I like European food so I decided to Russia over there because I was Hungary. After Czech'ing the menu I ordered Turkey. When I was Finnished I told the waiter 'Spain good but there is Norway I could eat another bite'.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.

THUNDERBIRDS IN CLAN GREGOR SQUARE

1961 FORD THUNDERBIRD (this is like the one I blogged about a few days ago)

Looking out the window first thing this morning I wondered if the Thunderbird car rally was going to be on to-day. Heavy cloud cover overhead & it felt like rain with all the humidity in the air. We didn't get far on our walk either because of the mosquitoes & biting sand flies.

57 T-BIRD

Kelly headed off to Deerpark Lodge for the day & I set up my camera & scope near our front yard frog pond in hopes of photographing a few birds at the feeders. No easy matter but the birds have been teaching me some rare patience!! I'm used to automatic settings on cameras where everything like exposures & shutter speeds is done in fractions of seconds with no thought or input from the person behind the camera except for composition. Trying to photograph a fidgety little bird half hidden 40 feet away in a cluster of branches with a totally manual telescope attached to a camera on fully manual settings sitting atop a tri-pod not designed for telescopes in the first place is a real fine exercise in quiet prolonged patience. What a great way to wake up the brain & learn some new camera techniques, and I'm loving every minute of it. . 55 THUNDERBIRD

Headed over to Bayfield's Clan Gregor Square around 11:30 this morning & sure enough there were the Thunderbirds this time. Not as many as the Corvette show earlier in the month but I think the threatening weather had put a damper on a number of Thunderbird owners. About 50 or 60 were there & more kept rolling in for the half hour or so I was there. First stop was a black 61 T-Bird just like the one I had blogged about a few days ago in, Moonstruck By A Thunderbird. It even had the same red interior. Always figured if I would have ever had the chance to have a hobby car it would have been an early 60's cigar shaped T-bird. Stopped at a small booth for a hot dog & ended up dropping a big load of hot dog relish onto my D50 Nikon so figured it was time to pack it in & go home. To see the photos from to-day's rally just click on THUNDERBIRDS.D

2002 THUNDERBIRD

Had an amusing afternoon with Chippy our new resident Chipmunk who has claimed the pond project area for his new digs because he likes the new birdfeeder buffet. I have 2 birdfeeders on a metal shepherd's hook pole & Chippy saw that as a direct line to Al's diner. Tried some clothespins on the pole but that didn't stop him so I put some white trailer hitch grease on it. That worked for awhile & it was comical watching Chippy slip sliding on the pole. Didn't take long for the grease to dry out & Chips was back up that pole & knee deep in birdseed again. I now have more birdseed in the pond than the local birdseed store has on it's shelves. Noticed a lot of frog tadpoles in the pond a clustering around the seeds. Apparently they have found that new buffet of yummies to their liking as well. Oh great, so now I'm going to have to contend with flying frogs in another few weeks!! Undeterred I went into my little workshop & headed back out to the pond with my trusty oil can. I lubed up that birdseed pole real good then went back up on the porch to watch the shenanigans. Wasn't long & Chippy was back & this time he had brought Mrs. Chippy. Obviously a planned night out at Al's Birdseed Diner. Well, it wasn't to be because neither one of them could get up the pole. The Diner dinner was a bust & Mrs. Chippy let Mr. Chippy know it too. With a flurry of harsh shrieks & tweets she was off through the shrubbery & headed for home followed closely by a somewhat disappointed & embarrassed Mr. Chippy!!
And you know what, I could swear that little Chipmunk turned around before disappearing under a large rock.........and gave me the finger!!!!

1960 FORD THUNDERBIRD HARDTOP (complete with 2 ladies inside)

GROANER'S CORNER: I couldn't quite remember how to throw a boomerang, but eventually it came back to me.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.