GLOOMY DEPRESSING START TO THE DAY ENDS IN FEELING GOOD SUNSHINE

  

THOUGHT THIS PERCHING BUZZARD & OLD GHOSTLY HOUSE WENT WELL TOGETHER

Disappointed to see it raining when I got up this morning. Didn't take long for my mood to match the grumpy weather. Thoughts of sitting around the house again had me between a rock & a hard place. Couldn't get my interest super-charged enough to fire up the Jeep & head out for a drive. Well, maybe I was having problems getting myself going but I'll bet you know who wasn't. Pheebs was just beside herself with excitement & she would not let up. She followed me everywhere, she was on my lap every time I sat down, she practically walked on my shoes in front of me & she made it perfectly clear, rain or no rain, we were going for a ride in the Jeep or else. She knew I was feeling down & she knew if she could get me going I was going to feel better. Of course she was right. About 9:30 I finally gave in & off we went. 

 

Rain had quit but sky's were heavily overcast & roads were wet. No matter, we were going to have ourselves a good day. Wheeled off onto a muddy country road for starters & made our way to the Hullett Marsh. Knew it would be wet in there but we went anyway. Trails are not maintained anymore in the Marsh & I knew the knee & waist high grass would be sopping wet. We did manage a short walk along an old road & by the time we got back to the Jeep Pheebs was soaked, had burrs in her tail & mud on her paws. All readily transferred into the Jeep of course. But no matter, that’s what Jeeps are for & it was just great to be out & about. No heat & no humidity. In fact I had 2 shirts on. One short sleeve in case the day turned warm & 1 long sleeve flannel shirt over top to keep the cool breezy morning air at bay. Actually had a little heat cranked on in the Jeep. 
 

 

ANOTHER FINE MORNING IN THE HULLETT MARSH
Despite our morning’s heavy overcast the Marsh landscape was beautiful. A distant flock of geese landing & several great Blue Herons lifting off the water as we drew near.  A lone Turkey Vulture atop a tall long dead tree sat stoically drying it’s wings.  It was a moody sky over sullen swamp waters ruffled slightly by a crisp westerly breeze.  There is beauty in nature wherever one looks if one has their mind open to it.  If thoughts are heavy the eye doesn’t see.  One must clear those thoughts & openly welcome what nature has to offer.

 

From the Marsh we headed northward kicking up clods of mud behind us.  Clouds brightened slightly & far, ever so far to the west where I knew the lake to be, I could see  tell tale signs of patchy blue sky.  Pheebs on the front seat worked away at a swatch of burrs in her tail while I did my best to dodge a few water puddles here & there.  We were heading for the little village of Ripley where I knew a house to be for sale.  Not really interested in it but it was a findable destination for us.  High Noon saw us sitting on the road in front of the house looking at it.  Just as I thought, not for us.  And with that we skedaddled right back out of town & resumed our muddy road journey swinging the nose of the Jeep southwards.

A RIPENING FIELD OF BEANS

 

GOT OURSELVES A LITTLE MUDDIED UP TODAY & ‘OMG’ I EVEN WASHED THE JEEP WHEN WE GOT HOME

 

The heavy overcast began breaking up & we were soon deluged in great warming splashes of sunshine traveling across the landscape.  What a great lift it is to see blue sky & sunshine after a few days of gloomy dark skies.  Ripening bean fields sprang to life & corn fields as far as the eye could see took on a glisten as the sun reflected off millions of raindrops on acres & acres of emerald green corn husks.  And to think, if Pheebs hadn’t dragged me out of my recliner this morning & surely would have missed what turned out be another truly awe inspiring day in a truly awe inspiring country surrounding.  We made many stops along many roads taking a photo here, a couple photos there.  Even made it to a secluded beach.  Will run the beach pics Wednesday.  It was just one of those exceptionally scenic days with a patterned cloudy backdrop right out of a Rembrandt painting.  No matter the troubles in the world, no matter the troubles in the mind, if one can open themselves to see the true handy work of nature’s finest works around them it has to have a refreshingly positive effect on one’s well being.

GROANER’S CORNER:((  John was driving his pickup down a country lane when suddenly a chicken darts out into the road in front of him. He's just about to slam on his brakes to avoid the chicken when he realizes that the chicken has sped on ahead doing about 30 miles per hour.  Amazed, he sped up to follow, but the chicken takes off faster and faster. Finally the chicken screeches into a turn and goes into a small farm. As he turns to follow, John notices that the chicken has three legs. He pulls to a stop in front of the farmhouse, and looking around, notices that ALL the chickens have three legs.
He says to the farmer, "Three-legged chickens? That's astounding!"
The farmer replies, "Yep, I bred 'em that way -- I love drumsticks."
John: "Well, tell me, how does a three-legged chicken taste?"
Farmer: "Dunno, haven't been able to catch one yet."
-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

SPENT A LITTLE TIME CRAWLING AROUND UNDERNEATH THE WINNIE WAGON TODAY

A FEW SEA GULL PHOTOS FROM MY FILES TONIGHT

Last thing I check every night before turning off the computer is our live real time weather map. Sunday night all was clear with no rain in sight. At 3:45 a.m. following a long peel of rolling thunder Pheebs & I were out the door in a light rain closing our 2 shed doors. Twenty minutes later lightning & thunder along with buckets of rain were pounding on our roof as a single fast moving storm cell came galloping in off the lake. No other rain cells around for hundreds of miles, just that one. Must have formed out over the lake & headed straight for Bayfield. And as per usual it knocked our power out long enough for me to have to re-set all our timers & clocks again for the umpteenth time this year.

 

Our overnight rains brought in much welcomed cooler 63F air & with today's breeze & overcast skies I was actually into one of my long sleeved flannel shirts. Cool enough again for Pheebs & I to resume our afternoon walks. Nice, nice, nice, but I don't imagine the week-end campers, cottagers, & boaters will be happy. Probably a lot of folks headed home early today.

Maybe it's the normalcy of Monday mornings I look forward to or maybe it's just the fact it's more of an action day than Sunday. I like Friday nights & all day Saturdays but Sunday's just somehow seem soooooo boringly slow or something. Monday's kind of rev things back up again & get things moving. Today is kind of a mixed bag of days with it being the Labor day week-end holiday. Just enough to confuse us for the rest of the week as to what day it actually is. Long week-ends have a tendency to do that.

You would think it would be easy enough to get service work done on a standard size Chev, Ford or Dodge Class C truck chassis & engine.  But apparently that is not always the case as Jimbo from JIMBO'S JOURNEYS recently found out.  As Jimbo says, “This is a friggen Ford truck for crying out loud! There are a million of them on the road.”

Spent a little time crawling around under the Winnie Wagon today just having myself a look at where things are located. Fresh water tank, gray & black tanks, drain valves, macerator pump, etc. Found our water pump & fresh water drain valve inside the coach under the bed along with the fresh water tank. One thing I do not like about this rig is the position of the black tank dump valve assembly. It is only 7.5" above the road & not easily accessible like our last couple rigs. Any kind of debris on the road like chunks of blown truck tires etc could easily fly up & strike that low hanging plastic sewer pipe cracking or breaking it right off. You can imagine the mess that would cause & it would be a very costly repair. Surely the design people at Winnebago could have come up with something better than that low slung pipe hanging down like that. A poorly thought out design in my opinion!!

 

AND WHY COULDN’T THEY HAVE INSTALLED A SIMPLE LATCH TO HOLD UP THIS SMALL DOOR I HAVE TO HOLD UP WITH MY HAND…COME ON WINNEBAGO!!!!!!

Ever notice how if your not quite feeling up to par mentally you are probably not feeling up to par physically either.  The mind, sometimes not wanting to feel alone in it’s own misery may have a tendency to drag the body down with it.  Aches & pains, maybe headaches, joints seem to stiffen, nausea is not uncommon, maybe some cramps, an aching back perhaps.  Just some of the ailments which I believe can be connected directly to the mind’s state of being.  And not feeling up to par can often be related directly to stress.  I think anyone who has had or has confronted sudden or prolonged stress can attest to the damage it does not only to the mind but the body as well.  I find if I allow myself to get stressed or angry over something my body is immediately drained of energy.  My mind not only shuts itself down but it shuts down my entire body as well.  Not necessarily the greatest feeling but at times the mind & body just need to turn & together walk away for the sake of their own combined well being.

Kelly's off to the Goderich hospital in the morning for an Echocardiogram. Pheebs & I might head out to blow some of this accumulated house dust off ourselves. With cooler air upon us now maybe we can get out for a bug free hike in the Hullet Marsh. We are both needing some healthy physical exercise.  And a hefty dose of feeling good from Mother Nature is definitely in order as well……………………………………….. 

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A woman on the phone to her friend; I feel like my body has gotten totally out of shape, so I got my doctor’s permission to join a fitness club and start exercising…. I decided to take and aerobics class for seniors. I bent, twisted, gyrated, jumped up and down, and perspired for an hour. But, by the time I got my leotards on, the class was over.
-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

JUST A SMATTERING OF SHORT PARAGRAPHS

LAKE HURON WAVES ROLLING IN ALONG GODERICH’S SHORELINE

We toyed with the idea of heading over to a La-Z-Boy store in London this morning to have us a look at some recliners & reclining loveseats but Kelly was called into work for a few hours & that was the end of that. We want to get an idea of what's out there regarding size, comfort, & cost. Think we might go have us look this coming Wednesday. We're still researching some recliner places in Elkhart Indiana as well.

Kinda had myself geared up for a road trip to London so when plans fell through I figured Pheebs & I might as well get ourselves out for a little Jeep toot. Another hot sticky muggy morning so we really didn't get ourselves too far & we were back home with the doors closed & the A/C on before noon. I am very much looking forward to cooler weather headed our way soon.

TIS THE SEASON FOR MUSHROOMS

TIOGA GEORGE, probably one of the best known RV Blogger Pioneers has finally decided it is time to come in off the road. After many happy years of traveling & blogging across the States & Mexico George has decided to return to & make San Diego California his home.  He tells why he is returning to the States & the circumstances that led to his decision.  We did meet Tioga George one time back in Ajo Arizona.  THE BAYFIELD BUNCH MEETS TIOGA GEORGE.

A RECENTLY HARVESTED WHEAT FIELD

Friends Chris & Caron from TRAVELS WITH CC & DIXIE are back up & blogging again since returning to Ontario Canada last April.  They dropped around to see us in Congress last March.  Here is THAT DAY.  And RV SUE doesn’t exactly have Bats in the Belfry but she figures she does have something crawling around in the ceiling of her Casita…………….

I LIKE MOODY SKIES

GROANER’S CORNER:((  The State of Florida had a problem. The drug busts over the years had filled their storage areas with marijuana. It was decided that their only option was to burn all of the marijuana on hand.On that eventful day, a huge mound of marijuana was torched. The fire raged, and the smoke of the weed lifted in a large cloud. Just at this time, a flock of terns flew though this cloud.
A group of forest rangers were sent out to assure the well-being of the terns. They followed this flock until they finally landed. The rangers, sneaking up on the terns, were able to observe them and issued a report that read: Not a Tern was left unstoned.

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

YOU HAD BETTER HURRY UP & EAT WHAT’S ON YOUR PLATE BEFORE IT HURRIES UP & EATS YOU………….

Couldn’t seem to get myself too interested in doing a whole lot of anything today so I’m a bit short on usual blog fodder tonight.  Spent the whole darn day thinking it was Sunday too.  I am not impressed with myself!!

BIRDS LINED UP FOR THEIR SATURDAY NIGHT BATH

 

SHUTTER SPEED’S A TAD SLOW ON ALL THESE BIRD PHOTOS BUT INCLUDED THEM ANYWAY

OK DEAR, YOU HAVE YOUR BATH FIRST & I’LL KEEP WATCH

We did some more measuring in the Winnebago today & realized we do not have a lot of room to work with in replacing the air bed couch with a couple recliners.  Only 69” across & 30” deep on the slide.  Definitely have to be wall hugger recliners if we decide to swap out our couch/bed.    We do not find the leather couch/air bed that comfortable & going through the hassle of blowing that bed up does not appeal to either one of us.  The guy where we bought Winnie tried to demonstrate the bed & even he had trouble with it.  However, I think we will just go with the couch for now & see how we make out with it on our trip west.  If it doesn’t work out we will see about swapping the couch out for a couple recliners when we get to Congress.

OUR MORNING TRAIL LOOKS JUST AS ENCHANTING IN EVENING LIGHT AS IT DOES IN MORNING LIGHT

Comment from Don in Shout Box about using Google Earth maps in trip planning.  Yes, I do this as well plus use MapQuest for checking mileage sometimes.  Google Earth is so totally excellent for finding off roads, potential boondocking sites & checking terrain.  Wouldn’t leave home without it:))

  

Liked Cheryl Ann’s post over at DEEP CANYON as she talked a bit about herself growing up in & around Los Angeles.  Living in Palm Desert now she is looking forward to retiring with her husband to a smaller community & getting away from big city living & being out of all the summer’s heat & humidity.  I sure know how she feels.  Nice when folks tell you a little bit about themselves sometimes.

Mark’s got himself quite a project going on over at BOX CANYON BLOG.  Well in fact he’s got a couple projects on the go.  He’s doing fine about affixing some additional storage space to the rear of his Class C but needs a little input from readers regarding some solar panel placements.  It’s quite a cardboard template he has put together & it looks like he is quite the upside down welder as well.  Oh how I envy all these talented folks who are so adept at doing so many mechanical handyman things themselves’.  That is one very big huge financial asset to have in one’s life.  Wished I had taken an interest & paid more attention in ‘shop class’ oh those so many high school years ago.

WOW, tomorrow is September 1rst already. What a welcome turning point in the long summer that is & how rejuvenating for we Snow Birds. All those long months have finally slid on by & we birds can now begin to get down to a little serious thinking & planning about our upcoming travels. What a super grrrrrreat ‘Tony the Tiger’ feeling that is.

Don’t know why it is but I have never had any great desire to travel anywhere off the North American continent.  There are countless wonders of the world to see & experience worldwide but my interests have never really spurred me on to travel off in search of them.  My Mother traveled to Hawaii & countries in Europe years ago but I just have never had a hankering to go to those places.  I think I would find being in a country that didn’t speak the language I understood kind of intimidating.  I get the feeling many European countries are very crowded with masses of people.  Well, that sure wouldn’t work for me.  And driving on the wrong side of the road…..what’s that all about!!  No, I think I’ll just stay put here in Canada & the United States.  Lots of great wonders to see right here at home in our own 2 great countries.  We drive on the right side of the road & I can understand what folks are talking about most times.  Prefer the lifestyle & freedoms we have as well.  And for the most part I know what I’m eating.  I get the feeling in some of those countries you had better hurry up & eat what’s on your plate before it hurries up & eats you.  Nawwww, think I’ll just keep my boots on the ground, kick up a little South West desert dust, hike me some forested mountain trails, & drive me along some nice relaxingly quiet country roads right here at good old ‘home sweet home’……………….10-4:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Just a few thoughts……..

Q. What do you do when your nose goes on strike?
A. You picket!

Q. Why is psychoanalysis quicker for men than for women?
A. When it’s time to revert to childhood, most men are already there.
- Apple Inc. has developed a new high tech toilet. The details are not yet clear, but the company is torn between two names for the new device: Either the iPood, or the iPeed.
-A man walks into a piano store and says, "I would like to buy a hairy piano." Perplexed, the sales clerk asked, "Why do you want a hairy piano?!" Nonchalantly, the customer responded, "Well, the last piano store only had Baldwins."
- A crook rented an apartment over a police station.
He feels he is "above the law, now!”
- A group of doctors were out duck hunting, when a large bird flew overhead.
The family doctor raised his gun to shoot, but then lowered his gun saying "I am not sure that is a duck."
The Psychiatrist raised his gun, but then lowered it again saying “I know it's a duck, but I'm not sure that it knows it's a duck."
The surgeon raises his gun and blasts the bird out of the sky. He turns to the pathologist and says "Go see if that was a duck."
-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

PHEEBS & I HAD US A LITTLE HOUSE SCOUTING MISSION THIS MORNING

Checking her Real Estate site after breakfast Kelly happened to notice a house on an acre of land for sale. It was out of our preferred area but the price sounded reasonable. It was a one story solid brick house with a basement & that’s always a plus. Pheebs & I had ourselves mission so it was off we went on a muggy overcast morning to check it out. Located about halfway between Walkerton & Kincardine it took us about 50 minutes to get there. Although a once well built solid house it has been sadly neglected over the years & was in quite a state of dis-repair. The grounds were in equally bad shape & it was clear to me this house & property were needing much, much, more than a bit of elbow grease & some TLC. Oh well, if one doesn't make the effort to get out & look at these places one never knows what they may or may not be missing. It was a nice morning for a drive anyway & it gave me something to do with a purpose. Pheebs & I were home again by 1 p.m.

MANAGED A COUPLE QUICK SHOTS FROM THE JEEP WHILE ROLLING THROUGH MENNONITE COUNTRY THIS MORNING…NOTICE THE STEEL WHEELS

Summer's DEER PARK LODGE schedule has changed for the season so Kelly will put a few hours in on Friday's now instead of Saturdays. The big rush of summer guests will end with the Labor Day week-end & things will slow down substantially. In my opinion it is the best & prettiest time of year for anyone to stay a few quiet days in a little cabin at Deer Park. No noisy kids or traffic congestion & one can walk the beach in quiet reflection. Shops & restaurants are still open & one doesn't have to jostle with fellow tourists. Nicest time of the year at the lake starts right after the Labor Day week-end & lasts until about mid to late October when the weather begins to deteriorate, turns cold, & strips all the trees of their once colorful Autumn leaves.

TOOK THIS PHOTO FROM DEER PARK’S BEACH

DEER PARK’S BEACH HAS BEEN THE SCENE OF A FEW WEDDINGS

Whenever we leave Bayfield for the South West each fall we always leave early on a Saturday morning & we do that for a very logical reason. Two major cities block our route within a days drive from here. Indianapolis if we head south first & Chicago if we head west first. Saturdays are always better driving days than any work day during the week if one has to do a city. But Sundays are the absolute best time to slip through. No morning or afternoon rushes on either of those lighter weekend traffic days. We can reach just north of Indianapolis or just east of Chicago on our first day. We overnight in a Walmart or Cracker Barrel. By habit we are always early risers whether here at home or on the road so we are up & at em slipping right on through or past either one of the big cities before two thirds of the population is even out of their wee trundle beds. And I don't mind driving in the dark at all. In fact I've always loved driving at night. By quickly getting west of these two cities it also puts a lot of the eastern heavy traffic chaos behind us right off the bat. The further west we go the less traffic & population we see. And for us that is part of what it is all about. Our interest is in the Western & South Western States so we don't dilly-dally around until we basically have the mountains in sight. That is where our second lifestyle lives & that is where my heart is as well. So, the sooner we can get there the better we feel. And the quickest way there is the Interstates. We don't travel them because we like them, we travel them because they get us to where we want to go...........quicker:))

I really like how TOM is handling his retirement. Yesterday he was taking helicopter lessons & learning how to hover the craft. Working on the landing gear of an aircraft & just keeping himself busy with things he enjoys. Keeps his hand in with the profession he worked at for years. How nice for anyone's retirement hobbies to use & enjoy the skills one has learned over the years. Good stuff Tom.

For any folks out there planning on going to Alaska sometime in the future you might want to catch up with the RVING BEACH BUMS who are traveling in the Skagway area now & experiencing lots of what Alaska has to offer.  We met Joe & Nancy a few years back at a little wayside desert restaurant & RV Park called Sandys.   We were west of the Chiricahua Mountains in South East Arizona.  A wee dusty place called Sunizona.  This is MY BLOG FOR THAT DAY.

<<< JUST KEEPING AN EYE ON Y’ALL FROM MY DESKTOP HERE:))

A few questions from readers.......PatB asks, "I'm curious.... you don't like the heat. Why don't you trade your Jeep for a vehicle with air conditioner"? Yes it's true, I do not like the heat but I love our Jeep. It's an 06 & the last year Jeep made the 'bullet proof' 6 cylinder engine & I think it might be the last year before they upsized Jeeps into a kind of SUV so we want to keep our little Wrangler for as long as we can. We did price an A/C unit for the Jeep but it was cost prohibitive.   We never need A/C in the Southwest during the winter. If we do decide we cannot live without an air conditioned vehicle in Ontario during the summer we will sell or trade in our 03 Hyundai Santa Fe at some point.  And besides, people wouldn’t recognize this as my blog if I wasn’t complaining about the heat & humidity. JANNA asks, " Al--aren't you kind of defeating the purpose of buying, "supportive, sturdy" walking/hiking shoes by removing the laces???" :)) Yes, I suppose I am in a way. I would not do any serious hiking or rock scrambling without laces tightened up for sure but just for normal daily life schluffing around the house or walking in town or local flat trails etc my no laces approach works just fine for me. Even without laces I sure have a lot more support & secure comfort than people walking around in sandals or those icky flip flop thingys. Yikes!! And CRAIG, no our Canadian shoes do not come with instruction manuals but luckily I am able to go on-line whenever I need to tie my shoes & find the following.

1) Hold one end of each shoelace in each hand.
2) Cross them, making an X.
3) Pass one end of the shoelace under the other.
4) Pull tight.
5) Fold one shoelace in half while holding laces taut.
6) Wrap the other end around the folded end.
7) Grasp it in the middle after pulling it around the folded end.
8) Bend it into a flat loop and pull through, making a bow.
9) Repeat with other shoe.

Oh boy, don'tcha just love all the neat-0 useful stuff ya can find on the Internet:))

 

A FEW OF OF OUR LOCAL FARM FOLKS SURE HAVE THEMSELVES SOME MIGHTY FINE LOOKING AUTOMOBILES

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A man walks into a shoe store, and tries on a pair of shoes. 'How do they feel?' asks the sales clerk. 'Well they feel a bit tight,' replies the man. The assistant promptly bends down and has a look at the shoes and at the man's feet. 'Try pulling the tongue out,' the clerk says. 'Well, theyth sthill feelth a bith tighth.

Knock Knock
Who’s there?
Tyrone!
Tyrone who?
Tyrone shoelaces!

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.