MORE SATURDAY BIRDS ON A SUNNY BUT COLD WINDY SUNDAY

Guess I had forgot to clean the Big EEE’s windows after washing the coach back in mid October so spent some time cleaning all the water spots off the glass this morning.  Tow bar onto the Jeep & loaded up the rig with stuff.  Hope to be on the road by 10 at the latest Monday morning.  If I fail to post Monday night it just means we have no Verizon signal at Slab City but if I remember correctly we should be alright.

 

Tonight’s photos are from Saturday.  Thanks to readers for your kind words regarding those photos in my Saturday night post.  Someone asked what lens I was using.  Actually a couple because I was experimenting around with my cameras & lenses again Saturday.  About a third were shot with my Nikkor 55-200 lens & most were done with my 70-300mm with pretty well all of them set at a full 300mm.  Cameras used were my Nikon D40 & D3100.  All photos were hand held at ISO 800.

 

 

     

I like my older Nikon D40 better than my newer D3100 so have brought the D40 out of retirement & coupled it with my 70-300 lens again.  I can easily see the auto-focus red lit squares in the D40 & to me that is important when shooting moving targets like birds or running animals, etc.  The D3100 has a ‘pin prick’ auto focus red light which is waaaaay too hard for me to see so I can’t quickly lock onto a subject.  If I had to do it over again would I still by the Nikon D3100??  No I would not & that ‘pin prick’ focusing problem is just another good example of a company taking a time proven great idea that worked well & screwing it up.  Remember, newer is not always better!!

A few days ago when I clicked on the Grand Bend Yacht Club harbor cam I was surprised to see the old lighthouse beacon gone from the end of the pier.  I wondered about that.  Seems the Coast Guard deemed the aging concrete structure unstable & has decided to replace it with a new structure.  From the photo of the pier taken this morning I see they have already poured the base of the new lighthouse beacon.  Glad to see it is probably going to be a significant structure rather than a mere beacon light atop a long steel pole.

 

    

I think GEORGE & ED are right about the cigarette lighter/power adapter outlets on the dash of the Big EEE being hooked up to the coaches batteries.  Makes sense.  My mind was thinking cars & trucks etc where there is only one battery for the engine & all electronics.  It sometimes takes my mind awhile to catch up with what it is I am actually trying to think about.

  

THIS IS MY BIRD CHAIR & IF YOU LOOK CLOSE YOU CAN SEE 2 FEEDERS HANGING IN THE MESQUITE TREE

My eyes bugged out & I thought OMG someone has peered into my life & wrote something about me.  Of course many can relate to this following article which pretty much describes me to a T.  Happened to spot it on Facebook.  23 THINGS ONLY PEOPLE WHO LOVE SPENDING TIME ALONE WILL UNDERSTAND.

  

I have always had a fascination with airplanes & the people who fly them.  Years ago I read numerous books about the many air aces who flew in the first & second world wars.  Billy Bishop & Buzz Buerling come to mind but it was an RAF pilot who particularly caught my attention.  I read the book & saw the movie ‘REACH FOR THE SKY.’  I’ve since read other documented accounts about the life & times of this amazing Royal Air Force pilot who flew with 2 wooden legs.  It’s DOUGLAS BADER I am talking about of course & I was totally surprised when I received a comment from a fellow Blogger who actually met this legendary pilot.  And where else did he meet Douglas Bader but in an aircraft.  In fact Bader gave up his seat to none other than our own John Brown from JOHN & BRENDA'S INCREDIBLE JOURNEY.  Here’s John’s comment, “ In the far distant past Douglas Bader was the chief pilot for the company I worked for. One time on a long flight from Inuvik back to Calgary he like I was a passenger on our company plane. Being about 6'6" I was always on the lookout for a seat with a little extra leg room. On this flight I found one, but the crew put the bum's rush on me and said it was for Mr. Bader, he came along just at that time and said heck that kid needs the leg room more than I do, I can just take my legs off. Later on that flight he told me he always sat at the back of the plane. "Further from the point of impact" was his theory”.  After reading John’s comment I did a little more reading on Mr. Bader & it seems sometime after the war Douglas Bader went to work flying for the company John worked for, Shell Oil.  Thought that was kinda neat John got to meet a true aviation legend.

 

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Grandparents' Day:

It's one of life's rewards for surviving your own children.

Grandparenthood rarely comes at a perfect time of your life. Either you're too young for it or too old.

Some grandparents see grandchildren as a chance to correct the mistakes they made the first time around. Others view it as a twilight zone where you can love them when they're dry and fed ... send them back when they're wet and hungry. Others relish being a spectator as they watch their prophecy materialize, "Just wait till you have children of your own!"

Perhaps the saddest words in all the world are, "I never knew my grandparents." It's good to remember that in a time when marriages dissolve and the grandparents are dismissed without notice or feeling.

Grandparents contribute a special relationship to a child that no one else can give them. At least ten years ago I wrote a job description for grandparents that bears repeating.

What is a grandparent?

They can always be counted upon to buy anything you're selling ... from all-purpose greeting cards to peanut brittle ... from flower seeds to cookies ... from transparent tape to ten chances on a pony.

A grandparent buys you gifts your mother says you don't need.

A grandparent pretends he doesn't know who you are on Halloween.

A grandparent will put a sweater on you when she is cold, feed you when she is hungry and put you to bed when she is tired.

A grandparent will frame a picture of your hand that you traced over the brocade sofa in the Mediterranean living room.

A grandparent will check to see if you are crying when you are sound asleep.

A grandparent is the only babysitter who doesn't charge money to keep you.

A grandparent will believe you can read when you have the book upside down.

When a grandchild says, "Grandma, how come you didn't have any children?" a grandparent will fight back the tears.

THIS SATURDAY NIGHT POST IS FOR THE BIRDS!!

HEY BACK OFF THIS IS A PRIVATE PARTY!!

My Friday night post was a classic example of an aging mind & demonstrates how easily the passage of time can blur one’s memory.  Not once did I give a thought to when Facebook started but as soon as I saw the comment in my Shout Box this morning I knew right away I should have given it a thought.  FACEBOOK was actually founded on February 4th 2004.  So that being said it makes my claim of being on Facebook for 15 years totally inaccurate by 5 years.  I stand corrected.  It sure seems like a lot longer that I started my first Facebook account but the facts is the facts.  Makes me think to myself, ‘Ok what else have I got screwed up in my memories of the past’.  Scary stuff:((

Sunny day with a warming breeze meant it was a good time to do some laundry.  And that’s what we did.  Kelly also busied herself in the kitchen fixin up some food stuff to take with us next week.

I’M THINKING THIS HANDSOME FELLOW IS A HOUSE FINCH >>>

I spent a good part of my day quietly tipped back in one of our lawn chairs camera in hand just watching the comings & goings of birds to our feeders.  At one point I was startled by a loud squawk right behind my head as something landed on the back of my chair.  I remained very still expecting a big ‘peck’ on the back of my head.   Instead whatever it was hopped onto my right shoulder for a few seconds before flitting into a prickly pear cactus right beside me.  Looking to the right I saw it was a Cactus Wren.

CACTUS WREN

THERE GOES BERT SHOWING OFF HIS HORIZONTAL SWAN DIVE AGAIN

Having moved my chair this morning to a different location behind our garden shed & closer to the feeders I became aware after awhile how the birds were coming much closer to me.  Even the skitterish Gamble’s Quail were being very unusually brave.  Of course I remained relaxingly still & any movements I made were all done in super slow motion. 

EVER SEEN A QUAIL DOING THE GOOSE STEP

 

I have only ever caught fleeting glimpses of an unidentified small furry critter scampering around the property & this afternoon I was able to get a good look at what it was as it stood rigidly still only about 5 feet away watching me.  Folks may call them Squirrels here but back home we call em Chipmunks. 

WHO ME??

 

AND HERE’S MY CUTIE PATOOTIE LOOK

Half an hour later that little Chippy fella was up the Mesquite tree & right onto one of our wooden bird feeders.  Aha so that’s why we’re going through so much bird seed eh.  I let him be & watched with amusement as various birds flew in landing on the feeder alongside Chippy.  It was only a single Curved Bill Thrasher that took offence at the Chipmunk being on the feeder.  Gave Chips quite a tongue lashing about it too.

“GET OFF THE BIRDFEEDER YA FLEABAG”…”ALRIGHT ALRIGHT STOP YOUR HOLLERIN YA BIRD BRAIN”

 

“LOOK, HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YA TO GET OFF THE FEEDER & QUIT MAKING FACES AT ME THROUGH THE GLASS!!

THIS DAM RODENT IS REALLY STARTING TO TICK ME OFF!!!!

We actually do have a couple small inverters we can use to charge up our laptops with next week.  Both plug into the cigarette lighter/power adaptor plug.  One is a 75 Watt & the other is a 300 Watt.  We just have to keep an eye on the engine battery drain for any prolonged periods of time.  Not as convenient as a regular coach inverter of course but we can make do just as we did on the way here back in October when our main 2,000 Watt coach inverter quit working about half way down.    

<<< AND NEXT TIME HOW ABOUT INCLUDING MY BEAK EH!!

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Great Truths Of Life:

1. Raising teenagers is like nailing Jell-O to a tree.
2. There is always a lot to be thankful for, if you take the time to look. For example, I'm sitting here thinking how nice it is that wrinkles don't hurt.
3. One reason to smile is that every seven minutes of every day, someone in an aerobics class pulls a hamstring.
4. Car sickness is the feeling you get when the monthly payment is due.
5. The best way to keep kids at home is to make a pleasant atmosphere - and let the air out of their tires.
6. Families are like fudge . . . mostly sweet, with a few nuts.
7. Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
8. Laughing helps. It's like jogging on the inside.
9. Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.
10. My mind not only wanders; sometimes it leaves completely.

ONLY TOOK ME 15 YEARS TO MAKE A FACEBOOK DECISION & THE PLUS SIDE OF TELEVISION

JUST KIND OF A SNOOZY DAY AROUND OUR HOUSE

Under a heavy cloud cover today so that meant cooler air.  With a warm T-shirt & my flannel shirt feeling quite comfortable I puttered about outside.  Loaded up & rearranged a few RV bins,  ran the generator & engine for a bit, pulled the tire covers off & rolled up the outside mat all in preparation for Monday’s departure.  Temps in the mid to upper 70’s slated for the Slabs next week with temps here in Congress predicted to be in the mid 60’s with night time lows in the low 40’s.

Not sure what is going on at the end of the Grand Bend pier back home but clicking on the Yacht club lake cam this morning I saw 2 work trucks backed out to the end of the pier & the white lighthouse beacon which has stood there for as long as I can remember is missing.

Only took me about 15 years to remember something I’ve been meaning to correct regarding my Facebook.  Had set up a Facebook account in our early computer days back in the late 90’s.  At some point for some long forgotten reason I decided to not use that Facebook account anymore & set up a new one which I have had ever since.  Problem was I kept forgetting to delete the old Facebook account & occasionally I was still getting notifications of pending friend requests etc.  Yesterday after thinking about it again I quickly mentioned it to Kelly.  Didn’t take her long to figure things out & 20 minutes later that old Facebook account was history.  And to think it only took me about 15 years for my mind to remind itself to get that done.  Aren’t modern day attentively decisive minds a wonderful thing.

<<< PHEEBS WITH HER NEW TOY SOPHIE, LOUIE, & BIG JAKE GAVE HER:))

Yes I know I grumble from time to time about the state of television programming & I do whole heartedly stick by my grumbles but like everything else there are two sides to television programming.   The goods the bads, pros & cons, ups & downs, negatives, positives, & so it goes.  Same thing can be said for computers but would I quit using my computer or throw it out the window because of the negative side.  Not a chance.  Have I given up watching television & thrown it out the window.  Not a chance.  Both television & computers are not only great entertainment sources but they are excellent learning & educational tools as well ‘if used properly’.  To give up either one because of their negative side I think is a bit shortsighted.  Like cutting off one’s nose to spite their face.  It comes down to each individual’s preferences, self control, & how well one discipline’s themselves to what is in front of them.  Yes there is a lot of lot growing garbage on TV making it more difficult to flesh out the quality programing but there is still some left.  Frustrating of course to have to wade through all the schlock nowadays but if one perseveres one can still benefit greatly from the positive side of television.  And yes there still is a positive side there although it seems it is increasingly harder to find these days.

 

A FEW BIRD PHOTOS THIS AFTERNOON

Chances are good we will be without an inverter next week for a few days & probably longer.  If so I’m hoping Solar Mike will have a spare he could throw in for us until we get our’s back.  Otherwise we are going to be dead in the water having to use our generator for everything.  I’m sure it will be another learning experience for us……… 

TONIGHT’S SUNSET IN KELLY’S BEDROOM WINDOW

GROANER’S CORNER:((  It was very crowded at the supermarket, and the customer in front of me had a large order.  As the harried looking clerk lifted the final bag for her, its bottom gave way, sending the contents crashing to the floor. "They just don't make these bags like they used to," the clerk quipped to the customer. "That was supposed to happen in your driveway!"

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Mary and Joan were having lunch when Mary said "My son is really growing up."  Joan said "How do you know that?"  Mary replied, "Instead of asking me where he came from, now he refuses to tell me where he is going!"

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- 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.

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