PHEEBS AND I TOOK THE BIG E FOR A CRUISE

Weather experts are saying they have it on good authority that November 20th is going to mark a significant weather change here in our neck of the woods.  They say our below normal November weather will be no more and things will warm up and remain that way for the winter.  Now I don't know how credible their 'good authority' source is but I'm going to think positive, don my shorts on the eve of the 19th, get my lawn chair out and go sit in the driveway awaiting the big change on the 20th.

FISHERMEN ON BAYFIELD’S PIER THIS MORNING AND CHECK THE GUY ON THE EXTREME RIGHT WHO IS CASTING….I’M WONDERING IF THAT WHITE DOT FAR ABOVE HIM IS THE BOBBIN ON HIS LINE??

THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKED LIKE A WEEK OR SO AGO

THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE TODAY

Another short Jeep snort for Pheebs and I but we did manage to pick us up a load of corn.  With our areas corn harvest underway it is not unusual to find corn spills alongside the road when corn is being transferred from combines to waiting trailers parked on the road.  Inevitably some of that corn in the form of kernels is spilled.  Had a couple shopping bags in the Jeep so I filled them up.  Decided awhile back if I can't keep the Squirrels in our front yard away from the bird feeders I had better come up with a plan.  My theory is this, if I can fatten the little buzzards up on corn maybe they will leave our bird feeders alone.  Ya right, as if that’s gonna work eh.

WE’LL PROBABLY SLIDE AROUND HERE IN A COUPLE DAYS AND SCOOP SOME MORE CORN

I ALWAYS HAVE LOTS OF HELP

GEEEEZZZZZ, AND I THOUGHT MY JEEP’S FLAT TIRE WAS A PROBLEM A COUPLE WEEKS AGO….GUESS IT JUST GOES TO SHOW THAT NO MATTER HOW BIG YOU THINK YOUR PROBLEM IS, SOMEBODY’S ALWAYS GOT A BIGGER ONE

Been waiting for a rainless day with clean dry roads in order to get the Motorhome out for a run to pick up some gas and propane.  Looks like the Big E will be sitting here all winter so I wanted enough gas and propane in it to carry it through the winter months.  In the past when our Park has lost power (which it always does) for any length of time we simply fired up the Motorhome and stayed there until power has been restored.  Plus it's good to run the engine up every couple weeks or so.  Maybe take it for a run from time to time if roads are dry and free of ice, snow, and corrosive road salt.

HEADING TO GODERICH ON THE BLUE WATER HIGHWAY WITH A TOUCH OF SUNLIGHT PUSHING US ALONG

‘AW COME ON DAD YOU TOLD ME WE WERE HEADING FOR ARIZONA’

OH WELL AT LEAST I GET TO GO FOR A RIDE IN THE RV

HEADING BACK HOME WE RAN INTO ANOTHER BRIEF PATCH OF SUNLIGHT

SHE LOVES THE FEEL OF WARM SUNSHINE ON HER HOSE

ALMOST HOME

Here’s a thought that rumbled through my head this morning while we ambled along through the countryside……‘Had I been a confident kid with a great memory, a fortunate stretch of good luck plus a healthy dose of extra smarts leading to a decent education I might have followed myself a path to becoming a photo journalist.  Then again, without any of the above I just might have ended up right where I am.  Well that's Okay, had I gone off in the other direction I might have never met Kelly, Pheebs, Max, Checkers, and little Cora. (Motormouse)

GROANER'S CORNER:((   Many years ago, a beloved Pope died and went to heaven. Saint Peter greeted him in a firm embrace. "Welcome your holiness, your dedication and unselfishness in serving your fellow man during your life has earned you great stature in heaven. You may pass through the gates without delay and are granted free access to all parts of heaven."St. Peter continued: "You are also granted an open-door policy and may, at your own discretion, meet with any heavenly leader including the Father, without prior appointment. Is there anything which your holiness desires?""Well, yes," the Pope replied. "I have often pondered some of the mysteries which have puzzled and confounded theologians through the ages. Are there perhaps any transcripts which recorded the actual conversations between God and the prophets of old? I would love to see what was actually said, without the dimming of memories over time."St. Peter immediately ushered the Pope to the heavenly library and explained how to retrieve the various documents. The Pope was thrilled and settled down to review the history of humanity's relationship with God.Two years later, a scream of anguish pierced the quiet of the library. Immediately several of the saints and angels came running. They found the Pope pointing to a single word on a parchment, repeating over and over: "There's an 'R'. There's an 'R.' There's an 'R'... It's CELIBRATE, not celibate!"

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- When the going gets tough, the smart get sneaky.
- When you don't have an education, you've got to use your brains.

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A young man asked an old rich man how he made his money.The old guy fingered his worsted wool vest and said, "Well, son, it was 1932. The depth of the Great Depression. I was down to my last nickel."  "I invested that nickel in an apple. I spent the entire day polishing the apple and, at the end of the day, I sold the apple for ten cents."  "The next morning, I invested those ten cents in two apples. I spent the entire day polishing them and sold them at 5:00 pm for 20 cents. I continued this system for a month, by the end of which I'd accumulated a fortune of $1.37."  "Then my wife's father died and left us two million dollars."

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A FEW BLOG STATS TONIGHT AND WHERE HAS MY SENSE OF HUMOR GONE??

WATER DROPS ON A BASSWOOD LEAF AT THE EDGE OF OUR CARPORT

Carefully peeking through the living room curtains first thing this morning I noticed our Park’s ground was not covered in snow.  I took that as a plus although once heavier snow does come it will make for a prettier landscape than the dull and drab we have at the moment.  I would say 90% of our leaf shedding trees have done just that…..shed their leaves.

SNOW ON MY OUTSIDE ARIZONA ROCK COLLECTION

A drive to Goderich and back with Pheebs only netted me one photo.  Roads were wet but not slippery and with light snow in the air under a gray cloud cover it made for what we call up here….a dirty looking day.

A SECTION OF GODERICH’S BOARDWALK ALONGSIDE LAKE HURON

Back home before 11 I again placed myself on the end of a leaf rake and proceeded to rake up about 6.2 million basswood leaves.  One thing I like about cold days is that wonderful feeling of warmth stepping back into the house after accomplishing something outside, like raking up about 6.2 million basswood leaves.  Kelly even topped that warm inside feeling off by brewing me up a nice cup of hot chocolate.

I have been aware for a very long time now that I have somewhere either lost or misplaced my sense of humor.  But the more I think about it the more I am convinced it is neither misplaced or lost, it’s just buried under too darn much bothersome stuff.  I have always had a keen sense of humor and quick wit which now in these latter years seems to have gone AWOL on me but I do see it occasionally if I feel comfortable enough with someone to trot it out.  But here’s another area where I notice it has definitely gone missing.  There is not one situation comedy on television that I find humorous.  Not one.  Canada’s Corner Gas was the last situation comedy I enjoyed.  Before that it was Cheers, Seinfeld, King of Queens, and a slight smattering of a few others.  I find today’s situation comedies dry and boring and their ridiculous over the top, overused, ‘laugh tracks’ make them totally objectionable to me.  ‘The Big Bang Theory’ is a perfect example of that and it is the show I absolutely detest the most.  Yes, yes, I know………..it’s ‘just me’.

I THINK SOMEBODY GOT A HOLD OF MY CAMERA AGAIN >>>>

I’m sure glad I started and stuck with my blog since first discovering blog writing back in 2006.  How nice to have a complete record of words and photos for all these years.  Each blog and each photo instantly trigger memories for me that would have been totally lost never to be remembered again had it not been for my daily writing and picture taking.  Yes, there are some things about this technical world that I wholeheartedly embrace with both arms and a whole bunch more that confuse the absolute hell out of me.  I don’t seem to have the keen interest I once did about learning knew things simply because it takes all my cranial energy just to remember and retain all the things I was lucky enough to learn over the years in the first place.  Looking back I think I did Okay for the kid who certainly wasn’t  ever the brightest crayon in the box:))

AUGERING CORN FROM A COMBINE TO A TRACTOR TOWED TRAILER

Here’s a few  of my blog statistics for you as compiled by Google Analytics::

- Our three main blog referral sites are Google, HitchItch, and GeoSusie which incidentally is George and Susie at Our Awesome Travels

- Top 3 countries reading my blog are the United States, Canada and the Netherlands

- Top 3 pageviews by Country.... United States 10,326, Canada 2,802, Netherlands, 2,747.  Looks like about 90% of my readers are in the United States.

- Pageviews by Browser....Chrome 54% - Safari 28% - Firefox 9% and Internet Explorer 1%

- Pageviews by Operating System....Windows 53%, iPad 17%, Android 11%, McIntosh 8%, and iPhone 6%.

- Pageviews to date 7,075,061

- Pageviews for Saturday November 10th -- 2,545

- Pageview for the month of October 2018 -- 91,515

- Total posts published on Blogger.... 3,904 including this one:))

Adjusting to this ‘stay at home winter’ is still an ongoing daily issue for me.  I try not to think of the Southwest too much and some of my days are Okay and some not so much.  Guess it’s just going to take extra time for the reality of this decision to sink in with me.

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Women should not have children after 35.  Really... 35 children are enough.

Shopping tip: You can get shoes for 85 cents at bowling alleys.

After all is said and done, usually more is said than done.

I married my wife for her looks... but not the ones she's been giving me lately!

No one ever says, "It's only a game," when their team is winning.

I gave my son a hint. On his room door I put a sign: "CHECKOUT TIME IS 18"

"If carrots are so good for the eyes, how come I see so many dead rabbits on the highway?

"Why do we choose from just two people for president and 50 for Miss America?

"Ever notice that people who spend money on beer, cigarettes, and lottery tickets are always complaining about being broke and not feeling well?

I earn a seven-figure salary. Unfortunately, there's a decimal point involved.

The next time you feel like complaining, remember: Your garbage disposal probably eats better than thirty percent of the people in this world.

Snowmen fall from Heaven unassembled.

My wife and I were happy for twenty years .... then we met.

Home is where you can say anything you like 'cause nobody listens to you anyway.

I live in my own little world, but it's ok, they know me here.

Sign in pet store: "Buy one dog, get one flea...

"If flying is so safe, why do they call the airport the 'terminal'?

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Mommy, Mommy! Why do other kids tell me I have a long nose?  You don't, but lift your head up or you'll scrape it on the floor.

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I was traveling with my wife in Kanyakumari, India, one of the windiest places on Earth. Braving our way through the crosswind, we made our way to the tollbooth where I asked a bespectacled attendant, "What do you guys do in Kanyakumari when the wind quits?" Adjusting his rims, the guy answered, "We take the rocks out of our pockets."

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A COLD GRAY DAY AND REMEMBERING SOME SPECIAL PEOPLE ON SUNDAY’S REMEMBRANCE DAY

‘OH-NO THERE’S SNOW GETTING ON ME DAD!!!!’

Had to pull out a couple extra stops this morning and convince myself not to turn around and simply go home again.  Pheebs and I had no more than pulled out of the Park when I began to wrestle with my decision to go for a Jeep ride.  It was a cold windy day with a solid cloud cover and snow flurries in the air.  Gravel roads were frozen and sections of paved back roads had a coating of ice on them.  It just made more sense to turn around and go home where everything was warm, comfy, and cozy.  So, we kept on going.

GRAVEL ROADS WERE FROZEN SO TRACTION WAS GOOD

THIS SNOWY ICE COVERED PAVED ROAD WAS SLIPPERY

A LIGHT DUSTING OF SNOW IN AREA FARM FIELDS

STILL LOTS OF UNHARVESTED CORN STANDING IN THE FIELDS

HEADING FOR A SHELTERED SPOT IN THE HULLETT MARSH OUT OF THE WIND

Coffee to go at Clinton’s Tim Hortons and over to the Hullett Marsh we slowly went.  Icy winds were upon us so we headed for a sheltered area in the marsh where we could at least get out for a leg stretch.  A lot of pick-up trucks around so I knew hunter’s were at it again so we didn’t hang around and soon vacated the area.

A FEW SNOWFLAKES IN THE AREA

A THIN COATING OF ICE ON THE WATER

FALLEN LEAVES TRAPPED IN THE ICE

Setting course for home we wandered along slowly taking a long way back and keeping an eye out for any photos of interest along the way which of course is always a challenge on cold gray November days.

NOT COLD ENOUGH LONG ENOUGH FOR THE CREEKS TO FREEZE OVER YET

WELL AT LEAST THIS FARMER HAS SOME OF HIS CORN HARVESTED

WONDER IF THESE FOLKS ARE PUTTING IN A BIG SWIMMING POOL FOR NEXT SUMMER

LOOKS LIKE THIS CHAP IS ABOUT READY TO DO SOME DIGGING

THIS PHOTO IS A BIT DECEIVING…..WHITE STUFF IN FOREGROUND IS ICE AND SNOW BUT THAT HILL BACK THERE IS COVERED IN WHITE PLASTIC WITH HUNDREDS OF TIRES HOLDING IT DOWN ON SOMETHING UNDERNEATH AND I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IT IS UNDERNEATH

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ONE OF MY VERY MUCH MOST FAVORITIST PEOPLE OF ALL TIME…. AUNTY JEAN:))))

I call my Aunt Jean in Sarasota Florida once a week and have been doing so for the past number of years.  When I called her Friday night she told me she had been out golfing last Sunday.  Aunt Jean is 91 and because of deteriorating health hadn’t picked up a club in a year and half.  Last week she simply made up her mind to get out there and get at it again.  With a couple good friends she headed up to a favorite golf course of hers in Bradenton and off they all went with her two friends in one golf cart and Jean in another.  She wanted her own cart because she knew she might be a little slower than the others.  Starting off easy she chipped and putted her way around the front nine then fired up her big clubs and hit a few good drives on the back nine.  She ended up parring two of those back nine holes.  She plans to be back on the golf course tomorrow again. (Sunday)  Say, did I mention that Aunt Jean is 91 years old:))

EVEN THESE HORSES HAD THEIR WARM COATS ON TODAY

Had to pull out a few more stops this afternoon to convince myself to head outside despite the windy cold and get a few more things done.  Key for me is to dress very warm.  I have the same dislike for too cold as I do too hot.  Did manage to do a little leaf blowing, burn some garbage, and do a little raking.

OUR LARGE BASSWOOD LEAVES ARE FINALLY FALLING

My inquisitive reading regarding pilots and aircraft history of the Second World continues as I have recently completed, Lifting The Silence, by Sidney and Percival  Smith, Fighter Boys....Saving Britain 1940 by Patrick Bishop, Dog Fights and Down Time by David Wilhelm, Mosquito to Berlin by Bertie Boulter, Malta Spitfire Pilot by Denis Barnham, Gun Button to Fire by Hurricane pilot Tom Neil, Ten Fighter Boys by Athol Forbes, A Salute to One of 'The Few' by Simon Beer, A Spitfire Girl by Mary Ellis (One of the World's Greatest Female ATA Ferry Pilots) Mosquito Squadron by Robert Jackson, Journeys Into Night by Don Charlwood, and A Thousand Shall Fall by Murray Peden.  I have enjoyed each and every one of the above books as the lives of these brave young boys to men unfold from their childhood through their teens to military training while earning their wings.  From there it was into active combat in the skies over Europe and Malta during the years 1939 to 1945.  These are the factual honestly told stories of their fears, dreams, families, loves, and friendships, as they are rapidly grown from young boys to young men flying by the seat of their pants at times in a life and death attempt to stay alive.  These true life stories are not what I read in comic books as a kid, no superhero stuff, no G.I. Joe stories, just young kids with a dream of learning to fly and how those dreams took them into harms way.

MY DAD ROY BOSSENCE (RCAF) ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FORCE

Sunday is remembrance day and tomorrow at 11 a.m. I will once again remember all these young men I have read about over the years.  On this day I also remember my Dad Roy Bossence as well as two Uncles, Harry Schaefer, and Fred Schaefer.  Researching this information tonight I found out two things about my Dad that I never knew before.  In the Royal Canadian Air Force he was a Leading Aircraftsman and worked with the Service Police.  If you click on the above colored links it tells a bit about their service.

 

BROTHERS UNCLE HARRY AND UNCLE FRED SCHAEFER

Also remembered on Remembrance Day is Kelly’s Dad Frank Knapp who was a U.S. Marine serving in the South Pacific.  Frank came ashore in the hell of Iwo Jima in 1945.

 

AND A NICE PICTURE OF KELLY’S MOTHER WHO TURNS 94 ON DECEMBER 23RD WHICH INCIDENTALLY WAS HER HUSBAND FRANK’S BIRTHDAY TOO

GROANER’S CORNER:((  There was a man walking alone along a beach. He comes across a bottle with a cork in it. The man picks up the bottle and pulls out the cork. A loud roar follows and a genie appears. The genie says to the man, "I'm a little tired today and I can only give you two wishes." The man says "That's OK, two is enough." "First, I would like one-billion dollars in a Swiss bank account." Poof - The genie hands the man a paper and says "Here's the number to your account." Next the man says, "Second, I would like to be irresistible to women." Poof - the genie turned him into a box of chocolates.

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“What is a shoe repairman's favorite dessert? Cobbler.”

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The lawyer was cross-examining a witness.“Isn’t it true, “he bellowed, “that you were given $500.00 to throw this case?”The witness did not answer. Instead, he just stared out the window as though he hadn’t heard the question. The attorney repeated himself, again getting the same reaction - no response.Finally, the judge spoke to the witness, “Please answer the question.”“Oh,” said the startled witness, “I thought he was talking to you.”

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