SURE DO APPRECIATE THESE NICE WEATHER DAYS WHEN THEY COME ALONG

OUR CROCUS FLOWERS ARE IN BLOOM:))

Despite a fiery sunrise we were soon socked in under another cloud cover.  But it didn't last long and soon skies began clearing and we ended up with big bright sunny blue skies for the rest of the day.   

Curious to see just how much of Goderich's harbor and beach area has been closed off now Pheebs and I headed up there straight away to see for ourselves.  Basically it's the same as before.  The harbor area is open but I did see new fencing around St. Christopher's beach and there was a work crew near the children's playground digging.  Also noticed a ship docked at the Goderich Elevators unloading a cargo of wheat.

WORKERS NEAR THE CHILDRENS PLAYGROUND SITE AT ST CHRISTOPHER'S BEACH

NOTICED THE ALGOMA SAULT UNLOADING WHEAT AT THE GODERICH ELEVATORS

GODERICH COURTHOUSE

Slipped over to the north side of the harbor and noticed right off the big ship Algoma Enterprise was gone.  Had been anchored over there for the winter where I had taken a number of photos of it these past six months.

THIS IS WHERE THE ALGOMA ENTERPRISE HAD BEEN DOCKED ALL WINTER

THIS HEAVY GREEN ROPE (HAWSER) IS ALL THAT'S LEFT FROM THE ENTERPRISE

THIS IS THE ALGOMA SAULT AS SEEN FROM THE NORTHEAST SIDE OF THE HARBOR

With the Sun beaming down making for a beautiful morning we headed for the Maitland Valley Trail near the Tiger Dunlop tomb area.  We weren't on the trial 5 minutes when a gaggle of well spaced people came trundling along the trail.  Pheebs and I ducked off to the Tiger Dunlop area and waited for the gaggle to pass before heading back to the Jeep.  I guess with the sunny morning people were anxiously needing to get out of their houses and hit the hiking trails.  Back to the Jeep we made our way east to Ben Miller then south to home.

WE ARE ON THE OLD CPR RAILROAD LINE TRACK BED 

THE OLD MENESETUNG RAILWAY BRIDGE WITH THE GODERICH ELEVATORS IN THE BACKGROUND

TWO DOMINANT CHURCH STEEPLES IN GODERICH AS SEEN THROUGH MY TELEPHOTO LENS

THE MAITLAND TRAIL LEADS DOWN AN EMBANKMENT INTO THE FOREST BUT WE STAYED ON THE RAILROAD BED TO TIGER DUNLOP'S TOMB

TIGER DUNLOP'S TOMB

TIGER DUNLOPS HOME ONCE SAT HERE IN THE FOREGROUND

A TELEPHOTO VIEW OF GODERICH'S ALEXANDRA MARINE HOSPITAL COMPLEX FROM THE DUNLOP SITE

ALSO FROM THE DUNLOP SITE THE GODERICH ELEVATOR AND DID YOU NOTICE THE LIGHTHOUSE

THE LLAMA SHEEP GANG JUST AROUND THE CORNER FROM OUR PARK

Not a lot of warmth in the air yet but decided to give the Jeep a good scrub anyway so out came the hose, brush, and pail of soapy water.   Finishing that I vacuumed the inside and cleaned all the windows as well.  A number of small cedar trees needed topping so out came my tall step ladder and clippers.  Dug up my two 6' potted cedar trees I bought last fall and hopefully I will get them un-potted and planted sometime tomorrow.  What a great day it turned out to be for being outside.  I think we might have got up into the upper 40's today.

IT'S STARTING TO LOOK A LITTLE SPRINGY AROUND HERE

GROANER'S CORNER:(( "Doctors at a hospital in Brooklyn, New York have gone on strike. Hospital officials say they will find out what the Doctors' demands are as soon as they can get a pharmacist over there to read the picket signs." 
------------------------------
A man walks into a doctor's office and says, "Doc, I'm horribly sick!"  The doctor looks at him and asks, "Flu?"  "No, I drove here."
-----------------------------
Due to the quarantine...I’ll only be telling inside jokes.
----------------------------

A little girl became restless as the preacher's sermon dragged on and on. Finally, she leaned over to her mother and whispered, "Mommy, if we give him the money now, will he let us go?"
=================

WONDER WHAT THE GIST OF OUR CONVERSATIONS WILL BE A YEAR FROM NOW

Checking our areas on-line live weather radar map in the pre-dawn hours this morning I was encouraged to see no green indications of rain for a change.  With temps above freezing at 37F we were at least getting the day started on a much better footing than a week or two ago.  Looking ahead at the 14 day forecast I see no temperatures below freezing, not even at night:))  A few months from now I'll be complaining about the humidity again:((

ALWAYS NICE TO SEE SHEEP OUT AND ABOUT

I WONDER IF THAT FELLA IS THE BIG BOSS SHEEP

SO NICE TO SEE OLD BARNS RESTORED

Grey and drab morning skies at first proved to be a photo challenge again as Pheebs and I wandered through the countryside looking for anything interesting and hopefully colorful.  Skies brightened a bit and we did find a few things.

YEP WE FOUND US SOME COLOR ALRIGHT

SO NICE TO SEE REALLY GREEN GRASS AGAIN

WELL I DID SAY I WAS LOOKING FOR COLOR

Our wanderings this morning took us through Clinton and over to the Hullett Marsh area.  Roads into the marsh are still blocked off from the winter season but I knew where to find another road leading in from the east side.  Many birds in the trees and a lot of ducks and geese out on the waterways.  Had it not been for a cold damp wind Pheebs and I would have stayed out for a longer walk but we weren't long in getting back to the Jeep and off we went.

HEADING INTO THE MARSH ON PUDDLEJUMP ROAD

YESIREEEE SPRING'S A COMING

A PAIR OF MALLARD DUCKS STARTLED US

THIS IS THE FEMALE MALLARD WINGING BY

FIRST MUSKRAT OF THE YEAR

ONE CAN WALK FOR MILES ALONG THESE MAN MADE BERMS

THIS WAS ONCE A COUNTRY ROAD YEARS AGO UNTIL THE AREA WAS TURNED INTO A WETLAND

IT'S MATING SEASON SO THERE WERE FEUDS GOING ON AMONGST THE MALES

THIS MARSH IS A RATHER FASCINATING PLACE WHICH WILL SOON TURN VERY GREEN

WITH THE BITING COLD WIND PHEEBS HEADS FOR THE WARM JEEP

WE'RE PARKED ABOUT A QUARTER MILE UP THERE ON THE LEFT SOMEWHERE

AHHHH YES HERE WE ARE AND A STRANGE THING HAPPENED WITH THE JEEP HERE WHICH I'LL TRY AND REMEMBER TO TELL YOU ABOUT TOMORROW

Seems like there is less and less traffic on the roads each day and very little activity in the farm yards we go by.  It's like a great blanket of quietness has descended upon the land and actually that is just what has happened.  It's unfortunate the cause of the quietness is so bizarrely life threatening.

THESE VEHICLE FREE ROADS ARE A DREAM COME TRUE FOR ME:))

WE HAD TO STOP SO PHEEBS COULD SEE THE COWS

Kelly read this afternoon that Goderich has now closed the harbor beach area to the general public.  I also read where the shoreline restoration job is now behind time as well due to a late February storm and also because of Covid-19 repercussions.  For Pheebs and I it looks like our outdoor world is slowly shrinking.  We rarely ever see anyone anyway on our rural morning travels let alone get near anybody.  We've been doing that long before this Covid thing ever came along.

AN OLD REFURBISHED COUNTRY CEMETERY 

ALMOST DROVE RIGHT BY THIS OLD STONE BARN FOUNDATION

FARM DOG IN A CORN FIELD

One really has to wonder what our world will look like once we are all on the other side of this Pandemic outbreak.  Will it be life as usual?  Will there be vast changes or will it be life as usual?  What new ways will we have to get used to, if any?  What will be the long lasting effects going forward?  All unanswered questions at this time.  Wonder where we will all be a year from now and what will be the gist of our conversations.

LOOKS LIKE THESE LOCAL FELLERS ARE DOING THEMSELVES SOME SOCIAL DISTANCING

Thanks to everyone for your Birthday wishes for Kelly.  Very much appreciated:))

MY FIRST PHOTO OF A MALE ROBIN THIS YEAR

GROANER'S CORNER:((   After a long, dry sermon, the minister announced that he wished to meet with the church board after the service. The first man to arrive was a stranger.  You misunderstood my announcement. This is a meeting of the board, said the minister.  I know, said the man.  If there is anyone here more bored than I am, I'd like to meet him.
----------------------
Today my son asked, "Can I have a book mark?" I burst into tears. Eleven years old and he still doesn't know my name is Brian.
----------------------
“The store sold me cut-rate food for my horse at an exorbitant price, then had the nerve to send me a 'customer service' survey. I didn't hesitate to give them the feed back.”
==================