WITH ALL THREE OF US IN THE JEEP TODAY SHAKESPEARE ONTARIO WAS OUR DESTINATION

THIS IS THE SHAKESPEARE POND WHERE WE SWAM AS KIDS

It was all three of us in the Jeep on a beautiful sunny Saturday morning.  Our destination earlier today was Shakespeare Ontario.  We had us an RV to look at.  The 2005 24' Ford Majestic Class C had a lot going for it but the mileage was a bit high.  This one and the Class B we looked at a few weeks ago here in our Park were definitely two of the better older RV's we've seen.  But, we didn't feel the one today was quite the right fit for us so on the way home we decided to pass on it and keep looking.  Kelly sent a text to the nice young fella who owned it informing him of our decision.  Close, but no cigars.  I think we are both a bit gun-shy after our last two vehicle buying mistakes.  Luckily, we came out of both those deals alright, but just barely.  Other than our drive to Shakespeare and back it was another rather pleasantly quiet day.  Didn't get around to taking many photos.  I think we got up close to 60F today.  Loving this humidity-free and bugless weather:))

THIS CLASS C RV WAS VERY CLOSE TO WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

ON OUR WAY HOME WE STOPPED IN BRUCEFIELD ONTARIO FOR ICE CREAM

THE UNDERWATER WORLD OF JACQUES COUSTEAU?? NOPE, IT'S THE BOTTOM OF OUR FROG POND

SO FAR THIS IS THE ONLY FROG AT OUR AT OUR FROG POND  THIS YEAR

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A cowboy was walking down the street with his new pet dachshund. The passerby asked him why a cowboy would own that kind of dog.  The cowboy answered, "Well, somebody told me to get along little doggie." 

--------------------------

So I walked into a this bar and heard two girls speaking in what sounded like a lovely Scottish accent. I said: So, are you two girls from Scotland? One of them said: "Wales Idiot!"  So I said: "Oh, I am terribly sorry about that. So, are you two Whales from Scotland?"  That's the last thing I remember.

======================= 

IN A WORLD GOING INCREASINGLY NUTS IT'S NICE TO BE SAFE AT HOME HERE IN OUR QUIET LITTLE COUNTRY SETTING NEAR BAYFIELD ONTARIO, CANADA

An absolutely gorgeous sunny blue sky day in the lower 50's made for a nice crisp morning walk in the Bannockburn Conservation Area.  A couple hours later I put in a few enjoyable hours working on several small yard projects.  In a society increasingly gone mad and quickly going to hell in a handbasket it's a nice feeling to be safe at home here in our quiet little rural countryside setting near Bayfield Ontario, Canada.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Mr. Smythe had been giving his second-grade students a short lesson on science. He had explained about magnets and showed them how they would pick up nails and other bits of iron. And now it was question time.... "Class," he said, "my name begins with the letter 'M,' and I pick up things....What am I?" 

A little boy on the front row said, "You're a Mother."

================

A SUDDEN FLASH OF LIGHTNING, A CRACK OF THUNDER, AND THAT WAS THE END OF OUR POWER UNTIL THE NEXT DAY

OUR PEONIES ARE IN BLOOM

With rain-driven storms heavy upon us, it was 8:35 when with a flash of lightning and instant crack of thunder our power went out Wednesday night.  Luckily I had posted my blog about half an hour before that.  We spent the rest of the evening in candlelight.  Luckily I had my Kindle so was able to occupy my time reading.  That power outage lasted until 4:35 a.m. Thursday morning when I was rudely awakened by a light shining in my face and the sounds of our TV coming on.  The light on my face was from a lamp beside my recliner that had been on when the power went out.  Thinking all was fine with the power back on I drifted off to sleep again not realizing a power pole one street over had caught fire and our power had gone out again.  Next thing I knew Kelly was coming in the front door after being awakened by the sound of trucks idling nearby with flashing red lights.  She had got dressed and walked over to the other street to see what was going on.  Two firetrucks on scene and the electrical pole fire was out but it would be hours before power was restored to our Park. (more about that in the next paragraph)  In the meantime, Kelly dug out our Coleman stove from the shed and brewed up some coffee.  Instead of watching our morning news TV channels this morning, we listened to local news on a small battery-operated emergency radio.  Apparently, two small tornados touched down in the London Ontario area Wednesday night around 8:30.  Some damage, no injuries.

When talking to the fire chief early this morning at the power pole fire Kelly asked him twice if he had notified the power company.  He said he needed a pole number first before calling.  Fast forward 3 hours to 8 o'clock this morning and still no power company crew had showed up.  Kelly, for the second time called the Power Company.  She was informed they had not received a call and were unaware of the pole fire so had not dispatched a crew.  Not the power company's fault but somebody 'forgot' to make a phone call!!  #!!%*!#@((%#!!  The power crew finally arrived at 8:20 and set to work repairing the pole.  Power was finally restored a couple hours later.

OUR SUNBURST LOCUST TREE HAS FINALLY LEAFED OUT

IN MY OPINION JUNE IS OUR GREENEST MONTH

Richard picked me up at 9 and off we went on one of our semi-monthly backroads coffee tours.  A beautifully cool morning with a nice mixture of sun and cloud.  Even managed ourselves a walk in an old abandoned gravel pit where we have walked before.  Always an enjoyable time talking to Richard.  By the time we got back our power was on again.  Water is one of those things we take for granted until we don't have it.  It didn't take me long to throw myself into a nice hot and much-appreciated shower.  Of course, had we had an RV parked in the driveway we would not have had any problems.  Bathroom, shower, propane stove for coffee and breakfast, a furnace, fridge, and onboard battery power for lights and chargers, etc.  Hmmmmm, maybe we had better kick our RV search up a notch eh.

SEVERAL OF OUR FROG POND PLANTS HAVE BLOSSOMED

Our afternoon was a very pleasant 65F so Pheebs and I were able to walk ourselves back through the forest using what's left of our old trails and encroaching new roads.  Didn't appear to be anyone working in the bush so it was a quiet walk for a welcome change.  No snorting bulldozers or buzzing chainsaws.

'COME ON PHEEBS YOU CAN MAKE IT, DAD'S RIGHT BEHIND YOU'

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Little Johnny was having problems in English class, so his teacher, Miss Figpot, decided to stop by Little Johnny's house on her way home. She wanted to discuss Johnny's poor performance directly with his parents. When she rang the door bell, Little Johnny answered. "Hello Johnny, I'd like to talk to your mother or father," she said. "Sorry, but they ain't here." He replied. "Johnny!" She said, "what is it with your grammar?" "Haven't got a clue," Johnny replied, "but Dad sure was mad that they had to go bail her out again!"

-----------------------

Why should you never play games in the jungle?

Because there are too many cheetahs.

-----------------------

A man said to his wife one day, "I don't know how you can be so stupid and so beautiful all at the same time. " The wife responded, "Allow me to explain. God made me beautiful so you would be attracted to me; God made me stupid so I would be attracted to you!

==================

 

 

STOPPING TO HELP ALONG THE WAY, HEAVY RAINS, AND OUR TEMPS DROPPED ABOUT 30 DEGREES IN A COUPLE HOURS LATE THIS AFTERNOON:))

PHEEBS AND I STOPPED TO HELP THIS RATHER HANDSOME YOUNG FELLOW EARLIER TODAY

A fast traveling storm front swept through in the night with brief spells of rain drumming loudly enough on our steel roof to stir me from my slumber.  Upon first light, we were greeted with puddles in the driveway and windswept cloudy skies.  By 6 a.m. we were already at 75F with a stiff breeze blowing up out of the South.  Our A/C kicked on an hour later.  With sunshine beginning to break through about 9 our second hottest day of June 2020 was well underway.

STOPPED ON OUR WAY TO GODERICH TO MOVE THIS SNAPPING TURTLE OFF THE ROAD AND HE SURE WAS SNAPPING AT ME ALRIGHT

HAD TO USE MY CAMERA TRIPOD TO NUDGE HIM ALONG

Venturing up to Goderich with gusty winds blowing us along it was both a gas and coffee stop before heading on down to the harbor.  I'll be so glad if and when they finally get the road opened up out to Rotary Cove.  Both Pheebs and I really miss stopping at the dog walking area.

GODERICH'S INNER HARBOR.....SOUTH SIDE ON THE LEFT AND NORTH SIDE ON THE RIGHT

THIS TANKER TRUCK WAS LOADING SOMETHING ONTO THE ALGOMA CONVEYER THROUGH A LONG GREEN HOSE

HOLY SMOKES COULD THAT FELLA BELOW BE A BROTHER OF MINE

Again, with the day's heat and humidity building, we pointed the Jeep's nose north, then east, and finally south following along our usual scenic route home.  We did make a couple stops along the way but with the heat, Pheebs was anxious to get back into the Jeep again.  Well, me too.

HERE'S US BUMS JUST CRUISIN THROUGH THE COUNTRYSIDE

AND THIS THERMOMETER LATE THIS AFTERNOON OUTSIDE OUR SUNROOM WAS IN THE SHADE TOO

If we thought Tuesday was hot and humid we hadn't met Wednesday yet.  Luckily relief is fast approaching in the form of severe storms in our area when two opposing weather fronts collide.  Relief from this heat will be very welcome and much appreciated by some of us.  Mainly me!!

ONE OF OUR SECRET 'HIDEAWAY' ROAD STOPS THIS MORNING AND THAT IS A  MALE RED WING BLACKBIRD BELOW

Seems to be a number of bear sightings in our area this past while and someone caught a black bear on video east of Goderich this morning.  Pheebs and I have never encountered anything like that on area trails but it's one of those things that kinda hangs around in the back of one's mind sometimes when out walking.  And especially the last couple years with bear sightings being on the upswing.  

THE GRACKLES ARE REALLY TRAUMATIZING OUR SUET FEEDER THIS YEAR

Checking our live radar weather map this afternoon we could see our neighbor Michigan to the west of us on the other side of Lake Huron was really getting smashed up by a series of violent looking storms moving along their peninsula from south to north.  This is what our radar map showed at 4 p.m. this afternoon........Storms over Michigan.  At 6 p.m. those traveling thunderstorms came ashore here in Bayfield dumping a lot of rain on us.  We were lucky, areas northeast of us around Blyth and Brussels had trees and branches down.  Our temps dropped from the low 90's around four o'clock to the low 60's around six o'clock.  Oh Boy, comfortable weather days are here again:)))))

GROANER'S CORNER:((   Has anyone else's gardening skills improved during this quarantine like mine have?  I planted myself on the sofa at the start of April and I’ve been growing bigger ever since.

--------------------------

A coworker named Celsius recently retired at my work, so they hired a guy named Kelvin to replace him. He's the new temp.  he seems like a cool guy.
---------------------------

Are people born with a photographic memory? Or does it take time to develop?
---------------------------

I went to see my doctor and he asked for a stool sample. So I decided to take a basic woodworking course.

--------------------------

It takes a big man to admit when he's wrong, and an even bigger one to keep his mouth shut when he's right.

================

FROM THE COOL COMFORT OF MY SUNROOM RECLINER

Well, it was pretty much a lost day for being outside.  Pheebs and I did head over to the Hullett-Marsh early but with the morning's heat and humidity building rapidly and a swarm of marshy Mosquitos to welcome us we were soon back into the Jeep and headed home.  Tried some puttering in the front yard but soon gave up and retreated inside to the cool sanctity of our house.  For me the day was already over and it wasn't even 10 a.m. yet.  With heat and humidity expected to be worse Wednesday, I expect my day will be a complete repeat of today.  Both of today's photos were taken right from the quiet and cool comfort of my sunroom recliner.  Over and Out...………...

GROANER'S CORNER:((  I've sure gotten old! I've had two bypass surgeries, a hip replacement, New knees, fought prostate cancer and diabetes I'm half blind, Can't hear anything quieter than a jet engine, Take 40 different medications that Make me dizzy, winded, and subject to blackouts. Have bouts with dementia Have poor circulation; Hardly feel my hands and feet anymore. Can't remember if I'm 85 or 92. Have lost all my friends. But, thank God, I still have my driver's license.

==================