QUITE AN AFTERNOON AND WE ENDED THE DAY WITH AN EXTRA VEHICLE IN OUR DRIVEWAY

As mentioned in Thursday's post Pheebs and I slipped out after supper to see if we could find us some storm clouds and lightning if lucky.  A few clouds but no lightning.  Took ourselves for a drive along Main street Bayfield.  Below are a few photos I took along the way.

UNSETTLED SKIES  OVER BAYFIELD'S BEACH BUT NOT THE CLOUDS I WAS LOOKING FOR

LAKE HURON BOATERS OUT ON THE LAKE HAVING A SWIM

ENJOYING A SUMMER'S EVENING BY THE WATER'S EDGE

TIME TO GET THE BOAT OUT OF THE WATER

HEADING FOR SHORE BEFORE IT GETS DARK

A BUSY THURSDAY NIGHT ALONG BAYFIELD'S MAIN STREET

NOTICED LOTS OF FOLKS OUT WALKING EVEN ON THE SIDE STREETS

SOCIAL DISTANCING LINE FOR ICE CREAM

THE ALBION HOTEL'S PATIO WAS BUSY 

ANOTHER BUSY PLACE WAS THE BLACK DOG VILLAGE PUB AND BISTRO  RIGHT BESIDE THE ALBION

THE DOCKS HAD A LOT PEOPLE THERE AS WELL

Our cool mornings and evenings of last week are gone now and replaced by warmer air.  Not as hot as daytime temps but definitely warmer.  I think records have been broken for the most consecutive days of high temperatures.  It wasn't a long Jeep ride for Pheebs and I again this morning.  Stopped at a favorite walking spot near Kerr's Campground but didn't even attempt to get out the Jeep.  There were so many Deer Flies frantically buzzing around the Jeep we had to quickly zap up the windows and get out of there.  We later stopped along a country road where there were no trees and Pheebs had a short run-around.  We were back home by 9:30 and glad to be there out of the heat.  

A TOUCH OF EARLY MORNING MIST IN THE COUNTRYSIDE

And before I forget, a few words about the new Blogger format in case anyone has a problem loading photos to their posts.  It took me 3 tries to get switched over from the old Blogger format and I was only successful the third time after they got a few bugs out of the way.  Most everything worked fine except for one crucial thing.  It took me forever to get my pictures in.  I would sometimes have to go through the 'add a photo' procedure  up to half a dozen times just to get one photo into the post.  Very frustrating to say the least.  I suspected it was another Google bug of some kind.  Wednesday night our desktop computer did a big Microsoft update and Thursday night when it came time to assemble my post I could not get any photos to download at all.  Then, Kelly and I had a 'lightbulb moment' about the same time.  Could it be Microsoft's browser causing the problem??  Decided to try Google's Chrome and 'WALLA'.....problem solved.  Couldn't believe how fast my photos load now and as an added bonus I don't have that 'picture spacing' problem anymore.  Sometimes minor technical problems come in small lightbulb miracles.  Now if I could just get this disjointed paragraph spacing glitch figured out!!

THIS RIPENING WHEAT WILL SOON BE HARVESTED

A FIELD OF SUNFLOWERS RIGHT ACROSS FROM BAYFIELD'S CAR WASH

WE HAVE A LOT OF WILD CHICORY PLANTS THIS TIME OF YEAR

SHADES OF ARIZON'A SONORAN DESERT HERE

MANY OF OUR COUNTRY ROADS ARE BORDERED WITH THESE YELLOW COLORED FLOWERS

CHICORY

A hoped for but unexpected late morning phone call scrambled the Bayfield Bunch into action real quick today.  Six hours later we were home again.....with an extra vehicle.  I'll tell ya all about it tomorrow and how we got totally separated from each other in heavy late Friday afternoon Woodstock traffic only to find each other later many miles away using nothing more than some good old fashioned dead reckoning:))))

::)))))

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Anagrams:

- Dormitory: When you rearrange the letters: Dirty Room

- Evangelist: When you rearrange the letters: Evil's Agent (Well ain't that the truth)
- Desperation: When you rearrange the letters: A Rope Ends It

- The Morse Code: When you rearrange the letters: Here Come Dots
- Slot Machines: When you rearrange the letters: Cash Lost in Em
- Animosity: When you rearrange the letters: Is No Amity
- Snooze Alarms: Wen you rearrange the letters: Alas No More Z's
- A Decimal Point: When you rearrange the letters: I'm a Dot in Place
- Eleven plus two: When you rearrange the letters: Twelve plus one

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

Doctor: What seems to be the trouble?
Patient: Doctor, I keep getting the feeling that nobody can hear what I say.
Doctor: What seems to be the trouble?

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

/ 

  

A DRIVE THROUGH AMISH-MENNONITE COUNTRY AS A PASSENGER FOR A CHANGE

I was only seconds away from hitting the publishing button when our power went out tonight.  It was a few minutes after 9.  Power was restored at 11:12 so here's my late post. 

It was a short half hour jaunt for Pheebs and I into and around Bayfield shortly after 8 this morning.  Home again I did a bit of watering before Richard picked me up at 9.  We grabbed a couple brews at Tim Horton's coffee shop in Clinton and headed off up into Amish-Mennonite country.  Beautiful morning for a drive through the rural countryside but if we don't get rain soon farmer's crops are going to be in big trouble.  Despite the heat we saw a lot of Mennonite folks out and about in their gardens and fields, horses and buggies.  Took a swing by Lake Wawanosh and through Saint Augustine and Saint Helens before heading home again.  All and all another couple hours well spent.

While Richard and I were cruising around up in Mennonite country, Kelly, with her son Ben and two boys, Darion and Kai were out splashing around at the Windmill Lake Wake and Eco Park which is only half a mile east of our Park.  Ben rented a big flotation device called an Aquapark which they all had to swim out to and get on,  Photos below explain it better.  Kelly said they all had a good time and of course they all got very wet.  She also said it was fun but nothing she would care to do again.  That Aquapark is a big round floating obstacle course for kids to scramble over as they go around it.  Kelly said she decided today her 'scrambling days' are well behind her.

HERE'S KELLY ABOUT TO SWIM OVER TO THE AQUAPARK FLOTATION THING....KAI DIDN'T WANT TO GET INTO THE WATER BECAUSE OF THE SEAWEED

HERE, BEN AND KAI HAVE SWAM BACK TO THE DOCK AND THERE'S KELLY AND DARION ABOUT TO GET INTO THE WATER AND COME BACK AS WELL....PHOTOS BY PARK STAFF WITH KELLY'S BLACKBERRY SMARTPHONE

Had hoped to get a phone call today saying the Winnebago Spirit was ready to go after it's safety inspection but no such luck.  Looks like we might have to wait until next week before picking it up.

HERE'S A PHOTO KELLY TOOK THE DAY WE HAD THE WINNEBAGO SPIRIT OUT FOR A TEST DRIVE EARLIER IN THE WEEK....I'M THE GUY UNDER THE HAT DRIVING AND THE RIG'S OWNER (MARVIN) IS IN THE PASSENGER SEAT AND OF COURSE IF YOU LOOK CLOSELY YOU CAN ALSO SEE THE PHEEBS:))

With a severe thunderstorm warning issued for our area we kept a close eye on the sky this evening.  Thunder and darkened skies surrounded us but we never had any rain.  Pheebs and I took a quick swing into Bayfield to see if there were any big black storm clouds out over the lake and although the sky looked unsettled I did not see the big black ominous clouds I was looking for.  I'll have a few pics tomorrow from our little drive after supper tonight.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Signs Of Our Times::

- My neighbor got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.

- CEO's are now playing miniature golf.
- Exxon-Mobil laid off 25 Congressmen.
- I saw a Mormon with only one wife.
- If the bank returns your check marked "Insufficient Funds," you call them and ask if they meant you or them.
- McDonald's is selling the 1/4 ouncer.
- Angelina Jolie adopted a child from America.
- Parents in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and learned their children's names.
- My cousin had an exorcism but couldn't afford to pay for it, so they re-possessed her!

- A truckload of Americans was caught sneaking into Mexico .
- A picture is now only worth 200 words.
- The Treasure Island casino in Las Vegas is now managed by Somali pirates
- Congress says they are looking into this Bernard Madoff scandal. Oh Great! The guy who made $50 Billion disappear is being investigated by the people who made $1.5 Trillion disappear!

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

GEORGE AND SUZI'S MOTORHOME IS FOR SALE AND WE HAD COMPANY TODAY

So nice to start each morning off with the twittering of summer songbirds outside our window.  Robins, Cardinals, Wrens, Mourning Doves, Chickadees, Blue Jays, Woodpeckers, and various Sparrows fill the air with song.  Even a Baltimore Oriole this morning.  Distant Crows can usually be heard as well. 

BALTIMORE ORIOLE IN OUR FRONT YARD THIS AFTERNOON

SEEN IN GODERICH THIS MORNING

Not a leaf stirring when Pheebs and I headed out in the dead calm air.  Another sweltering day headed our way.  When Kelly and Pheebs came back from their morning walk early because of the biting Deer Flies I knew Pheebs and I wouldn't be heading into any forests today.  Instead, it was a simple drive to Goderich and back with a stop at the harbor and Rotary Cove beach areas.  It was only 9 o'clock when with our windows rolled up, the A/C maxed out, and me with my ear muffs and warm mittens on, headed for home.

A QUIET MORNING BY THE LAKE

A  LONE KAYAKER PLYING CALM LAKE HURON WATERS

STAYING COOL

THIS JOGGER BROUGHT HIS KIDS ALONG

QUIET CONTEMPLATION

NIKON CP900 AT 2000MM HAND HELD

MAYBE INSPIRED TO WRITE A FEW LINES OF POETRY

AND HERE'S MY INSPIRATION FOR BEING HERE

Kelly's youngest son Ben had his two boys Darion and Kai up to the beach for a few days and are staying at Deer Park Lodge.  Ben and the boys dropped in late this morning and being bicycle enthusiasts they were soon out kicking up some dust on our Park's roads.

SHOWING GRAMMA THEIR SHINY NEW BIKES

AND DADS GOT A  SHINY NEW BIKE TOO

THE BOYS.....DARION AND KAI

George and Suzi's Motorhome located in New Hamburg Ontario is now for sale and the details can be found here at 1999 Holiday Rambler 36' Class A Motorhome  Hope this well-maintained rig finds a good home.  It has a fine RV travel blog history and I'm sure George would have been happy to see it continue its awesome journey.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A couple go for a meal at a Chinese restaurant and order Chicken Surprise. The waiter brings the meal, served in a lidded cast iron pot. Just as the wife is about to serve herself, the lid of the pot rises slightly and she briefly sees two beady little eyes looking around before the lid slams back down. "Good grief, did you see that?" she asks her husband.  He hasn't, so she asks him to look in the pot. He reaches for it and again the lid rises, and he sees two little eyes looking around before it slams down. Rather perturbed, he calls the waiter over, explains what is happening, and demands an explanation. "Please sir," says the waiter, "what you order?" The husband replies, "Chicken Surprise." "Ahh so sorry," says the waiter, "I bring you Peeking Duck."

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

He who drinks a fifth on the fourth...May not be able to go forth on the fifth!

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