AND THAT WHICH WE WOULD LIKE TO BE REAL

 WALKING ON THIS MORNINGS FROZEN SNOW

Pheebs and I hadn't been over around the other side of Clinton for awhile so stopping at Hortons I picked up a coffee at the drive-thru and away we went.   It was a fine sunny Thursday morning.  Never quite reached the freezing mark today but that was okay, we had our windows down for the most part anyway.  Sunshine through the Jeep windows felt good.

 MORNING SUNSHINE

 TRACKS TO THE WATER HOLE

 WILD TURKEYS

 OLD SNOWMOBILE TRACKS LEAD TO THE SKY

 DIVIRGING SNOWMOBILE TRACKS RACE FOR THE HORIZON

 MORNING SNOW SHADOWS

 SO NICE TO BE OUT AND ABOUT IN THE COUNTRY SUNSHINE 

Our travels took us northeast of Clinton out past the Hullett-Marsh.  Roads into the Marsh will probably not be open until maybe late March or early April sometime.  No matter, we enjoyed cruising along the country roads taking in all the winter scenery.  A few evergreen groves blended with deep blue skies and stretching fields of white snow made for a scenic winter's morn.

COLD WEATHER DOESN'T DETER THESE HARDY BUILDERS 

 IT WAS THE COLOR RED THAT CAUGHT MY ATTENTION

 CATCHING SOME EARLY MORNING WARM SUNSHINE

 A TYPICAL WELL WORN SNOWMOBILE TRAIL 

Didn't get any walking exercise in but we did make a few roadside stops along the way.  There wasn't a breath of wind in the silent landscape.  Winter air is much quieter than summer air with no bees a buzzing or flies a flying.  No chattering birds or sounds of farm machinery working.  The crisp clean winter air is totally silent out here in these rural farmlands.  

 BUNNY HOPPER TRACKS

Home again about 10:30 there wasn't much I could do outside.  Overnight's freezing temperatures had frozen everything and our snowbanks were like rocks.  Thought I would try pulling some snow off the roof but of course it was all frozen.  I did get the leaf blower going though and blew off a bunch of birdseed debris on our front porch.  At least that was something.  Cleaned some glass in the Jeep.  Friday, Saturday, and Sunday are shaping up to be good melting days with Sunday hitting 40F+ maybe.

 OVERHANGING SNOW ON OUR CARPORT ROOF

 I'M SURE THIS WILL ALL COME TUMBLING DOWN IN FRIDAY'S WARMER TEMPS

Rather than walk along the roads back to our Park's forest this afternoon we took the Jeep back, parked, and took us for a wee walk around the area from there.

 ANIMAL TRACKS IN THE SNOW

I'm in the final pages of finishing a book called Revelations: Alien Contact and Human Deception by author Jacques Vallee.  Well, I must say this book has certainly knocked some of the recently accumulated Cosmic dust right out of me.  Jacques Vallee is a well-respected, well-educated, and well-known Astronomer, Ufologist, Internet Pioneer, and Computer Scientist.  A no-nonsense fellow, he readily rejects much of the UFO hype but he is not an over the top sceptic.  On the contrary, he has had his own sighting.  In his book Revelations, he states: "Mysteries that linger without a solution for such a long time are a powerful irritant for the mind; they tend to trigger wild speculation.  When the very existence of the enigma is flatly denied by arrogant scientists who have not even taken the time to look at the data when the government destroys or covers up the fact that its own employees have actually witnessed some of the best-documented sightings, it is natural for speculation to turn into paranoia, and for research to become derailed by fantastic delusions.  It is at this point that the very people who could help us in our investigations, namely the UFO researchers themselves, become caught up in their own need to believe in the most bizarre theories, for which not a shred of real proof exists."  Vallee also feels the entire subject of UFOs is mystified by charlatans and science fiction.  He advocates a stronger and more serious involvement of science in the UFO research and debate.  He says, only this can reveal the true nature of the UFO phenomenon.  Vallee served as the real-life model for Lacombe, the researcher portrayed by Francois Truffaut in Steven Speilberg's 'Close Encounters Of The Third Kind.  I'm inclined to agree with Mr. Vallee when he also says, "It takes a very critical balance between open-minded acceptance of new facts and a refusal to be swayed by any authority or faith.  And it takes training in that elusive discipline: being able to distinguish clearly between that which is real and that which we would like to be real."  For me personally, I have to be particularly careful with those last few words of his when he states......that which is real and that which we would like to be real.  And that is where I will leave it for now..........I think my next book will be 'Dick and Jane Take Spot For a Walk':))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A couple who'd been married for over 50 years was sitting on the sofa, when the wife said, "Dear, do you remember how you used to sit close to me?"  He moved over and sat close to her.  "Dear," she continued, "do you remember how you used to hold me tight?"  He reached over and held her tight.  "And," she went on, "do you remember how you used to hug me and kiss me and nibble on my ear?"  With that, her husband got up and started to walk out of the room.  "Where are you going?" she asked.  "Well," answered the husband, "I have to go get my teeth now."

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

GOODY GOODY GUM DROPS

Sometimes it's nice to hear things go bump in the night.  In our case, it was big chunks of heavy snow sliding off our roof and thumping to the ground.  Nearly half our roof on the northwest side is already free of snow and ice.  And for the first time in a very long time our overnight temps didn't dip below freezing.  'Goody Goody Gum Drops':)) (now how's that for an old saying)

 SO NICE TO LOOK OVER THERE AND ACTUALLY SEE OUR STEEL ROOF AGAIN

 FREE OF ICE AND SNOW UP THERE:))

On a swing through Bayfield this morning I noticed the big Mama Crane is being dismantled.  Flat-bed 18 wheelers were lined up to transport the long sections of the crane's boom.  When the crane part is all disassembled the crane will be driven to it's next location.

 THAT TALL SKINNY CRANE IS DISMANTLING THE BIGGER CRANE

 THESE HORIZONTAL RED CRANE SECTIONS WILL BE LOADED ONTO WAITING FLATBED TRUCKS

 SIGNS OF OPEN WATER BEGINNING TO APPEAR IN THE LARGE ICE PACK

 SOMETHING OR SOMEONE HAS BROKEN THE ICE AROUND THESE TWO BAYFIELD FISHING BOATS

 I'M NOT EVEN GOING TO VENTURE A GUESS ABOUT THE IDENTITIES OF THESE TWO BIRDS AT THE PURPLE MARTIN HOUSE

 THIS SMART CAR ON BAYFIELD'S MAIN STREET CONTINUES TO SLOWLY EMERGE FROM ITS WINTER HIBERNATION

As usual, it was quietly peaceful in the countryside.  Nice to see the gravel roads reappearing from under all the built-up ice and snow.  Noticed a few patches of dirt showing through in a couple plowed fields and for the most part, Pheebs and I were able to have our front windows down. (heater going of course)

 NICE TO SEE GOOD OLD GRAVELY ROADS AGAIN

 PHEEBS LOVES TO GET HER FACE RIGHT INTO THE SNOW

 CHECKING OUT SOME WINTER SMELLS

Home about 10:30 I was again outside with snow shovel and snow rake.  Wasn't really any new snow to shovel but I just touched up a few areas and shoveled some of the snow off the paths where I had pulled snow down off the roof.  And I can see a bit of shrinkage in our large snowbanks.  All in all, it's just nice being outside in these balmy 41F temps.  Makes one almost want to kick up one's heels and shout 'Yahouie Louie':))

 STILL A LOT OF SNOW ON OUR CARPORT ROOF

 SNOW IS ABOUT 2 FEET DEEP ON OUR SHED ROOF

 NO NOT A DOG HOUSE, ITS A COVER OVER OUR AIR CONDITIONER TO PROTECT IF FROM THE HEAVY SNOWLOAD COMING OFF THE ROOF

Due to the really cold and snowy weather lately, Pheebs and I hadn't been out for an afternoon walk for awhile.  Still too much snow on the bush trails but we did get out for a walk on the recently plowed new roads that run back through the bush.  Felt good to get the legs going again.  I will be so glad when this snow melts and we can walk the quiet bush trails again.

 THE FOREST IS NOT VERY PRETTY HERE ANYMORE BUT AT LEAST WE ARE ABLE TO WALK ALONG THE ROAD

 A QUIET LITTLE FOREST PATH ONCE RAN THROUGH HERE

It was a small Class C Shamrock RV I saw in Clinton Ontario over 30 years ago that set my mind to dreaming about RV travels.  Shamrock RV   

GROANER'S CORNER:((    A man was sitting in a bar and noticed a group of people using sign language. He also noticed that the bartender was using sign language to speak to them.  When the bartender returned to him, the man asked how he had learned to use sign language. The bartender explained that these were regular customers and had taught him to speak in sign. The man thought that was great.  A few minutes later the man noticed that the people in the group were waving their hands around very wildly. The bartender looked over and signed, "Now cut that out! I warned you!" and threw the group out of the bar.  The man asked why he had done that and the bartender said, "If I told them once I told them 100 times - no singing in the bar!"

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

Knock Knock
Who's there?
Odysseus!
Odysseus who?
Odysseus the last straw!

Knock Knock
Who's there?
Ogre!
Ogre who?
Ogre take a flying leap!

Knock Knock
Who's there?
Ohio!
Ohio who?
Ohio Silver!

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

 LATEST PHOTO IN FROM THE PERSEVERANCE MARS LANDER