MY CORN DRYING OPERATION

 I HAVE ALWAYS LIKED THIS SIMPLE LITTLE STONE HOUSE NEAR GODERICH

Kelly had noticed on her Facebook page this morning that a dog was lost slightly northeast of Bayfield so on our way to Goderich.  Pheebsand I and cruised through the Whys Line and Cut Line Road area in the hopes of maybe spotting the dog but we didn't have any luck.

 TURNING OUT OF OUR DRIVEWAY ONTO A SNOWY ROAD

With a lite snowfall coming down and slippery roads, we continued on in 4-wheel drive.  The snow had begun late Saturday evening so it was beginning to build up a bit.  Managed a few photos along the way.

 DRIVING SLOWLY THROUGH THE LOST DOG AREA

 SUMMER CHAIRS IN A FARMYARD WAITING FOR SPRING

Reaching Goderich it was our usual routine run through McDonalds for a coffee to go then down around the harbor.  One large ship at the grain elevators loading up either, beans, wheat, or corn.

 'OH-OH' BIG BOAT AHEAD

 THE FEDERAL KUMANO IS AT THE GODERICH GRAIN ELEVATORS

 HEADING OUT TO ROTARY COVE

 A NICE WALK ON THE SNOWY BOARDWALK

 SOME FOLKS PREFER TO WALK ALONG THE BEACH

From the harbor, we slipped through town out to Walmart in Goderich's east end.  Some grocery stuff and we were soon on our way home again.

 I THINK IT WAS THE BRIGHT VIBRANT COLOR THAT CAUGHT MY EYE

 HEADING HOME

 A PIT STOP ALONG THE WAY

It was probably last March sometime when I was last on the end of my snow shovel.  Well, that is until late this morning.  Wasn't that much to shovel but I did move some of the cold white stuff around anyway and made a path out to the front yard bird station where the feathered guys are already eating us out of house and home.  At the time of posting tonight it is still snowing lightly.

A couple weeks ago Pheebs and I came across a corn dump alongside the road and stopped and scooped up a bucket full.  The only problem was that the corn was wet from rain the night before and wet corn can quickly turn moldy.  Not wanting to mix wet corn in with my birdseed I had to figure out a way to dry it.  Below is a photo of my corn drying operation.

 MY SUNROOM CORN DRYING OPERATION

Most of my afternoon was spent reading again and I am finding The Pentyrich Incident by Caz Clarke and Gari Jones quite interesting.  It takes place in Whales back in 2016.  If people are to be believed then this is truly amazing.

 THESE SUMMER CHAIRS WERE SITTING IN THE YARD OF THAT SIMPLE LITTLE STONE HOUSE I LIKE

GROANER'S CORNER:)) Sung to the tune of 'My Favorite Things' from The Sound of Music

*Botox and nose drops and needles for knitting,*
*Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,*
*Bundles of magazines tied up in string,*
*These are a few of my favorite things*

*Cadillacs and cataracts,*  *hearing aids and glasses,*
*Polydent and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,*
*Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,*
*These are a few of my favorite things.*

*When the pipes leak, When the bones creak,*
*When the knees go bad,*
*I simply remember my* *favorite things,*
   *And then I don't feel so bad.*

*Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads for bunions,*
*No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,*
*Bathrobes and heating* *pads and hot meals they bring,*
   *These are a few of my favorite things.*

*Back pain, confused brains and no need for sinnin',*
*Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin',* 
*And we won't mention our short shrunken frames,*
*When we remember our favorite things.*

*When the joints ache, When the hips break,*
   *When the eyes grow dim,*
*Then I remember the great life I've had,*
     *And then I don't feel so bad.*

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IN THE WORDS OF THE NOW IMMORTAL FORREST GUMP

 THIS BLUE JAY IS TIGHTLY HOLDING ON TO A PEANUT

Without any big winds driving our 32F temperature down any farther, Pheebs and were able to get a walk going along a sheltered bush lane slightly southeast of Bayfield this morning.  We even had a few touches of sunshine breaking through the heavy grey cloud cover but it didn't last long.

 AN OLD SIGNPOST FROM DAYS GONE BY

 THIS PARTIALLY PLOWED FIELD GIVES A DIFFERENT MEANING TO 'SNOWPLOWING'

 I DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND OF PLANT THIS IS ABOUT EIGHT FEET OFF THE GROUND

I definitely saw pavement down on both sides of the road leading to and from Bayfield's new bridge.  Paving machines are still on-site so I suspect it's the first layer of pavement they have done.  No doubt the bridge's roadbed is complete now so I'm assuming they will pave that as well shortly.  I guess the next thing will be to get the new bridge open to traffic then go about the business of dismantling the temporary Bailey Bridge now in use.  The next big project for Bayfield will be the revamping of the main street and I have a feeling that might be starting in the Spring.

 THOSE ARE THE PAVING MACHINES AND THAT DEFINITELY IS PAVEMENT OVER THERE

We have a small group of ladies here in our Park who have taken it upon themselves these last few years to keep our once shabby Park entrance looking nice.  They have cleaned out overgrown flowerbeds and planted new shrubs and flowers.  They keep our mailroom up to par and decorate the entrance area with various themes throughout the year.  I always like the creative ideas this hard-working dedicated little group of ladies comes up with. 

Our front yard is sure busier since we've had some snow.  A lot of birds at the feeders as well as squirrels in the front yard.  A real beehive of activity out there and how nice sitting here in our sunroom watching them.  Blue Jays, Cardinals, Dark-Eyed Juncos, Mourning Doves, Goldfinches, Black-Capped Chickadees, and several types of Woodpeckers.  Busy place indeed.

 BLACKIE THE SQUIRREL IS SITTING HERE TRYING TO FIGURE SOMETHING OUT

 YEP, HE'S TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET ONTO THAT BIRD STATION  OVER THERE WHERE THE PEANUTS ARE

 MR. BLUE JAY WORKS AWAY METHODICALLY AT GETTING A PEANUT OUT OF THE SHELL

 GOLDFINCH ON THE LEFT AND A JUNCO ON THE RIGHT

With just a big muddy hole in the ground where our beloved Pine Tree trail used to be, I have not been back to that area of our Park for quite a while now.  When all the trees were pointlessly cut down and the ground was all torn up I simply lost interest in walking there anymore.  Those trees did not have to come down and nor did that area have to be dug up.  It just sits there now, a big mud pit.  !!!!!!##&!!%**!!!!  And the new roads in here that were smashed through the forest, well with no gravel on them they are just mud bogs in this wet weather!!  In the words of the now immortal Forrest Gump......'Stupid is as stupid does'.  And oh my, isn't it the way of the world nowadays:((    

 MALE CARDINAL

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn't seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy whips out his phone and calls the emergency services.  He gasps, "My friend is dead! What can I do?"  The operator says "Calm down. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead."  There is silence, then a shot is heard.  Back on the phone, the guy says "OK, now what?".

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"I heard you have been to Spain recently. Knowing you don't speak Spanish very well, did you face any difficulty?"  "None at all, however those who listened to me sure did."

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A WHITENING LANDSCAPE CAN BE A NICE CHANGE

We weren't at all surprised to see the ground white this morning.  Thursday evening's rain turned into a half-inch snowfall overnight.  Just enough to make area roads a tad slippery.  Pheebs and I weren't long in getting ourselves out the door to see if we could find a few photos.

EVEN SCOOTER LOOKED COLD THIS MORNING

 CANADA GEESE IN A WINTER WHEATFIELD FUELING  UP FOR THEIR FLIGHT SOUTH SOON

 AT LEAST THIS FARMER MANAGED TO HARVEST SOME OF HIS CORN CROP

When moisture drops from the sky in our area it comes down either in the form of rain, sleet, graupel, or snow, and this morning it was graupel we were driving around in.  Graupel is a form of soft hail.  Every time I put Pheebs window down she got graupelized and every time I put my window down to take a picture I got graupelated too.  The strong wind chill factor today drove the 32F temperature down to 19F.

 LOOKS LIKE SNOW IN THE AIR BUT IT'S GRAUPEL

 EVEN PHEEBS HAS SOME GRAUPEL ON HER

 THESE TAMARACK TREES ADD A NICE BIT OF COLOR TO THE DULL NOVEMBER LANDSCAPE

Aside from shoveling a small amount of snow off our front deck, feeding the birds, re-arranging some front yard lights, and looking for some stuff in a shed, it was of course another quiet afternoon.  I would sure be lost if I didn't have my Kindle books to read.  

THERE IS SOMETHING SLIGHTLY ODD HERE

 WHEN I TOOK THIS LONG TELEPHOTO SHOT I ONLY SAW THE WHITE SHEEP.....BUT LOOK CLOSE

 'A-HA', THESE TWO BEST PALS WERE SNUGGLING TO STAY WARM

I took too many photos this morning to fit them all into one post so I will have to stretch them out over the next day or two.  Although I am not a winter person it's always nice to see a change in the scenery even if it is a white landscape.  As I type this tonight we have a snow squall warning in effect.  

 I CAN SEE A BUILDING OVER THERE IN THE SNOWY WOODS

And mentioning photos I would like to again thank everyone for all your kind words about my photos and writings over the years.  Thank you all for helping me to keep this blog going:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  This duck walks into a convenience store and asks the clerk, "Do you have any grapes?"  The clerk says no, and the duck leaves. The next day, the duck returns and asks, "Do you have any grapes?" The clerk again says no, and the duck leaves.  The day after that, the duck walks in the store again and asks "Do you have any grapes?" The clerk screams at the duck, "You've come in here the past two days and asked if we had any grapes. I told you no every time that we don't have any grapes!  I swear if you come back in here again, and ask for grapes, I'll nail your webbed feet to the floor!!" The duck left and returned the next day. This time he asked, "Do you have any nails?"  The clerk replied, "No," and the duck said, "Good! Got any grapes?"

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