MR. BLABBERFINGERS IS ON THE EVE OF HIS 5,000TH BLOG POST

 A FEMALE AND MALE CARDINAL ARRIVING AT THE BIRD STATION AT THE SAME TIME

Waking up this morning I could feel the last vestiges of dizziness had finally dissipated and I was once again back up and running on all seven cylinders.  No easy feat some days I can assure you.

 A JUNCO HEADING FOR THE FEEDER

 I SAW THIS NUTHATCH WHIZZING BY

 A TRICKY LANDING

 IS THIS BLUE JAY COMING OR GOING??  WELL, HE'S GOING AND THAT RED SMUDGE IS A MALE CARDINAL SITTING IN A NEARBY CEDAR TREE

 TWO FEMALE CARDINALS

 LIFT-OFF

It's almost as if each of these winter days are in competition with each other to see which one can be the coldest.  Minus 3F when we woke up this morning.  Will this weather nonsense ever end!!!!

 THIS BLUE JAY IS COMING IN WITH HIS LANDING GEAR HALF WAY DOWN

 A LITTLE GAME OF FOLLOW THE LEADER

THIS MALE CARDINAL IS IN STEALTH MODE COMING FAST TO THE BIRD STATION

 A FLURRY OF BLUE JAY FEATHERS

I tussled with myself trying to decide whether to take the Jeep for a drive or not this morning.  I finally decided, not.  Scooter surprised me again by starting right up with no problem so I let it run for a while.  Why it never started that one time a couple of months ago is now a mystery to me.  Although cold outside, it was a nice-looking sunshiny day.

 'OKAY BERT I AM GOING TO GIVE YOU SUCH A SLAP'

 CARDINALS HAVE SMALL WINGS

'WHAT THE HECK ARE ALL THESE BIRDS DOING FLYING AROUND ALL OVER THE PLACE'

 COMING IN ON FINAL APPROACH TO THE BIRD STATION

 MALE CARDINAL HEADING FOR THE CEDAR TREES

Kelly spotted a gaggle of Crows on the bird station first thing this morning so that explains why we are going through so much birdseed.  Well, crows gotta eat too.  We're probably going to have to sell some of our furniture just to buy more birdseed.

 BLUE JAY COMING IN FOR A LANDING BEHIND THIS MOURNING DOVE

 A DARK-EYED JUNCO LANDS ON OUR HANGING FEEDER

 THIS FEMALE CARDINAL MAKES FLYING LOOK SO EASY

 A MALE CARDINAL DROPS IN ON AN UNSUSPECTING BLUE JAY

A friend (yes, I do have a few) sent me an article about a ghost town of 8 people being sold in Arizona.  The name of the town is Cleator and this is the link she sent, Arizona Ghost Town.  The name Cleator rang a distant bell in my memory so I rolled out my Google Map airplane, typed in Cleator, and flew myself on down to Arizona.  As soon as I saw the town's location was in the Bradshaw Mountains I had a feeling we had been to Cleator.  In my blog's archives, I quickly tracked down the day we had driven through that little Ghost Town.  It was March 7th, 2014.  And, here is that day, Jeep Rumble In The Bradshaw Mountains.  The Cleator photos begin with the 12th photo from the end of the post.  You can see both the General Store and Bar as I snapped a few photos driving by them.  Had this been back in my old drinking days I would surely have stopped into that bar for sure.  As a side note.....there were 8 of us in 4 Jeep wranglers on this rough and rocky trip.  Our friends, Jim and Bev organized the Jeep rumble that day.  Sadly, Bev passed away a few years ago.  She can be seen in the photos with short hair, dark top, and jeans.  She is also the one seen holding a bottle of wine.  

 SUNRISE AT OUR HOUSE THIS MORNING

According to Google Analytics, this post of mine today is number 4,999 and Sunday's post will of course be the 5,000th blog post I have written.  It's no wonder they call me Mr. Blabberfingers.  Of course, all those posts are stretched out over the past 16 years so maybe I'm not so blabbery after all.  Let's say I averaged 12 photos per post.  Hmmmm, that would be about 65,000 photos I've published. (I'm no good at math so that number might be way off) Oh dear, that makes me weary so I think I had better go lie down for a while and have a rest........... 

 CARDINAL LANDING AND MOURNING DOVE TAKING OFF

GROANER'S CORNER:((  The first-grade teacher was showing pictures of animals to her students to see how many they could name. She held up a picture of a lamb, and a little girl said, "That's a sheep!"  "That's right!" said the teacher. "How about THIS one?" she said, holding up a picture of the king of beasts.  "That's a lion!" answered a little boy.  "Right!" said the teacher. Then she held up a picture of a deer. No one volunteered an answer. She tried to help. "What does your mother call your father?"  Johnny said, "I know! That's a lazy old goat!"

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STAYED AWAY FROM MY SNOW SHOVEL TODAY

Not quite all the way out of the woods yet but I am feeling better than I did Thursday.  As long as I don't do anything too fast like standing up, sitting down, or turning my head quick.  I have been wondering if this dizziness is somehow related to all the heavy snow shoveling I was doing Wednesday.  Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and suggestions.  I had considered trying that Epley maneuver just in case it was Vertigo but decided to wait a day.  Someone in a comment also mentioned Gravol for the slight nausea I had and that sent me surfing through the medicine cabinet again and sure enough, we did.  I took one before bed and one this morning and that mild nausea is gone.    

 I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE OPEN WATER NEAR THE MOUTH OF THE BAYFIELD RIVER

OPEN WATER OFF BAYFIELD'S PIER AS WELL

 ONLY SAW ONE FRIGID WALKER OUT ON THIS FROSTY FRIDAY MORNING

LOVE TO SEE THOSE SUNBEAMS COMING THROUGH THE TREES

With another freezing cold night and not having fired up the Jeep since Tuesday morning I figured I would take it for a short drive to keep the battery topped up.  Slipped into Bayfield and back grabbing a few photos along the way.  And I stayed away from my snow shovel today.  

 OH AND LOOK AT THOSE GORGEOUS BLUE SKIES

 HEADING HOME

Looking ahead at our 14-day forecast there are no temperatures above freezing to be seen.  With no customary January thaw last month, this cold winter is getting way too long and dragged out!!  I don't think there has been another Spring that I have looked forward to so much more than this one....whenever it gets here.GROANER'S CORNER:(( Children Are Quick::

TEACHER: Why are you late?
STUDENT: Class started before I got here.
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TEACHER: John, why are you doing your math multiplication on the floor?
JOHN: You told me to do it without using tables.
____________________________________
TEACHER: Glenn, how do you spell 'crocodile?' GLENN: K-R-O-K-O-D-I-A-L'
TEACHER: No, that's wrong
GLENN: Maybe it is wrong, but you asked me how I spell it.
____________________________________
TEACHER: Donald, what is the chemical formula for water?
DONALD: H I J K L M N O.
TEACHER: What are you talking about?
DONALD: Yesterday you said it's H to O.
____________________________________
TEACHER: Winnie, name one important thing we have today that we didn't have ten years ago.
WINNIE: Me!
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TEACHER: Glen, why do you always get so dirty?
GLEN: Well, I'm a lot closer to the ground than you are.
____________________________________
TEACHER: Millie, give me a sentence starting with ' I. '
MILLIE: I is..
TEACHER: No, Millie..... Always say, 'I am.'
MILLIE: All right... 'I am the ninth letter of the alphabet.'
____________________________________
TEACHER: George Washington not only chopped down his father's cherry tree but also admitted it. Now, Louie, do you know why his father didn't punish him?
LOUIS: Because George still had the ax in his hand.....
____________________________________
TEACHER: Now, Simon, tell me frankly, do you say prayers before eating?
SIMON: No sir, I don't have to, my Mom is a good cook.
____________________________________
TEACHER: Clyde, your composition on 'My Dog' is exactly the same as your brother's.. Did you copy his?
CLYDE: No, sir. It's the same dog.

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Q: What happens when a Buddhist becomes totally absorbed with the computer he is working with?
A: He enters Nerdvana.

- I visited my new friend in his apartment.

He told me to make myself at home.
So I threw him out, I hate visitors

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DIZZINESS KNOCKED THE STUFFINGS OUT OF ME TODAY

 ONE OF TWO BLUE LIGHTS WE HAVE OUT FRONT

I have had a few problems with a medical condition called Vertigo over the last half dozen years or so.  Two of those times were severe enough to make the room spin.  That is not a good thing to have happen.  The last four times (if it was Vertigo) were not as bad.  The last time I had dizzy spells were last Summer or Fall when one session lasted four days.  In the wee hours of the morning last night I woke up dizzy, but at least nothing was spinning.  When I stand up or walk my balance has a tendency to pull me to the left.  That dizziness and accompanying moderate nausea stayed with me throughout day and I never even made it out of my PJ's.  Didn't get to the sunroom for most of the day either and remained in my living room recliner doing a lot of sleeping.  I'm hoping this mild dizziness clears up shortly.  I had taken a few photos late Wednesday afternoon while out shoveling snow and those are tonight's pics.............

 A ROAD GRADER GOING BY DOING THE ROADS IN OUR PARK

THESE CHIMES ONCE HUNG FROM THE SIDE PORCH OF MY MOTHER'S HOUSE IN TAVISTOCK ONTARIO

I wrote the above paragraph late this afternoon.  At the time of posting this tonight, I am beginning to feel better.  That may or may not be due to the fact I took a couple of 'forgotten about' outdated 'Vertigo' pills that had been prescribed for me back in 2018.  Kelly remembered they were in the medicine cabinet.  We'll see how tomorrow goes.........  

THE MOON?? NOPE, IT'S THE TOP OF OUR LAMP POST AT THE END OF THE DRIVEWAY

GROANER'S CORNER:(( In light of the rising frequency of human - grizzly bear conflicts, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is advising hikers, hunters, and fishermen to take extra precautions and keep alert of bears while in the field. They advise that outdoorsmen wear noisy little bells on their clothing so as not to startle bears that aren't expecting them. They also advise outdoorsmen to carry pepper spray with them in case of an encounter with a bear. It is also a good idea to watch out for fresh signs of bear activity. Outdoorsmen should recognize the difference between black bear and grizzly bear dung. Black bear dung is smaller and contains lots of berries and squirrel fur. Grizzly bear dung has little bells in it and smells like pepper.

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