STILL NO WORD FROM MY AUNT JEAN IN SARASOTA FLORIDA

No phone call from my Aunt Jean today to say her power is back on so I called after supper and was again directed to her voice mail.  We certainly hope she is alright.  

MOTHER NATURE IS SLOWLY RECLAIMING HER LAND

 THIS BEAN FIELD AWAITS HARVESTING

GREAT TO SEE THOSE BLUE SKIES THIS MORNING

After four days of clouds and three cold days of rain, it was nice to see blue skies and sunshine this morning.  Pheebs and I took a little Jeep cruise around the countryside enjoying the area's sunny morning scenery.  

 CORN STALKS ARE TURNING FROM SUMMER'S GREEN TO AUTUMN'S GOLD

 SOAKING UP THE MORNING'S WARM AND WELCOME SUNSHINE

 GATHERED FOR BREAKFAST AT THE GREEN HAY BIN

 SEAGULLS AND CANADA GEESE

 THE CANADA GEESE ARE TAKING ON FUEL FOR THEIR LONG UPCOMING FLIGHT SOUTH FOR THE WINTER

 LOVING THESE EARLY SIGNS OF AUTUMN

With daytime temps down into the fifty and sixties yesterday and today I have finally been able to get a lot of stuff done outside.  With the wretched humidity now out of the air, I am feeling energized again.  Wednesday I finished the big clean-up in our wooden shed and was then able to move RV stuff piled up in our carport into the shed.

 OUR PARK'S MAIL ROOM

 OUR PARK'S DECORATING COMMITTEE ALWAYS DOES A GREAT JOB

 OUR FRONT FLOWER BED BESIDE THE ROAD

Today's big project was our front yard frog pond.  For the first time in eighteen years, I decided to pump all the water out of the pond for the winter.  This also made it much easier to catch all the frogs in there and safely transport them all to the Park's big pond.  I had thought there were maybe five frogs in the pond but by the time I was finished I caught and moved twelve of the little green critters.  The bottom of the pond had about four inches of black smelly muck built up.  I removed some of that as well as some rocks and stuff that had tumbled into the pond over the years.  With most of the water out, I had to put on my rubber boots and climb into the pond with my net to catch the little froggy guys.  It reminded me a bit of what it might be like sloshing around in the bottom of a septic tank.  I am already looking forward to re-filling the pond in the Spring.  Maybe even redo some of the rock work around the perimeter before putting any water back in.

I HAD TO GET IN THERE WITH A BUCKET TO GET THE REMAINING WATER OUT

 LOOKING FOR FROGS

 THAT BLACK MUCH IS ABOUT FOUR INCHES DEEP

 HERE'S MY FIRST BUCKET OF EIGHT FROGS

 READY TO CAREFULLY DUMP THEM INTO THE PARK'S POND

 AND THERE THEY GO:))

 BACK FOR ANOTHER BUCKET OF FROGS

 THERE IS ONE LITTLE FELLER LEFT THAT I AM TRYING TO CATCH

Amazingly enough, our plans are still on for our Collingwood Ontario trip next week.  So far the weather still looks good.  Not sure if we'll head up that way Sunday or Monday.   

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A Few Things To Think About::

1. If when one door closes and another door opens, you are probably in prison.

 2. To me, "drink responsibly" means don't spill it.

 

3. Age 60 might be the new 40, but 9:00 pm is the new midnight.

 

4. It's the start of a brand new day, and I'm off like a herd of turtles.

 

5. The older I get, the earlier it gets late.

 

6. When I say, "The other day," I could be referring to any time between yesterday and 15 years ago.

 

7. I remember being able to get up without making sound effects.

 

8. I had my patience tested. I'm negative.

 

9. Remember, if you lose a sock in the dryer, it comes back as a Tupperware lid that doesn't fit any of your containers.

 

10. If you're sitting in public and a stranger takes the seat next to you, just stare straight ahead and say, "Did you bring the money?"

 

11. When you ask me what I am doing today, and I say "nothing," it does not mean I am free. It means I am doing nothing.

 

12. I finally got eight hours of sleep. It took me three days, but whatever.

 

13. I run like the winded.

 

14. I hate when a couple argues in public, and I missed the beginning and don't know whose side I'm on.

 

15. When someone asks what I did over the weekend, I squint and ask, "Why, what did you hear?"

 

16. When you do squats, are your knees supposed to sound like a goat chewing on an aluminum can stuffed with celery?

 

17. I don't mean to interrupt people. I just randomly remember things and get really excited.

 

18. When I ask for directions, please don't use words like "east."

 

19. Don't bother walking a mile in my shoes. That would be boring. Spend 30 seconds in my head. That'll freak you right out.

 

20. Sometimes, someone unexpected comes into your life out of nowhere, makes your heart race, and changes you forever. We call those people cops.

 

21. My luck is like a bald guy who just won a comb.

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Buckwheat of the Little Rascals fame grew up, became a Muslim, and changed his name. He now goes by Kareem of Wheat.

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MY 95 YEAR OLD AUNT JEAN IS CURRENTLY WEATHERING HURRICANE IAN IN SARASOTA FLORIDA

My Aunt Jean who is 95 lives by herself in Sarasota Florida.  I call her every Friday night at 8:15 but with a hurricane bearing down I called her Tuesday night to see how she was doing.  She has experienced hurricanes before so she had already stocked up and prepared for Hurricane Ian.  Her main concerns were losing her rear door lanai and water coming in under the front door.  She doesn't get around too well anymore but she was prepared to do battle with the leaky door problem like she has had to do in the past.  Luckily, a few years back she had her aging windows replaced with new hurricane glass windows.  It's a plus that she lives in a solid brick condo structure in a Seniors development called Lake Tippecanoe Condos.  She does have neighbors very close by.  I told her I would call her again tonight and she said if I can't get through it means her power is out.  I called at 7:15 but the call went directly to her voice mail meaning her power is indeed out.  She is a strong-willed woman and a fighter and she knows how to weather a storm.  I will try to get through to her again Thursday.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( I almost had a psychic girlfriend...But she left me before we met.

I FELT AN URGE TO WRITE SOMETHING

 HEAVY RAIN IN GODERICH THIS MORNING

It is our second day of rain and I am thinking we maybe should have bought a boat instead of a car.  Oh well, it has given me a lot of reading time.  A few days ago I finished Michael Sabom's book, Light & Death: One Doctor's Fascinating Account of Near Death Experiences.  This is my 4th book on this subject as I continue my search for answers and enlightenment.  Since beginning this quest nearly two years ago with books first pertaining to the mysteries of UFOs, I have traveled through many thought processes.  There are times when I have been elated, disappointed, satisfied, and confused.  There have been times I have felt close to answers, only to have them skirt away.  I have been convinced at times, debunked at times, guided at times, and lost in an almost impenetrable fog of reason at other times.  But one thing I feel is certain, a common thread runs through all these books by different authors I have been reading and I believe in the connections between each and every one of them.  I started out thinking and feeling a number of years ago that there has to be more to life.  Something much larger and greater than all the religions of the world would have us believe.  I do think religion has a role to play in the grand scheme of things but I am also learning religion is only one of many parts to this massive unknown that envelopes us.  There is something going on out there and all around us and I feel it is much grander and more complex than all of our earthly imaginations combined.  My next read will be astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson's latest book,  Starry Messenger: Cosmic Perspectives on Civilization.................... I had not planned on writing a post tonight but after watching a movie this afternoon called Clara I felt an urge to write something.

 IT WASN'T RAINING WHEN WE LEFT BAYFIELD THIS MORNING SO WE HAD THE KID'S WINDOW DOWN

 RAINED SO HARD IN GODERICH THAT CARS WERE PULLING OVER

 ALONG THE LAKESHORE

 HEADING HOME THE RAIN BEGAN TO LET UP

GROANER'S CORNER:((  An elderly couple was watching television one evening. The wife said, "I am going to get a dish of ice cream now." Kindly, the husband offered to get the ice cream for his wife. "I'll write it down so you don't forget," she said.  "I won't forget," the old gent said. "But, I want chocolate syrup and nuts on it. So, I'll write it down," she replied.   "Never mind, I will get you the ice cream with chocolate syrup and nuts on it. Don't you worry," replied the gentleman.  A few minutes later, the old man returned with bacon and eggs. His wife said, "See, I should have written it down because you forgot the toast." 

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BACK AGAIN ANOTHER DAY

Nothing to see, nothing to say, so guess I'll be back another day.

BREAKFAST AT ST MARYS SUNSET DINER WITH THE WAWA FOLKS

I LIKE THIS USE OF OLD DOORS AT ST MARYS SUNSET DINER

With a stormy cloud cover spitting bits of rain at us, we didn't let it interfere with Kelly and I heading over to St. Marys Ontario this morning to meet a couple of good friends for breakfast at The Sunset Diner.  This is a Diner that I once occasionally frequented when we lived at the old tumble-down Weenie Roast Ranch near Fullarton Ontario back in the late 1990s.  The menu is still basically the same but the price of bacon and eggs has tripled since the last time I was there around the turn of the third Millenium.

 THIS OUTDOOR PATIO AT THE SUNSET WILL SOON BE CLOSED FOR THE SEASON

Of course, it was Gayle and Richard who we met at the Sunset.  They recently relocated to St Marys from a recent 5-month stay in Wawa Ontario.  For both Richard and Gayle, this is the region where they both spent their younger years before moving to Stratford many long decades ago.  It's a comfortable homey place for them and I think they are glad to be back in an area they are both familiar with.  And how great to have them back in Southwestern Ontario again.  From our place to St. Marys is a very pleasant 55-minute drive through a picturesque countryside of rolling hills,  meandering rivers, lush forests, and wandering patch-quilt farmlands.  St Marys has always been and still is my favorite small inland town.  We will be seeing Richard and Gayle again before too long and a country road coffee run is on the books for Richard and I shortly as well.  Looking forward to all of that:))

GAYLE AND RICHARD

A few rain showers on the way home with patches of blue sky.  I am still very impressed with the quiet smooth ride of the Subaru Forester.  Rolling into our driveway shortly before 1 p.m. we sure had a  happy little doggy waiting for us.

HEADING HOME EARLY THIS AFTERNOON 

GROANER'S CORNER:((  As a Delta Air Lines jet was flying over Arizona on a clear day, the co-pilot was providing his passengers with a running commentary about landmarks over the PA system. "Coming up on the right, you can see the Meteor Crater, which is a major tourist attraction in northern Arizona. It was formed when a lump of nickel and iron, roughly 150 feet in diameter and weighing 300,000 tons, struck the earth at about 40,000 miles an hour, scattering white-hot debris for miles in every direction. The hole measures nearly a mile across and is 570 feet deep."  From the cabin, a passenger was heard to exclaim, "Wow! and it just missed the highway too!!"

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A former President is disembarking from his private plane, carrying a tiny dog.  One of his Secret Service men says, "Nice dog, sir."  The President says, "Thanks, I got it for the former First Lady."  The Secret Service man replies, "Nice trade, sir."

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BUSY MORNING

TULIP LANE FARM

Turned out to be a busy Saturday morning as both Kelly and I worked away at emptying out the last of our stuff in our Class C Winnebago Itasca Spirit.  We now have a lot of RV stuff that we really don't need anymore..................  

PHOTO TAKEN ON BAYFIELD RIVER ROAD THIS MORNING FROM TIPPERARY LINE IN THE FOREGROUND TO PARR LINE ON THE HORIZON.....AND THAT IS A FORD MUSTANG HEADING EAST AT 9:08 A.M.

Ellen's Groove:))  Practice makes perfect.  Ellen works on a bass line for her new song.  Notice how she doesn't have to watch her finger placement on the guitar's neck as much.  She really does have a genuine sense of timing and feel for the music.    

GROANER'S CORNER:(( The pretty lady at the DMV recommended to me that I sign up to be an organ donor....That's when I realized she was a girl after my own heart!