LAST TIME I CHECKED SCOOTER WAS STILL IN THE DRIVEWAY

Not quite our usual start to the day which was fine because too many of those usual morning starts get to be a bit too predictably repetitive.

A blog-reading RV couple lives just north of Bayfield not too far from us but we had never met them before.  In a recent email, they mentioned they will be heading for the southwest on December 1rst and were curious as to what routes we had used in previous years and where we had stayed, etc.  Well, when it comes to RVing and the great American Southwest we are always more than willing to share our knowledge with where we've been, what we've seen, boondocking areas, favorite State Parks, campgrounds, etc. etc. and etc.  We slipped over to Hazel and John's house this morning at 10 a.m. and stayed until nearly 1 p.m.  A nicer couple would be hard to find.  It's funny how sometimes I meet people and right away feel comfortable with them.  Meeting people is not a strong point of mine but I felt totally at ease with these folks.

 HAZEL AND KELLY OVERLOOKING LAKE HURON

 A BIG BEAUTIFUL MAPLE TREE BETWEEN THEIR HOUSE AND A NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE

Home again I wasn't long in hooking up the utility trailer to the Jeep and loading up all the pine needles and leaves I had raked up these past few sunny days.  Pheebs always comes with me to our Park's yard waste area and between the two of us, we had the utility trailer emptied in less than 10 minutes. 

 THIS MIGHT BE MY LAST UTILITY TRAILER LOAD TO THE YARD WASTE AREA THIS YEAR

 'HEY DAD SPIN THE TIRES:))'

HEADING BACK ON A ROAD IN THE PARK THAT REALLY ISN'T SUPPOSED TO BE HERE

On the way back to the house I took all but a few of the photos you see in tonight's post.  The Autumn leaves this year are just fabulous with the colors being so stunningly vibrant.  And it all has to do with the weather and what kind of a September we have had.    

After talking about RVing with Hazel and John this morning it sure did kinda stir up and kick the dust off my old traveling 'hitch-itch' fever.  Just because we've come up with a number of reasons not to go south again this winter doesn't mean we wouldn't like to go south again this winter.  Last time I checked, Scooter was still in the driveway......................

THIS PEACEFUL BACKYARD OVERLOOKING THE PARK'S POND BELONGS TO ONE OF OUR FINE NEIGHBORS 

 OUR GOOD NEIGHBOR MONICA'S HOUSE ACROSS THE ROAD BASKING IN AUTUMN'S GLOW

 AND THINGS ARE LOOKING A LITTLE SPOOKY OVER HERE AT OUR END OF THE PARK

I finished my latest book, The Space Pen Club by Martin Keller a few days ago.  With my short-term memory getting even shorter these days I am finding it harder to keep up with some books and especially when they are faster paced with a lot of twists and turns along the way.  Every time now after setting my book down and coming back to it later I have to go back half a dozen pages or more to bring my memory back up to speed to where I was in the book.  And that's even if it's been only a couple hours between readings.  This faster-paced book had a lot of interesting and helpful info in it but I had trouble keeping up with where I was.  For me, this book had a lot of different characters coming and going.  In other words, a lot of different people for me to remember.  I did like the author's humor and music knowledge though.  And, like so many books on these topics I read about, I almost always end up with more questions than answers.  But, in my world, I see questions as a good thing.  I figure if we stop asking questions it's too late and we are already in the soup.  In my next book entitled, The Missing Times I for sure will end up with far more questions than answers yet again.  Oh, it can be quite a life for a short-minded book worm.               

GROANER'S CORNER:(( 10 Best Caddy Replies::

# 10 — Golfer: “Think I’m going to drown myself in the lake.”

Caddy: “Think you can keep your head down that long?”

# 9 — Golfer: “I’d move heaven and earth to break 100 on this course.”

Caddy: “Try heaven, you’ve already moved most of the earth.”

# 8 — Golfer: “Do you think my game is improving?”

Caddy: “Yes sir, you miss the ball much closer now.”

# 7 — Golfer: “Do you think I can get there with a 5 iron?”

Caddy: “Eventually.”

# 6 — Golfer: “You’ve got to be the worst caddy in the world.”

Caddy: “I don’t think so sir. That would be too much of a coincidence.”

# 5 — Golfer: “Please stop checking your watch all the time. It’s too much of A distraction.”

Caddy: “It’s not a watch – it’s a compass.”

# 4 — Golfer: “How do you like my game?”

Caddy: “Very good sir, but personally, I prefer golf.”

# 3 — Golfer: “Do you think it’s a sin to play on Sunday?”

Caddy: “The way you play, sir, it’s a sin on any day.”

# 2 — Golfer: “This is the worst course I’ve ever played on.”

Caddy: “This isn’t the golf course. We left that an hour ago.”

# 1 — Best Caddy Comment Golfer: “That can’t be my ball, it’s too old.”

Caddy: “It’s been a long time since we teed off, sir.”

I'M SURE I SAW A TINY LITTLE LUNAR SMILE IN RETURN

 A PEACEFUL COUNTRY SCENE IN SOUTHWESTERN ONTARIO'S HURON COUNTY AND ONLY 3 MILES EAST OF WHERE WE LIVE

The first thing I spotted today when I parted our living room curtains was a bright slivery crescent Moon peeking at me through our tall stately pine trees.  I said, "Good morning Moon" and I'm sure I saw a tiny little lunar smile in return.

 JUST DOWN THE ROAD FROM OUR PARK

A soothingly southern breeze rustled through the tall dry corn stock leaves this morning.  With no little struggling earthworms to rescue today, Pheebs and I walked slowly along the gravel road under clear blue sunny skies.

 A SATURDAY MORNING GATHERING OF SHEEP

 A NEIGHBORING FARMER FILLS UP THEIR WATER TROUGH

 AT THE CORNER OF BAYFIELD RIVER ROAD AND WHYS LINE TULIP LANE FARM HAS A CORNUCOPIA OF AUTUMN DELIGHTS

An absolutely gorgeous late Autumn day so I found as many reasonably good reasons to stay outside as long as I could.  I raked up a lot of leaves and pine needles with many more still to fall.  I figure every pine needle and every leaf I pick up now saves me picking them up in the Spring after the heavy snow and ice have smushed everything into the ground making them harder to pick up.  While raking near our front yard frog pond I spotted what I hope to be the pond's last frog of the season sitting on a rock.  Luckily, he was kind of docile so it was easy for me to catch him with my net and safely transport the little fella over to the Park's bigger and deeper pond.  He now has an A-1 good chance of surviving the winter's freezing cold and ice.

 THIS IS ONE OF 3 PILES OF NEEDLES AND LEAVES I WILL LOAD INTO THE UTILITY TRAILER SUNDAY

 THIS IS THE LITTLE FROGGY FELLOW I MOVED TO THE PARK'S POND THIS AFTERNOON

 OUR HOSTAS ARE DONE FOR ANOTHER YEAR

The lettering on the two larger rocks at our Park entrance is finally in place.  And it looks great.  The nice big block letters are easy to read and both Kelly and I especially like the creative logo of the two Pine trees.  Another in a series of 'well dones' for our Park's owners:))   

 ON THE WEST SIDE OF OUR ENTRANCE

 ON THE EAST SIDE OF OUR ENTRANCE

Some readers may remember a musical group from the 80s called 'A-Ha'.  Here's a 4 piece ensemble doing their rendition of A-Ha's song, 'Take On Me'.... Oooops, the link didn't work 

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A young couple drove several miles down a country road, not saying a word.  An earlier discussion had led to an argument, and neither wanted to concede their position.  As they passed a barnyard of mules and pigs, the husband sarcastically asked, "Are they relatives of yours?"  "Yes," his wife replied. "I married into the family."

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My wife and I had  words, but I didn't get to use mine.  And always remember….try to aspire to inspire before you expire.

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A lot of conflict in the Wild West could have been avoided...If cowboy architects had just made their towns big enough for everyone!  (This here town ain't big enough for the two of us!!)

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WANTING TO FLY WITH ET TO THE FARTHEST REACHES OF THE UNIVERSE

 I CAME ACROSS THESE CANADA GEESE IN A SMALL LAKE ABOUT A MILE EAST OF OUR PARK THIS MORNING

Oh so nice to see sunlight spilling through our tall pine trees this morning.  It takes a stretch of cloudy wet days to make one really appreciate the sunshine.  Pheebs and I even managed a country road walk with the highlight being that I was able to save a couple of struggling water-soaked earthworms on the gravel road by putting them back onto an earthy patch of dirt in the ditch.  I like when things like that happen.

 IT WAS IN THE WATERS REFLECTION OF THAT ONE TREE THE GEESE WERE PADDLING AROUND IN

I figured with a few sunny warm days upon us I had better take advantage of this fortunate weather pattern at the moment.  Took Scooter for a run, put a couple vent covers on our unit, raked more pine needles, had the leaf blower going, made a few adjustments to our bird feeding station, and hauled our snow shovels out of storage.   Just a few of the things on my to-do list today.  And hey, we got up to 59F. this afternoon.  Even warmer tomorrow.  Oh boy, can Spring 2023 be far away:))

One of the best parts of every book I read is that I learn something.  One of the worst parts about every book I read is forgetting what it is I have learned.  Happens to me every time but I do manage to retain a modest percentage of what I  read and it's just enough to spur me onto the next book with all its twists and turns along the way trying to leave me in the dust.  But here's a little bit of what I have learned so far.  Nothing is for sure, nobody has all the answers, for every right and wrong there is a matching wrong and right, answers to questions only spur more questions, not one person is entirely right and not one person is entirely wrong, peanut butter rules, there is a fine line between realities and dreams, in boyhood, it was wanting to fly with Peter Pan and in adulthood, it is wanting to fly with ET to the farthest reaches of the Universe.  So I will continue my search for never-never land hoping I will have enough memory left in the end to one day get me there.   

GROANER'S CORNER:((     A photographer went to a dinner party where he showed many of his photographs. The lady of the house said, those are very nice pictures, you must have a great camera. He said nothing, but when leaving for home offered the following compliment to the lady of the house "The meal was very nice, you must have great pots and pans."

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Did you hear about the war between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia ?  The Newfies were lobbing hand grenades; the Nova Scotians were pulling the pins and throwing them back.

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A MOMENTARY SCARE UNTILL I SAW HIS MOM COMING TO HELP

 THE COUNTRY ROAD LEADING TO OUR WALKING SPOT

Will this rain ever stop!!  I don't make it a habit to drive to Goderich more than once a week so this morning Pheebs and I headed to Goderich for the second time in a week.  Ya I know, doesn't make much sense to me either.  Had another prescription to drop off at the Walmart Pharmacy and one to pick up.  It seems I should have coordinated those two but my mind didn't remind me to do that.  Oh well, despite the gasoline used I justify it by saying Pheebs and I needed somewhere to go other than around the block a few times then home again.  There is an unfounded rumor going around that Friday is to be sunny and will lead us into a sundrenched warm weekend.  Well, you know how rumors are eh.........

IT WON'T BE LONG BEFORE THE ANNUAL CORN HARVEST WILL BE IN FULL SWING

 THIS EARLY BIRD FARMER HAS ALREADY HARVESTED HIS CORN CROP

COLD AND WINDY ALONG THE SHORES OF LAKE HURON THIS MORNING

A FEW HARDY SOULS BRAVING THE ELEMENTS ALONG GODERICH'S BOARDWALK

I HAD A MOMENTARY SCARE WHEN I SAW THIS LITTLE FELLOW SO CLOSE TO THE ROAD TRYING TO GET HIS JOHN DEERE VEHICLE UNSTUCK AT THE CURB....GLANCING TO THE LEFT I SAW HIS MOM HURRYING TO HIS AID

HEADING HOME WE DROVE THROUGH A SHORT DOWNBURST OF SLEET ABOUT A QUARTER MILE AHEAD

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A preacher, newly called to a small country town, needed to mail a letter. Passing a young boy on the street, the pastor asked where he could find the post office.  After getting his answer, the minister thanked the boy and said, “If you’ll come to the community church this evening, you can hear me tell everyone how to get to heaven.”  “I don’t know, sir,” the boy replied. “You don’t even know how to get to the post office!”

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What happens when you sing country / western music backwards?  You get your wife, your car, your dog, and your job back.

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