THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED INTEREST

I saw a few snowflakes drifting lazily through the pine trees when I parted our living room curtains this morning.  Curious to see what the new pavement on Bayfield's main street looked like Pheebs and I, for the second morning in a row, took a short drive into town and back.

 OUR STREET IS LOOKING A TAD SNOWY

 SALTY SLUSH ON THE ROADS

 YES IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN

BAYFIELD'S MAIN STREET IS ONCE AGAIN PAVED

 AND BY GOLLY THERE'S THAT PAVEMENT INSPECTOR AGAIN

 HEADING HOME

Home again, I was disappointed to see a squirrel had attempted a landing on the bird station and had knocked the plastic globe off onto the ground smashing it.  So discouraging.  I again considered dismantling the bird station and being done with it.  Instead, I reluctantly talked myself into setting up another shaky defense system so we'll see what happens.

 DRATS!!!!

 WORKING ON ANOTHER DEFENSE SYSTEM

 PICKING UP THE BROKEN GLOBE PIECES

 WE'LL SEE HOW LONG THIS NEW IDEA OF MINE HOLDS TOGETHER

IT WAS SO NICE EARLY THIS AFTERNOON TO SEE SUNLIGHT IN OUR FRONT YARD AGAIN

With 35F temps outside it was around 1 p.m. when the sun finally broke through the cloud cover to once again spread joyous light and happiness across the land:))

 AND WE STILL HAVE SOME COLOR LEFT IN THE YARD 

In our sidebar's Shout Box Jane asks the question, "what kind of camera would you recommend for on-the-road moving pictures, like barn quilts, wildlife, etc".  Well, with so many great cameras on the market it is hard for me to recommend any particular one.  I can only mention the cameras I use because I am familiar with them.  Currently, I am using two different types of cameras and each one has its pros and cons.  I use a Nikon D7200 DSLR with a Nikkor 18-300mm telephoto zoom lens and I also use a Nikon Coolpix P900 fixed lens camera with a 24-2000mm Optical zoom lens.  There is a big weight difference between these two cameras.  The D7200 coupled with its separate Nikkor lens is noticeably heavier than the fixed lens CP900.  For me, the weight gives a camera stability but for someone else, the weight could be a definite problem.  So, if I had to make a recommendation between these two camera setups I would recommend the newer, lighter, more versatile, and user-friendly Nikon CP900.  Keep in mind, there are many great cameras on the market, and research to find the one best suited to your own particular needs is important.   

 DARK EYED JUNCO

 ROSE-BREASTED NUTHATCH

 BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE

 A NUTHATCH AND A JUNCO

 BLUE JAY

 BIRD IN FLIGHT

And, once again.....thank you everyone for your continued interest in the Bayfield Bunch:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((   One of the youth soccer coaches didn't care much for my refereeing and had no problem letting me know it. Fed up, I politely threatened him with a send-off if he didn't stop.  He calmed down, but an older woman took up where he'd left off. "You'd better control your sideline," I warned the coach.  The coach turned to the woman and barked, "Knock it off, Mom!"

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Little Johnny watched, fascinated, as his mother smoothed cold cream on her face. "Why do you do that, mommy?" he asked.
"To make myself beautiful," said his mother, who then began removing the cream with a tissue.  "What's the matter?" asked Little Johnny. "Giving up?"  

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PAVING BAYFIELD'S MAIN STREET TODAY

A QUIET MORNING AT AYFIELD'S BEACH

A notice on my Facebook page this morning said Bayfield's main street would be paved today so that gave Pheebs and I a morning destination.  Under a cold cloudy sky with a few flurries in the air, we headed into Bayfield to see what we could see. 

 I CAN SEE A WEE STRIP OF PAVEMENT AT THE EXTREME LEFT

Here is a video someone took of the paving process today...Paving Bayfield's Main Street

 LOOKS LIKE THE PAVEMENT INSPECTOR

 A SHORT DRIVE AROUND BAYFIELD NETTED A FEW PICTURES

 CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS ARE BEGINNING TO POP UP

 LOOKS LIKE THE LANDSCAPING IS DONE AT BAYFIELD'S NEW BRIDGE AND I COULD SEE A NUMBER OF TREES PLANTED OVER THERE

Aside from our morning drive into Bayfield and back there wasn't much else going on today.  No high-flying squirrels have landed on the bird station yet.  Bird traffic has substantially increased in our front yard and I'm going to have to get myself a full-time job to pay for all the birdseed these guys are eating up.

MALE CARDINAL

 FEMALE CARDINAL

 JUNCO

Ellen's Groove:)) A short clip of Ellen practicing her Slap Bass technique.  And be sure to watch Ellen's latest video released today called, My TOP 10 Favorite Bass Lines.  This clip really shows her bass guitar progression and especially so on the Stevie Wonder song, 'Sir Duke' from the album, 'Songs In The Key Of Life'.  And, what a delight to see her wonderful bubbling personality all the way through her top 10 picks:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  After every flight, pilots fill out a form called a gripe sheet, which conveys to the mechanics what problems they encountered with the aircraft during the flight and what needs repair or correction. The mechanics read and correct the problem, and then respond in writing on the lower half of the form about what remedial action was taken, and the pilot reviews the gripe sheets before the next flight.  Never let it be said that ground crews and engineers lack a sense of humor!  Here are some actual logged maintenance complaints and problems as submitted by Qantas pilots and the solution recorded by maintenance engineers.

(P = the problem logged by the pilot.)
(S = the solution and action taken by the engineers.)

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land is not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in the cockpit.
S: Something tightened in the cockpit.

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent.
S: Cannot reproduce the problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what they're there for.

P: IFF inoperative.
S: IFF always inoperative in OFF mode.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right, and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.

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