TOMORROW WILL BE ANOTHER DAY

Under cool cloudy skies, Pheebs and I dusted up a few country roads this morning keeping an eye out for a few photos.  I didn't see much.  Most farm animals are tucked away in their warm barns now and all the harvesting things are done until next year's late Spring.  The landscape looks a little barren and there were very few vehicles out and about on the country roads.  That part I liked.

 CABLE LAYING OUTSIDE OUR PARK ENTRANCE THIS MORNING

 I THINK THIS HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH HIGH-SPEED INTERNET

Looking out the window first thing this morning there was of course a squirrel atop the bird feeding station.  Home from our Jeep ride, I kept a close eye on that feeder for the rest of the morning waiting to see how that squirrel had got there.  There's a tall pine tree about a mile and a half east of our location and I suspect he might have jumped from there:))  But watch as I did today there was nary a squirrel in the air anywhere so I have ended the day still not knowing how that morning squirrel got onto the bird station.  Tomorrow will be another day.

WE STILL HAVE A WEE BIT OF COLOR IN OUR FRONT FLOWERBED

Pheebs and I did make it out for another afternoon walk over by the Park's pond but there wasn't much out there to grab my imagination or the camera's attention.  These uninspiring early December days are looking very drab and dull outside.

In my Anne Of Green Gables series, I just finished 'Anne's House of Dreams' and have started  'Anne of Ingleside'.  Author Lucy Maude Montgomery wrote the first book 'Anne of Green Gables in 1908. 'Anne of Avonlea' in 1909. 'Anne of the Island' in 1915.  Anne's House of Dreams' in 1917. 'Anne of Windy Poplars' in 1936 and 'Anne of Ingleside' in 1939.  I can't begin to tell you how much I am enjoying these books, and they have coaxed both chuckles and tears out of this grumpy old codger...........   

GROANER'S CORNER:(( An elementary school teacher decides to pole the class on the difficulty of last night's homework assignment:  How many people were able to complete the assignment without parents help?  About 25% of the class raises their hands. How many people we able to complete the assignment with the help of a parent? About 70% of the class raises their hand. The teacher still notices about 5% of the class did not raise their hands.  She then calls out, "How many people had to help a parent complete your assignment?

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A little boy came home eating a big candy bar. Seeing the candy bar, his mother remembered he had already spent all his allowance money. Surprised, she asked him where he got it. "I bought it at the store with the dollar you gave me," he said."But that dollar was for Sunday School," his mother replied. Smiling, the boy said, "I know, Mom, but the Pastor met me at the door and got me in for free!"

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MY SQUIRREL WAR CONTINUES

 AT THE SOUTHWEST END OF OUR PARK'S POND

Shortly after we got up this morning Kelly looked out the window and said "Oh-Oh, there's a squirrel on top of the bird station".  I thought right away that if I write a post tonight the title will be, 'The War Is Over And The Squirrels Have Won'.  For about an hour I had full intentions of dismantling the feeder and being done with the squirrel frustrations forever!!  I had spent part of Wednesday fighting with them again when one jumped from out of the sky somewhere and landed right on top of the feeder.  I shooed him off and while waiting and watching from the sunroom to see where and what altitude he had jumped from, another squirrel went sailing through the air from a different direction to my right and landed on the bottom level of the bird station.  I shooed him off and he came right back, went up a small cherry-type tree which I had already cut branches off last summer, and launched himself through the air, landing on the feeder again.  Out to the car port I went and returned with my Swede Saw in hand.  Off came that entire branch.  Back came the squirrel minutes later, up the small cherry tree he went to a different and higher branch and catapulted himself about 15' to the feeder.  Back to the cherry tree I went and sawed off another branch,  That tree is now beginning to look like some kind of severely pruned Banzai tree.  A couple of hours later I looked out the window and there was a squirrel once again sitting on the bird station vacuuming up every single seed in sight.  And this time I had no idea where he had jumped from.  I may have to get a bulldozer in to bulldoze our whole front yard flat leaving only the bird station feeder with not a blade of grass, shrub, or tree within 100 feet of the feeder.  And why do I keep fighting with the squirrels you ask??  I love to see the Cardinals, Blue Jays, Mourning Doves, Nuthatches, Chickadees, Finches, Woodpeckers, and Juncos, happily hopping around on top of the feeder every day eating to their heart's content.  And especially in this cold wintery weather.  If I take the bird station down because of the squirrels, the birds lose an easily accessible food source and I lose the joy it brings me to see the little guys out there eating and enjoying themselves.  It just makes me feel good to be in a position to help them.

YOU CAN SEE WHERE I CUT A COUPLE BRANCHES OFF THIS AFTERNOON

 AND I HAVE HAD TO ADD A BUCKET ON TOP OF THE FEEDER AGAIN TO TRY AND DETER THE 'HIGH FLYER'

I can't remember the last time Pheebs and I didn't go for a morning Jeep ride but I had no interest in even going out the door earlier today.  Flopped myself into my sunroom recliner and buried my head in my Kindle reader.  It wasn't until about 2:30 this afternoon that a thought ran through my mind.  'I wasn't being very fair to Pheebs.'  Just because I was feeling mopy and didn't feel like going out it didn't mean that Pheebs didn't feel like going out.  So, with that thought in mind, I shook off my winter blues, pulled on my boots, slipped on my winter coat, and away we went for an afternoon walk.  Pheebs was so happy to be outside that she was running around like a little crazy bug.

 IT WAS A WINDY COLD AFTERNOON WALK

 OUR PARK'S POND WATER LEVEL IS THE HIGHEST I HAVE EVER SEEN IT AND I'M THINKING THIS MAY BE THE NEW WATER LEVEL

 I'M FINE WITH THE HIGHER POND LEVEL.....BUSH PILOTS WILL BE ABLE TO LAND THEIR FLOAT PLANES HERE NOW:))

Just think, in three short weeks the days will begin to get longer.  Now, if that isn't something to look forward to at this time of year then I don't know what is:))

 YUP, THERE'S A LOT MORE WATER IN THE POND NOW

GROANER'S CORNER:((     A young man named John received a parrot as a gift. The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary. Every word out of this bird's mouth was rude, obnoxious and laced with profanity.  John tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by constantly saying polite words, playing soft music, and anything he could think of to set a good example. Nothing worked.  Finally, John got fed up and he yelled at the parrot. And, the bird yelled back. John shook the parrot, and the bird got angrier and ruder. Finally, in a moment of desperation, John put the bird in the refrigerator freezer.  For a few minutes, John heard the bird squawk and kick and scream... then suddenly there was quiet. Not a peep for over a minute. Fearing that he'd hurt the bird, John quickly opened the door to the freezer. The parrot calmly stepped out onto John's outstretched arm and said, "I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I am truly sorry, and I will do everything to correct my poor behavior."  John was astonished at the bird's change of attitude. As he was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, the bird continued,  "May I ask what the chicken did?"

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ANOTHER HO-HUM WEATHER REPORT:((

Big winds in our pine trees all night led to cold cloudy skies this morning with winds increasing during the day and dropping the temperature to below-freezing.  Luckily the big rain dump traveling in a northerly direction east of our area just missed us but predictions of blowing snow are in the forecast for later today.  A fitting farewell to the month of November.  Now, let's put the pedal to the metal and get December behind us!!  Other than this ho-hum Bayfield Bunch weather report, I really don't have much of anything else of interest to write about...........

P.S. Pheebs is doing fine:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((   John Smith was the only Protestant to move into a large Catholic neighborhood. On the first Friday of Lent, John was outside grilling a big juicy steak on his grill.  Meanwhile, all of his neighbors were eating cold tuna fish for supper. This went on each Friday of Lent. On the last Friday of Lent, the neighborhood men got together and decided that something had to be done about John. He was tempting them to eat meat each Friday of Lent, and they couldn't take it anymore. They decided to try and convert John to Catholicism. They went over and talked to him. John decided to join all of his neighbors and become a Catholic, which made them all very happy. They took him to church, and the priest sprinkled some water over him, and said, "You were born a Baptist, you were raised a Baptist, and now you are a Catholic."The men were so relieved, now their biggest Lenten temptation was resolved. The next year's Lenten season rolled around. The first Friday of Lent came, and, just at supper time, when the neighborhood was settling down to their cold tuna fish dinner, the smell of steak cooking on a grill came wafting into their homes. The neighborhood men could not believe their noses! WHAT WAS GOING ON?  They called each other up and decided to meet over in John's yard to see if he had forgotten it was the first Friday of Lent. The group arrived just in time to see John standing over his grill with a small pitcher of water. He was sprinkling some water over his steak on the grill, saying, "You were born a cow, you were raised a cow, and now you are a fish."

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PHEEBS GETS A NEEDLE IN THE EAR...'YEOUCH'!!

'NOOOOOOOOOOO' I DON'T WANNA GO TO THE VETS!!

For the second morning in a row, Pheebs and I headed straightaway for the Bayfield car wash, except this time we had the Jeep instead of the Subaru.  I had a 10:30 a.m. appointment to have the Jeep undercoated at Goderich's Canadian Tire Store and I wanted to make sure I had the wheel wells and undercarriage of the Jeep free and clean of any mud or road salt and the best way to do that was with the pressure hose at the car wash.

 SEEN IN BAYFIELD THIS MORNING.......'I HOPE MY MOM AND DAD BRING ME A DONUT BACK'

Dropping Pheebs off at home I soon headed to Goderich and arrived fifteen minutes early whereupon they took the Jeep right in.  Hung out in the waiting area reading my kindle and thirty-five minutes later I saw a young fella washing the Jeep outside.  Minutes after that I was good to go and subsequently pleased with the undercoating job they had done.  A quick stop at Walmart and the nearby Shell gas bar were next.  And it was at the gas bar a fellow there walked by the window with the words, 'Pheebs is going to the Vet today'.  Well, that caught me by surprise as I muddled my way through the credit card procedure but before leaving I was able to quickly thank him for being a blog reader:))

Home again it wasn't too long before Kelly, Pheebs, and I were in the Jeep heading to Zurich's South Huron's Vet Clinic.  We were on time and Dr. Earl took Pheebs in ten minutes later to treat her Aural Hematoma.  Twenty minutes later she was back with a much better-looking ear and none the worse for wear.  The sack of blood and serum in Pheeb's right ear had been drained out with a needle and a steroid was inserted.  If the ear fills up with blood again we will have to take her back Thursday and see where we go from there.  Home now, she is feeling fine and having some big snoozes.  Oh, that first photo....I caught Pheebs having a big yawn:))

 'I HOPE WHEN MOM COMES OUT SHE'LL SAY WE DON'T HAVE TO GO'

 AT THE VETS

 'OH PLEASE DAD, CAN WE GO HOME BEFORE DOCTOR EARL COMES AND GET'S ME

 IT MAY BE HARD TO SEE BUT THAT FLAT PINKY PART IS A BULGE FULL OF BLOOD

 KELLY CHECKS OUT SOME DOGGY TREATS WHILE PHEEBS IS GETTING A NEEDLE IN THE EAR

In the Anne of Green Gables series, I have finished the third of eight books....'Anne of the Island'.  I am now into book four....'Anne's House of Dreams'.   

 PHEEBS IS NEVER A PROBLEM AT THE VETS....OR FOR THAT MATTER, SHE IS NEVER A PROBLEM ANYWHERE:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A father of six children had been out of work for six months. In desperation, he was reading through the want ads in the paper and came across an ad for someone to work at the zoo. The man called the zoo and asked if he could have the job, but was told that he would need to come in for an interview.  The next day he went to the interview, but before beginning, he was told by his potential employer that he would need to raise his hand and promise that the proceedings of the interview would be kept confidential, whether he got the job or not. The man reluctantly took the oath, then asked what this job and oath were all about.  The zoo owner asked the man what he thought the zoo's main attraction was. Without hesitation, the man replied, 'Everyone knows that. It's the big ape!'  'Well,' said the zoo owner, 'this is the part you cannot divulge, because we would lose our business. The big ape died, and we need to keep it a secret by putting the ape skin on someone who can imitate the ape--at least until the new ape arrives in three months.' 'That's me!' said the man. 'I can do that! I was a gymnast in high school and college.' The zoo owner then challenged the man to audition by acting like an ape. The man assumed a crouched position and began running, jumping, and swinging around the room, imitating the actions and sounds of an ape. 'Wow! You're really good!' said the owner, and immediately gave the man the job.  The next day the man, dressed as the ape, went into the cage and was an instant hit. Everyone heard how the ape was performing and came to the zoo to see him. The crowds got bigger and bigger as time went by, and the front page of the paper proclaimed, 'The ape has gone ape!'  About two months before the new ape was to arrive, the man had about five hundred people in front of his cage, and he was really putting on a star performance. He was flipping and jumping and swinging everywhere, when all of a sudden, at the top of a swing, his rope broke and threw him into the lion's cage. He rolled a few times, coming to rest against the bars, and turned to find himself across the cage from the king of beasts, who lay across the cage with his head down on one paw. He knew right away that he was in trouble, so he began screaming like an ape and running back and forth along the bars in hopes that someone would rescue him from this situation. No one moved. As he looked again, the lion began to move slowly and stalk him. The lion then growled, curled his upper lip over his teeth, and assumed a position to leap. Just at this moment, the man decided that his family was more important to him than his promise to the owner of the zoo. He looked up and started screaming, 'Help! Help! I'm not really an ape, I'm a man. Get me out of here!' The lion looked at him and said in a loud whisper, 'Hush up, you fool! You'll get us both fired!'

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PHEEBS HEADS TO THE VET TUESDAY

 AFTERNOON SNOOZE IN THE SUN ROOM

The Subaru hadn't been washed since the last time I washed it so Pheebs and I headed for the Bayfield carwash.  I gave it a good spraying, especially around the wheel wells and underneath to get the road salt off.  A short highway drive to dry it off and we were home again.

  POLE WALKERS ON BAYFIELD'S SOUTH PIER 

Skies were overcast but at least it didn't rain all day like it did Sunday.  Happy to report no squirrels have made it onto the bird feeder station since I trimmed the tall cedar branches back last week.  A big thanks to the owner of Porter's Hill Wild Bird Seed for lending me his long-handled loppers to get those high branches trimmed.

 ALWAYS NICE TO SEE MOURNING DOVES IN THE YARD

 IT'S NORMAL FOR NUTHATCHES TO FEED UPSIDE DOWN

This afternoon while scruffling with Pheebs she gave a yelp.  It was the second yelp we heard from her today.  Checking, we found her inner ear was very swollen on the inside.  Kelly called the vet right away and we have an early Tuesday afternoon appointment.

 NO, THAT IS NOT A MAD LOOK ON PHEEBS FACE WITH HER NEW TREAT....WE HAVE NEVER SEEN HER MAD ABOUT ANYTHING AND WE HAVE NEVER HEARD HER GROWL OR BARK IN ANGER

Ellen's Groove:)) Here is the finished version of 10-year-old Ellen playing Funky Madman. 

GROANER'S CORNER:(( The Teacher had asked the class to write an essay about an unusual event that happened during the past week.  Little Johnny got up to read his. It began, "My daddy fell in a well last week."  "Good Lord!" the teacher exclaimed. "Is he OK?"  "He must be," said Little Johnny. "He stopped yelling for help yesterday."

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A man is like a fine wine....He starts out raw as grapes, and it's a woman's job to stomp on him and keep him in the dark until he matures into something she'd like to have dinner with.

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WRITING TO YOU

Rained all day so there's not much to say

I'm hoping tomorrow the clouds go away

If they don't or if they do

I hope to still be writing to you

Ellen's Groove:)) A short practice session for Ellen in this video.  Funky Madman.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( I’m not saying I’m old and worn out, but I make sure I’m nowhere near the curb on trash pick-up day.

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It’s not my age that bothers me, it’s the side effects.

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I'm on two diets. I wasn't getting enough food on one.

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FOLLOWING A WINSOME YOUNG RED-HEADED FRECKLE FACE GIRL

Sunshine from horizon to horizon today and had it not been for a cold southerly wind driving the 48F temps down it would have been a mighty fine day to be outside.  A short Jeep ride for Pheebs and I with very few photos taken.  Home again, I raked up a few more leaves and that was about it.  Most days I feel noticeably younger than my 78 years, but today was not one of those days.  I felt old and slow, tired, achy, and out of energy.  Spent most of the afternoon tipped back in my sunroom recliner following a winsome young red-headed freckle face girl's delightful adventures on Canada's Prince Edward Island.  I am talking about Anne of Green Gables of course.........:))

GROANER'S CORNER:(( One morning a smiling overly optimistic man came into the church on crutches. He stopped in front of the holy water, sprinkled some on both legs, and then threw away his crutches.  An altar boy witnessed the scene and then ran into the rectory to tell the priest what he'd just seen. "Son, you've just witnessed a miracle!" the priest said. "Tell me where is this man now?"  "He's flat on his ass over by the holy water!" the boy informed him.

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