ENJOYING THESE FEW SUNNY DAYS WHILE THEY LAST

 REFLECTIONS IN THE THINLY CRACKED ICE OF THE BAYFIELD RIVER

A second sunny blue sky morning in a row can easily be called Winter's tonic and with today's 28F temps, the day was doable.  Pheebs and I slipped into Bayfield for a drive down around the harbor and along Main Street.

 I THINK IT WAS THE SUNSHINE THAT BROUGHT OUT  ALLTHE FISHERMEN TO BAYFIELD'S SOUTH PIER THIS MORNING

Stopped at the Bayfield cemetery for a walk around a field and into an adjacent forest.  It felt good to be outside using my legs to take me somewhere.  And Pheebs always has a blast checking out all the new smells everywhere.  Despite the gray days, we are so fortunate to have these January snow-free days.  And, one of the best parts is being able to wear lightweight summer footwear again.

 THE FOREST IS LOOKING MORE LIKE LATE OCTOBER THAN THE MIDDLE OF JANUARY

JANUARY'S FOREST FLOOR

  HOW NICE TO BE WEARING LIGHT COMFORTABLE SUMMER FOOTWEAR INSTEAD OF HEAVY SNOW BOOTS

 AND BY GOLLY WE EVEN BUMPED INTO THE SHADOW COWBOY LEANING AGAINST A BEECH TREE

Another sunny afternoon walk for Pheebs and I again.  We are so fortunate here on the Park's hundred acres to have places to walk and today we did the only section of the Pine Tree Trail still remaining.  Actually, we did that yesterday too.  And, I think it was the first time ever that today I had my wheelbarrow in operation during the month of January.  With the exception of Arizona of course.  There are a lot of birdseed husks on the ground under our feeders so I figured it was a good day to rake all that stuff up, shovel it into my wheelbarrow and dump it in a pile where I can load it into my utility trailer in the Spring.

 SUNLIGHT REFLECTING IN THE CAMERA LENS MAKES FOR SOME NICE RAINBOW  COLORS

 LOVING THOSE BLUE SKIES

It was 12 years ago today I wrote a post entitled....Rattlesnakes, Raptors, And Rodneys In Wilcox Arizona.  Wilcox is the birthplace of past cowboy star Rex Allen and also the burial site of Warren Earp, the youngest of Tombstone's Earp brothers.  And we did manage to find his final resting place in the old Wilcox cemetery on this day.

 OUR MORNING CRUISE ALONG BAYFIELD'S MAIN STREET

GROANER'S CORNER:(( The Ten Commandments of Marriage::

Commandment 1.  Marriages are made in heaven. But so again, are thunder and lightning.

Commandment 2.  If you want your spouse to listen and pay strict attention to every word you say, talk in your sleep.

Commandment 3.  Marriage is grand — and divorce is at least 100 grand!

Commandment 4.  Married life is very frustrating. In the first year of marriage, the man speaks and the woman listens. In the second year, the woman speaks and the man listens. In the third year, they both speak and the neighbors listen.

Commandment 5.  When a man opens the door of his car for his wife, you can be sure of one thing: Either the car is new or the wife is.

Commandment 6.  Marriage is when a man and woman become as one; the trouble starts when they try to decide which one.

Commandment 7.  Before marriage, a man will lie awake all night thinking about something you said. After marriage, he will fall asleep before you finish talking.

Commandment 8.  Every man wants a wife who is beautiful, understanding, economical, and a good cook. But the law allows only one wife.

Commandment 9.  Every woman wants a man who is handsome, understanding, economical and a considerate lover, but again, the law allows only one husband.

Commandment 10.
Man is incomplete until he marries. After that, he is finished.

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SUNSHINE AND BLUE SKIES:))))))

 IT WAS SO UPLIFTING TO SEE THE COLOR BLUE TODAY

The big news of the day is sunshine and blue skies:))))  The temperature is still hanging at 25F but that's okay, at least the sun is finally out.  Toddling around a few country roads it was nice to see a touch of color in the rural greyness of this mid-January landscape. 

 'WOW' BARE DRY ROADS, SNOWLESS FIELDS, AND BIG BLUE SKIES AS PHEEBS AND I HEAD EAST OUT OF THE PARK IN THE JEEP THIS MORNING

 EVEN FARM ANIMALS WERE OUT ENJOYING THE JANUARY SUNSHINE

With bare and dry paved roads on this good-looking morning, I decided to take Scooter out for a short run around a couple long country blocks.  Everything ran fine and we were home again in about twenty minutes.  Puttered around outside for a bit and called it a morning.

 A NICE DAY TO TAKE SCOOTER FOR A SHORT  CRUISE

 A SHAFT OF SUNLIGHT EVEN KEEPS MY COFFEE WARM

 SOME DAY WHEN I GROW UP BIG AND TALL MAYBE I WILL BE ABLE TO SEE OVER THE STEERING WHEEL

An afternoon walk with Pheebs netted me a few photos and I noticed without a doubt late this afternoon that the days are definitely getting longer:)))))

LONG LATE AFTERNOON SHADOWS AROUND THE PARK'S POND

Finished my latest book, The Boys by actor/director Ron Howard and his younger brother Clint.  I found this to be a great read and it's obvious all the way through the book that these two talented brothers give their parents Rance and Jean the majority of the credit for their success.  The boys were very close to their dad.   This afternoon, I started a new book by George Mahood entitled....Not Tonight Josephine: A Roadtrip Through Small-Town America.

GROANER'S CORNER:((   You might be a redneck if...

- Smith and Wesson attended your wedding without an invitation and you were overjoyed to see them there.
- When you hear someone talking about the king you don't know whether they're talking about Elvis or Richard Petty.  

- You complain about the ban on assault weapons because it makes half your guns illegal.
- You use a pig for a garbage disposal.
- You can't go to church this year because your Sunday socks are being used as the truck's gas cap.
- You clean your car or truck out with a leaf blower.
- Your tackle box contains dynamite and blasting caps.

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AND THAT'S ABOUT IT FOR TODAY

 OUR LITTLE MOTORMOUSE AT THE WHEEL YEARS AGO

It was an icy cold day with a wind chill factor of 14F.  A short Jeep ride this morning and a brief bundled-up afternoon walk.  And that was about it for me today.............

IT WAS AN ICY WIND THIS AFTERNOON

Here's a post I wrote in early January of 2009 entitled.....Traveling With Our Best Pals

 KELLY AND I SITTING OUTSIDE OF THE 'FUDGE FACTORY' IN BORREGO SPRINGS CALIFORNIA BACK IN 2009

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A grizzled old man was eating at a truck stop when three very large, leathered bikers walked in. The first walked up to the old man, pushed his cigarette into the old man's pie, and then took a seat at the counter. The second walked up to the old man, spat into the old man's milk and then he too took a seat at the counter. The third walked up to the old man, turned over the old man's plate, and then he took a seat at the counter.  Without a word of protest, the old man quietly left the diner. Shortly thereafter, one of the bikers said to the waitress, "Humph, not much of a man, was he?"  The waitress replied, "Not much of a truck driver either, he just backed his big rig over three motorcycles."

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FOGGY MORNING AND AN AFTERNOON MEDICAL APPOINTMENT

With a windless foggy morning upon us and temperatures above freezing, Pheebs and I headed out to our favorite country road walking spot and had ourselves our first gravel road walk of the year.  

 HEADING NORTH ALONG OUR FRESHLEY GRADED COUNTRY WALKING ROAD

 I THINK WE ARE GOING TO HAVE SOME MUDDY PAWS IN THE JEEP

This afternoon I had a 2:30 appointment with my diabetes person at Goderich's Maitland Valley Health Center.  I'm hanging in there and my numbers are still in the pre-diabetes range.  Much better than the Stage 2 diabetes diagnosis I got a year and a half ago before I made a bunch of changes to my eating lifestyle.  There is still room for improvement so I will now embark on some even further changes to try and get my numbers even lower.  I have been drinking way too much orange juice so that is where I will begin making more changes.

 ON MY WAY TO GODERICH AND I LIKE THE SUBARU'S 'AUTO-PILOT' FEATURE THAT LETS ME SIT IN THE BACK SEAT READING MY BOOK WHILE IT DRIVES ME TO MY DESTINATION....AND IF YOU BELIEVE THAT I HAVE A BRIDGE FOR SALE IN BROOKLYN TOO:))

 IT LOOKS LIKE THE ALGOMA GUARDIAN MIGHT BE WINTERING OVER IN THE PORT OF GODERICH

 WITH NO CARGO ON BOARD THE SHIP SITS HIGH IN THE WATER WITH ONE OF ITS PROPELLER BLADES VISIBLE

THESE CANADA GEESE ARE REMAINING HERE FOR THE WINTER

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A woman from New York was getting her affairs in order. She wrote her will and made her final arrangements. As part of these arrangements, she met with her rabbi to talk about what type of funeral service she wanted. She told her rabbi she had two final requests.  First, she wanted to be cremated, and second, she wanted her ashes scattered over the floors at Bloomingdales.  "Bloomingdales!" the rabbi said. "Why Bloomingdales?"  "That way, I know my daughters will visit me at least twice a week."

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