FOR RICHARD AND I IT WAS OUR FIRST COUNTRY ROAD COFFEE TOUR OF 2023

 ON OUR MORNING COFFEE TOUR RICHARD AND I CAME ACROSS THIS HERD OF WILD TURKEYS

Just me in the Subaru heading out our driveway at 8 a.m. this morning.  My destination was St. Marys Ontario where I picked up my good buddy Richard about an hour later.  With two Tim Horton coffees and two carrot muffins to go we soon motored ourselves out into the countryside for a first-of-the-year two-hour snow-covered gravely back roads cruise.  Our morning drive took us over around and through the Russeldale and Kirkton areas.  We covered all our usual conversation bases and added a few new ones while refining a few points along the way.  Another two hours well spent and a good time was had by all.  I was back home around 12:45 p.m. 

 HEADING TO ST MARYS THIS MORNING ROADS WERE DAMP WITH A SLIGHT SKIFF OF SNOW IN SPOTS

 ABOUT A QUARTER MILE BACK FROM THE ROAD EAST OF KIRKTON WE SPOTTED THIS BALD EAGLE AND ITS NEST AND I QUICKLY MANAGED THIS 650MM TELEPHOTO SHOT

 JUST AFTER SEEING THE BALD EAGLE, WE SAW THIS FAMILY OF WILD TURKEYS COMING OUT OF THE WOODS ONTO THE ROAD IN FRONT OF US

 RICHARD COUNTED 12 OF THEM ALTOGETHER WITH 11 BEING IN THIS PHOTO

 HEADING BACK TO BAYFIELD ON BARE AND DRY ROADS

 THE TINY HAMLET OF VARNA IS DEAD AHEAD

I could tell from the wondrous aroma as soon as I opened the door that Kelly had been baking.  Short Bread cookies from one of her Mother's recipes permeated the air and they were so good it was hard for me to contain myself from immediately, if not sooner, scarfing down a dozen of them.  Amazingly enough with sheer willpower and direct threats from Kelly, I held the line at three.  I had intended to take a picture of all the cookies but by the time I got around to doing that, she had already safely stashed them away in a very much most secret place known only to herself.

 I DON'T KNOW.....I THINK KELLY SLIPPED OUT SOMETIME IN THE NIGHT AND STUCK MY FINGER IN THE LIGHT SOCKET BESIDE MY RECLINER

GROANER'S CORNER:((    Deep within a forest, a little turtle began to climb a tree. After hours of effort, he reached the top, jumped into the air waving his front legs, and crashed to the ground. After recovering, he slowly climbed the tree again, jumped, and fell to the ground. The turtle tried again and again while a couple of birds sitting on a branch watched his sad efforts. Finally, the female bird turned to her mate.  “Dear,” she chirped, “I think it's time to tell him he's adopted.”

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LET THE MELTING BEGIN:))))

Although waking up to 34F temps this morning was not as good as waking up to 60F temps it was a whole lot better than waking up to 7F temps like a couple days ago.  We topped out today at 36F with a few brief dapples of sunshine.  Let the melting begin:))))

 I THOUGHT THAT MUST HAVE BEEN SOME KIND OF A  STUMPY TREE ROOT CAUGHT IN THE ICE

 ZOOMED IN FOR A CLOSER LOOK I SEE THAT IT IS THE SPACE LEFT AFTER A CHUNK OF ICE BROKE OFF THE SOUTH BAYFIELD PIER

Pheebs and I rolled out in the Subaru this morning.  It was needing a wash so we stopped at the Bayfield carwash before stopping at the Bayfield Cemetery to get some paws and boots on the ground for a walk.  

 COMPARED TO SATURDAY I WAS SURPRISED AT HOW MUCH OPEN WATER WAS VISIBLE ON THE HORIZON

Finished my book Life Lessons From A Late Bloomer by Jackie Ewing.  Although not exactly a guy's book it took me a bit to get into it but once in step with the author I caught onto her crafty sense of humor and wit.  The chuckles were there to be had and I was off to the races.  I also appreciated the author's no-holds-barred honesty in describing various aspects of her life.  She certainly was not one to make all the best decisions but was comfortable enough talking about them with touches of well-placed humor thrown in to soften the giddy embarrassments.  I also enjoyed her interesting theories and philosophies along the way many of which were in line with my own.  In talking about future plans, ideas, and dreams, she writes, "I hope whatever your version of living life is, you suck the marrow out of it.  Make the most of that headstone dash."

 BACKYARD DECK

GROANER'S CORNER:((   A farmer purchases an old, run-down, abandoned farm with plans to turn it into a thriving enterprise. The fields are grown over with weeds, the farmhouse is falling apart, and the fences are collapsing all around. During his first day of work, the town preacher stops by to bless the man's work, saying, "May you and God work together to make this the farm of your dreams!"A few months later, the preacher stops by again to call on the farmer. Lo and behold, it's like a completely different place--the farmhouse is completely rebuilt and in excellent condition, there are plenty of cattle and other livestock happily munching on feed in well-fenced pens, and the fields are filled with crops planted in neat rows. "Amazing!" the preacher says. "Look what God and you have accomplished together!""Yes, reverend," says the farmer, "but remember what the farm was like when God was working it alone!"

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Husband: Honey, I broke a glass in the kitchen.
Wife: I am coming with the broom.
Husband: It’s not urgent. You can come on foot.

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HAPPILY TRIPPING AROUND THE YARD REARRANGING ALL THE SNOW AGAIN

 A COLD WINTERS DAY

Pheebs and I headed out this morning to check on our area roads.  Highway 21 was bare and dry and the secondary paved roads and country gravel roads were all plowed.  It wasn't snowing and with no wind to kick up the snow already on the ground, visibility was clear from horizon to horizon.  The only thing left from the Thursday afternoon cold front roaring through is the cold.  

Kelly needed to get something printed so Pheebs and I drove her to the Library in Bayfield.  Main Street was pretty quiet but a few shops were in the process of opening for the day.

 PHEEBS PATIENTLY WAITS FOR MOM TO COME OUT

 AND HERE SHE COMES

COMING OUT OF THE LIBRARY KELLY NOTICES SOMEONE STANDING DOWN THE STREET

 WELL WELL IT'S ADMIRAL BAYFIELD HIMSELF

 IT WAS QUITE THE CONVERSATION KELLY HAD WITH THE ADMIRAL ON THIS FROSTY MORN:))

  THIS LITTLE FELLER HAD HIS FANCY SNOW BOOTS ON

 AND THERE HE GOES DOWN THE STREET STRUTTING ALONG IN HIS FANCY BOOTS

Despite starting the day out at 17F I noticed a very slow temperature rise beginning around mid-morning.  Skies brightened with our first Sun splash of the day landing in our yard at 12:06 p.m.  I felt it was time for wild celebrations so not wanting to waste that sunshine I slipped out the door, grabbed my snow shovel, and proceeded to once again happily trip around the yard re-arranging all the snow again.

 LAKE HURON'S SHORE ICE STRETCHES TO THE HORIZON

In Canada here we have a half-hour TV show called, Still Standing featuring actor and comedian, Jonny Harris.  It's not a sitcom but here is a brief description of what it is.  This particular well-done production takes a good look at Goderich and viewers will get a better idea of the town and its people.  Blog readers can see where Pheebs and I often cruise around down by the harbor and beach areas.  The Still Standing camera folks along with the show's host also went down 2,800 feet under Lake Huron to have a look at the world's largest salt mine.  The video starts off with two mandatory commercials before it gets rolling plus a few commercials along the way.  I was unable to determine when the Goderich segment was filmed but there are two things of note.  The host, Jonny Harris, talks about Goderich's 2011 tornado but failed to mention one life was sadly lost on that day.  Also in the segment, John Grace, the town's mayor is interviewed.  John Grace later died in a tragic drowning accident in the summer of 2022.      

 I THINK THE STATE OF MICHIGAN MIGHT BE GETTING A BIT OF SUNSHINE OVER THERE ACROSS LAKE HURON ABOUT 60 MILES

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A wife was making a breakfast of fried eggs for her husband.  Suddenly, her husband burst into the kitchen.  "Careful," he said, "CAREFUL! Put in some more butter! Oh my  GOD!  You're cooking too many at once. TOO MANY! Turn them! TURN THEM NOW! We need more butter. Oh my GOD! WHERE are we going to get MORE BUTTER?  They're going to STICK! Careful .  CAREFUL! I said be CAREFUL! You NEVER listen to me when you're cooking! Never! Turn them! Hurry up! Are you CRAZY? Have you LOST your mind? Don't forget to salt them. You know you always forget to salt them.  Use the salt. USE THE SALT! THE SALT!"  The wife stared at him. "What in the world is wrong with you? You think I don't know how to fry a couple of eggs?"  The husband calmly replied, "I just wanted to show you what it feels like when I'm driving."

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My friend reviewed her young son’s fill-in-the-blank homework.  One line: “At Christmas, we exchange gifts with ___________.”  His response: “Receipts.”

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Be sure to watch this video.....Dogs Love Winter

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A SNOWY ARCTIC COLD FRONT SWEEPS THROUGH CLOSING AREA ROADS

 OUR PARK'S FRONT ENTRANCE IS LOOKING VERY CHRISTMASY ALL OVER AGAIN

A nasty weather day here.  Woke up to an Arctic cold front blowing through the area with 9F temperatures and a windchill factor of -27.  With 32 mph wind gusts blowing Thursday night's fluffy snow around causing road closures due to white-outs and severe drifting, it was not a nice morning!!  Pheebs and I ventured east out of the Park but soon turned around and headed the other way back into Bayfield where visibility was much better.  I have a short one-minute video of this morning's driving conditions underneath the two pics below.  In the video, I am not driving as fast as it seems and that may have something to do with my Nikon Coolpix P900 camera's frame rate.  If you have your volume up it sounds like I am riding the launch of a Saturn 5 rocket.  To make the video larger click on the small white box at the bottom right corner. 

 HEADING EAST OUT OF OUR PARK I COULD SEE IT WAS NOT A GOOD DAY TO BE OUT AND ABOUT ON AREA ROADS

 TURNING AROUND WE HEADED WEST TOWARD BAYFIELD AND I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE PATCHES OF BLUE SKY AHEAD

As we were driving into Bayfield I saw the county roads people in the process of setting up a northbound road closure sign on highway 21.  Although clear in Bayfield due to buildings and trees it was a different story on the roads outside of Bayfield where winds relentlessly whipped snow across roads in the open unprotected countryside.  I saw very little traffic on the roads this morning.

 SETTING UP A ROAD CLOSURE SIGN FOR TRAFFIC HEADING NORTH OUT OF BAYFIELD

 THE BAYFIELD RIVER IS COMPLETELY FROZEN OVER AGAIN

 DARK STORMY SNOW CLOUDS TO THE NORTH

 THE LAKE IS ALMOST FROZEN AS FAR OUT AS ONE CAN SEE AGAIN

 DESPITE THE COLD SNOWY DAY IT WAS GREAT TO SEE SOME LARGE PATCHES OF BLUE SKY OUT OVER THE LAKE AT BAYFIELD'S BEACH

HEADING HOME THE HIGHWAY TO GODERICH WAS STILL CLOSED

Home again, and with the exception of topping up birdfeeders, I stayed inside.  From the sunroom, I could see our front yard was a beehive of activity with both birds and squirrels everywhere.  The bright spot of this snowy cold front going through is knowing Saturday's temps will be up to 25F and Sunday 36F.  When living in these northern latitudes at this time of year, one clings to even the smallest of positive things for better weather days ahead.  

 LIBBY WAS GLAD TO GET BACK TO THE SANCTITY OF OUR CARPORT

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Jim strolls into the paint section of a hardware store and walks up to the assistant. "I'd like a pint of canary-colored paint," he says.  "My parakeet," says Jim. "See, I want to enter him in a canary contest. He sings so sweetly that I know he's sure to win."  "Certainly," says the clerk. "Mind if I ask why you need it?"  "Well, you can't do that!" the assistant says. "The chemicals in the paint will almost certainly kill the poor thing!"  "No, they won't," Jim replies.  "Listen, Buddy, I'll bet you ten bucks your parakeet dies if you try to paint him."  "You're on!" says Jim.  Two days later Jim comes back looking very sheepish and puts ten dollars on the counter in front of the clerk.  "So the paint killed your bird?"  "Indirectly," Jim says. "He seemed to handle the paint okay, but he didn't survive the sanding between coats."

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It's a nasty day, and a guy gets pulled over for speeding.  The cop says, "Isn't it kind of dumb to be driving so fast in this storm?"  The driver says, "Who's dumb here? You're the one who's standing out in the rain."

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