BY GOLLY, OUR CROCUS FLOWERS ARE BLOOMING

 CROCUS FLOWERS

Despite a cold northeast wind, I think it was the first time this year Pheebs and I were able to get a full walk in at our country road walking spot.  Following that we circled around a few country roads and stopped in at Richard's place to drop a few things off on our way home.  

 SO GREAT TO BE OUT ON OUR WALKING ROAD AGAIN

 CANADA GEESE IN A CORNFIELD

 AREA FIELDS ARE FINALLY FREE OF SNOW

 THE THREE AMIGO BUNS

 SO NICE TO SEE BLUE SKIES THROUGH THE TALL PINE TREES

Home again I chopped away at some more driveway ice and began the Spring clean-up in our carport.  Periods of sunshine helped warm up the cold air.  And by golly, our crocus flowers are blooming.  And the chipmunks are out racing around again too.  And Little Red is out and about in full force as well.  Oh tis quite a rejuvenating time of year it tis.  And it's about to get even more rejuvenating real soon when we finally begin to get some warmth in the air:)) 

 MORE CROCUS FLOWERS ON THE WAY

It was one year ago this afternoon that Kelly was rushed by ambulance to the Goderich Hospital and then transferred to London's University Hospital.  It was the first of two ambulance trips for her in 2022.  By Ambulance To The Hospital  

Al's Music Box:)) The Year Of The Cat by Al Stewart from the album 'Year Of The Cat'.  1976

 YEP, SPRING IS SPROUTING ALRIGHT

GROANER'S CORNER:((  You know that tingly little feeling you get when you like someone?  That's common sense leaving your body.

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- I just got a job running Old McDonald's farm. I'm the new CEIEIO.

- What do you call a sandwich box swinging from a bell rope?
The lunchpack of Notre Dame

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SOMETIMES IT'S JUST FUN TO BE IMPATIENT

 THIS PHOTO SUMS UP OUR JEEP RIDE THIS MORNING

A foggy morning but that's okay because it means milder weather and any kind of milder weather at this time of year is good.  And with all the rain overnight and this morning making the snow disappear, it means Spring's flowers will be waking up soon.  Pheebs and I followed the Jeep's windshield wipers into Bayfield and back earlier today.  I saw my first Robin of the year and it was in our front yard.  We ended our day under partly sunny skies:))

 DESPITE A COLD POURING RAIN THESE BAYFIELD FISHERMEN WERE NOT DETERRED

BAYFIELD'S SOUTH PIER IS FINALLY FREE OF ICE AND SNOW

Despite knowing Mother Nature will take care of the ice in our driveway soon enough, and being the impatient person I am, I was nevertheless out in the driveway this afternoon with my trusty long pole ice chopper hammering away at that frozen water stuff.  Sometimes it's just fun to be impatient:))

 SPENT A BIT OF TIME THIS AFTEERNOON CHOPPING UP OUR DRIVEWAY ICE

Ellen's Groove:)) Ellen is at it again practicing a new funky bass line for an upcoming project.  'Getdown"  And here too is a family photo of Ellen with her Mom and Dad.

Al's Music Box:)) Summer Breeze by Seals and Crofts from the album 'Summer Breeze'.  1972

 DOWNY WOODPECKER

 MOURNING DOVE

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A well-worn one-dollar bill and a similarly distressed twenty-dollar bill arrived at a Federal Reserve Bank to be retired. As they moved along the conveyor belt to be burned, they struck up a conversation.  The twenty-dollar bill reminisced about its travels all over the country. "I've had a pretty good life," the twenty proclaimed. "Why I've been to Las Vegas and Atlantic City, the finest restaurants in New York, performances on Broadway, and even a cruise to the Caribbean.""Wow!" said the one-dollar bill. "You've really had an exciting life!"  "So tell me," says the twenty, "where have you been throughout your lifetime?"  The one-dollar bill replies, "Oh, I've been to the Methodist Church, the Baptist Church, the Lutheran Church ..."  The twenty dollar bill interrupts, "What's a church?"

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Little Johnny watched, fascinated, as his mother smoothed cold cream on her face.  "Why do you do that, Mom?"  "To make myself beautiful," she answered. She then began to remove the cream with a tissue.  "What's the matter?" Johnny asked.... "Giving up?"

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COUNTLESS ENJOYABLE, ENTERTAINING, AND EDUCATIONAL HOURS

 RED-BELLIED WOODPECKER

A grey day but Pheebs and I did get out for a short Jeep ride and an afternoon powerwalk around the Park's pond.  And I heard my first Killdeer this morning too.  Today's predicted rain never happened. 

SNOW IS FAST DISAPPEARING OFF THE FARM FIELDS

 LOOKS LIKE THIS FARMER IS THINNING OUT HIS PROPERTY'S BUSH LOT

I have been an avid reader for much of my life with the exception of the years between 1979 and 2014.  Thankfully, it was 9 years ago now that my old reading hobby was finally rekindled with a device coincidentally called a Kindle.  For years I had trouble reading small print in books, newspapers, and magazines. (still do) Thanks to Kelly in 2014 for suggesting I try a Kindle reading device, my reading interest immediately kicked into gear again and took off.   Finally, with a large easily readable bold black font against a bright white background, I have for almost every day since, spent countless enjoyable, entertaining, and educational hours with my beloved Kindle.  

 THIS WAS THE DAY ON MARCH 22ND 2014 AT OUR HOUSE IN CONGRESS ARIZONA THAT THIS RED KINDLE READER CAME INTO MY LIFE

WHAT A GREAT THING THIS HAS BEEN FOR ME

Al's Music Box:)) Gentle On My Mind by Glen Campbell from the album 'Gentle On My Mind',  1967  I always thought this was a very well-written song with my favorite line being 'I dip my cup of soup back from a gurglin cracklin cauldron in some train yard'.  Notice how smoothly the words gurglin-cracklin-cauldron flow together.  The song was written by the late John Hartford.

 MOURNING DOVE ON A PREVIOUS TEMPORARY BIRD STATION

GROANER'S CORNER:(( The topic for my third-grade class was genetics. Smiling broadly, I pointed to my dimples and asked, “What trait do you think I passed on to my children?”  One student called out, “Wrinkles!”

Q: Why don't people like to eat next to basketball players?
A: Because they dribble too much!

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A Dutchman was explaining the red, white and blue Netherlands flag to an American.
"Our flag is symbolic of our taxes. We get red when we talk about them, white when we get our tax bills, and blue after we pay them."  The American nodded. "It's the same in the USA only we see stars too!"

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WE ARE SPIRITUAL BEINGS HAVING A HUMAN EXPERIENCE

SIGNS OF SPRING ON OUR PARK'S POND

Pheebs and I this morning decided to pop in and visit our good friends Richard and Gayle who have recently moved back to our area.  They are doing fine and it probably won't be long before Richard and I head out on one of our enjoyable Thursday morning country road coffee tours.  I figure this increasingly crazy world we live in is long overdue for another darn good straightening out:))

 GOLDFINCHES ARE QUICKLY SLIPPING BACK INTO THEIR SUMMER COLORS

 'I'M READY FOR MY CLOSE-UP MR, DEMILLE'

With sunshine, mid-forties temps, and no wind, it was a decent afternoon to get outside and do some good old early Spring puttering.  Hauled out a few summer yard things, changed the birdseed station again, sorted through some stuff in our sheds, and raked up some more birdseed husks, etc.  Nice to be out in the fresh air.

 HOW NICE TO SEE OUR BACKYARD EMERGING FROM UNDER THE SNOW AGAIN

 IT WON'T BE LONG BEFORE I HAVE A BACKYARD CAMPFIRE GOING

 NOT SATISFIED WITH MY LATEST BIRDSEED STATION I HAVE NOW SET UP THIS ONE

Glancing across the road in front of our house this afternoon I was surprised to see all the snow had melted off the trail under a growth of tall pine trees leading to the Park's pond.  I quickly rounded up Pheebs and minutes later we were off for an afternoon walk.  Again, I was surprised to see how much ground was showing through the snow.  The snowpack is going down fast.  With two days of rain coming in it will really knock the ka-bloobers out of that cold white stuff.

A FEW DAYS AGO THIS AREA STILL HAD A LOT OF SNOW IN IT

 PHEEBS LEADS THE WAY ACROSS A PATCH OF SNOW AT THE NORTHEAST END OF OUR PARK'S POND

MOST OF THE POND'S SURFACE IS STILL FROZEN EXCEPT FOR A SMALL PATCH WHERE THE 2 MALLARD DUCKS AND 2 CANADIAN GEESE ARE

I finished another rather remarkable and eye-opening book a couple days ago called UFO of GOD.  It's the story of the Chris Bledsoe family from near Fayetteville North Carolina.  I found this family's story honestly compelling.  The book tells how this very religious man through mental and physical hardship and ridicule came to first understand and then accept and embrace the undeniable connection between the UFO phenomenon and religion.  Because of all the reading I have done these past three years, that is something I had suspected for quite some time.........Today I started a new book by retired Colonel John B Alexander called, Reality Denied.  With each and every one of these books, I always look forward to the journey it will take me on and what new things I will learn along that journey's way:))  Quote: 'We are spiritual beings having a human experience'.         

 SO GREAT TO SEE ALL THE ICE AND SNOW MELTING OFF OUR DRIVEWAY

Al's Music Box:)) Poor Side Of Town by Johnny Rivers from the album 'Changes' 1966

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Little Johnny's new baby brother was screaming up a storm.  Johnny asked his mom, where did he come from?  He came from heaven, Johnny.  Wow! I can see why they threw him out!!

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A police recruit was asked during the exam, "What would you do if you had to arrest your own mother?"  He answered, "Call for backup."

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YOU KNOW YOU'RE IN ARIZONA WHEN:
- You notice your car overheating before you drive it.
- You know a swamp cooler is not a happy hour drink.
- You can say 115 degrees without fainting.
- You can be in the snow, then drive for twenty minutes and it will be over 100 degrees.
- You discover, in July, that it only takes two fingers to drive your car.
- You can make sun tea instantly.
- You run your air conditioner in the middle of winter so you can use your fireplace.
- You notice the best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance.
- You realize that Valley Fever isn't a disco dance.
- Hotter water comes from the cold water tap than the hot one.
- You can pronounce the words: "Saguaro", "Tempe", "Gila Bend", "San Xavier", "Canyon de Chelly", "Mogollon Rim", "Cholla", and Tlaquepaque".
- You actually burn your hand opening the car door.
- Sunscreen is sold year-round, kept at the front of the checkout counter, 
- Hot air balloons can't go up, because the air outside is hotter than the air inside.
- No one would dream of putting vinyl upholstery in a car.
- You can understand the reason for a town named "Why." (Yep, the Bayfield Bunch has been in 'Why' Arizona a number of times over the years)

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LOOKING FORWARD TO ALL THIS SNOW BEING GONE AND A LOOK BACK TO CANYON dE CHELLY

 MOTHER NATURE'S ICE SCULPTURE AT GODERICH'S ROTARY COVE ON THE SHORES OF LAKE HURON

Drawing the curtains back on our east-facing living room window this morning we were pleasantly greeted with a fiery sunrise.  A refreshingly positive omen to herald in the coming of Spring later in the day.  Under clear blue skies Pheebs and I slipped up to Goderich for gas, coffee to go at McDonalds, a swing down around the harbor, and a stop at Walmart before heading home.  Despite the warming rays of the Sun and today's 43F temps, it was the icy winds that kept me inside except for a short period when I slipped out and fired up my lawn rake to rake up a bunch of husks and seeds from under the bird feeders.  I am so much looking forward to all this snow being gone and I can get on with the big Spring clean-up.  And morning and afternoon walks with Pheebs again too:))

 OMG THE JEEP SPRUNG WINGS AND BEFORE WE KNEW IT PHEEBS AND I WERE FLYING OVER THE SWISS ALPS THIS MORNING

OKAY OKAY SO WE WERE JUST AT A SPOT WHERE SNOW FROM GODERICH'S STREETS IS DUMPED

 AN ICY SHORELINE

 ICE-COATED ROCKS ALONG THE SHORELINE

Thirteen years ago right now we were in northeast Arizona camped at a small campground near Chinle alongside one of Arizona's most beautiful and most overlooked scenic canyons.  And this canyon has a sad history.  I'm talking about Canyon de Chelly of course. (pronounced Canyon de Shay) This was the last stop before leaving the southwest and heading for home in 2011.  I have two links for our stay there.  Our First Look At Canyon de Chelly and Hiking The 'Whitehouse Ruins' Trail At Canyon de Chelly 

Al's Music Box:)) A Horse With No Name by America from the album 'America'.  1971

GROANER'S CORNER:(( All the grandkids were visiting for Thanksgiving. Before dinner, Grandma made a lengthy speech about being thankful for her extra-special blessings, her four grandchildren. Two seconds after she stopped speaking, all hell broke loose and the kids were yelling and grabbing for the homemade rolls. Grandma sat there, eyes closed with a tight squint on her face. When asked what was the matter, she replied, "I'm just praying for a little patience to handle all these blessings."

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