OUR PARK'S FIRST EVER CANADA DAY PARADE

Stepping out the door this morning I knew right away it was going to be an inside day for me.  I could already feel the heat and humidity ramping up.  Despite soreness in my right hip, Pheebs and I did manage to do our half-mile country road walk.  To me, the Sun already felt like a heat lamp so we quickly headed home before I turned into a walking ball of sticky paste.  Content to stay inside I settled into a long day of reading.  And, that was quite okay with me.  It is my love of reading and the subject matter I read about that goes a long way toward keeping me on an even keel:))

When I slipped out to refresh the bird baths this afternoon I was surprised it didn't feel as hot as it had earlier this morning.  With that, I took Pheebs for a walk around the Park's pond.

POND REFLECTIONS

For the first time ever, our Bayfield Pines Park had their very own rottin-tootin Canada Day parade followed by a BBQ at our Park's clubhouse.  This is another fine example of our Park's community spirit since the ownership changed hands just over a year ago:))   

WAITING FOR OUR PARK'S CANADA DAY TO COME ROLLING BY

 AND WITH A WHOLE LOTTA HORN HONKIN, HOOTIN AND HOLLERIN HERE COMES THE WILD BUNCH NOW

Al's Music Box:))  And I Love Her  by the Beatles from the album 'A Hard Day's Night'.  1964

GROANER'S CORNER:(( When Jerry Garcia died, he woke up and found himself on a stage on which a number of instruments were set up. A door offstage opened and in walked Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Brian Jones, John Lennon, Otis Redding and Buddy Holly.  Each musician picked up his favorite instrument and began tuning up.  Jerry walked up to Jimi and said, "Man, so this is what heaven is like."  Jimi looked at him and said, "Heaven? You think this is heaven?"  At that moment, Karen Carpenter walked in, took her seat behind the drums, and called out, "Okay guys, 'Close to You.' One, two, three, four!"

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How much did the man sell his dead batteries for?  Nothing, they were free of charge!

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A SLIGHT SMOKY HAZE IN MY PHOTOS TODAY

DAY LILIES IN OUR FRONT YARD THIS MORNING

There was a definite haze in the morning air which I suspect had to do with a couple things.  First, the smoke from the Quebec fires and second the fact that warmer air moving in overnight conflicted with the dominant cooler night air.  As the day wore on the haze remained so for sure it was smoke from Quebec.  That slight smoky haze can be seen in most of my photos today.

 SOLAR PANELS ON THE EDGE OF A BARLEY FIELD

 THE LAST OF A DOZEN SHEEP HEADS INTO THE BARN

No need for a light jacket as Pheebs and I walked our country road before venturing off around half a dozen country roads.  Nice to have the windows down with those warm summer breezes wafting through the Jeep.

 WE HAVE A NUMBER OF ACTIVE GRAVEL PITS IN OUR AREA WITH SOME OF THE OLDER ONES FILLED WITH CRYSTAL-CLEAR SPRING WATER 

Well, here we are on the last day of June already.  My oh my how the time is flying by.  If we were still RVing I would be thinking, 'oh boy oh boy, in less than four months we will be on the road heading for the great American Southwest again.  Instead, now I think 'Awwww Nuts, in four months from now our weather will already be deteriorating to the point where snowy cold winter weather could be only weeks away:((

 A FEW PICS OF A RURAL JUNKYARD WE DROVE BY THIS MORNING

An update from my son Sean on Facebook a couple days ago....."They told me I no longer need to wear the neck collar. Everything has settled down in my neck. They are happy with the fractures in my left foot and said I can take off the big air cast and use it only when necessary. They think I may have torn some muscles in my left shoulder, so I have an MRI in a month.  The fractured, ribs, collarbone, and shoulder blades they say are just going to take some time for the bones to heal. Once the bones have healed, the muscles and tissue will settle down. So, I am 100% on the mend, and I am told that I will basically be in a decreasing amount of pain over the next few months as everything settles down. '

 THERE IS A HORSE IN THIS PHOTO

I did spend some time this afternoon trimming back more shrubs and branches.  That is until the humidity chased me inside.  At 4 p.m. we met Richard and Gayle at Renegades Diner for their Friday fish and chips special.

 A PLASTIC OWL SEEN ON A NEIGHBOR'S TREE

 FISH AND CHIPS AT RENEGADES DINER LATE THIS AFTERNOON

Al's Music Box:)) The Boys Of Summer by the Eagles with vocals by drummer Don Henley from their Farewell Tour in Melbourne Australia.  2004

 MORNING DEW DROPS ON A FLOWER PETAL

GROANER'S CORNER:(( An elementary School Teacher had twenty-six students in her class. She presented each child in her classroom the 1st half of a well-known proverb and asked them to come up with the remainder of the proverb. It's hard to believe these were actually done by first graders.  Their insight may surprise you.  While reading, keep in mind that these are first-graders, 6-year-olds.

1.Don't change horses......until they stop running.

2. Strike while the......bug is close.

3. It's always darkest before......Daylight Saving Time.

4. Never underestimate the power of......termites.

5. You can lead a horse to water but......how?

6. Don't bite the hand that......looks dirty.

7. No news is......impossible.

8. A miss is as good as a......Mr.

9. You can't teach an old dog new......math.

10. If you lie down with dogs, you'll......stink in the morning.

11. Love all, trust......me.

12. The pen is mightier than the......pigs.

13. An idle mind is......the best way to relax.

14. Where there's smoke there's......pollution.

15. Happy the bride who......gets all the presents.

16. A penny saved is......not much.

17. Two's company, three's......the Musketeers.

18. Don't put off till tomorrow what......you put on to go to bed.

19. Laugh and the whole world laughs with you, cry and......you have to blow your nose.

20. There are none so blind as......Stevie Wonder.

21. Children should be seen and not......spanked or grounded.

22. If at first you don't succeed......get new batteries.

23. You get out of something only what you......see in the picture on the box.

24. When the blind lead the blind......get out of the way.

25. A bird in the hand......is going to poop on you.

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THEY WILL BE ENERGETICALLY TALKING ABOUT OUR PARK'S PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

A burgundy van slowly rolled around the corner this morning and stopped in front of our driveway where I was standing.  I opened the passenger door and climbed in.  The driver of the van was my good buddy Richard of course and off we went on another one of our semi-monthly Thursday morning coffee tours.  Our first and only stop was Mcdonalds' in Goderich for two coffees and two carrot muffins to go.  We spent the next two and a half hours immersed in our usual in-depth conversation as we wandered around through some picturesque countryside north of Goderich.

 A TYPICAL OLD FARM IN RURAL SOUTHERN ONTARIO

 A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE ON AN OLD WINDMILL

 DAISIES ON THE EDGE OF A BARLEY FIELD

Wind currents had shifted again and brought us more smoke from the Quebec wildfires today.  It seemed more prevalent in the morning air but not as bad as this past Tuesday.

 MAMA GRACKLE WITH JUNIOR CRACKLE IN THE FOREGROUND

 'AND THAT OVER THERE JUNIOR IS YOUR WORTHLESS FATHER'

 'AND THAT HANDSOM DEVIL OVER THERE JUNIOR IS WHO I WISHED WAS YOUR FATHER'

 'SO DON'T GROW UP TO BE LIKE YOUR DAD OKAY'

I spent a couple hours outside this afternoon with my handy clippers in our front yard jungle.  Everywhere I looked I could see where things were needing to be either cut back or cut off.  It keeps me busy just cutting off or pulling out all the Sumac shoots that keep popping up everywhere.  Hauled out our easy-to-use battery-operated lawn mower and cut our front yard grass plus the boulevards along both sides of the road out front.  We have a corner property so I do all around the corner as well.  I noticed neighbor Monica's magnolia tree was needing a trim so I nipped over there and took care of that too.  Watered some flowers and a couple patches of newly grass-seeded areas too.  Kelly headed off to Goderich for some groceries and stuff.

THESE TWO SWEET WILLIAM FLOWER ABOVE AND BELOW ARE IN ONE OF OUR FLOWER BEDS

A few of our blog readers are former residents of the Park here so I thought I would mention this.  Long-time resident and our neighbor to the east, Paul Mellor, passed away this morning.  Paul and his wife Judy were here when we moved to the Park in late 2002.  He had been ill for a while.  Paul's death follows two other long-time residents of our Park.  Hank Apfelbeck a month or so ago and Julie Palango a little over six months ago.  If by chance they all meet up on the other side I know for sure they will be energetically talking about our Park's past, present, and future:))   

Al's Music Box:)) End Of The Line by the Traveling Wilburys from the album 'Traveling Wilburys Vol 1.  1988  The Traveling Wilburys were made up of Roy Orbison, George Harrison, Bob Dylan, Jeff Lynn, and Tom Petty.  Jim Keltner played drums.  Roy, George, and Tom are gone now but their Traveling Wilbury music lives on.

GROANER'S CORNER:  Complaints received by Thomas Cook Vacations From Dissatisfied Customers.  Dumb and Dumber Travelers!!

1. "They should not allow topless sunbathing on the beach. It was very distracting for my husband who just wanted to relax."

2. "On my holiday to Goa in India, I was disgusted to find that almost every restaurant served curry. I don't like spicy food."

3. "We went on holiday to Spain and had a problem with the taxi drivers as they were all Spanish."

4. "We booked an excursion to a water park but no one told us we had to bring our own swimsuits and towels. We assumed it would be included in the price."

5. "The beach was too sandy. We had to clean everything when we returned to our room."

6. "We found the sand was not like the sand in the brochure. Your brochure shows the sand as white but it was more yellow."

7. "It's lazy of the local shopkeepers in Puerto Vallarta to close in the afternoons. I often needed to buy things during 'siesta' time -- this should be banned."

8. "No one told us there would be fish in the water. The children were scared."

9. "Although the brochure said that there was a fully equipped kitchen, there was no egg slicer in the drawers."

10. "I think it should be explained in the brochure that the local convenience store does not sell proper biscuits like custard creams or ginger nuts."

11. "The roads were uneven and bumpy, so we could not read the local guidebook during the bus ride to the resort. Because of this, we were unaware of many things that would have made our holiday more fun."

12. "It took us nine hours to fly home from Jamaica to England. It took the Americans only three hours to get home. This seems unfair."

13. "I compared the size of our one-bedroom suite to our friends' three-bedroom and ours was significantly smaller."

14. "The brochure stated: 'No hairdressers at the resort.' We're trainee hairdressers and we think they knew and made us wait longer for service."

15. "When we were in Spain, there were too many Spanish people there. The receptionist spoke Spanish and the food was Spanish. No one told us that there would be so many foreigners."

16. "We had to line up outside to catch the boat and there was no air-conditioning."

17. "It is your duty as a tour operator to advise us of noisy or unruly guests before we travel."

18. "I was bitten by a mosquito. The brochure did not mention mosquitoes."

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