SNOW ALL GONE....'GOODY GOODY GUMDROPS'

It was my turn to drive this morning so I picked up my buddy Richard at 9:30 and we headed off to McDonalds in Goderich for two coffees and two carrot muffins to go.  Our meandering travels took us northeast of Goderich under semi-sunny skies and slightly warmer temps.  Definitely more snow lying around north of Goderich than the Bayfield area.  No signs of Huron County's bean or corn harvest resuming.  The land is still too wet and muddy.  Looking ahead at the 14-day weather forecast it isn't looking too bad at all for this time of year.  I'm seeing some 50F days with sunshine.  That oughta keep me going and stop me from complaining for a while longer eh:))

NORTH OF CLINTON, WE CROSS THE MAITLAND RIVER ON A SNOWY BALLS BRIDGE HEADING WEST

 A LONE INUKSHUK SENTINAL STANDS FIRM AGAINST THE RUSHING CURRENTS OF THE RIVER

 HEAVY MACHINERY SITS IDLE WAITING FOR THE GROUND TO DRY UP ENOUGH TO GET ON WITH THE BEAN AND CORN HARVESTS

A partial sunshiny afternoon had me out raking up Red Bud and Basswood leaves for surface mulch on Winter's flowerbeds.  A brisk walk around the Park's pond for Pheebs and I gave my legs a bit of much-needed exercise.  Pheebs legs too.

 THERE ARE FOUR CANADA GEESE IN THIS PHOTO

 WHEN WE SPOTTED THESE GEESE, RICHARD SAID SOME OF THEM WERE STANDING ON A LOG AND I SAID NO I DIDN'T THINK SO.  I THOUGHT THEY WERE ALL FLOATING IN THE WATER.  EDITING THIS PHOTO LATER I SAW RICHARD WAS RIGHT

Al's Music Box:)) What A Difference A Day Makes by Dinah Washington, won a Grammy Award for her in 1959 Best Rhythm and Blues Performance with this song. Her version was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.   (Thanks for the reminder of this song JudithK:))

GROANER'S CORNER:(( I live in a semi-rural area. We recently had a new neighbor call the local township administrative office to request the removal of the Deer Crossing sign on our road.  The reason: many deer were being hit by cars and he no longer wanted them to cross there.

- Just remember: when you go to court, you are trusting your fate to twelve people who weren't smart enough to get out of jury duty!

- Did you hear about the actor who fell through the floorboards?  He was just going through a stage.

- What did the left eye say to the right eye?
Between you and me, something smells.

- My wife told me I had to stop acting like a flamingo.  So I had to put my foot down.

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WE WOKE UP TO A WINTER WONDERLAND THIS MORNING

After the power winked off and on in the night we woke up to a wintery wonderland scene this morning.  A heavy wet snow lay across the land.  So heavy in fact, it brought one of our Basswood tree's small branches down which I had to pull to the side to get the Jeep out of the driveway.  A number of years ago when I lived in Stratford I remember it snowing on November 1st one time and that snow just kept kind of coming for the rest of winter till Spring.  I'm hoping this is not going to be a repeat of that kind of Winter.  So, with a picturesque snow scene this morning Pheebs and I started out with a drive around our Park.

 I SPOTTED LONG-TIME PARK RESIDENT GERALD IN MY SIDEVIEW MIRROR OUT WALKING A COUPLE OF NEIGHBORHOOD DOGS

 HALLOWEEN IS STILL ALIVE AND WELL THIS MORNING

 LOOKS LIKE A FROZEN GHOST TO ME

 THAT MIGHT BE A RED MAPLE TREE

 THE SMALL BASSWOOD BRANCH I HAD TO MOVE

 THIS WAS OUR FRONT YARD WHEN WE GOT UP THIS MORNING

 ABOUT HALF OF OUR REDBUD TREE LEAVES ARE NOW ON THE GROUND

From our Park, and with the morning's sun beginning to break through the clouds, we headed east out into our beautiful snow-laden countryside.  Our first stop was at our walking spot and despite a cold breeze, we did get ourselves a walk in.

 HEADING EAST OUT OF OUR PARK

 THE ROAD IS WET AND SLUSHY WHICH IS MUCH BETTER THAN ICY

HEADING TO OUR WALKING SPOT JUST UP THE ROAD THERE

 DESPITE A COLD BREEZE WE DID GET SOME WALKING IN

 A DIFFERENT-LOOKING BUSH LINE AND SKY FROM  MY TUESDAY MORNING PHOTO

 'COME ON DAYDYOU CAN DO IT'

 JUST STRUTTING RIGHT ALONG

ALMOST BACK TO THE JEEP

 PHEEBS ALWAYS TURNS HER HEAD BACK TO SEE IF I AM STILL COMING

 PHEEBS WAITS FOR ME TO HELP HER UP INTO THE PASSENGER SEAT

With sunshine, blue and dark gray skies, colorful Autumn leaves, snow-covered trees and a rolling white landscape, it made for a rare photo opportunity this morning.  So much so that I took 134 photos which I was able to edit down to 116.  Far too many for my blog post of course so I decided to put a number of them into a photo album which you can look at here at Winterwonderland Nov. 1 2023  If you like when you get there, look to the top right of the album for three little vertical dots.  Click those dots and then click 'Slideshow' on the menu that drops down.  Here is a nice piece of music to go along with the photo album....Our Winter Love by Bill Pursell.

Needless to say a chunk of my time today was spent editing all the photos I took this morning but that's okay.  I actually like editing photos so I don't mind doing it at all.  By the way, all of today's photos were taken with my Nikon CoolPix P900.    

I had forgotten to include a spooky version of Ghost Riders In The Sky in last night's Halloween post so here it is.  I've posted this video before and I like this version both visually and audibly. 

Al's Music Box:)) Smoke On The Water by Deep Purple is from their 1972 album, 'Machine Head'.  "Smoke on the Water" is easily identified by its central theme, developed by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. It is a four-note blues scale melody in G Minor, harmonized in parallel fourths. The riff, played on a Fender Stratocaster electric guitar by Blackmore, is later joined by a hi-hat and distorted organ, then the rest of the drums, then electric bass parts before the start of Ian Gillan's vocal.  Blackmore later claimed that the main riff is an interpretation of the inversion of Symphony No. 5 by Ludwig van Beethoven, and that "I owe him a lot of money".  Jon Lord doubles the guitar part on a Hammond C3 organ played through a distorted Marshall amp, creating a tone very similar to that of the guitar. Blackmore usually plays the main riff using a finger pluck.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A wealthy man died and went to heaven. He was met at the Pearly Gates by Saint Peter who led him down the streets of gold. They passed mansion after mansion until they came to the very end of the street. Saint Peter stopped the rich man in front of a little shack.“This belongs to you,” said Saint Peter.“Why do I get this ugly thing when there are so many mansions I could live in?” the man demanded.“We did the best we could with the money you sent us!” Saint Peter replied.

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