TRAVEL WITH THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))

Monday, March 17, 2025

SHE'S CONFIDENT SHE WILL BEAT THIS THING

Woke up to a patchy skiff of snow and sunshine this morning. Temps were hovering just below the freezing mark and I don't think we got above that freezing mark all day. Well, at least the sun was shining in a big blue cloudless sky and we are already into the last half of March moving steadily towards warmer weather. Good stuff. Pheebs and I slipped into Bayfield, picked up a coffee to go at Hortons and slipped out and around a few country roads before heading home again.

SOON THIS PURPLE MARTIN HOUSE WILL BE A BUSY PLACE

AND BY GOLLY THERE'S A PURPLE MARTIN NOW

A DRIVE ALONG BAYFIELD'S MAIN STREET

THE LAKE ICE IS GRADUALLY DISAPPEARING

I gassed up my wheelbarrow, charged up my lawn rake, and put a new battery in my pitchfork, and off I went like the energizer bunny. Sawed up and dragged more pine branches out to the road and raked up 8 full wheelbarrow loads of yard waste into the utility trailer. Pheebs was outside most of the time helping me too. By mid-afternoon, I was totally pooped and had no choice but to come inside and plop myself down into my sunroom recliner for a short half hour siesta. I was soon back outside again later continuing to plug away at the Spring clean-up. I am a happy camper:)) ..... Talked to Aunt Jean for a short time again this morning. I make it a point not to keep her on the phone long because it's difficult for her to talk at times. She is still on oxygen and her Doctor will be in to see her tomorrow and there may be some changes at that time. Her spirits are good and she's confident she will beat this thing.

MY VERY FIRST WHEELBARROW LOAD OF YARD-WASTE FOR 2025

I WILL SOON HAVE A BACKYARD CAMPFIRE GOING HERE

SO NICE TO SEE BLUE SKIES THROUGH THE PINE TREES

I BOUGHT MY TRUSTY WHEELBARROW WAY BACK IN THE MID 80'S

I'M REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO OUR GREEN JUNGLE FILLING IN THIS YEAR

Al's Music Box:)) Don't Be Cruel is a song that was recorded by Elvis Presley and written by Otis Blackwell in 1956. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2004, it was listed #197 in Rolling Stone's list of 500 Greatest Spngs of All Time. "Don't Be Cruel" was the first song that Elvis Presley's song publishers, Hill & Range, brought to him to record. Otis Blackwell was more than happy to give up 50% of the royalties and a co-writing credit to Presley to ensure that the "hottest new singer around covered it".^[1] But unfortunately, he had already sold the song for only $25 ($289 in 2024), as he stated in an interview of American Songwriter. Freddy Bienstock, Presley's music publisher, gave the following explanation for why Presley received co-writing credit for songs like "Don't Be Cruel". "In the early days Elvis would show dissatisfaction with some lines and he would make alterations, so it wasn't just what is known as a 'cut-in'. His name did not appear after the first year. But if Presley liked the song, the writers would be offered a guarantee of a million records and they would surrender a third of their royalties to Elvis'." Presley recorded the song on July 2, 1956, during an exhaustive recording session at RCA Victor Studos in New York City. During this session he also recorded "Hound Dog and Any Way You Want Me". The song featured Presley's band of Scotty Moore on lead guitar (with Presley usually providing rhythm guitar), Bill Black on double bass, D.J. Fontana on drums, Shorty Long on piano, and backing vocals from the Jordanaires. The producing credit was given to RCA's Stephen H. Sholes, although the studio recordings reveal that Presley produced the songs in this session by selecting the song, reworking the arrangement on piano, and insisting on 28 takes before he was satisfied with it. H e also ran through 31 takes of "Hound Dog". The single was released on July 13, 1956, backed with "Hound Dog". Within a few weeks "Hound Dog" had risen to #2 on the Pop charts with sales of over one million. Soon after it was overtaken by "Don't Be Cruel," which took #1 on all three main charts; Pop, Country, and R&B. Between them, both songs remained at #1 on the Pop chart for a run of 11 weeks tying it with the 1950 Anton Karas hit "The Third Man Theme" and the 1951–1952 Johnie Ray hit "Cry" for the longest stay at number one by a single record from late 1950 onward until 1992's smash "End of the Road" by Boyz II Men. By the end of 1956 it had sold in excess of four million copies. Billboard ranked it as the No. 2 song for 1956. Presley performed "Don't Be Cruel" during all three of his appearances on The Ed Sullivan in September 1956 and January 1957. Don't Be Crues went on to become Presley's biggest-selling single recorded in 1956, with sales over six million by 1961. It became a regular feature of his live sets until his death in 1977, and was often coupled with "Jailhouse Rock" or "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear" during performances from 1969.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( There was a little boy named Johnny who used to hang out at the local corner market. The owner didn't know what Johnny's problem was, but the boys would constantly tease him. They would always comment that he was two bricks shy of a load, or two pickles short of a barrel. To prove it, sometimes they would offer Johnny his choice between a nickel (5 cents) and a dime (10 cents) and John would always take the nickel -- they said, because it was bigger. One day after John grabbed the nickel, the store owner took him aside and said, "Johnny, those boys are making fun of you. They think you don't know the dime is worth more than the nickel. Are you grabbing the nickel because it's bigger or what?" Slowly, Johnny turned toward the store owner and a big grin appeared on his face and Johnny said, "Well, if I took the dime, they'd stop doing it, and so far I've saved $20!"

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Q: How did the bishop make holy water?
A: He took some tap water and boiled the hell out of it.

Q: How many Dylan fans does it take to screw in a light bulb?
A: The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind. The answer is blowin' in the wind.

Q: How many punk rockers does it take to change a lightbulb ?
A: Two: One to screw in the bulb and the other to smash the old one on his forehead.

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When his auto mechanic came in for an operation, Dr. Grimley couldn't help but take the opportunity to turn the tables on
him. "Well Frank," said the doctor, "It's going to take at least five days for the parts to get in. As for the cost, there's no way to tell until we get in there and see exactly what the problem is."

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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Kelly' Corner
AND WHO'S CHAIR IS IT ANYWAY!!

Al's Art Gallery

Sunday, March 16, 2025

I'M NOT SURE WHOSE TURN IT IS TO DRIVE THOUGH

OUR FIRST CROCUS SHOOTS OF 2025

A cloudy start to the day as Pheebs and I rolled out around a couple of country blocks. Farm fields are now about 98% clear of snow and many are already turning green. By the time we got home, skies were beginning to clear and I wasted no time getting hold of my lawn rake and began raking up more snow-free areas. It didn't take me long to spot two separate patches of Crocus leaves poking through the cold ground cover. Early buds on our front yard White Magnolia tree can be seen too. And, I can hear Robin's in our backyard. It has been a long winter waiting for these early days of Springlike weather like this

iT'S NOT OFTEN ONE SEES AN OLD FISHING BOAT IN A FARMYARD

SO NICE TO SEE GREEN AGAIN INSTEAD OF WHITE

KIND OF REMINDS ME OF ACTRESS LAUREN BACALL

Before heading home to Stratford, Woodsy and I slipped up to Walmart in Goderich. I was running low on a few things. Coffee at Hortons Drive-Thru and down to the harbor we went. Glad to see the road to Rotary Cove is snow-free and open again. Back to Bayfield, we went and a couple hours later Lorraine headed for home. She'll be back soon. She doesn't like me living on cornflakes and peanut butter:(( I of course see absolutely nothing wrong with that:))

THREE LAKE HURON CROCODILES LURK IN THE ICE-FREE WATER AT GODERICHS ROTARY COVE

I called Aunt Jean this morning and as difficult as it is for her at the moment, she is holding her own. Her voice is still weak but with the help of oxygen, she is determined to get through this medical setback. Her spirits are good and there was a bounce in her few chuckles. She told me that at her facility she has picked up the nickname, 'Tenacious'. I find that a very fitting name for Aunt Jean. I will be phoning her again in the morning.

WINTER STORMS HAVE BROUGHT DOWN A LOT OF BRANCHES

I was not shocked by Richard's passing a few days ago because it was something we had talked about the last time we were out for a coffee cruise nearly two weeks ago. Actually, Richard and I have talked a lot about death, dying, and 'the other side' these past couple of years, His health has been steadily declining for the past 6 months. I find myself in kind of a limbo state now. I know he's gone and yet I still think of him being a short 6-minute drive away and that we'll be heading out for another coffee run this coming Thursday morning. I'm not too sure whose turn it is to drive though.......

RICHARD WITH PHEEBS AND THEIR LATE DOG BUBBA

A Blast From Our Past On this day in 2009 Kelly and I drove Up And Over the Chiricahua Mountains To Portal Arizona.

Al's Music Box Running Scared is a song written by Roy Orbison and Joe Melson and sung by Orbison. An operatic rock ballad, the recording of the song was overseen by audio engineer Bill Porter and released as a 45 rpm single by Monument Records in March 1961 and went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It sold over one million copies in the US alone. The song was included on Orbison's 1962 album Crying as the final track on the album. Noted for being a song written without a chorus, the song builds in the lyrics, arrangement, and vocals to a climax that, without vibrato, demonstrates the power of Orbison's clear, full voice. It is written in the bolero style; Orbison is credited with bringing this to the rock genre. Fred Foster, producer of the session and of Monument Records, did not want the powerful high note that ends the song to end in falsetto but in full or natural voice. According to Foster, the last note that ends the song is G above (G5) High C (C5) in full natural voice. The note is actually high A (A4), over Middle C (C4). While "Running Scared" was an international hit, the B-side "Love Hurts" also picked up significant airplay in Australia. Consequently, chart figures for Australia show "Running Scared"/"Love Hurts" as a double A-side, both sides peaking at number five. This makes Orbison's recording of "Love Hurts" the first version to be a hit. "Love Hurts" later became better known in a version by rock band Nazereth, who had an international hit with it in 1975.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A man was walking in the street when he heard a voice: "Stop! Stand still! If you take one more step, a brick will fall down on your head and kill you." The man stopped and a big brick fell right in front of him. The man was astonished. He went on, and after awhile he was going to cross the road. Once again the voice shouted: "Stop! Stand still! If you take one more step a car will run over you and you will die." The man did as he was instructed, just as a car came careening around the corner, barely missing him. "Where are you?" the man asked. "Who are you?" "I am your guardian angel," the voice answered."Oh yeah?" the man asked... "And where the hell were you when I got married?"

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"Would you continue to love me if I were completely bald?" she asked. "Absolutely, my dear," he answered. "What if I had no ears? Would you still love me?" "Just as much as I do now, sweetheart." "What if I had no arms at all?" "Even then, my love."

"What if I had no toes?" "Ew, no!" "What?!?" "Darling, you know I'm lack-toes intolerant"

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Harry and his neighbor Joe often borrowed things from each other. One day, Harry asked to borrow Joe's ladder.

Joe said, "Sorry Harry, I've lent it to my son." Remembering a saying that his grandma often used to tell him, Harry said, "Joe, you should never lend anything to your children because you'll never get it back." Joe replied, "Don't worry, it's not my ladder - it's my dad's."

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