BIG WIND GUSTS NEARLY TOPPLED ME INTO THE DITCH

 WE SURE GOT A SMASHER OF A STORM SATURDAY NIGHT

I was hoping to see something called the Black Moon Saturday night, but it was not to be.  I saw something else more spectacular.  Heading out of the Park and clearing the forest around 7:45, I saw right away a lot of clouds in the sky, so I knew there would probably not be a visible Black Moon sighting.  However, the clouds that I was seeing were very ominous and smacked of a bad storm brewing.  By the time I reached my walking spot on Stirling Line, it was obvious that we were about to be clobbered by a major storm to the west coming in across Lake Huron.  There were massive, dark gray clouds thickening and roiling about in the sky, and there was thunder and lightning in those low-hanging clouds as well.  The cloud mass was like a gigantic, fast-moving steamroller approaching.  I have seen lots of stormy skies, but never one with the angry-looking forboding colors this one was packing.  I'm not exactly an excitable person, but this approaching storm really had me excited as I darted about taking photos with both my camera and my iPhone.  What a really great way to spend a Saturday night, I thought to myself as my car door blew shut and the sudden big wind gusts nearly toppled me into the ditch. Frightened? No!!  Excited, hell yes:)) And then, with a whoosh, came the blinding wall of rain, obscuring any further visibility of the sky.  'Oh-Oh' I thought, 'I've left some windows open at home', and with that thought foremost in my mind, and my windshield wipers on high barely keeping up with the deluge of water, I made a dash for home.  The rain was hitting the car so hard that it created a din inside, making me think it might be hail.  It wasn't, it was just a wind-whipped hard rain.  Luckily, by the time I got home, the rain had begun letting up.  I made a dash inside and was relieved to find that not much of that driving rain had entered through the three open windows.  Sometimes I just get lucky, I guess. 'What a great way to spend a Saturday night,' I thought to myself.  I gotta get out and do this more often............ 

 TURNING NORTH AT MY WALKING ROAD ON STIRLING LINE, I LOOKED TO THE WEST AND SAW RIGHT AWAY THAT THERE WAS A BIG STORM APPROACHING 

 SKIES BEGAN TURNING WONKY COLORS

 THERE WAS A LOT OF LIGHTNING AND THUNDER GOING ALL ACROSS THE WESTERN HORIZON AND TO THE NORTHWEST AS WELL

DID YOU SEE THE PROFILE OF A FACE IN THE CENTER LOOKING DOWN TO THE RIGHT

THE BLUE CLOUD COLORING IN THIS PHOTO AND THE ONE BELOW IS NOT ACCURATE...THE CLOUDS WERE MANY SHADES OF GRAY AS ILLUSTRATED IN A FEW CLOUD PICS THAT I DID IN BLACK AND WHITE

Al's Music Box:)) Fire And Rain by James Taylor.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( An old farmer from back in the hills walked twelve miles, one way, to the general store. "Heya, Wilbur," said Sam, the store owner. "Tell me, are you and Myrtle still making fires up there by rubbing stones and flint together?" "You betcha, Sam. Ain't no 'tother way. Why?" "Got something to show you. Something to make fire. It's called a Match." 'Match? Never heard of it." "Watch this. If you want a fire, you just do this," Sam says, taking a match and striking it on his pants." "Huh. Well, that's something, but that ain't for me, Sam." "Well, why not?" "I can't be walking twelve miles to borrow your pants every time I want a fire."

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A doctor is talking to a car mechanic, "Your fee is several times more per hour then we get paid for medical care." "Yeah, but you see, doc, you have always the same model, it hasn't changed since Adam; but we have to keep up to date with new models coming out every month."

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A rich guy said, "I think I may need professional help...A chef, a butler, and a maid should do it".

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The little moron went to a pet shop one day and asked about buying a gold fish. The salesperson asked if he needed an aquarium. His reply, 'I don't care what sign it is.'

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Just before Christmas, an honest politician, a generous lawyer, and Santa Claus were riding in the elevator of a very posh hotel. Just before the doors opened, they all noticed a $20 bill lying on the floor. Which one picked it up?  Santa, of course, because the other two don't exist!

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The little moron is swimming in a river. A man walks up and asks him, "What are you doing in there?" He says, "I'm washing my clothes." The man asks, "Why don't you use a washing machine?" The little moron says, "I tried that, but it made me too dizzy.

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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Al's Art Gallery

WATCHING THEM FLY OVER IN THE NIGHT SKY, I THOUGHT, HOW STRANGE

A LARGE SHIP AT THE GODERICH GRAIN TERMINAL THIS MORNING

After my phone call to Aunt Jean Friday night, (she's doing okay) I hopped into the car and headed out to my new favorite stargazing spot on Tower Hill Road.  Had I had the forethought to check the night sky before leaving, I might not have gone.  It had been a clear sunny day, so I figured it would be a clear dark night.  Not so, silly me.  Stepping out of the car at my site, I was disappointed to see a hazy cloud cover obscuring large sections of the sky and especially along the horizon in all directions.  However, directly above me, visibility was relatively good, and looking up, I immediately spotted a satellite coming out of the northwest heading southeast.  And then, I saw another satellite following about 30 seconds behind the first satellite, and on the same track heading in the same direction.  About 30 seconds later, I saw another one, same thing.  Then I saw another one, and as I stood there counting, a total of 17 satellites passed overhead, each about 30 seconds apart and in single file.  I don't know how many I may have missed at the beginning of that satellite string.  Watching them fly over in the night sky, I thought how strange, until I remembered a string of much closer together satellites I saw last summer.  These were most likely Starlink satellites I was seeing tonight.  From the internet....'A Starlink satellite train is a temporarily, visible formation of SpaceX satellites seen as a line of lights shortly after a launch. These closely grouped satellites are in a low-Earth orbit and are illuminated by the sun when the ground below is dark, making them visible. You can spot these trains a few days after a launch, typically at twilight, by tracking them on websites like Space or Find Starlink.' While watching these go over, I saw five other satellites going in various different directions which made a total of 22 satellites, and the most I've ever seen in such a short 10 minute time frame.  I also saw three aircraft, and two Iridium flares while there.  An Iridium flare is a bright flash of light caused by sunlight reflecting off the polished antennas of iridium communication satellites. These flares can be surprisingly bright, even reaching magnitudes of -8, which is brighter than Venus. They are predictable and can be observed by anyone with a clear view of the night sky and some basic knowledge of when and where to look. 

 THE BULK CARRIER BLACKY BUILT IN CHINA SAILS UNDER THE FLAG OF CYPRUS

Al's Music Box;))  Vincent (Starry Starry Night) by Don McLean.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Two buddies are fishing, but they haven’t caught anything all day. Then, another fisherman walks by with a huge load of fish. They ask him "excuse me, but where did you get all those fish?" The other fisherman replies,” If you just go down the stream until the water isn't salty, there are a ton of hungry fish." They thank him and go on their way. 15 minutes later, one fisherman says to the other "fill the bucket up with water and see if the water is salty." He dips the bucket in the stream and drinks some. "Nope. Still salty." 30 minutes later, he asks him to check again. "Nope, still salty." One our later they check again. "Nope. Still salty." "This isn't good," the fisherman finally says. "We have been walking for almost two hours, and the water is still salty!" "I know," says the other. "And the bucket is almost empty!"

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True hospitality is making your guests feel like they ARE at home...... all the while you really wish they WERE at home!

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Q) Why did the policeman ticket the ghost on Halloween?
A) It didn’t have a haunting license.

Q) What are a ghost’s favorite rides at the fair?
A) The scary-go-round and rollerghoster!

Q) Why couldn’t the ghost see its mom and dad?
A) Because they were trans-parents!

Q) Which ghost is the best dancer?
A) The Boogie Man!

Q) Why do ghosts like to ride in elevators?
A) It raises their spirits.

Q) What do you get if you cross Bambi with a ghost?
A)Bamboo.

Q) Why don’t ghosts like rain on Halloween?
A) It dampens their spirits!

Q) What part of a house do ghosts and spirits avoid?
A) The living room.

Q) Why are ghosts such terrible liars?
A) Because you can see right through them.

Q) How did the little ghost learn to play the piano?
A) By using sheet music

Q) Why did the ghost go into the bar?
A) For the Boos.

Q) Where does a ghost go on vacation?
A) Mali-boo.
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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Al's Art Gallery