WE ARE ALL TRAVELING THAT ROAD

 THURSDAY EVENING SUNSET FROM MY WALKING ROAD

With mainly clear skies Thursday evening and the days getting shorter, I was out the door at 6:40 p.m. and off to my walking road to catch the 6:53 sunset.  Cooler night air is upon us now so I wore a light winter jacket. After my walk, it was into Clinton for coffee to go, and then off I went to my night sky viewing spot.  The constellation Sagittarius is still visible low on the southwest horizon, but the constellation Scorpius has slipped over the horizon, and I will keep watch for it when it again becomes visible in the Spring sky and begins once again its slow and steady trek across summer's southern sky. Tonight I saw eight satellites and six aircraft.

With bright sunny skies again today and refreshing temperatures, I hardly had to wear a jacket on this morning's walk.  Following that, and after a couple of stops in Bayfield, I had to head off to Goderich.  I'm the kind of character who basically always keeps two of everything on hand, and that way I never run out of anything.  And it's not often that I mess up and run short.  But darn if it didn't happen this morning when I realized I was right out of my Weight Watchers bread.  Serious business here because I always have a piece of toast for breakfast.  I was in a dilemma, so after my walk, I was off to Goderich for a few groceries.....specifically, A Loaf of Bread!!  Yes, our local Bayfield Foodland Supermarket has bread, but I don't think they have 'Weight Watchers' bread.

 LAKE HURON WAVES AT GODERICH'S ROTARY COVE EARLIER THIS MORNING

Home again, and with this wonderful weather upon us I hauled out the leaf blower and blew of the front porch and deck as well as blew out the carport.  So many pine needles all over the place.  Three more heaping wheelbarrow loads of needles were raked up and tossed into the utility trailer.  I also took my weed whacker for a walk and trimmed up some flower bed edges.  It won't be long before I start cutting all the hostas back.

 A FEW PHOTOS FROM AROUND OUR PARK LATE THIS MORNING

THAT'S NEIGHBOR MONICA'S GARAGE AT THE UPPER LE

Filling up at the gas station this morning, I noticed the young fellow at the pump. Looking at him, a question drifted through my mind.  Would I like to be that young again?  Would I like to be his age?  Do I wish I could trade places with him?  There was no hesitation in my mind, nothing to ponder on.  I knew without thinking about it that 'no' I would not like to trade places or be that age again.  I knew things about this lad's future that he didn't.  I knew the challenges and impossible responsibilities he would face, the trials and tribulations, both the mental and physical pains he would have to endure.  I knew the good, the bad, and the ugly.  But, I also knew the joys of life, the happiness, the excitement, and the accomplishments he will see.  The love and caring he will experience.  The happiness, the sorrow.  The wondrous warmth of summer, and the brutal cold of winter.   The happy heart and the broken heart.  He will experience it all and more.  He will struggle, and he will succeed.  And he will struggle again.  I know the road he is on.  I have travelled that road.  I am still traveling that road.  We are all traveling that road.  His road at his age is endless and full of unknowns, and he will have to be up for the challenges around every corner.  My road is shorter now, and I am comfortable and content with that because I know another road awaits.  It becomes clearer to me now as each day slips away.  So, no, I wouldn't change places with that younger fellow for anything.  Unlike the young lad with an unknown destiny, I now, with awareness, anticipation, and knowledge, patiently await that final journey home.......... 

 Music Box:: Along The Santa Fe Trail by The Sons Of The Pioneers.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Returning home from work, the little Moron was shocked to find his house ransacked and burglarized. He telephoned the police at once and reported the crime. The police dispatcher broadcast the call, and a K-9 unit patrolling nearby was the first to respond.  As the K-9 officer approached the house with his dog on a leash, the little Moron ran out on the porch, shuddered at the sight of the policeman and his dog, then sat down on the steps. Putting his face in his hands, he moaned: "I come home to find all my possessions stolen. I call the police for help, and what do they do? They send me a BLIND policeman!"

- As long as there are tests, there will be prayer in public schools.

- How did the turkey get to Thanksgiving?
He rode the gravy train!

- Why did the turkey’s dad make him eat nothing but stale bread? To stuffin’ him up!

-Why did the turkey cross the road? He was trying to convince people he was a chicken!
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I went into the office early one morning and switched the M and N keys on everyone's keyboard. Some people will say I'm a monster. The others will say I'm a nomster.

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A concerned woman phones a doctor and says, "Doctor, I'm worried about my husband. He thinks he's a dog!" "I'm coming over right away," the doctor says.
When the doctor arrives, the woman opens the door, and her husband, on all four, starts wagging his bottom and licking the doctor's hand. "Interesting", the doctor says, startled. "I'll examine him. Make him lie down on the sofa." "Doctor", the woman says, "I can't! He's not allowed the sofa!"

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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Today's Art Gallery

SO BACK TO THE PARK'S RECYCLING AREA I WENT

Wednesday:: Sorry folks, by the time I got to the end of Wednesday, I had run out of steam and didn't get a blog published.  I started Wednesday morning off by slipping over to neighbor Monica's with a hedge trimmer, a weed whacker, a pair of work gloves, a wheelbarrow, a clippers, and a pair of pruning shears.  A flower bed on the south side of her garage had become quite overgrown during the summer with ornamental grasses and a tough weed tree.  It needed to be trimmed right back to ground level, so I got right at it and got that job done. 

THE TASK AT HAND

 ALL DONE BUT THE CLEAN-UP

Monica herself was still in St. Jacobs about 75 northeast of Bayfield.  We had driven her there a couple of days ago, and after attending her sister's funeral in Peterborough, Ontario, on Tuesday, she was back at her son's in St. Jacobs and ready to come on.  Under clear blue sunny skies, Woodsy and I set out this morning about 11:20 and reached St. Jacobs at 1 o'clock.  We soon had Monica loaded up and off and set off for home.  We had a small detour already preplanned along the way to a very popular and well-known Mennonite Eatery in Millbank, Ontario, called Anna Mae's Bakery And Restaurant.  We knew there would probably be a line up, but we certainly hadn't expected the mass of people there.  It quickly became obvious that the long wait time was not going to work in our favor, so we decided to get takeout dinners and bring the food us.  We had Monica home shortly before 3 p.m., and the rest of the day just kinda quietly slipped away.

 ALL THESE PEOPLE ARE WAITING FOR A TABLE; THERE ARE MORE WAITING OUTSIDE AND IN THE GIFT SHOP

 WAITING FOR OUR TAKE-OUT ORDER (ONLY ABOUT 10 MINUTES)

Thursday:: Lots of sunshine through the pine trees this morning as our wondrous Autumn weather continues.  So far so good.  Back from my morning walk, I raked up four more wheelbarrow loads of pine needles from the backyard and hitched up the utility trailer.  I backed the trailer up Monica's driveway to where I'd cut down the tall foliage the previous morning, and loaded all that into the trailer.  I then did a 'Lone Ranger' drive to the Park's recycling area.  A 'Lone Ranger' drive??   Ya, you know....'To de dump to de dump to de dump dump dump':))  With the weather so nice, it's a real privilege just to be outside doing something physical.  And it's a double privilege for me that I can still do a lot of it, and that I still enjoy doing it for the most part.  However, today I created some unnecessary work for myself.  While unloading the trailer load of brush, I accidentally flipped my blue-handled shovel out of the trailer and didn't notice my shovel missing until I got home.  So back to the Park's recycling area I went and began digging and sorting through all the pine needles, tall bamboo grass, and twisted and entangled small branches from the weed tree.  Of course I had to dig through 95% of the pile before finally finding my shovel in the last 5%.  It wouldn't have been right if I had found it right away, would it!!

 RAKING PINE NEEDLES IN THE BACKYARD

 AND IN THE SIDE YARD

 AFTER UNLOADING ALL THIS YARD WASTE, I HAD TO COME BACK HALF AN HOUR LATER AND DIG THROUGH IT ALL LOOKING FOR MY BLUE HANDLED SHOVEL

Woodsie (Lorraine) headed back to Stratford for a few days, but she left enough food in the fridge and freezer to last me for months.  I'm just not a big eater anymore.

 IN OUR PARK

Memories Music Box:: Beautiful by Gordon Lightfoot,

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A man realized he needed to purchase a hearing aid, but he felt unwilling to spend much money. "How much do they run?" he asked the clerk. "That depends," said the salesman. "They run from $2.00 to $2,000." "Let's see the $2.00 model," he said. The clerk put the device around the man's neck. "You just stick this button in your ear and run this little string down to your pocket," he instructed. "How does it work?" the customer asked. "For $2.00 it doesn't work," the salesman replied. "But when people see it on you, they'll talk louder!"

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: Why did the little Moron try and steal a police car? 

A: He saw "911" on the back and thought it was a Porsche.

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- Nothing is impossible for the man who doesn't have to do it himself.

- “Law of Probable Dispersal”: Whatever hits the fan will not be evenly distributed.

- The first myth of management is that it exists.

- For every action there is an equal and opposite government program.

What is the difference between a woman and a battery? “A battery always has a positive side.”

- Whenever a moon landing goes horribly wrong, NASA must APOLLOgize.

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The psychology instructor had just finished a lecture on mental health and was giving an oral test. Speaking specifically about manic depression, she asked, "How would you diagnose a patient who walks back and forth screaming at the top of his lungs one minute, then sits in a chair weeping uncontrollably the next?" A young man in the rear raised his hand and answered, "A basketball coach?"

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Al's Doggy World

Meanings::

Today's Art Gallery::