PHEEBS & I FOLLOWED BUGGY TRACKS UNTIL WE HEARD ANGELS SINGING

ALL THE HOMES, BARNS & PROPERTIES IN TONIGHT’S POST ARE FROM AMISH/MENNONITE COUNTRY

Turned out to be a beautiful sunny Sunday morning so figured Pheebs & I would head ourselves up into Amish/Mennonite Country.  With a bit of luck maybe we could find us where the folks had gathered for their Sunday morning service & by chance even hear them singing again like we once did a couple years ago.

First stop of the day though was Goderich’s Canadian Tire store to pick up a matching seat cover for Libby’s passenger seat.  After the nice looking but poorly made crappy ones I bought a year ago & ended up throwing out I wanted to be sure we had better quality ones this time so only bought 1 for the driver’s seat a month ago.  Liked it so much we got the second one this morning.  When traveling with a muffin sharing dog good seat covers are a definite necessity if you don’t want your seats looking like soiled rejects from a crumb factory.

THESE AMISH FOLKS HAVE THE NICEST LOOKING FARMS OF ANYWHERE….WELL KEPT, NEAT & TIDY & YOU KNOW ALL THOSE WATER WINDMILLS ARE IN THE BEST EVERYDAY WORKING CONDITION THEY CAN BE

I HAVE A FEELING THEY MIGHT BE SMOKING UP SOME GOOD OLD MENONITTE SUMMER SAUSAGE IN THERE

From Goderich we made our way North before angling off to the East over in the direction of Dungannon Ontario where we stopped to see Pheeb’s Alpaca Pals for the first time this year.  Of course the gang was happy to see her & I’ll post those photos along with some old & newer farm machinery, golfers, a couple piles of cows, a few horses, an old Ford car on the highway, more farm houses, a ‘guess what it is’ water reflection, more birds, some sheep, roadside farm lane flower arrangements, tulips, a cluster of telephoto barns, & of course my co-pilot Pheebs uncustomarily riding shotgun in the back seat:))

From Dungannon it wasn’t much farther before we were in horse & buggy country & it didn’t take long to find us a trail of fresh Sunday morning buggy tracks on the gravel road all heading in one direction.  Followed them until together they turned into a single farm laneway.  With windows down I pulled over & stopped.   As expected when I turned the Jeep’s engine off I heard the nicest melodic & angelic singing coming from an old large red barn at the end of the long lane.  Sat there for awhile just listening & enjoying what I was hearing.  It didn’t sound like church music from when I was a Kid & got dragged off kicking & screaming to Sunday School Sunday mornings.  This was a different sound & appeared to be deeper & male oriented.  Harmony & tone were in perfect unison lifting the many voices skyward.  I couldn’t make out any words which of course is preferable to me anyway because it is the sound of the human voice used as an instrument of perfection which always garners my attention & appreciation more so than words.  Those chanting like voices I heard rising & falling this morning were on par with any professional singing group I have ever heard anywhere & sitting there I was wishing I had had some kind of a quality recording device with me.  A truly awe inspiring event in the country side & how better to spend a Sunday morning than wrapped in the arms of Mother Nature’s splendid reality.

THE BUGGY WHEEL TRACKS LED US TO THIS FARM LANEWAY

FROM THOSE BARN WINDOWS CAME THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SOUNDS

IT WAS SO NICE TO SIMPLY SIT HERE A FEW MINUTES JUST LISTENING

I HAVE NOTICED OVER THE YEARS IN MY TRAVELS THROUGH AMISH COUNTRY THE FOLKS LIKE TO PAINT THEIR HOUSES WHITE & THEIR BARNS & DRIVING SHEDS RED & YOU WILL NOTICE THAT IN TODAY’S PHOTOS ON VARIOUS FARMS

NOTE THE OLD BLACK HANDLE WATER PUMP

FOUR FELLOWS CAME OUT OF THE HOUSE & HEADED FOR THE DRIVING SHED & FROM THERE WALKED OVER & ENTERED THE BARN

WHEN THIS MOTHER & 3 CHILDREN CAME OUT OF THE BARN I FELT IT WAS TIME FOR ME TO MOVE ON & NOT MAKE THEM UNCOMFORTABLE AT SEEING A CAR STOPPED AT THE END OF THEIR LANEWAY….KEEP IN MIND I AM USING A LONG TELEPHOTO LENS SO I AM NOT ANYWHERE AS NEAR TO THESE FOLKS AS IT WOULD APPEAR

SOON THIS FRONT YARD GARDEN PLOT WILL BE BURSTING FORTH WITH COLORFUL FLOWERS & HEALTHY GREEN LEAF VEGITABLES

MOVING DOWN THE ROAD A BIT I COULD STILL HEAR THE SOUNDS OF SINGING COMING FROM THE BIG RED BARN

HORSES FROM THOSE BUGGIES COULD BE SEEN GRAZING BEHIND THAT RED BARN ON THE LEFT

I took 182 photos this morning of which after editing 139 are useable for my blog.  Of course way too many to fit into one blog post of course so over the next few days I’ll toss a smattering of today’s photos in each post.

THESE AMISH/MENONNITE FARMS ALWAYS SEEM TO HAVE THE HEALTHIEST & ROBUST LOOKING HORSES

GROANER’S CORNER:(( 10 Best Caddy Replies::

# 10 — Golfer: “Think I’m going to drown myself in the lake.”

Caddy: “Think you can keep your head down that long?”

# 9 — Golfer: “I’d move heaven and earth to break 100 on this course.”

Caddy: “Try heaven, you’ve already moved most of the earth.”

# 8 — Golfer: “Do you think my game is improving?”

Caddy: “Yes sir, you miss the ball much closer now.”

# 7 — Golfer: “Do you think I can get there with a 5 iron?”

Caddy: “Eventually.”

# 6 — Golfer: “You’ve got to be the worst caddy in the world.”

Caddy: “I don’t think so sir. That would be too much of a coincidence.”

# 5 — Golfer: “Please stop checking your watch all the time. It’s too much of A distraction.”

Caddy: “It’s not a watch – it’s a compass.”

# 4 — Golfer: “How do you like my game?”

Caddy: “Very good sir, but personally, I prefer golf.”

# 3 — Golfer: “Do you think it’s a sin to play on Sunday?”

Caddy: “The way you play, sir, it’s a sin on any day.”

# 2 — Golfer: “This is the worst course I’ve ever played on.”

Caddy: “This isn’t the golf course. We left that an hour ago.”

# 1 — Best Caddy Comment Golfer: “That can’t be my ball, it’s too old.”

Caddy: “It’s been a long time since we teed off, sir.”

BUTTERY DANDELION CHINS

LILLY PADS

Cloudy day & a tad cool but it was A-Ok for bustling about getting a bunch of things done.  A bit of spackling, some painting, cleaned the Sunfire’s interior & did a complete clean-up on the Jeep.  Transplanted some ferns along with half a dozen other puttery little things & before I knew it the day was at it’s end.  But not before I actually fell asleep in my recliner for a couple hours this afternoon.  Guess I was just needing that………

THAT’S THE BIG BOSS BLUE JAY ON THE RIGHT

“OKAY YOU 3 TURKEYS LISTEN UP…..& LISTEN UP GOOD”

UMMM, HELLO!!!!

By the way Dianne & Harry over at Bayfield’s Stormrunner RV Sales & Service have sold the property their business is on so they have from now to November to move a lot of stock out.  Their big sale started today & will run until most everything is gone.  Last week alone they sold 6 units so if your in the market for a new Redwood or Rushmore 5th wheel you had better get yourself on over there before every thing is moved out.  Be sure to check their website for new & used plus all your RV needs in their store.  Good folks them there Stormrunners:))

I THINK THIS LITTLE LADY MIGHT BE A FEMALE RED BREASTED GROSBEAK

I know a lot of my front yard bird photos are not quite as sharp as they should be & I have to blame our very shady yard for that.  I’m generally always having to take my photos in low lighting conditions using slower shutter speeds which cause the ever moving birds to appear slightly blurry & out of focus.   However I am hoping that will improve sometime soon this summer when we have some large pine trees taken down along the south side of our property allowing more sunlight in to brighten up our whole front yard area.  Below is an example of having to take photos in low light conditions.  Just not as sharp as it should or could be.

I’M WONDERING IF THIS MIGHT BE A FEMALE ORIOLE

THIS WEE BLACK CAPPED CHICADEE IS REALLY DIGGIN IN THE SEEDS

NUTHATCH AT THE FEEDER

AND THERE’S THAT DARN RASCALLY BLACK SQUIRREL AGAIN!!

Thanks to readers for taking me back over 60 years & reminding me about dandelions, chins, & butter.  It all came flooding back & I do remember the connection now.  If anyone is wondering what this buttery dandelion chins paragraph is about just go back a day to my Friday post & be sure to read reader’s comments:))

GROANER’S CORNER:(( IIt all began with an iPhone……In March, my son celebrated his 15th birthday, and I got him an iPhone. He just loved it. Who wouldn’t?  In July, I celebrated my birthday and my wife made me very happy when she bought me an iPad.  My other son’s birthday was in August so I got him an iPod Touch.  September came along so for her birthday, I got my wife an iRon. It was around about then that the fight started . . . What my wife clearly failed to recognize is that the iRon can be integrated into the home network with the iWash, iCook and iClean. This inevitably activates the iNag reminder service.  I am in recovery now and they tell me I should be out of the hospital in 3 to 4 weeks…….iHurt

OFF LIKE A FURRY FLOCK OF MOSSMAGATORS

I was surprised my legs were not sore this morning after Thursdays carpet removal with so many ups & downs & crabbing around on the floor.  With our weather slowly but steadily improving & the fact Thursday had been an inside work day I decided to take my legs for a much needed walk in the Hullett Marsh today.  Loaded up the little Spoogers & we were off like a furry flock of Mossmagators.

SOME PRETTY INTERESTING FARM MACHINERY ON OUR ROADS THIS TIME OF YEAR….SO WHAT DO YOU THINK THIS CONFIGURATION IS ALL ABOUT TOM??

YELLOW DANDELIONS LINE OUR COUNTRY ROADS & THIS ROAD SKIRTS THE NORTH SIDE OF THE HULLETT-MARSH SO THAT IS MARSH PROPERTY ON THE LEFT

I REMEMBER AS KIDS WE WOULD HOLD DANDELIONS UP TO OUR CHEEKS & IF WE COULD SEE THE YELLOW REFLECTED ON OUR SKIN IT MEANT SOMETHING BUT I’LL BE DARNED IF I CAN REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS

In a comment question on my Thursday post Harriet McD from On The Road Again asks in regards to my Tulip photos, “Do you have to lie down on the ground to get those shots? Do you carry a rug or something to lay on”?  Well Harriet it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to get myself down on the ground to crawl under a flower so I do neither of those things.  I just bend over & hold my camera down close to the ground & angle it up a slight bit & take the photo.  Thanks to ‘Auto Focusing’ & the fact I can see the photo right away on the camera’s display screen I can take a second or third shot to get the composition half right.  I’m afraid if I put a blanket on the ground then got down on it I might not be able to get up again which of course in turn could lead me to fall asleep right there & then for an hour or six.

I THINK MA & PA TREE SWALLOW HAVE A WHOLE HERD OF BABY SWALLERS INSIDE

Just can't say enough how great it is & how I so enjoy slipping out with Pheebs for these morning drives & walks as often as we do.  Windows down this morning, nice music on our Sirius Satellite radio, a hot cup of Tim Hortons coffee with a freshly baked carrot-orange muffin, no traffic on the country roads, no particular place to go & in no hurry to get anywhere if I did.  Forests bursting into Spring, farmers out working their land & cattle grazing in open fields of waving grass.  Sometimes when I think of the life I’ve lived I wonder how I got so lucky………….

SAY, COULD THIS BE ONE OF THOSE DRIVERLESS TRACTORS…..NAWWW THE FARMERS PROBABLY STILL IN THE BARN MILKING THE CHICKENS

SPOTTED A COUPLE ‘SNAPPING TURTLES’ SUNNING THEMSELVES

THE MARSH DOES HAVE IT’S MYSTERIES

THIS IS WHERE THE OLD SWAMP WITCH LIVES….AND NO IT IS NOT MY GRADE 6 TEACHER

Nice leisurely walk in the Marsh just poking our way along taking in Mother Nature's peace & serenity.  All around us the sights & sounds of Spring.   Short sleeves, nice breeze & I was very aware it was one of those special 'feeling good' mornings.  These are good days.

IT WAS HERE WITH A WARM BREEZE RUFFLING MY HAIR I THOUGHT TO MYSELF WHAT A SPECIAL FEELING GOOD MORNING THIS WAS & HOW LUCKY I AM TO HAVE THE THINGS I DO

THE FELLOW IN THE CENTER GOES BY THE NAME ‘CHARLIE TWO LEGS’

JUST AN OLD TREE STUMP WHERE A MIGHTY FOREST ONCE STOOD

PHEEBS IS STILL WONDERING WHERE ALL HER LITTLE FROGGY PALS ARE THIS YEAR

Richard popped over after lunch & began trimming out the room we had the carpet installed in a couple days ago.  I hooked up our utility trailer & hauled some yard trimmings off to our Park's land fill site.  With the trailer empty I loaded the old sunroom carpet in & a few days from now when I haul the carpet out of Kelly's room I'll toss that in there too readying it for a run to the county dump maybe next week.  With Kelly heading for Spencerport NY in a few days I figured I'd better get her car washed & spiffed up so worked away at that for awhile this afternoon as well.  Noticed I've had some extra energy these past few days & it dawned on me today why that may be happening so here's my theory..........

RICHARD’S WORKBENCH ON OUR DECK

I went for many years with without ever getting a good night's sleep so 3 years ago I decided to do something about that because I was always tired.  My Nurse Practitioner at the time prescribed me some sleeping pills & they worked like a charm giving me a sound uninterrupted sleep night after night after night.  Only downside to those pills was my Zombie like state upon waking every morning.  Each day it was hard to get myself going & when I did get up & shake myself off I seemed to be in kind of a draggy mood for quite awhile.  In other words, low energy.  Just a few days ago my new Nurse Practitioner suggested I try a different kind of sleeping pill to see how I felt so I did.  The new one does not put me in as deep a sleep as the other one & although I'm waking up around 4:30 in the morning now I am not waking up in a lethargic Zombiegator state like I was.  I like feeling energized in the morning so think I'll try sticking with the newer sleeping aide & see if I can adjust to it.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A doctor was addressing a large audience in  London.  “The material we put into our stomachs should have killed most of us sitting here years ago.  Red meat is full of steroids and dye.  Soft drinks corrode your stomach lining.  Chinese food is loaded with MSG.  High transfat diets can be disastrous, and none of us realise the long-term harm caused by the germs in our drinking water.  But there is one thing that is the most dangerous of all, and most of us have, or will, eat it.  Can anyone here tell me what food it is that causes the most grief and suffering for years after eating it?”  After several seconds of quiet, a 76-year-old man in the front row raised his hand and said softly: “Wedding Cake?”

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P.S. Yes I know I forgot to add an extra O in the word Chose in my Thursday night’s blog title:))