SCRUFFLES IN THE OLD FOREST ONION PATCH

TRILLIUMS ON THE FOREST FLOOR

Due to some man made erosion problems at Deerpark Lodge one of the cottages has to moved a distance of 10 feet. That process started yesterday, is continuing to-day & should be finished up to-morrow. I have been there periodically with my camera photographing the move. Document pictures are needed for the electricity dis-connect, new propane lines, sewer connect, as well as the blocking & jacking of the building, etc. etc. Three young fellows are doing the job & I have been impressed with their professionalism, patience, & attention to detail. They work well as a team scurrying underneath the building attaching lines, constructing wooden platforms, fitting hydraulic jacks into place, wedging heavy metal beams in where needed, & just generally doing a fine job. But, here's the question. Where did these young fellers learn how to do all this precision work?? One would expect to see older men or at least one older boss man type guy. But no, these are all young fellows. The guys don't look like each other so I don't think it's a family affair where maybe they were all brought up in the business or something. I suppose I could just walk up & ask, "hey, where the heck did you guys learn how to do all this stuff!!" But, I don't like to be nosey so I'll just stick with the picture taking & be my usual quiet self & remain in a fog of mystery forever as to how these guys got so gul darned smart:)) CHECKERS SHOULD BE WORKING FOR A LOGGING COMPANY

Rick & Paulette are an RVing couple who have been on the road awhile but have just started a new travel blog. Rick had left a note in our shout box so I followed up his link. You can find them at http://rickpaulettervjournal.blogspot.com/ Maybe drop by & say hello:)) THE DOGGIES MOST FAVORITE SWIMMING HOLE

Clear cold night meant a heavy wet dew on the grass this morning. Our little Motormouse doesn't like to get her paws wet so steadfastly refused to come for a walk. Kelly wanted to head into work early so it was just me & two of my most bestest big furry pals, Max & Checkers for our morning walk. We have to walk along the edge of a small pond on the way to the forest & this time of year there are generally Canadian Geese on the water. Canada Geese on the water means Canada Geese poop on the shore. And Checkers just loves goose poop. I have to keep swooshing her along or she would just vacuum up every tasty little morsel she came across. They say that sort of thing isn't harmful to dogs because of their different digestive systems but it stills seems disgusting to me. But, I suppose if Checkers could talk she would tell me my daily morning habit of milk & lettuce would sound pretty disgusting to her too. CAN YOU FIND CHECKERS IN THIS PHOTO??

The hard wood forest floor is carpeted with Trilliums & Mayapples this time of year & the onion smell close to the ground in some areas is an onion like plant called a Leek. Leeks are edible but I've never tried one.
Buds & leaves are bursting forth on the trees while numerous song birds are busy flitting among the branches building nests & beginning their families. Walking along a narrow path atop a ridge I could hear the watery sounds of the Bayfield River below making it's way over a rocky river bed to Lake Huron. The air was fresh, the sun was bright, & all seemed right with the world.
A QUIET FOREST PATH THIS MORNING

Although Max, Checkers, & myself are all bothered with arthritis it is these kinds of mornings that bring out the pup in all of us. Checkers was scrambling up & down the bank & hauling huge sticks along the forest trail. Max was busy scurrying in amongst the Trilliums & Mayapples sniffing out whatever he could find & I was busy crawling around on all fours in the onion leeks taking photos on the forest floor. Checkers would invariably haul a huge log through the brush & deposit it right on top of the subject I was trying to photograph. But, no matter, there's always lots of things to photograph & only one Checkers to have a big scruffle with. I rolled her around in the onion patch so that I wasn't the only one going back with a strong smell on their hyde. If I could have got a hold of Max I would have rolled him through the patch to but he was having no part of it.
A CARPET OF MAYAPPLESUMBRELLA LIKE MAYAPPLE LEAVES THERE IS ACTUALLY A TINY APPLE UNDER THOSE UMBRELLA LEAVES

Checkers got the last laugh on me though because on the way back we stopped at their favorite swimming hole where a small creek meanders through the bush. Checkers was into the water right away with Max right behind her. I could see the onion smell drifting downstream & knew right away I was going to be the only one going home smelling a big fried onion sandwich to-day................:((

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SHE ENTERED THROUGH A WINDOW ON TINY SILENT WINGS

I think we must have had a welcome visitor during the night. I sleep right next to the computer & had left a window at the foot of my bed slightly ajar. I never heard or saw a thing in the darkness. Not even the soft flutter of her wings or the radiant glow that would have enveloped her. In fact I never suspected a thing until we turned on the computer this morning......and it was working perfectly. How could that have happened!! Just last night it had been giving me such a hard time with it's agonizing slowness. And yet this morning websites were opening right up & emails were flying in like crazy. There was only one logical explanation. Tinkerbell.com the good computer fairy from the east had flown through our open window last night, sprinkled a pinch of magic wiffle dust on our computer & made everything right again. It is not often that happens but when it does it sure restores my faith in fairys. Yes Santa there is a Tinkerbell:))

Cold gray morning with some drizzle in the air but I hooked up the utility trailer & headed on over to Deerpark Lodge anyway. Leaves to be raked, a swimming pool area to be cleaned, photos to be taken, & some small scrub trees to be cut down. I was working on the last small tree when my saw became wedged & I broke the chain off so that was the end of my tree cutting for the rest of the day. Just as well because it was on the side of steep hill & the branches & vines were beating me up & tiring me out pretty good. Luckily before leaving the house this morning I had stuck a wad of gum on the bottom of my foot to plug the hole where all my energy had been draining out lately so I was able to put in a reasonably good day & was able to work right through from 9 to 4 before coming home & doing my usual 180 double back flip into the recliner.

Deerpark Lodge http://www.deerparklodge.com/ is perched high atop a bluff overlooking Lake Huron & is a very scenic place to work if you like the outdoors. I don't mind going over & helping out in the spring & fall because no one is there yet & the grounds are very quiet & peaceful. But during the summer months the place is a real bee hive of activity. It's family oriented so there are a lot of kids flying around upside down all over the place. Needless to say I am very seldom there during the months of June, July, & August.

Kelly manages the Lodge & for any of you people out there who work with the public you know how absolutely frustrating that can be. Not an envious task but from the time we get home in the spring until the time we head for the southwest again in the fall she just goes full tilt doing the absolute best for the guests she possibly can. She has the patience of a Saint, the understanding only a Mother of 5 could have, the determination of an ant moving a mountain up a hill, & the steely resolve of a Texas Judge to keep everything functioning smoothly despite adverse conditions at times. She's quite an amazing little person & when we got married years ago I sure got the best part of the deal:)) THIS WAY TO THE BEACH

To-morrow will be a general repeat of to-day so as long as I keep that wad of gum stuck on the bottom of my foot I should be able to pack in another 6 or 7 hours of some good old physical work..........................just like the old days:)) (well sort of)

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MOTHER'S DAY & COMPUTER WOES

KELLY WITH ONE OF HER TWIN DAUGHTERS......SABRA

It was a cloudy & cold morning as Kelly headed for Cambridge to spend Mother's day with 3 of her 5 children. A daughter in Vancouver & another in Spain could only wish their Mom well from afar. KELLY'S YOUNGEST SON, BEN

I stayed home with the furry guys & did battle with the computer for the day. Our connection problem comes & goes as the cable signal strength seems seems to fade in & out. Sometimes websites will open & other times they take forever. And sometimes they won't open at all. Cleaned up all the wiring under the computer desk in the morning making sure all plugs were tight & wires not pinched anywhere. Even tried out a different router to see if that would help out the remote lap top computer. Did a couple system restores & half a dozen other things but to no avail. The connection remained sporadic. I was in an amazingly patient mood throughout all this so no equipment ended up getting damaged & I myself remained un-injured. About 2:30 the cable guy showed up with a new modem. He was pre-convinced it was a modem problem so installed an updated modem, quickly checked his companies website, declared the problem solved, & headed out the door. (it was Mother's Day & he was probably anxious to get home) I was not as convinced about the modem fix so immediately sat down at the computer & tried some websites......#*!!^%#:?*%$ The problem was not fixed!!!! The connection was still weak, ebbing & flowing like a proverbial tide. So, to-morrow it's another phone call to the cable company to trouble shoot this thing further. I don't have to tell you how frustrated we are!! KELLY'S OLDEST SON, JASON ON THE LEFT. MISSING ARE SABRA'S TWIN, SARAH IN VANCOUVER & KELLY'S YOUNGEST DAUGHTER, REBECCA IN SPAIN.

To-morrow will be another grounds clean-up day at Deerpark Lodge. Some small trees to come down & a cabin is being re-located by movers so I'll be busy documenting that with my camera. Some major re-construction projects going on there & everything has to be photographed. That kind of photography is easy stuff & no stress. I tried doing some weddings many years ago & absolutely hated it. Thought maybe portrait photography was in my cards but it didn't take me long to figure out that I just was not a people photographer. Turned my camera to-wards Mother Nature & she welcomed me with open arms......................:))

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