ME & MY 3 VERY MUCH MOST BESTEST PALS:))

ME & MY PALS NEAR HICKIWAN TRAILS RV PARK IN WHY ARIZONA

With my dwindling lack of confidence & trust in the people world my inner feelings steadily grow towards the light of love & honesty found only in the animal world. I know that statement will not sit well with many people but for those of us who understand & love our beloved pets you may feel the same way as I do. It is a purity of love not found in the human world!! TRYING TO GET A FAMILY PICTURE USING THE CAMERA'S SELF TIMER

Kelly noticed an ad in the Mitchell Ontario paper about 11 years ago that read, Pups for Sale $5. We were living in an old farm house at the time & sharing the space with 2 indoor cats, a couple of birds, some tropical fish & half a dozen Guinea Pigs.....not to mention the dozen or so barn cats outside that we tried to help along as well. We had lots of room in the big old house plus acres of room outdoors so felt it was the right time to bring a new best friend into our lives. STAYING WARM IN OUR 5TH WHEEL TRAILER AT PANCHO VILLA STATE PARK IN COLUMBUS NEW MEXICO

It was in December of 1998 that we drove to an old farm about 10 miles north of us where the ad in the paper said the puppies were. A lady came out of the house & led us to a small tumble down kind off old barn where a couple of horses were lazily milling about on a dirt floor of manure & straw. In the corner of a wooden pen lay the Mother dog & four little 5 week old puppies clambering all over her. They were all dark colored except for one little fellow cowering in a corner who was all blonde & all alone. This little guy looked at me with his big sad puppy eyes & we identified with each other right away there & then. I walked over & lovingly picked him up. He snuggled into my arms & right away fell asleep because he knew he was loved at last & had just found his true home. We named him Max & we have been best pals ever since. He is our most bestest boy of ever:)) THE BUMS ARE ALL PILED ON MY BED IN THE 5TH WHEEL TRAILER

I think it might have been in the summer of 2003 when I first met little Cora. (Motormouse) Cora had been given to Kelly's daughter Sabra about 3 years before when her friend didn't want to look after her anymore. Sabra kept Cora for another 3 years until her own life became busy as well. In 2005 Sabra brought the little Motormouse to our house for some (supposedly:)) summer holidays. The little Sweetums captured our hearts right away & has been happily with us ever since. Her & Max hit it off right away & became fast friends. She is truly a lap dog & is currently curled up on my lap right beside the computer. She sleeps on my bed every night taking up two thirds of the space. I have two pillows & the little mouse is usually curled up on one of them. Sometimes when I roll over in the night we bump noses. She's just a little sweetie pie & is our most best little girl of ever:)) MOTORMOUSE WENT TO TOWN WITH MOM & THE BIG GUYS ARE MISSING HER

First time I met Checkers was at Deerpark Lodge back in 2005. She was the owner's dog but was not fitting in real well at the Lodge. She loves people & kids which was fine with some of the guests but not with others. Deerpark Lodge can be a very busy place in the summer & quite often Checkers would just kind of get lost in the shuffle. She took to wandering away & would sometimes be brought back by the local dog catcher or a kind citizen in Bayfield who knew where she lived. Kelly & Checkers had become good friends in the couple of years Kelly had been working there & Kelly was actually credited with saving Checkers from drowning one time in Lake Huron when she swam out in the waves to help get her back to shore. It wasn't long after that one day while I was working away in the yard at home when Kelly pulled in the driveway with Checkers sitting in the front seat of the car. She was truly home at last & Checkers has been an intimate part of our family ever since that day. Max accepted her right away but Cora's nose was out of joint for awhile & a few scuffles ensued. It took a little while but eventually Checkers & Cora worked out their differences & have been best of pals ever since. It took Checkers a good 2 years before she was able to trust us fully but with understanding, love, patience, & just good old TLC she has become our most best biggest girl of ever. HAVING AN EARLY MORNING GAME OF STICKS IN QUARTZITE, ARIZONA

It is a never ending source of pleasure & enjoyment watching our 3 furry little Musketeer's interacting with each other. Max is the quiet one, Checkers is the understanding Motherly type, & Motormouse is the big Boss dog of everybody. They all have their very own distinctive personalities & look out for each other. One for all & all for one. And that one for all & all for one companionship extends to Kelly & I as well making for one big happy animal house family. In another blog sometime I will write about how the dogs & I continuously interact with each other every single day & the joy they bring me in this otherwise ever increasing troubled world we all live in. THE GUYS ARE LOADED UP IN OUR GMC TRUCK AFEW YEARS AGO & READY TO ROLL....ROCKHOUND STATE PARK, NEW MEXICO

In the meantime I will leave you with this heartwarming little story that came across my desktop awhile ago.......................

A Dog's Purpose (from a 6-year-old):A veterinarian had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owners, Ron, his wife, Lisa, and their little boy, Shane, were all very attached to Belker and they were hoping for a miracle.The vet examined Belker and found he was dying and told the family he couldn't do anything for Belker and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home.As they made arrangements, the parents thought it would be good for six-year-old Shane to observe the procedure. They felt as though Shane might learn something from the experienceThe next day, the vet felt the familiar catch in the throat as Belker's family surrounded him. Shane seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that the vet wondered if he understood what was going on. Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away.The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion. they sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why."He said, "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life -- like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right?" The six-year-old continued, "Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

THE 3 AMIGOS NEAR CARLSBAD CAVERNS, NEW MEXICO

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Also wanted to mention something about the web album I uploaded a couple of days ago. There have been photos of flowers in the blog & now in the web album that have no identification. Reason for that is I just don't know what they are. If anyone out there happens to look at the web album & knows the identity of any flowers with question marks underneath I would appreciate it if you could drop the flowers name in the comment box below the caption & if I have any of the other flowers wrong maybe you could put the correct name of the flower in the comment box as well................. Thanks:))
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

COMPUTERS.....ENJOYABLE, EDUCATIONAL, & INVALUABLE

SOME WIZARDLY ADVICE AT THE OLD FROG POND

Our neighbor lady's children just got to-gether & bought her a laptop computer a few days ago. Kelly & I were able to help her this afternoon with understanding the workings of her email program & a bit of surfing, etc. Right now she's having a rip roaring game of Solitaire on it.

I think that is so great when older folks take an interest in computers & have the willingness & determination to tackle something new. A few years ago another neighbor lady's husband died & she was faced with sitting alone in her house. We convinced her to get a computer & then set about teaching her how to use it. She has done amazingly well & now emails her friends in Germany on a regular basis, sends out jokes, surfs the internet, & prints off letters & documents. She sends us her "daily report" on how she's doing & follows our blog while we're traveling.Another friend of ours absolutely hated computers but finally decided to give it a whirl 3 years ago. Problem was he started out on a used computer that was infested with many problems. While we were in New Mexico two winters ago we received an email from his daughter saying he had finally had enough & had taken the computer outside, threw it in the firepit, dumped gasoline on it & burnt it up!! Well, normally you would figure that was the end of the story but a year ago his interest began to get the better of him again. We & others convinced him to have another go at it & finally after much deliberation he picked himself up another computer running Windows XP. He was off again & did much better this time because the computer wasn't full of bugs. I was able to help him out & it wasn't long before we had the Picasa Photo Program going full tilt. His interest has been renewed because he likes Kayaking so can now take his digital camera along, shoot away to his heart's content, & then return home & download all his own Kayak upside down soggy water pictures. Now, that's a long way from the firepit ceremony he performed just a year before that!! I like success stories & I enjoy helping older folks learn new computer skills. It just opens up their world so much & I love to feel the excitement they experience as their new world begins to unfold for them right in front of their eyes:)) A FOGGY SPRING MORNING IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD

When we bought our first computer back in 98 we didn't even know how to shut it off. The computer store guys had brought the computer to our old rented house & set it up one afternoon. When I got home from work that night there it was sitting on a table contentedly whirring away. We didn't know what buttons to press, or what the keys all meant & we didn't even know how to turn the darned thing off. That's where we started years ago, right from scratch. And there was no one there to help us. It was all trial & error. I bought one of those Windows 95 For Dummies books & spent a lot of time reading & pressing buttons. I spent even more time turning the air blue for miles around too. That poor computer would have probably died a very early & violent death if it hadn't been for Kelly's patience & perseverance. I kept threatening to throw the whole contraption out the window onto the driveway but time & again she came to it's rescue & eventually between the two of us we were able to slowly piece to-gether enough savvy to finally make some headway. It sure didn't come overnight but we stuck with it through thick & thin. I even signed up for a computer course in St. Mary's Ontario but then promptly forgot I had done so & missed all the classes except for the last two. It was a real uphill battle those first number of years but looking back now I'm sure glad we didn't throw in the sponge because our computer has become one of the most enjoyable & educational things in our lives & as RVing people, it is totally invaluable.............:)) FROSTY MORNING WALKS LATELY

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

SMALLER TOWS BIGGER vs BIGGER TOWS SMALLER

FOGGY MORNING?? NOPE........CONDENSATION ON THE CAMERA LENS:((

I noticed a few days ago in Gypsy's blog that she mentioned not caring for the idea of having to tow a car. I remember feeling exactly the same way back in the fall of 2006. Not sure why but the thought of towing a tiny little thing behind such a large thing just didn't seem right or appeal to me. Probably because the mind is used to seeing the reverse with smaller trucks towing bigger trailers. Just seemed the right way to do things & that was probably one of the reasons we decided to go with a truck & fifth wheel back in 06. We had already had a truck & travel trailer combination a couple years before that. Now, with a few years of experience & a bunch of miles behind us my thinking has definitely changed & I think big towing small is an easier way to go!! We never know the car is behind us & I like the fact that the car tracks inside the turning radius of the motorhome so it doesn't cut corners like trailers do. I can unhook the car in less than a minute & hook it up in less than 2. It's not strenuous & I don't have to get down on the ground at any point. No lurching or bounding with the car on behind & no more clunking & squeaking metal sounds like we had with the trailers. And all's I had to do was get my head switched around from thinking smaller tows bigger to bigger tows smaller. Just seemed like the right thing to do:)) NOW, HOW AM I GOING TO GET THIS ROPE AROUND THAT STEERING WHEEL OVER THERE (Nov. 08 file photo)

We had a wet, dull, & gray Saturday to-day so it was perfect for attending to some long overdue computer issues. I've had a lot of photos scattered over 3 hard drives (desk top, lap top, & external hard drive) since returning from the southwest last March so I concentrated on pulling all that to-gether into a re-organized workable mode. It's always a bit of a nail biter when it comes to moving files around because a momentary lack of concentration can mean lost files forever!! WORKING ON THE PHOTO FILES THIS MORNING

We learned after moving here to Bayfield never to go into town on week-ends. And especially long week-ends. Bayfield is like a sea side resort & a Mecca for folks escaping the chaos of suburban & city life. The quaint little shops & outdoor cafes here are filled with happy people enjoying fresh air ambience & small village flavor. We make sure any grocery shopping or whatever we need is done well before the end of the week because once Friday rolls around little Bayfield becomes a real hub of activity. Many sailboats fill the harbor as people come ashore for shopping & fine dining. No buses here, no subways, not even a traffic light. Just one wide main street & a beautiful view of Lake Huron from atop the cliff in Pioneer Park a few minutes walk from downtown. No, I don't work for the tourist bureau or belong to the Chamber of Commerce, I just happen to think Bayfield is one of the prettiest little towns in all of southwestern Ontario:)) http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/gallery/5845016_7pESE#362675509_zZfh9

BAYFIELD'S SNUG LITTLE HARBOR......... AUGUST 2008

And you know what.....sometimes the more further ahead I go..... the more behinder I get:))

And the towing photo to-day..............is a spoof:))

And, I did get a start on a new photo album. Most of the pics so far are the one's I have used in the blogs for the past couple of months. Album is not finished & I'll add more pictures over the next few weeks.
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/