A LITTLE MONDAY MORNING GARDENING PROJECT

COULD THIS BE AN ANGEL ON THE MORNING TRAIL.....IF SO, SHE'S BEEN EATING WILD RASPBERRIES ALONG THE WAY


Bit of rain in the night to freshen up a sunny Monday morning. Kelly didn't have to go into work until noon so we actually had the whole gang out walking on the trail this morning instead of just me & the two big furry guys. THE LITTLE MOTORMOUSE IS HALF ON & HALF OFF CHECKER'S BED


Our frog pond in the front yard had become all but invisible this summer with all the growth around it. Hard to gain access to it let alone even see it so out came my saws, clippers, rakes, & shovel, We had planted a Daphnia shrub on the north side of the pond closest to the house about 6 years ago & it had become too huge. The winter's snow laid a bad beating on it the last couple years & we had it's sagging branches tied to-gether with miles of binder twine. Decision was made this morning......& out came the Daphnia. For me, destroying a plant is the absolute last option but sometimes ya just gotta do what ya gotta do. Had the root system not been so intense I would have tried transplanting it but by the time I hauled it out of the ground the Daphnia was well on it's way to that big warm greenhouse in the sky. MONDAY'S FINISHED GARDEN PROJECT....THERE WAS A HUGE DAPHNIA WHERE THOSE CEMENT SLABS ARE NOW


We have some fair size frogs in that little pond & while working away a big one swam across the pond toward me. He just kept on coming as he scrambled up out of the water & over the pond's rock edge. It was obvious I had trespassed onto his territory & he wasn't backing down. Just short of my boot he stopped & with all his frog intensity totally focused those two big bulging eyes on me. Oh Oh, could this be an attack frog. I gingerly took a step back & he boldly took a hop forward. Five more steps & 6 more hops. This was getting serious!! A loud croak from the pond probably saved my life as it momentarily distracted him & I was able to make my get-away. By the time I came cautiously back he had taken up position on a rock beside the pond & there he remained for the next several hours while I worked away on my little garden pond landscape project. I later detected a tiny green smile on his little frog face when he realized I was actually making his world a bit nicer for him:)) THIS LARGE ATTACK FROG IS HAULING HIMSELF OUT OF THE POND TO GET ME!!


Once again I would just like to say thanks to everyone for all the favorable comments & emails. Thanks to the folks on the Follower's list as well for taking the time & having the interest to read our blog. And to Donna out there somewhere.....yes, that young Robin's picture in yesterday's blog was taken with my Nikon D40 attached to my Nighthawk telescope. EVEN MR. GARDEN SLUG DESERVES TO HAVE HIS PICTURE TAKEN


Had an email to-day from a blog follower who saw the photos I took last Saturday at the Goderich Car Show. He included 4 photos of a 1936 all Stainless Steel Ford so I have uploaded those pictures & info about the car to our CAR SHOW ALBUM. Only 4 of those cars were ever built. The pictures are at the end of the album. THIS IS CHECKER'S FAVORITE SPOT IN THE FRONT YARD UNDER A BIG CEDAR


GROANER'S CORNER: A Blonde was weed-eating her yard and accidentally cut off the tail of her cat which was hiding in the grass. She rushed her cat, along with the tail over to WAL-MART! Why WAL-MART??? Because WALMART is the largest RETAILER in the world!!!

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

SLOWLY APPROACHING A CHANGE OF SEASON

BROWN EYED SUSANS

It's one of those days that had a hint of early fall. Temperatures were cool under a heavy overcast this morning. As a rule the season begins to change about mid August with the coming of colder nights & cooler days. I have a feeling it may be earlier this year because we have not really had any summer weather. I have always liked the first stirrings of early Autumn in the late August air. There is a cozy feeling about it, a sense of quiet as the hustle bustle & stress of summer draws to a close. It is not only a change of seasons, it signals the coming change of mundane routine as well. And it's this change I look forward to. Time to shake off the lethargic summer & begin anew the plans for winter ahead. If you are RVing snowbirds like we are it is a time of excitement & anticipation. Still months away but to-day's weather reminded me of the coming change. A YOUNG ROBIN

I'm thinking we have a squirrel living in our china cabinet. Kelly keeps all her stuff in there & while looking for some brown sugar to put on my oatmeal this morning I came across quite a stash of nuts. Figured I'd better take a picture before she got home just in case the squirrel decided to re-locate it's stuff. Must be one very smart squirrel though to actually put the nuts in labeled cans. I've always said that animals are a whole lot smarter than we humans are & by golly here is living proof!! MUST BE A SQUIRREL IN KELLY'S CUPBOARD

Had an email this morning from fellow blogger JERRY in which he made mention of beards. Well, that got me to thinking of why I have a beard. No, it wasn't to try & look cool like Hemmingway or one of the ZZ Top guys. Not even to look like Harry Potter's Professor Dumbledore. I simply grew it.......to hide my face!! I've always had a jutting chin that tried it's hardest to bend itself up & touch my lower lip. A few years back I also developed a bit of a floppy chin waddle where my head is glued onto my neck. Figured the best way to hide those two problems was to simply cover those areas with a bunch of hair......walla, a beard!! It has worked so well that I am now in the process of growing my hair longer in hopes that it will eventually cover up the rest of me. And now you know.............................:)) AN OLD WOODEN FOOT BRIDGE IN THE HULLETT MARSH

GROANER'S CORNER: How can you tell if a lamb is embarrassed? It looks sheepish.

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CARS & MEMORIES......MEMORIES & CARS

CADILLAC

An email from a friend in Bayfield yesterday informed me of a car show up in Goderich to-day so under threatening dark clouds & sprinkles of rain I grabbed my raincoat, crossed my fingers, threw a camera over my shoulder, & headed up Porter Hill line to Goderich.56 FORD

The rain sprinkles gave way to warming sun splashes between the gray clouds & the day turned out just fine. I was surprised at the number of cars at the car show in Goderich's downtown area called, The Square. I'm guessing a couple hundred cars maybe. There was something there for everyone & it was nice to feel all the memories coming back as I walked around taking photos. 58 EDSEL

The decade between 1955 & 1965 were the most memorable for me when it came to cars. I was a young young boy growing into my early teens & cars in those days were absolutely everything to young fellows. We knew all the cars, makes, & models. Knew about the engines, the carbs, lake pipes, fender skirts, baby moons, 4 speeds, & just about anything else you needed to know about a cool car. 1929 ESSEX

In the late 60's & into the 70's cars took on a box like sameness look & the golden age of the adventurous Detroit auto designs was over. Before that we could tell a Chev from a Ford coming down the road a mile away. We knew who was going by the house just by the sounds of the cars. The old Ford flat head eight's had their own sound just as the Chevy 283's did. (hope I got that engine size right) I remember the big stir when Chevrolet unveiled their 1959 Chev. What a huge revelation in design that was with it's big sweeping fins & equally sweeping dash. Back in those days we only had a few car dealers in the small village of Tavistock but every autumn you could feel the excitement in the air as the anticipated delivery of the new models was expected. They arrived & were kept under wraps sometimes until the big day came when they were unveiled in the showroom. It was standing room only in the dealerships as the town's people flooded in to see the new cars. It was a level of excitement & anticipation I don't think I have ever felt since. It was a magic time for a young boy & as I walked around looking at the cars to-day I could feel a little bit of that excitement bubbling again. 1932 CHRYSLER

I have uploaded to-day's car photos into their own photo album & you can find them HERE. Click on the slide show when you get there & see if you can feel a little bit of that same excitement I felt to-day . Maybe they will stir up a few pleasant memories for you too:)) 60 CHEV

GROANER'S CORNER: A hamburger walks in to a bar and asks for a beer. The bartender says, "I am sorry but we don't serve food in here."

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