TRAVEL WITH THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))

Saturday, June 04, 2011

WRITING WITH A PASSIVE PERSONALITY

PUTTING SOME SQUIGGLES ON THE LITTLE MOUSE:))

It's Saturday night, it's after supper & it's going to be a challenge to write something. Not that there isn't any to write about. The problem sometimes is in getting myself motivated. Can't seem to write anything humorous if that is not the way I'm feeling & the same principle applies about writing something serious if my mind is not into it.

I would love to tell you about all the interesting things I did today except I didn't really do any interesting things. Aside from cleaning the cab area in the Motor Home I did not accomplish much.

While in the Motor Home I thought I would try out our hydraulic jack system again. Been awhile since I had them down. Put the slides in, parking brake on, transmission in park & fired up the engine. Reached down & hit the switch for the jacks &...........nothing!! The control panel was stone dead again just like last summer. Ron put in a new solenoid switch back then & we even stopped at HWH in Moscow Iowa on our way west last fall to have the system checked out. Jacks were working fine then but now they are ka-put again. Have I ever told you how much I hate hydraulic jacks!!!! They have been our number 1 source of irritation with our Motor Home.

Big raccoon on our deck last night trying his darnedest to get into a big jar of peanuts left out there & I don't know how they did it this time but there were two Squirrels on the bird station this morning again!! I don't know why I just don't give up & throw in the towel on this whole Squirrel nonsense.

In Friday night's post I mentioned about all the Goldfinches in the front yard again. Just sitting here now I counted 18 around the feeders & managed to get a few photos of their antics. If you look closely at some of the pics you can see some of them them interacting with one another.

NOTICE THE TWO FINCHES COMING IN FOR A LANDING AT TOP RIGHT

And, another bird observation. I have always thought Mourning Doves to be timid & passive but have been surprised by their aggressive nature to other birds coming into the bird station. If a large Grackle lands on the platform the Dove will run right round from the other side & kick him off. I watched this over & over. The Mourning Dove even scares off the Blue Jays & Red Wing Blackbirds. Nothing timid about those Doves when it comes to food!!

Little Cora & I Jeeped ourselves up to Goderich this morning for some groceries. On the way I noticed how black the sky had become to the north east & snapped a picture through the windshield. Heard on tonight's news that a severe storm went through that area bringing down trees & power lines. Thousands of homes without electricity but nobody injured.

Resisted the urge to grab a coffee at Tim Hortons while in Goderich. I'm still ticked off at them for their 'incredible shrinking cup' consumer rip off!!

We blogger folks sure leave ourselves open to the public with our posts sometimes. And a few of us a little more than others. On occasion some of the things we write comes back to bite us, which begs the question, why do we blog in the first place & why do we reveal things about ourselves that don't really need any revealing in the first place. Some folks may seek attention, others like to share their travels with others. For lonely people it's comforting to be in touch with friends & family. For some it's a way of getting their own opinions, thoughts & feelings across.

My reasons for blogging are a smattering of the above. Not for the attention but I do like to share our travels & travel information. I am rarely ever a lonely person so that one doesn't really apply but it is the last one dealing with thoughts & feelings where I quite often find myself. Writing is my favorite form of communication whether it be creative or straight forward. I am very comfortable sitting here at my computer surrounded by ambient music, croaking frogs & herds of birds. I am in my element & in effect, talking to people on my own terms in an environment of contented relaxation. I find it much easier to express myself through written words than in person. I can say what I want & carry a thought through to it's conclusion without being interrupted. For a passive personality like mine that is important. Some will understand what I am talking about & of course some will not. And sometimes of course, I am not too sure about all this myself either. But, I sure do love the music:))

Anyway, just want to say thanks again to all you folks out there for your kind words & support these past 5 years or so. I may not always get things right, but I do try & give you an honest feeling of what I am thinking....................10-4

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Politicians and diapers have one thing in common. They should both be changed regularly and for the same reason.

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stargeezerguy@gmail.com
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The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right
now...... AL.

Friday, June 03, 2011

IF IT GETS ANY GREENER AROUND HERE I'LL BE FINDING ME SOME LEPRECHAUNS IN THE GARDEN

Woke up to a warmer morning so it didn’t take me long to get myself back on the end of my shovel for most of the morning. For a small piece of property I sure have created myself a full time gardening job over the years!!

MUCH TO MY SURPRISE I FOUND THIS BABY 'PAINTED TURTLE' IN OUR FRONT YARD FROG POND TODAY....IT IS THE SIZE OF A SMALL JAR LID
We are fortunate here in Bayfield to have a first rate local garage & we never hesitate to take our vehicles there for maintenance & repairs. Picked up the Motorhome today & we now have a new coach battery along with an oil change. With 6 new tires this past year the RVing side of life has been a costly one for us but it is the price we must to pay to escape our horribly miserable winter weather here in Southern Ontario. Fulltiming has been pretty much ruled out for us now & moving lock stock & barrel to the Southwest is not likely to happen any time soon either. Too bad about the darn border between our two countries. If it wasn't for that I would probably be typing tonight's blog from some quiet little out of the way canyon half way up a cooling mountainside somewhere in Arizona or New Mexico.

FORGOT TO INCLUDE THIS PHOTO IN THURSDAY NIGHT'S BLOG OF THE RHODODENDRON TREE WHERE I TOOK ALL THE BLOOM PHOTOS

I spoke a little too soon about all the Goldfinches leaving a few days ago. They may have been at a local Goldfinch Convention or something but they sure are all back now. And, it looks like they have moved the convention right here to our front yard. Lots of birds again:))

I am still doing daily battle with the Squirrels. Despite the efforts I went to making my Squirrel proof bird station about three weeks ago it only took them about 3 days to breach my security, & they did that by becoming....flying Squirrels!! My bird station sits a full 8 feet away from a tall Pine tree & what the Squirrels have been doing is scooting up the Pine tree to a height about 3 feet higher that the birdseed platform. They then gauge their distance & launch themselves off the tree through the air & down upon the bird station. I have watched them do this several times so today I found an old rubber boot mat in the shed & stapled it on the bird station side that faces the Pine tree. Put some peanuts on the platform & watched with a big smiling face as two Squirrels clung to that side of the Pine tree for about 5 minutes in launch mode trying to figure out their next move. So that now puts me ahead in the score with me winning 10 rounds & the Squirrels winning 9. Probably by morning the little buggers will have tied the game again!!

THE SQUIRRELS WOULD LEAP FROM THAT PINE TREE ON THE RIGHT ONTO THE BIRD STATION & THAT IS A DISTANCE OF 8 FEET!!

AT LEFT IS MY LATEST DEFENSE...THE 'BOOT TRAY!!' AT RIGHT YOU CAN SEE THE 2 SQUIRRELS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET AROUND MY 'BOOT TRAY' DEFENSE

AND THIS IS HOW I PREFER MY SQUIRRELS......PASSIVELY PLASTIC:))

Many people dream of someday going to Paradise. No big deal because Kelly & I have already been there.....twice. Paradise Arizona that is. Located in the Chiricahua Mountains, Paradise was one of those old logging towns from the wild west days. Not a whole lot there anymore but it does have a few homes & a few folks living in them. The sign over the gates of the cemetery says 'Paradise' so we know for sure all the residents in that plot of ground have truly gone to Paradise alright. Winds shifted a few days ago in that still blazing Chiricahua Mountain fire & about a dozen homes had to be evacuated in Paradise. CHIRICAHUA MOUNTAIN FIRE THREATENS PARADISE.

HARD TO READ THE FADED SIGN BUT IT DOES SAY, 'PARADISE CEMETERY'

Looks like another short post tonight. I had better get off my can & get out there & look for something interesting to blog about pretty soon while I still have a couple of readers left. Ohhhhh, this sitting around for long summer months waiting to get back on the road again is definitely not for a poor old restless soul like mine.........:((

AND YES, THIS IS THE ROAD THAT TRULY DOES LEAD TO PARADISE ALRIGHT

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A lawyer went into a doctor's office with a frog on his head.
'That's a nasty looking growth' said the doctor.
'I'll say', said the frog. 'It started out with a small pimple on my ass'

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EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.com
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right
now...... AL.

Thursday, June 02, 2011

THE MOTORHOME GOES IN FOR AN OIL CHANGE & NEW BATTERY

OUR FLOWERING RHODODENDRON IS NOW IN FULL BLOOM

Brrrrr!! I quickly closed the patio door after dipping my toe into the frosty air first time this morning. A quick glance at the outside thermometer told me we had dropped into the 40’s overnight. Not fair!!

The battery in our Motor Home has not been holding a charge this past month so this morning it was time to rectify that situation. The rig was overdue for an oil change anyway so figured it was a good time to get a few things done. There was absolutely nothing I found interesting or stimulating in trying to change the rig's oil myself or cramming my body into the front wheel well of the rig to wrestle an old battery out of a difficult position. Had an appointment at the Bayfield Garage for 9:30 & like I have mentioned many times before, when it comes to mechanical things like nuts, bolts & wrenches I am far better off in the long run to let the professionals do that kind of work if I want it done right!! I will pick up the Motor Home Friday.
Jumpstarted the rig with the Jeep & headed the 2 miles into town. Kelly was already there to meet me & drive me home again. An hour later we both jumped into the Jeep & headed on down to Mitchell for a visit with My Uncle Harry. He’s doing fine & I wouldn't be surprised to see him blow the lid off the hundred year mark in a few years.

We were home early afternoon & Kelly headed back to Deer Park Lodge. Couldn’t seem to get myself energized enough to get interested in anything & ended up dozing in my chair. Maybe I was just due for a few daylight hours of down time.

Utah quickly became my favorite scenic State right from the first time I saw it back in the Spring of 1993. Having now traveled in many neighboring States over the last 5 years, Utah still remains at the top of my list for out & out scenic ooohs & awes. Fellow RV’ers & Bloggers MARTHA & TERRY just wrapped up an enjoyable time around Moab & it was obvious from their posts they loved the scenery as well. JIM & SANDIE recently spent some time in the Moab area too enjoying all the beauty it had to offer. JO & FRED WISHNIE are currently camp hosting at KODACHROME BASIN STATE PARK near Cannonville & are also finding Utah a beautiful place to be. In fact, I noticed awhile back that Jo posted the following remark on her Facebook page……"Took two scenic drives today: 20 miles of Burr Trail and 15 miles of Hole in the Rock Road to Devil's Garden. I now officially declare that Utah has the most beautiful awe inspiring landscapes in the country!” Kelly & I have been in the Moab & Cannonville areas & can attest to the spectacular scenery found there. Just a beautiful State & I sure hope we can return to Utah sometime in the near future.

ON A MORNING ROCK SCRAMBLE JUST OUTSIDE OF MOAB UTAH IN 07, MAX & CHECKERS WAIT FOR KELLY & CORA COMING UP THE STEEP ROCKY INCLINE...THAT'S THE COLORADO RIVER ON THE RIGHT & YOU CAN SEE KELLY AT THE BASE OF THOSE POWER POLES

AND HERE WE ARE IN UTAH'S KODACHROME BASIN STATE PARK

I spotted a familiar Southwest character on our living room wall this morning, cast there by our morning sun. Maybe not familiar to a lot of folks but to me it was the shadow of KOKOPELLI. A bit bedraggled perhaps & no doubt taking a quick break from his romantic flute playing, but Kokopelli nonetheless. And, how interesting that the two objects forming Kokopelli are also from the Southwest. The wine bottle shaped Vase we bought in Quartzsite a few years ago & the Agave seed pods in the vase were once a part of a long dead Agave stock that Kelly carried all the way down from the top of Ghost Mountain about 3 years ago. As you can see, the Southwest is never far from my mind:))

AND, BY GOLLY, HERE IS THE KELLY GIRL HERSELF CARRYING THOSE VERY STOCKS & SEED PODS DOWN GHOST MOUNTAIN IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA'S BLAIR VALLEY.....AT THIS POINT WE ARE LESS THAN A 2 HOUR DRIVE FROM SAN DIEGO

Two days ago we had our A/C running full tilt & tonight Kelly just turned the furnace on. Doesn’t look like our crazy weather is going to normalize itself any time soon.

Some of my posts of late have been a bit on the long side so thought tonight I would keep it shorter for a change…..including the Groaner. So, without further ado............:))