IT WAS A WHEEL BARROW KIND OF DAY

THERE ARE ALWAYS PHOTOS TO BE FOUND IN OUR GARDENS:))
Don’t know why I waited for a hot humid day to shovel up about a dozen wheelbarrow loads of pea gravel & redistribute it around in our driveway this morning. Over the years we had several tons of pea stone trucked in for use around the property. I wheel barrowed about a third of that to various locations like our backyard fire pit area & pathways. That was all fine & good & looked nice when first spread on the paths. Problem here though is the pine needles & it’s hard to rake pine needles out of stones so after a few years things just weren’t looking good. Plus, it was hard to keep the weeds down & the weed whacker would shoot the pea sixed stones around like shrapnel. So, this morning I finally finished a job I started last year by shoveling up & moving 80% of the remaining pea gravel back out to our driveway area. I did leave some pea stone around our back deck though.
  
I REMOVED ALL THE PEA STONE GRAVEL FROM AROUND THE FIRE PIT AREA  
Needless to say, by noon I was grabbing a few zzzzzzz’s in my recliner for half an hour in front of a nice big cooling fan. Sometimes when I am stretched out in my chair surrounded by nice music or watching something I enjoy on our big screen television I think to myself, now why would I ever want to leave all this great home comfort & go crawling around in the mountains & deserts of the Southwest. Why endure hours upon hours of long stressful driving days & live for 5 or 6 months in a confined space with limited water, no electricity lots of times, no laundry facilities, high winds howling in the night, dust swirling everywhere, a shower stall about as big as a clothes closet, no kitchen table to eat at & who knows how many other non conveniences. Why indeed!! Well, I would trade in my recliner along with all our other home comforts in a heartbeat if I thought we could be on the road in the morning heading off somewhere we had never been before in search of new adventures, new dreams & new memories. Ya ya, I know you have all heard that same old song & dance out of me dozens of times before!!
  
DESPITE THE HARSH WINTER OUR PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS IS DOING WELL 
Today we welcome Jerry C aboard as our 292nd blog Follower. Thanks for stopping by Jerry:))

THE BIRD STATION HAS BEEN VERY POPULAR WITH GRACKLES & RED WINGED BLACKBIRDS AS WELL AS MOURNING DOVES.  NO SIGN OF ANY SQUIRRELS UP THERE LATELY
Note to Dennis & Donna from CAVE DWELLINGS. I feel your comment on my blog last night spoke for me very well. Thank you, I will take that one:))
 
Did you all know you probably have lots of interesting Google statistics about your blog on your very own Blogger’s Dashboard. If you don’t have ‘Blog Stats’ then just go to your Blogger Dashboard & click on ‘Layout.’ Look for ‘Add A Gadget’ on the right & click it. In the menu that drops down over to the left just find ‘Blog’s stats’ & click it to add to your sidebar & your done. There are graphs, charts & numbers showing your daily, weekly, monthly or yearly progress on how your blog is doing. For instance, regarding our blog, I can see that the number one referring URL site for the past year to our blog is HITCHITCH. Regarding page views for the past year we see that 211,500 page views have come from the United States. Canada is second with 65,747 followed by Japan, Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Russia, Ukraine, Philippines & Australia. Internet Explorer is the most common browser used with 59% followed by Firefox at 19%, Safari 11%, Chrome 8% & Opera at 1%. Google Stats will also tell you which of your posts are popular with readers. In the past year my ARIZONA'S HUACHUCA MOUNTAINS ARE NOW ON FIRE AS WELL & SLAB CITY CALIFORNIA....WHAT ELSE CAN I SAY were the two most frequently read posts. You can check this weekly or monthly. For example my 2 most read posts for the past month were, THAT'S OK BECAUSE I KINDA LIKE IT THAT WAY & AND AN EVENING'S DRIVE THROUGH THE COUNTRYSIDE WAS A BIG HELP. 84% of all people viewing our site use the Windows operating system while 10% use the Macintosh OS. The Stats tell us we have had over 9,000 comments & that I have 1,214 published posts & 292 Followers as of this morning. It also tells me we have no Spam comments. Anyway, just thought you might be curious about seeing all the interesting statistics about your own blog.  The Stats are a great factual indication on how your blog is doing.

I always enjoy reading Eve’s posts from Arizona’s LIFE AFTER GRAPEVINE. The Grapevine Canyon Ranch is for sale now but Eve writes from her home ranch nearby these days & her latest post is about Inspiration. She writes well, has had a fascinating life & knows how to tell a good story. We enjoyed meeting Eve last December at the GRAPEVINE CANYON RANCH near Pearce, Arizona.
 
GROANER’S CORNER:(( Elderly Alphabet
A's for arthritis,
B's the bad back,
C's the chest pains - perhaps car-d-iac?
D is for dental decay and decline,
E is for eyesight, can't read that top line!
F is for fissures and fluid retention,
G is for gas which I'd rather not mention.
H is high blood pressure - I'd rather it low;
I is for incisions with scars you can show...
J is for joints, out of socket, won't mend,
K is for knees that crack when they bend.
L is for libido, what happened to sex?
M is for memory, I forget what comes next.
N is neuralgia, in nerves way down low;
O is for osteo, the bones that don't grow!
P is for prescriptions, I have quite a few, just give me a pill and I'll be good as new!
Q is for queasy, is it fatal or flu?
R is for reflux, one meal turns to two.
S is for sleepless nights, counting my fears,
T is for Tinnitus - there's bells in my ears!
U is for urinary... big troubles with flow;
V is for vertigo, that's "dizzy," you know.
W is for worry - NOW what's going 'round?
X is for X ray, and what might be found;
Y is another year I'm left here behind,
Z is for zest that I still have - in my mind.
I've survived all the symptoms, my body's deployed, and I am keeping twenty-six doctors fully employed!
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EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.com
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right
now...... AL.

CLEAN UP DAY IN THE SHED & SOME OLD MEMORIES

SOUTHERN ONTARIO IS A LAND OF MANY FARMS 
Kelly & I decided to tackle a clean up job in our workshop shed today. Junk had been piling up for a long time so today was the day!! I am positive that every time we take stuff to the dump it is somehow returned in the middle of the night by the dump staff. Happy to say we made great headway with a fair bit going to the Goodwill & lots going back to the dump.......again!!

 

THE CLEAN-UP IS UNDER WAY

Remember me telling you about the small notebooks I have been carrying in my shirt pockets for the best part of the last 28 years?  I have one in my pocket right now & it is my way of keeping myself organized by writing things down so I don't forget stuff.  Well, for whatever reason I have always saved those little black notebooks & today I came across some of them dating back to 1985.  It's a real trip down memory lane for me glancing through these books.

Years ago I put a lot of old photos, slides & old memorabilia into a large plastic container, put the lid on it, shoved it into a far corner of the shed & promptly forgot about it. Well, with the rediscovery of that bin & subsequent lifting of that plastic lid today I was instantly transported back to another era of my life. To a time very unlike my life today. So many old memories & so many old friends who are gone now.  Yes, it's true, I used to be a very sociable guy with a whole lot of friends:))  But, that's another whole story for another time.  Priority today was the shed so I will get back to that large plastic container another day.

     

LOVE TRAVELING THE BACK ROADS ON MY MOTORCYCLE 

As mentioned a few days ago, I do have a Facebook account but rarely use it for anything other than automatically posting our blog each day. I don’t respond to game requests or get into any kind of that stuff. I do see a lot of other RV Bloggers in there. This morning I received a message from another RV Blogger saying I had an offensive picture on my Facebook site.  It’s one of the main reasons I do not get involved with the whole Facebook thingy as a rule. I still think Facebook is a good communication tool but boy oh boy, ya sure gotta be careful about all the rats in the closet everywhere!!  Kelly & I both looked for the offensive picture but we never did find it.

In a note from her Dad, Mary Ann shared his positive ATTITUDE ABOUT CANCER on her blogsite recently. Cancer has touched so many of us in one way or another. We either know someone with cancer or have lost someone to cancer. And, I know there are fellow RV Bloggers out here right now who have dealt or are dealing with cancer on a daily personal basis.
  

BAYFIELD IS A SUMMERTIME PLAYGROUND FOR YOUNG & OLD
Now, a slight confession. I don’t really like Burritos all that much. In fact, I don’t really care for any kind of Mexican food. Too beany, spicy & mushy for me. I just figure a McDonald’s Burrito is the least harmful thing for me & the Kid for a quick drive thru breakfast snack when we’re in town. There are small bits of sausage in the Burritos that little Cora likes & I end up choking down the scrambled egg & flat bread part. I think me & the Kid will have to come up with a better plan if this little breakfast club of ours is to continue!!
 

OUR BIG HOSTA IS IN BLOOM 
KEVIN & RUTH just wrapped up a trip around the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island & they have the numbers in for the month of June. Gasoline, groceries, maintenance, etc. Having tried out Google Adsense & some Chitika ads on their site Kevin has come to some conclusions about his blog ads.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  There are two kinds of pedestrians: the quick and the dead.

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EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.com
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right
now...... AL.

DID YOU KNOW HOMER & LUCILLE MORPHED INTO PHANNIE & MAE!!

No doubt about it, that Motormouse has my number alright & she has learned all to quick how to lay a complete quilt trip on me. She does it with her big brown sad eyes & she does it with her little round sad face. And, she’s doing it to me every morning now. As soon as Kelly is out the door headed for Deer Park that little Mouse gets right to work on me real quick. To make a long story short, we ended up in Goderich again this morning for a Burrito at McDonalds!! And, I already know she is going to be right on my case first thing in the morning again. And, I already know that she already knows that I have become such a big soggy push over too.
Aside from our Burrito trip this morning it turned out to be a quiet day. When traveling I have a tendency to read a fair bit but while home for the summer I generally never read a thing. However, I started a book Saturday & finished it up today. Obviously it wasn’t a big long book.

EVEN A SLUG DESERVES TO HAVE IT'S PICTURE TAKEN
It’s not likely Kelly & I will ever get ourselves up to Alaska but Sue & Mo over at THE MOHO AND OTHER TRAVELING TALES will have the big wheels rolling north in just a few days. You may want to get on board early as the ladies excitedly go through all their final last minute check lists. 

THIS IS A TOTALLY FRANTIC & BLURRY PHOTO OF ME BEING ATTACKED BY AN ANGRY RED WINGED BLACKBIRD AFTER I STRAYED TOO CLOSE TO IT'S NEST

Had a few questions from readers lately.  First Question:  Someone asked about the part time mobility van job I used to do when home for the summers.  Over the past couple of years the company I drove for was swallowed up several times by larger companies & after the last swallow up this past winter I decided it was time for me to pack it in.  After talking with another driver & reading some of the new company rules & regulations I could see that my already sparse part time hours would become even sparser.  I would also have to re-apply for my old job & then be subjected to an interview.  Maybe years ago I might have considered that but not any more.  No way Jose & I was out of there!!  Second Question:  A few posts ago I had a photo of a cemetery with a building at the far end of the grounds.  A reader wondered if that was a house or a Church.  It is a Church, but I don't think it is used anymore.  Third Question:  JUDY wondered what the heck the very last photo in my post Saturday night was all about.  I will post it again below.  The picture was taken with a telephoto lens when I was trying to photograph a bird in our cement bird bath.  Just as I hit the shutter, the bird took off to the right & I only caught the dark blur of it's hasty retreat.  I cropped the blur out & then proceeded to make a few small changes to the otherwise unappealing photo.  What you see in the foreground is the disturbed green algae colored water after the bird's exit.  What could be taken for mountains on the horizon is actually the rim of the cement bird bath.  The purple Astilbe flower was actually a whitish pink so for the purpose of creativity in this photo I added some Picasa 'Graduated Tint' & changed the color of the flower & the background.  The background is also totally blurred because of the long telephoto lens & short depth of field.  I have included a couple other bird photos taken at the same time to show what the scene looked like in reality.

    

And, did you know that fellow RV Blogger's Homer & Lucille have morphed into PHANNIE & MAE:)) Yep, it’s true. Homer & Lucille’s, or is it Mike & Sandy’s last post was December 13th 2010 but they are now back again after having undergone a few Texas changes including an entirely different RV. But, who were Homer & Lucille & who or what is Phannie & Mae? Confused? Well, you better hop on over there & let Homer or Phannie or is it Mae or Sandy or was it Mike or Lucille....awwwww nuts now I'm even confused!!  Better let the folks at Phannie & Mae fill y'all in:))

NO, THIS IS NOT HOMER, SANDY, PHANNIE, MAE OR EVEN MIKE OR LUCILLE...KELLY MIGHT TELL YOU IT LOOKS MORE LIKE AL FROM THE BAYFIED BUNCH!! 

GROANER'S CORNER:((  I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes.

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EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.com
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right
now...... AL.