Wednesday, September 14, 2011

OUR DAY STARTED WITH WARM SUNSHINE AND ENDED IN A COLD RAIN

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A cold rain is upon us tonight as I sit here at the keyboard rustling through my mind for a blog topic.  Had one this morning after reading a few blogs but decided to save my thoughts on ‘blog writing’ for another day.  Gotta have myself in the right frame of mind for that sometimes touchy topic. 
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A QUIET REFLECTIVE DAY FOR THIS OLD TIMER ON THE BOARD WALK IN GODERICH
Some of tonight’s photos are just a rambling selection of things I come across in my photo travels from time to time.
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A LITTLE DETECTIVE WORK TODAY ON THESE TWO PHOTOS SHOW US MARTHA PROBABLY LIVES ON DAIRY FARM, LIKES GARDENING AND IS MAYBE A BEER DRINKING CARD SHARK WHO LIKES SNAZZY EAR RINGS
Kelly, the Pheebs and I slipped down to see my Uncle Harry this morning.  First time I heard Harry laugh in a very long time but that is just what he did when Pheebe slipped into his room behind his chair and surprised a sleepy Harry by nuzzling his arm.  The morning was still nice enough to take Harry in his wheelchair outside on the grounds where he was able to enjoy the sunshine and watch Pheebe running around like a whirligig on the lawn.  Kelly found a wild black raspberry bush in the landscaped gardens nearby and picked a couple handfuls.   Harry and Pheebe ate the most berries by far.
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UNCLE HARRY AND THE PHEEBS SURE LOVED THOSE BLACK RASPBERRIES
Our new Star Choice satellite dish arrived by Purolator this afternoon and in less than 5 minutes the assembly of the darn thing almost had me in tears.  I am just not good at figuring out how to put things together nor do I have the patience for trying to figure things out.  We’ll have to take it to a satellite installer guy nearby and have him correctly assemble it for us.  Besides, we think the tripod base the fellow sold us earlier in the summer may not be compatible with the newer dish.    
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PHEEBEE MEETS HARVEY THE RABBIT THIS MORNING AT UNCLE HARRY’S PLACE
Made an appointment for the rig to go into our local Bayfield Garage for a brakes check-up next week.   We will be in some heavy duty mountains in another month so for sure we want our brakes in tip top condition.   They will also check all the fluid levels, hoses, etc.  I much prefer to have professional people do all this stuff instead of me.  I feel much safer that way.  No shade tree mechanical jobs for this guy.  And, speaking of brake problems, better check out the brake dilemma JUDY is having with her Motor Home at the moment.
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By the way, after nearly two months I finally did succumb to a jar of Peanut Butter awhile back.  Of course that led to another jar which in turn will soon lead to another jar.  But, I am trying harder this time not to gob it all down so fast.  My peanut butter of preference is the real stuff, el natural.  Don’t like all the salt and additives that is put into the more brand name commercial stuff but if I can’t get real peanut butter I will settle for Jif and Jif only. 
DSC_8223GROANER’S CORNER:(( 
So there's this Pirate with a parrot. And this parrot swears like a sailor, I mean he's a pistol. He can swear for five minutes straight without repeating himself. Trouble is, the pirate who owns him is a quiet, conservative type, and this bird's foul mouth is driving him crazy. One day, it gets to be too much, so the guy grabs the bird by the throat, shakes him really hard, and yells, "QUIT IT!" But this just makes the bird mad and he swears more than ever. Then he gets mad and says, "OK for you." and locks the bird in a cabinet. This really aggravates the bird and he claws and scratches, and when the guy finally lets him out, the bird cuts loose with a stream of invective that would make a veteran pirate blush. At that point, he is so mad that he throws the it into the freezer. For the first few seconds there is a terrible din. The bird kicks and claws and thrashes. Then it suddenly gets _very_ quiet. At first the guy just waits, but then he starts to think that the bird may be hurt. After a couple of minutes of silence, he's so worried that he opens up the freezer door. The bird calmly climbs onto the man's out-stretched arm and says, "Awfully sorry about the trouble I gave you. I'll do my best to improve my vocabulary from now on. By the way, what did the chicken do?"
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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

Until one has loved an Animal, their soul remains un-awakened.

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/
OUR PICASA PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy


The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

PHEEBE MEETS STELLA…………AT THE BEACH

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PHEEBE AND STELLA AT THE BEACH  (NIKON D90)

Cloudy skies and dropping temperatures had me into a long sleeve shirt by noon but we had a great September morning.  We loaded up the Pheebs and took her over to DEER PARK LODGE to meet Stella.  Stella is a 3 year old female cross between a German Shepherd and Burmese Mountain Dog.  Her Mom owns Deer Park.  The doggy guys got along great and had a wild time tearing around, especially down at the beach.  Always nice to see dogs running free and happily playing together.
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PHEEBE, STELLA AND STELLA’S MOM, KIRSTEN……SOMETIMES KELLY AND KIRSTEN ARE TAKEN FOR SISTERS

I had taken my Nikon D90 along hoping to get a few pics of the dogs playing.  Cracked off two shots and the Nikon quit working.  Third time it has done that.  Battery showed a two thirds charge but it was a no go.  With the exception of the first photo all the rest were taken with my Canon SX210 which is not a favourite camera of mine but at least it’s easy to carry in my pocket or in a case on my belt.  It’s a point and shoot but can’t seem to handle movement very well and the shutter is sooooooooooo slow.  Anyway, I include a few Powershot SX210is pics anyway.  Charged the Nikon’s battery when we returned home and it’s working now.  I’m guessing that was the problem.  Like I have said a few times before, point and shoots are fine but if you are at all serious about improving the quality of your photography, you really need a DSLR. (Digital Single Lens Reflex)  Canon or Nikon, your choice.  They both make fine DSLR’s.
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More puttering around today with a lot of little things related to the Motor Home and our upcoming departure next month.  Although I will be happy to get back on the road again my excitement level and enthusiasm is slow in building this year.  I'm sure that will begin to change in a few weeks when we start to seriously load up the rig.   And, as soon as the big wheels are rolling I will once again be into full blown RV mode……………. 10-4 Smile  IMG_0802
PHEEBEE’S AFTER STELLA’S STICK  (CANON POWERSHOT SX210is)
GROANER'S CORNER:((  How to Make Puppy Pie

Take one puppy, roll and play until lightly pampered,
then add the following ingredients.....
1 cup patience....
1 cup understanding....
1 pinch correction....
1 cup hard work....
2 cups praise and 1 1/2 cups fun...
Blend well.
Heat with warmth of your heart until raised or until
puppy has doubled in size.
Mix with owner until consistency is such that owner
and puppy are one.
Enjoy!

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Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.

Until one has loved an Animal, their  soul remains un-awakened.
OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE  http://thebayfieldbunch.com/
OUR
PICASA PHOTO ALBUMS   http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy
The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of right  now...AL.

Monday, September 12, 2011

A COUPLE OF NICE BACK TO BACK DAYS

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I don't know if there is such a thing as a perfect weather day but if there is we sure had one today.  Nice motorcycle jaunt early this afternoon around some local back roads made me want to just stay on the bike forever. 
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I've been working with Pheebe's anxiety separation this past month and started out being away from home for short periods of time.  Longest period away so far has been an hour and a half and she has been doing just fine with being alone.  Well, she's not totally alone because she has Super Motor with her:))  Slipped away with both the bike and Jeep today for a bit and feel comfortable we are past the crate training.  Next, I will begin the same thing with leaving her in the Motor Home for increasingly longer periods of time and I'm sure she will adjust to that just as well.  Never underestimate the intelligence and learning abilities of animals. 

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Two new Blog Followers to welcome tonight.  Nice to have THE GOOD LUCK DUCK aboard as well as Gayle.  Thanks folks, we appreciate your interest in us:))

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Spent another enjoyable couple hours Sunday morning in the Jeep wandering around the country roads up in Mennonite/Amish country northeast of Goderich.  Even managed to find a couple roads I had never traveled on before.  Love when that happens.  I enjoy seeing the neat and clean Mennonite farms with their older 1950's look to them.  The horse and buggies, chicken and geese in the yards with horses and cows nearby in peaceful pastures.  Stukes of hay in the fields and old cedar rail fences along the road.  It's usually easy to pick out the Mennonite farms because there generally are no electricity lines leading from the road to the house.  Tonight's few  photos were taken from the Jeep as I rolled through the countryside.

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A MENNONITE SCHOOL HOUSE

GROANER'S CORNER:((  In the middle of a forest, there was a hunter who was suddenly confronted by a huge, mean bear. In his fear, all attempts to shoot the bear were unsuccessful. Finally, he turned and ran as fast as he could.
The hunter ran and ran and ran, his lungs burned for lack of oxygen, his heart pounding so hard he felt like it would burst out of his chest. Then suddenly, he ended up at the edge of a very steep cliff. His hopes were dim. Seeing no way out of his predicament, and with the bear closing in rather quickly, the hunter got down on his knees, opened his arms, and exclaimed, "Dear Lord! Please give this bear some religion!"
The skies darkened, and there was lightning in the air. Just a few feet short of the hunter, the bear came to abrupt stop, and glanced around, somewhat confused.
Suddenly, the bear looked up into the sky, kneeled and said, "Thank you, Lord, for this food I'm about to receive...."

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Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.

Until one has loved an Animal, their  soul remains un-awakened.

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE  http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR

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

The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of right  now...AL.