BAYFIELD ONTARIO, CANADA......OUR HOME TOWN:))

It occurred to me awhile back that I had lots of photos regarding our travels in the American southwest posted, but I didn't have any pictures of our own picturesque little home town of Bayfield Ontario, Canada. Bayfield is beautifully located on the sandy, windswept shores of Canada's second largest body of fresh water, Lake Huron. I took my camera (Nikon D50 SLR) for a walk (& drive) on Wednesday August 20th & came home several hours later with a few pictures. The photos start in the harbor area & move up into the heart of town. Drove around some streets with my camera perched on my arm out the window & took pictures of some Bayfield homes. (kind of gives new meaning to the term, "drive by shooting") At the end of the day I moved back down to the harbor area & awaited the sunset out on the pier. A mighty fine way to spend a relaxing Bayfield day.
Another reason for posting these pictures on the web was to make Bayfield more pictorially available. Noticed there didn't seem to be a lot of Bayfield photos accessible on the net & the few websites about the town did not concentrate on the visual aspect............ No doubt about it, we live in one of Canada's prettiest towns.................... :))

Click here for the photos. Try out the Slideshow when you get there.
http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/BEAUTIFULBAYFIELDONTARIOCANADA

A DIFFERENT TV MOUNT & AN ODOMETER MALFUNCTION

Just didn't feel comfortable with the television mount we had used for our new 23" flat screen television. It had a plastic type bushing in one of the joints that I just could not tighten up enough to stop the television from tipping too far down. Also felt there was a significant strain on that mount despite it saying that it was good for up to about 33 pounds. Our television weighs in at 24 pounds. To ease my concern I picked up a heavier all steel mount last Saturday morning at, The Source, (formally Radio Shack) & swapped the old one (from Wal-Mart) out. New mount is good for 40 pounds. TV is now much sturdier & I feel more comfortable with the all steel construction & the different way the joints are engineered. It seems I always have to do things back asswards all the time:(( It lends credibility to my earlier post about having somebody else do stuff if I want it done right!! The photo shows the newer mount. Awhile back when I started up the motorhome to run the engine for a bit I noticed the digital odometer cluster was not legible. This is the computer driven little device that gives you info like how many miles you are getting to the gallon, how many miles of fuel left in the gas tank, trip meter, plus a host of other technical info. To make a long story short, we found out that these clusters made by the Actia company have faulty software in them & many people with the Chevy Workhorse Chassis like ours have had to replace them. Some folks have been lucky enough to get it done under warranty, but of course, not us:(( In fact when I re-registered the motorhome with Workhorse a few months ago we found out that our coaches cluster had already been replaced once in 2005. It's been quite a run around but after many phone calls to local dealers, Workhorse in Arizona, & finally to the Actia company itself in Elkhart Indiana we're finally getting the problem solved as how to go about getting it fixed. I guess I should say Kelly is getting the problem solved because she is the one who makes all the phone calls. To make an even longer story even shorter.............the cluster is in transit right now & UPS should be delivering it to-morrow. Our motorhome is scheduled to go in for servicing shortly so we'll have the garage do the cluster switch. It certainly has not been cheap!! $354 for the cluster & we had a call from UPS at the border to-day saying it's going to be another $107 for taxes & duty to bring it into Canada. Had we known that we might just have simply stopped in Elkhart Indiana on our way south this year & picked it up ourselves. Oh well, so much for the old saying about the older we get, the wiser we get. Ya right!!!!

THE SUMMER IS WINDING DOWN

It's a cool, gray overcast, & rainy Sunday morning here in southern Ontario & a good time for catching up on computer stuff & doing inside neglected chores that need some attention. Might even kick the furnace on for a bit to get that nice cozy warmth in the house to take off the early Autumn chill to-day. Yes, the seasons are a changing & I'm glad they are. It's nearly mid August & once again the signs of our summer slipping away are beginning to emerge. The tiny invisible crickets have a different chirp to them, once lush green leaves are taking on a harder edged look, days are becoming noticeably shorter, & our ever present resident pond frogs are quieter now as they contemplate their long winter's hibernation. Who's going to get the best spot in the mud this year. The nights are definitely cooling down & soon the Autumn crispness will be in the daytime's air. It is my favorite time of the year which approaches. The exciting freshness of spring is long gone & summer's steamy rush is rapidly winding down. Autumn is a time for quiet reflection. Everything seems to slow as we shift to a lower gear. In a month from now the kids will be back in school, the Labor Day week-end will be behind us & a few trees will be starting to show some of their early artist's brush colors. Autumn is also a time of anticipation & preparation for the long cold winter months ahead. It's a cozy time as we scurry about like little squirrels getting ourselves organized & hunkered down to await the chilling winter winds. It's also a time of new learning. I've always had a theory that I think is probably true. Ever since we were kids first starting school we have become programmed to begin an educational process every September. This continues for many years in our early life & becomes embedded in our very beings & I think it lasts forever. Even though I've been out of the school system since the early 60's I still feel that learning process beginning to kick in around mid August. Over the years I have enrolled in various night classes starting in September. Half a dozen photography related courses, a beginners computer course, Tai Chi exercise classes & probably a few others I've forgotten about. It's always a nice feeling to be learning something new & especially at a time of year when we have been programmed to do our very best learning. It takes me back to my early public school days & that fresh smell of new books, erasers, new ink in the ink wells & fresh apples in our knapsacks. Aw yes, Autumn. My favorite time of the year:)))))) Think I just talked myself into brewing up a fresh cup of coffee, lighting up a cinnamon scented candle, & kicking on the fireplace for a cozy stay at home musically relaxing day.
The photos are from our flower gardens around the house. The one above shows a white Yucca growing up through some orange Day Lilies.

UPDATE ON OUR TELEVISION PROJECT

It's been awhile since I updated any of our minor RV renovations but I'm happy to report that our little TV project is actually going a bit better than expected. I was able to remove the clunky old television cabinet from the top center of the windshield without too much injury to myself or the motorhome. A carpenter friend of ours is going to finish that hole off with a cupboard. Got the flat screen mounted ok & it appears to be solidly anchored. The only other place in the coach it could go was on the end of the kitchen cabinet so that is where I mounted it. I've included some pictures & you can see how it swivels around making it viewable from all angles. Picked up a couple of 52 inch men's leather belts at Wal-Mart & they go around the television & loop through those door handles you can see above the TV at the ceiling line, making the television snug & secure for travel. Television is also now much easier to see from the computer chair below the screen. No more 90 degree neck cramps. It's also much easier to see when the slide is out because we sit across from it instead of having to lean forward & turn our heads sharp left all the time. TV is also more accessible for hooking up additional cables because we can swing it out & pivot it around quite a ways to get at the back. It all looks & sounds good in theory but the real test will come once we're on the road again. If I can sit here & post a note next spring & tell everyone that the television never even fell down once in our travels I will then (& only then) consider this little adventure a humble success..........:)) You can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.

Nice to see the fuel prices coming down a bit but I'm sure it's only temporary before the next big gas hammer drops on us. I actually had my maps & atlas's out the other night along with MapQuest & Google Earth checking the area between Silver City, New Mexico & Phoenix, Arizona. We haven't been to that part of Arizona yet & I'd like to have a look at the Superstition Mountain area. In the meantime we're remaining as optimistic as we can under the current shaky economic & worldly situations............

Last photo shows Kelly talking to her daughter & husband in Spain using Skype. Kelly is pointing our Microsoft web cam at the screen so Rebecca & Ricardo can see themselves. Works great:))

http://www.skype.com/

A TOUCH OF WINTER IN JULY:))

It's nearly mid July & with all the hot weather going on I thought I'd throw in a little slide show to cool everyone off:))
Be sure to click on the word, SLIDESHOW when the site opens.
A TOUCH OF WINTER
http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/ATOUCHOFWINTER

"AN EXTRAORDINARY MOMENT"

Awhile back I came across a website entitled, "An Extraordinary Moment." It may take a minute to load & about 5 or 6 minutes to play. It's well done & makes a lot of practical sense to me. How refreshing it is to see a truly realistic thought process & approach towards the beginning of mankind instead of the usual warring & fanatical religious beliefs. www.globalcommunity.org/flash/ex.shtml And, while I'm at it I would like to add some thought to another controversial argument. I have had an interest in Astronomy for quite awhile now & have found people often get Astronomy mixed up with Astrology. One deals with fact & the other deals with fiction. I came across the following explanation & comparisons a few years ago & thought it was explained very well.

ASTRONOMY vs ASTROLOGY
"People sometimes confuse Astronomy with Astrology. Although related in ancient myth they are literally light years apart in the realm of fact & fantasy. Here is a brief explanation of the difference....

"Astronomy is a science that compels us to seek beyond ourselves and our small world, a science of discovery that enriches our lives by exercising our brain and our intellect. It empowers you to think clearly and rationally. It improves and sharpens critical thinking skills." It may even encourage you to free up your mind to think beyond conventional religious beliefs. (to think beyond religious beliefs is the key phrase here....AL.)

"Astrology disempowers you. By placing your future in the accidental configuration of planets and stars, you avoid taking responsibility for your actions, you fail to make decisions based on your own best self interest, and you give up the power to control your own destiny. Belief in astrology results in a degradation of critical thinking skills, which, combined with the loss of power to control your own destiny, can only serve to degrade your life, not enrich it."

"Be in charge of your life. Experience the mystery, awe, and excitement of observational astronomy."

(The photos are of fireworks that I took on the beach at Deerpark Lodge)

SHORT VIDEO CAM RIDE ON THE MOTORCYCLE

Thought I would take the new mini video camera for a trial run on the motorcycle Wednesday afternoon. Curious to see how it would turn out. Video only lasts about 60 seconds & isn't very exciting despite what looks & sounds like a mishap seconds after turning the camera on. I should have shifted up into 5th gear before firing up the camera so what you see is my clumsy attempt to shift gears with the same hand the camera was in. Not too smart I'd say. However I did manage the shift & even got the cam turned around for a brief mugshot. Well, that probably wasn't too smart either because I could have easily broke the camera right there!!!! Stay tuned & next time I'll see if I can jump over a hundred & five end to end school buses. Any volunteers to sit on the back seat & hold the camera? :))