THE SECOND COMING OF SPRING:))

COLORFUL BEACH CHAIRS AWAIT SUMMER GUESTS ON THE SHORES OF LAKE HURON AT DEERPARK LODGE http://www.deerparklodge.com/

Well, I sure wish I had something interesting to write about. One month ago to-day we hiked our way into old historic Fort Bowie near the Apache Pass in Arizona. http://thebayfieldbunch.com/2009/03/through-apache-pass-to-historic-fort.html
To-day, I puddled around raking leaves & cleaned up sticks & branches for a few hours. Doesn't really compare to our day at Fort Bowie but at least Spring has returned again after Old Man Winter took a final poke at us a few days ago.
Our snow is all but gone & I'm certainly hoping that was winter's last gasp.

ALONG OUR MORNING WALK

Weatherman has a nice Easter week-end lined up so maybe it will be a good time to begin the big clean up in the motorhome. All the bins have to emptied, cleaned, & re-organized. The inside has to cleaned from stem to stern & the carpet should probably be steamed cleaned. If I was handy I would pull that carpet out of there & replace it with a tile or wood laminate floor. I said......IF I was handy:(( And WHY would the manufacturer ever have put carpet in the bathroom!!!! Dumb, dumb, dumb. OUR FRONT YARD POND BUDDHA IS WEARING A WHITE HAT THIS MORNING

Had a big 4 hour coffee blow out last night with an old friend at a nearby coffee shop. In our case a coffee blow out now consists of one medium Tim Hortons coffee for me & a half pint of milk for my buddy Jim. He actually quit drinking coffee altogether a few years back. I'm down to 4 a day now & have been at that level for nearly 10 years. It's a far cry from years ago when we would seemingly drink the stuff by the pail full in our long chats in the many coffee shops in the Stratford Ontario area. Jim & I have been best friends for nearly 30 years now & in our coffee shop heyday used to meet every Monday & Thursday nights for coffee at 7 P.M. Jim broke an alcohol dependency habit about 34 years ago & I'm coming up on 30 years in October. I met Jim in my first week of sobriety & we've been best friends ever since. Up until last night we hadn't got to-gether for a good old round house chat in about a year & a half. As usual it didn't take us long to solve all the world's ills & establish ourselves once again as just a couple of wild & aging guys. Remember the Muppet Show? Remember the two old guys in the balcony, Statler & Hilton? Yep, that's me & my old buddy Jim alright:)) I STOCK THIS POND WITH FROGS EVERY AUTUMN

Another friend emailed this week bringing to my attention that I had spelled the word Curmudgeon wrong on our website. He noticed I had an S in there. Well, that is intentional, simply because I've always liked the sound of the word better with an S in it. Cur-smudge-eon. Good one Fred, you sharp eyed old devil you.

Ron from the Shoutbox noticed that since re-doing the format of the website, the top picture doesn't stretch all the way across the page. I wished it did but suspect a problem with the photo format not matching the blogger format may be the culprit. I have tried different photos but all with the same results. If anyone has a solution for that I would be happy to hear from them. I did initially have a lot of problems getting the wording to fit because it kept bleeding off into the gray area to the right. Had to not only reduce the size of the printing but also had to take out most of the text. I like the newer look better than what we had, but yes there is room for improvement. A LITTLE EARLY FOR PICNICS AT THE 5 SEASONS ESTATES, BAYFIELD

And thanks to Don out there in Brandon Manitoba once again for bringing to my attention the brake recall notice for the Workhorse Chassis. He spotted it on RV Net. http://www.rv.net/ You Workhorse drivers can check it out here..... http://www.rv.net/forum/index.cfm/fuseaction/thread/tid/22625788.cfm

The snow you see in to-day's blog pics is gone now. The pics were taken yesterday & I didn't have any new photos for to-day. Besides, how exciting can a picture of somebody raking leaves be...................:(( AS MUCH AS I DISLIKE WINTER......IT SURE CAN BE PRETTY

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

OLD MAN WINTER HAS DONE US A NASTY!!

A VERY COLD LITTLE PORCELIN BIRD


On Sunday, birds twittered in the forest near the pond, sunshine filtered through the pine boughs & I was merrily raking leaves & pine needles in my neighbor's yard.
To-day that tranquil early spring scene has been replaced by gray skies, icy cold winds, & trees bent low under the heavy weight of snow. Old man winter has done us a nasty!!
CONTRASTS....TROPICAL SCENE ON LAMP vs WINTER SCENE OUTSIDE

Electricity went out about 10:30 & stayed that way to nearly 1:30. I was out in the motorhome at the time it came back on firing up the systems for what I figured might be a move back into the rig before the house became too cold. Seems almost everytime we have some kind of storm here....our electricity goes down in this area. NO, THOSE ARE NOT REAL SUNFLOWERS

Kelly's back from Spencerport so she headed over to the Lodge to begin organizing things for the busy tourist season fast approaching. Also, the electricity was on over there & they had heat!! She phoned a couple of times to see if the electricity was on here yet.....nope!! Sat in the big chair with my warm security blanket & Motormouse on my lap as a heat source. Got myself caught up on my RV & Astronomy magazines that had piled up over the winter. The house was stone silent & I always find that a little eerie because we always have music playing in the background. I don't like silence.....it makes me think!! MY WHEELBARROW IS RIGHT WHERE I LEFT IT SUNDAY!!

Weather is looking the same for to-morrow but one whole day of sitting in the house is enough so I'm going to pull a rabbit out of the hat & find me something different to do. Two days in row like that is too much..........has a tendency to, well you know...............................make me think eh !!
NO PHOTOS FOR THE WEB ALBUM TO-NIGHT

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

NO BLOG TO-NIGHT....THE BRAIN IS PLAYING HARD TO FIND AGAIN!!

THEM DARN TRAVEL URGES ARE STIRRING AGAIN!!

Haven't even been home a week & already I feel the travel urges stirring. My ancestors must have been Nomads or something. Same thing happens to me when we're traveling. About 2 weeks in one spot & I'm itching to move on & see something new. Had I never traveled at all or been a part of the RV lifestyle I might be more content doing this domestic suburban house thing. But, having lived on the road on & off over the past 5 years the RV bug has got a hold of me real darn good!!

We have had many conversations about fulltiming the last couple of years & you fulltimers out there know exactly how the talks go because you all have had them with each other. In all our travels we never met one full timing couple who had any regrets about their decision. But, it's a big decision. In fact, it's a whopper!!

We thought we had the makings of some future RV plans last fall but then, like a ka-zillion other folks, the economic melt down suddenly changed direction for a lot of us so it's kind of been like getting back to the drawing board all over again. We'll see how this summer shakes out.....................................

ABOUT THIRD GEAR THE GRIN BEGINS STRETCHING ACROSS MY FACE

(File Photos)

There is always something special about that first motorcycle ride of the season up here in the colder climates where, unlike the south, we can only ride our motorcycles comfortably about 6 months of the year. And, we still have to pay full insurance coverage for those other 6 months the bike sits in storage too!!

I was fortunate this year that I didn't have to go through the always frustrating (for me) start up procedure. My friend Bruce, a past biker himself maintained the bikes battery all winter & installed it in the bike about a week before we got home from the southwest. He had a little trouble getting it going (I can never get it going) but with his usual patience & know how he got it fired up. All's I had to do when we got home was go over to the neighbors garage where it was stored, check the oil & tires & ride the bike out the door & bring it home. Thanks Bruce:))

The night's have been cold so I started the bike a few times during the week & let it idle. Didn't want that battery going dead!! I was busy to-day with the yard clean but around 4 o'clock while walking past the bike I thought......Hey, it's time:)) The sun was shining, roads were dry, & I think we must have been up around 55F. On with the helmet, sunglasses, & leather jacket. Up with the kickstand, key on & hit the starter. "Houston, we have ignition" Let the bike warm up a couple of minutes, popped it into gear, out with the clutch, wobbled out the driveway, around the corner & up to the stop sign. This is the part I like.....nice long easy take off roll in first gear pushing the revs right up to the max & then down comes the hammer & I'm off like a herd of turtles in a cloud of heifer dust!! Love to hear that big muffler echoing off the trees as I rocket out of the forest & into the open countryside. It's about when I hit third gear going like Jack the Bear that the big Cheshire grin begins stretching across my face. Happens everytime on the first ride. No yippeeees or yabba dabba do's like years ago.....just that great big grin as I hear & feel the wind ripping through the helmet. It's an open paved road ahead of me with no traffic so I take the speed right up to the point of stupidity then back it down to a comfortable cruising speed & we are all set for another summer of enjoyable motorcycling. Big Cheshire grin & all:))

I wrote a little story about my first motorcycle experience nearly 15 years ago.
http://thebayfieldbunch.com/2007/09/motorcyclefirst-experience.html
And I also wrote a blog last summer about a really dumb thing I did to my motorcycle!! It's entitled, "Is That A Diesel Motorcycle Sir??"
http://thebayfieldbunch.com/2008/08/is-that-diesel-motorcycle-sir.html
(and thanks to Laurie for the tip on inserting links into the blog)

Weatherman is predicting a miserable rainy day to-morrow so I'm going to try my hand at changing the blog's format & appearance. I like the looks of Laurie & Odell's blog. http://laurieandodel.blogspot.com/ I like the fact that it stretches clear across the screen. Laurie has sent me some instructions so if I make myself an extra strong coffee in the morning I just might be hyped & brave enough to give it a try. Wish me luck.............

There is music in my family & my Mother could play piano by ear. Music has always been one of the most enjoyable things in my life but try as I may I could never seem to figure out how to play an instrument. I'm a closet singer & the thicker the closet walls the better. However, my very talented Son Sean has taken that music bug & ran with it over the years. He not only writes & sings all his own songs but he plays keyboards & does all the production stuff himself as well. His band, The Weak Need has just released an album featuring Sean's song writing talents with Sean doing the vocals, keyboards & technical production.
Following is a review in to-day's Kitchener-Waterloo Record regarding the recent release of his album...Restitution.

A little weak in confidence but powerful in production
April 02, 2009 Colin Hunter
It takes a certain amount of nerve to give your band a name like The Weak Need.
Doing so is practically an invitation to music critics -- the opportunistic vultures that they/we can so often be -- to utilize the name as an easy linguistic weapon against the band in a snarky review.
"Weak," such a soupus scribe might snarl, "is precisely the right word for the music!"
Or: "I'll tell you what these guys need -- a better album!"
There shall be no such sniping here, though, since The Weak Need have a secret weapon of their own, which they have fired in a pre-emptive strike: a self-assured, beautifully produced album, Restitution.
In other words, their chutzpah was warranted, because there's nothing particularly weak or needy about this solid 10-track collection of lush emo-pop.
The band strides comfortably into the radio-friendly territory of bands like Muse and Keane, with brief glimmers of the adventurousness of Radiohead and Aereogramme.
While no aspect of this album can rightly be described as "weak," some listeners (myself included) might suggest that the album feels a little too restrained or cautious at times.
On several tracks, the band builds a crescendo that never quite reaches its peak, like a firework that launches into the air but fizzles out before the big colourful explosion.
The best tracks on the album, such as the stellar Heal You and Beyond The Stars, are the ones on which the musicians crank the volume, stomp the distortion pedals and belt out the lyrics with rockstar swagger.
Such bombastic tracks, however, are outnumbered by the heartfelt ballads that showcase frontman Sean Croley's emotive vocals and laudable talents on the piano. Some of these softer songs, like the album closer Thank You, feature haunting harmonies and evocative lyricism, but others could benefit from a bit more guitar-fuelled oomph.
The album, recorded at Kitchener's Cedartree Studio, boasts some of the loveliest production quality you're liable to hear from an indie band, and makes for a strong, satisfying listen.
The band demonstrated some chutzpah when choosing a name. If they'd only show a bit more chutzpah by truly rocking out when the time is right, they'd be nigh-on perfect.

Listen to the album here.....http://www.paywhatyouwantonline.com/Browse.aspx?opt=album&albumid=25

Here's the link to the review.
http://news.therecord.com/arts/NightLife/article/513787
The Weak Need website http://www.theweakneed.com/

AWWWWWW NUTS.....NO BLOG TO-NIGHT:((

GETTING IN THE GROOVE OF BEING HOME

WAITING FOR WARM SUNNY DAYS & ENDLESS ROADS

I had meant to include a couple travel stats in last night's blog but of course forgot. In case anyone was interested, we put a total of 5,987 miles on the motorhome this past winter. Total cost for gas was $1,552 & maybe another $300 for day trips in the car. Not bad considering how much a week would cost flying to a resort in the Bahamas, Cuba, Mexico, or Barbados, etc. SOME GOOSE ACTION ON THE POND THIS MORNING

Big surprise when we looked out the window this morning. Everything was white!! Had snowed in the night giving everything a very wintery look. It did remind me of Christmas though. The day remained cold & the snow is going to hang around until to-morrow when we'll be up into the low 40's. Last time we had seen snow was back in March during our stay at the ranch in southeastern Arizona. YES, IT'S JUST ABOUT AS COLD AS IT LOOKS TOO AS WE TRUDGE THROUGH THE FOREST

It has taken me 3 days but I am beginning to feel a little normal again. Nice to resume our daily morning walks around the pond, along the creek, & through the pine forest where we live. That jet lag, or in our case, rig lag really knocks the stuffing's out of a person. Brain doesn't function well, short term memory goes into the dumper, irritability levels off the chart, simple tasks suddenly become major confusion, etc. I'll be glad when my tired brain cells have been re-instated & simple tasks once again become just minor confusions!! A FROZEN BIRD'S NEST AWAITS A WARM SPRING FAMILY

Sandra commented on yesterday's blog suggesting we should name our motorhome. It's been in the back of my mind for awhile but her comment brought it to light again. I'm thinking of calling her.......Bisbee. Any ideas folks?? MAX SENSES DEER DURING OUR MORNING WALK

One year ago to-day we had a rather large event going on here at home. Click on this link & scroll two thirds of the way down the page looking for the blog entitled, The Happy Face Of........ "SURPRISE:))" http://thebayfieldbunch.com/2008_04_01_archive.html (it's the last blog on the page) A QUIET CREEK WINDS THROUGH THE FOREST BESIDE OUR PATH

For the last two years in a row we have come home to dead van batteries. Both batteries were new & had been kept inside during the winter months. Batteries had been maintained & charged periodically. To-day we had to put our 3rd new battery in the van. Luckily the batts were warrantied. Our garage man told me to-day we would be better off leaving the battery in the van for the winter & just have someone start it up & take the van for a short run every once & awhile. Better for the battery & better for the van. It's very unfortunate but batteries are not built like they used to be. In to-day's throw away society things are made on the cheap for higher company profit margins I guess. WE WALK THIS PATH EVERY MORNING WE CAN

To-morrow I might slip up to our Canadian Tire store in Goderich for a walk around just to really get myself in the groove of being home..............................:))OUR CEMENT DALMATION DOG BLENDS RIGHT IN.....Look for the tiny red collar

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