GUSTING WINDS TO-DAY REMINDED ME OF THE SOUTHWEST

QUEEN ANN'S LACE

Another quiet morning that lent itself to a peaceful motorcycle ride in the country. Sky looked dark & unpredictable to the northwest so after picking up some groceries in Goderich I turned back & headed for home. Not a lot of groceries of course because saddle bags don't hold too much. Kept an eye to the sky all the way back because belly swampin rain clouds can form out over the lake & come roaring ashore without a lot of notice so didn't want to get caught in a deluge of water. Been there, done that, not nice!! MAX'S NOSE IN THE AIR.....PROBABLY PICKED UP A DEER SCENT

Kelly phoned & said a lady had spotted Stella on a street near the lake so I headed over there but didn't see anything. Kelly was already cruising the neighborhood & putting more "missing" posters up. CANADIAN THISTLE

I had a mobility van run to London this afternoon but was back home again by 5:30. After supper we once more drove around in the area Stella had been spotted but didn't see anything. Needle in a haystack. We'll go again early in the morning because the lady said that's when she has been seeing a stray dog which she identified as Stella from the picture on the poster Kelly made up. Stella's owners will be home to-morrow so maybe they will have better luck in finding her. Ontario Provincial Police just called saying a dog wearing a green life jacket had washed ashore just north of Bayfield but from the description, it wasn't Stella. Must have fallen overboard from one of the many boats out there. Sad:(( COULD THIS BE AN INDIGO BUNTING??

Came across a completely blue colored bird in the forest this morning. Made a chip-chip sound like a Chipping Sparrow but that's not what it was. Managed to get a few pictures in the dim light at 200mm. My beginner's bird book leaves a little bit to be desired so I'm thinking I'll have to invest in a good Peterson Field Guide book. My uneducated guess as to the make of bird would be an Indigo Bunting. Some of you folks out there might remember John from John & Brenda's Incredible Adventure travel blog this past winter. Well, John has surfaced again with a new blog & you can currently find him, his horse Blue, & dog Meg trekking around out in the back 40 somewhere on his ranch in Alberta. John's a good tracker because he managed to track down the Bayfield Bunch last winter in Quartzite, Arizona. He found us camped on the fringe of literally thousands of RV's in the desert. No easy feat I'm sure but no problem for a true cowboy. You can find John riding the outback here......JOHNOur windy day reminded me of our winter travels in the southwest where the winds are strong enough to blow the stripes right off Zebras.......if there was any there. Might have been years ago but after having their stripes blown off the local ranchers & cowboys just figured they was short stocky white horses from Canada or something....................:)) I WAS A BIT OUT OF FOCUS HERE IN THE DIM LIGHT BUT AT LEAST MY CAMERA FLASH LIT HIM UP OK

GROANER'S CORNER: As a senior citizen was driving down the freeway, his car phone rang. Answering, he heard his wife's voice urgently warning him, "Herman, I just heard on the news that there's a car going the wrong way on 280 Interstate. Please be careful!" "It's not just one car," said Herman. "It's hundreds of them!"

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.

HOPE OF FINDING STELLA IS FADING:((

A ROBIN & CARDINAL CHIRPING A DUET TO-DAY IN THE PINE TREES

No luck finding Stella again to-day so we're beginning to think someone may have taken her. We did have a scare this morning when Kelly phoned the Bayfield Garage to inquire if any motorists stopping in may have mentioned anything about a dog. The young fellow answering the phone said there was a black colored dog lying dead on the shoulder of the highway across from the service station. There was little doubt in our minds that it was going to be Stella so I put a tarp in the van & we headed into Bayfield. I saw the body on the east side of the road but as I went by to turn around I thought it looked too small for Stella. I was right, it wasn't her but we felt bad for the poor dog & it's owners just the same. Kelly phoned the animal control fellow to inform him of the dog's location. SMALL RED ARROWS POINT TO BIRDFEEDER STATIONS

I returned home & Kelly went to Deer Park Lodge for the day & did up a bunch of "missing" posters. Stella's owner's son put them up around Bayfield this afternoon. Kelly also called a local radio station (The Beach 104.9) & they were kind enough to make several annoucements on the radio. I drove around Bayfield 3 different times plus went down to the beach but Stella was no where to be found. We are beginning to think that somebody has probably picked her up & kept her. It's a long holiday week-end here in Canada & Bayfield is bustling with thousands of tourists. The fact that no calls have come in to the animal control people or police doesn't bode well for her being found. We will continue our seach.................... STELLA.....PHONE HOME!! (Stella is a year old)

Great weather day so took the motorcycle for a spin up to Goderich for my 10 o'clock coffee. Picked up a Finch birdfeeder at Canadian Tire & headed home. We now have 7 feeder stations including 2 suet cages. Spent a few relaxing hours on the front porch reading my bird books, enjoying the weather, & watching the antics of the Blue Jays, Cardinals, Grosbeaks, Finches, Sparrows, & Chickadees. No sign of the rascally Chipmunks though. Figured because it's Sunday the Chippys were home relaxing & spending the day with their families. I wished the neighbor with his noisy lawn mower would have been considerate enough to do the same!! Would be nice if everyone could set aside their petty religious differences & feuds & all agree to at least have one quiet day of the week. Maybe just call it Family Day or something.........................well, I guess that is never going to happen!!!! DO YOU THINK WE HAVE ENOUGH TOYS FOR OUR 3 FURRY AMIGOS

Groaner's Corner: A prisoner's favorite punctuation mark is the period. It marks the end of his sentence.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.

SEARCHING FOR STELLA

STELLA IS MISSING:((

It's going to be a short blog. Last night around 7 our friends 1 year old part Burmese Mountain/German Shepherd dog went missing from George Street in Bayfield. Her name is Stella & we have been out looking for her to-night. I searched the beach area & harbor this afternoon but to no avail. Many trips around the streets of Bayfield but nobody has seen her. Our friends are in Quebec for the week-end & a teen-age son had been left in charge of things. Kelly has phoned the local vets, police, & animal control people but no luck so far. We will resume our search to-morrow. Stella is black with a brown face, very friendly, & playful. If anyone reading this in our area spots her just email us or phone Deerpark Lodge. Kelly will be there all day to-morrow. FLOWERS ALONG THE ROAD & A MARTIN HOUSE

GROANER'S CORNER: When the cannibal showed up late to the luncheon, they gave him the cold shoulder.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL

RUDOLPH THE RED NOSE REINDEER

WHAT KIND OF BRAMBLES IS THIS POOR LITTLE GREEN BUG HAVING TO CRAWL THROUGH??

It was Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer that caught my attention long enough to hear the next Christmas carol..... Jingle Bells!! I was on my way to London in the mobility van this afternoon & had just hit the "seek" button on the radio trying to get away from the usual collection of hip hop horrors when I came across the sounds of Christmas music. It took me aback for a few seconds & I did some serious thinking about the possibility I had been time warped into the Twilight Zone. But yes, it was definitely Christmas music I was hearing & yes, it was definitely summertime in Ontario I was seeing. After the third carol about roasting chestnuts over an open fire an announcer came on saying something about stay tuned to the soon to be launched new radio station in our area. 90.5 Exeter/Grand Bend. Thought to myself how clever those marketing people are. What better way to snag listeners than to put on Christmas music as an attention getter in the middle of summer. Good thinking on their part because it worked. Well, they got me didn't they & here I am telling you. Good work new radio station, bravo!! I will be tuning in to-morrow to see what kind of music your station will be playing when your officially on the air. Please, no rap crap, no horrible hip hop, & please.....no whining & moaning little baby talk girl Brittany Spears garbage. Puleeeeeeezzzz!!!! NICE FLOWER BUT I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS

Figured out my mystery bird's identity this morning. Had posted a couple pics in the blog over the past couple days wondering if anyone knew what it was. Well, wouldn't you know it but I had already posted a picture of that bird at the beginning of the week identifying it as a Female Rose Breasted Grosbeak & totally forgot I had done so. I blundered across that photo in the blog this morning so accidentally ID'd the bird myself. Ya gotta love this aging stuff:(( THAT LITTLE GREEN BUG WAS ON THE BACK OF MY HAND

My mobility van drive will take me to the Stratford Hospital to-morrow morning so am looking forward to a nice quiet drive through our picturesque rural countryside. Had to attend a driver's meeting this morning in Clinton. The company I drive part time for is being meshed in with 6 other area transportation companies so changes are on the way. The mesh day is officially August 10th & we are supposed to up & running with our Blackberry knowledge by then. I haven't even seen a Blackberry yet, let alone know how to turn one on. Did you know those Blackberry's are made by Research In Motion (RIM) & that's only about an hour & a half east of us in Waterloo, Ontario. (thanks to my cousin Norma for straightening me out on the location of RIM & the correction of Blackberries to Blackberrys:)).

KELLY GOT HERSELF INTO A REAL PICKLE THIS WEEK

I have added a couple more (Picasa Photostream & Comments) little Blogger things to our website & you may have noticed them in the right hand column. For you folks using Blogger there are lots of little things to jazz up your site a bit if you wish & they are super easy to install. Go to your Blogger Dashboard & click on Layout. Scroll down page to the bottom & find the words, Add a Gadget. Click that & will take you to 20 Basic Gadgets. This is where you add all your neat-O side bar stuff. Look to the left side of the menu for the words, Featured, Most Popular, & More Gadgets & you will find even more neat-O stuff. Slide shows, Stat Counters, Picasa Photostream, Followers List, Comment Panels, etc. etc. Always lots to learn at Blogger.

AND AL WAS BERRY, BERRY, EMBARRASSED

Glad to see from the comments & emails by fellow RV'ers that I'm not the only one with these impatient hitch-itch desires. For awhile there I was beginning to feel like a single blade of goofy grass in the face of a force 10 hurricane. I guess it's a good thing we fellers have our steadfast wives to anchor us down or we'd be blowing around in the wind out there like a bunch of wingless gnats in a Kansas wind storm. Thanks girls......sort of!!

GROANER'S CORNER: If you step onto a plane and recognize a friend of yours named Jack don't yell out...... Hi Jack!

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.

HAPPY TO REPORT.......A MUCH BETTER DAY:))

OUR RESIDENT "ATTACK FROG" KEEPING A WARY EYE ON ME

Most days are OK & some days are even better than OK but every once & awhile you have one of those days that just kind of sneaks up on you & clobbers ya one. Had one of those last night when I sat down at the computer to work on the blog. Things just didn't come to-gether in a positive way & I posted a blog I should have re-considered. After the posting I backed away from the keyboard, headed out the door, & took myself for a drive down to Grand Bend, parked on the beach & watched the big red sun sink into a placid Lake Huron. A quiet country road drive home watching the twinkling lights in the farm houses winking on reminded me of how fortunate we truly are to be living in the country we do & the peacefully scenic area we call home. Our health is good & we have so much to be grateful for. I sometimes forget that!! OUR MAXWELL BOY

Kelly had the day off so we sat for awhile this morning talking about our long term future RV plans & it wasn't long before we had the train back on track with some new ideas. We concluded that full timing is still a viable option for us but we just have to be patient for awhile longer to see just where this economy thing is going to end up. We hope to begin doing some RV trips next summer too. In the meantime our snowbirding plans for this winter are still a go & we're planning to be on the road sometime in early October. Da earlier da better:)) MET THIS CHARMING FELLOW IN THE GARDEN THIS MORNING

Felt so good after our morning talk I hustled right out to the rig & within minutes bin doors were flying open, plastic storage containers were being rounded up, things were being moved around & the entire basement was bustling with re-organization. Boy, I love when that happens. My annual mid summer slump was finally over & I figured with less than 10 weeks to go before we get the big wheels rolling again I had better get into high gear, keep that adrenalin pumping, & let my excitment have it's way with me. YESIREEEE, ONLY A LITTE MORE THAN 2 MONTHS TO GO

Thanks folks for the encouraging comments & emails. Sometimes we all just need a lift, a kind word, or something as simple as a good swift kick in the pants. My personality is such that it is always looking down the road wondering what's around the next corner & over the next hill. My ancestors must have been travelers & explorers because I'm always chomping at the bit to be just about anywhere other than where I am at the moment. Kelly says I'm quite an impatient handful at times, & I say....................she's right. "DIDN'T THINK I COULD CLIMB THIS GREASED POLE DID YA!!"

Dug out a couple of old bird books I had back in the late 80's when I was a member of the Stratford Field Naturalist Club but still have not been able to identify that bird in Tuesday's blog. We added another bird feeder to the pond yesterday & have noticed the bird traffic is defintely picking up. The birdseed eating Chipmunk traffic is picking up as well so it is a constant battle of who is outsmarting who for the seeds!! So far it's Chipmunks 5 & Al......2!!

FINALLY FIGURED OUT THAT THIS IS A FEMALE ROSE BREASTED GROSBEAK

Missed the groaner last night so to-night's it's gonna be........a double groaner!!!!
GROANER'S CORNER:

1. A nut named Hazel held up a bank saying 'give me all the cashew have'.
2. At a pet store: 'buy one dog, get one flea'.

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

AND WITH THAT....I'LL CALL IT A DAY

I found the following quote on the RV DREAMS JOURNAL this morning.

"We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us!"-- Joseph Campbell

I am so envious of all you fellow RV folks out there living your full time dreams. I had really been hoping we were going to make some decisions this summer but I'm afraid I will have to accept the fact it is not going to happen. And with that......I'll call it a day.

I RELAXED SO MUCH THIS MORNING I HAD TO TAKE A SIESTA THIS AFTERNOON

JERRY & MEL, THE ROADTREKING BROTHERS (Mel, in blue, was my former Airports Anywhere boss)

To-day just kinda turned out to one of those sort of nothing days. Sunshine & warm winds with increasing humidity made for the feelings of a real summer day finally. MALE CARDINAL ON THE FEEDER

Spent most of the morning on our front porch with my camera & scope just watching the birds coming & going. For long periods of time there would be no activity & then all of a sudden it was if someone had stopped out front & unloaded a whole bus load of birds. Robins chasing robins, Cardinals chasing Blue Jays & Blue Jays chasing home runs. Lots of black capped Chickadees & a Downie Woodpecker. The Grosbeaks were back as were the Mourning Doves, Grackles, & Nuthatches. In the nearly 7 years we have lived here this was the longest time I've ever spent sitting down on our porch. Probably the longest I've sat anywhere outside on our entire property. Seems whenever I sit down for a rest I always manage to think of something or see something that needs doing so up I get & away I go. COULD THIS BE A VERY YOUNG BLUE JAY?? DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT KIND OF BIRD THIS IS?? (no, it's not a Robin)

My relaxing morning & increasing humidity took a toll on me so had to have myself a little Siesta in the afternoon. About 4 an older beige Roadtrek van pulled into the driveway & out stepped a couple of fellas. It was Mel, my old Stratford Airports Anywhere boss from years ago. Mel & his brother Jerry from Sarnia were out on a little 4 day road trip around the area. Their ladies are not RV travelers so the brothers just took Mel's Roadtrek camper van & headed off on their own for a few days. Good for you guys!! Mel & his late wife Phyliss were RV travelers years go traveling in their Class C throughout the southwest in the winter months. Mel & Phyliss owned the Airports Anywhere company I was driving for so I used to email them from time to time with bits of local Stratford news. They used to pop into librarys to pick up their emails & Phyliss would type back about the good times they were having & the great scenery they were seeing. Many times I would be out on the infamous 401 in heavy Toronto traffic on icy roads & snowstorms thinking about the great sunny & warm days Mel & Phyliss were having in the deserts of the southwest. It was probably around this time that I began visualizing my RV dreams. Thanks Mel & Phyl:)) LANDING IN A FLURRY OF FEATHERS
BLUE JAYS

GROANER'S CORNER: A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France could result in Linoleum Blownapart.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.