A COZY LITTLE PLACE TO SPEND A RAINY DAY

SLIPPED OUTSIDE BETWEEN RAIN SHOWERS FOR SOME FLOWER PHOTOS

Figured it was about time I addressed the Windows problem we've noticed since moving the computer. It has been a visual impairment & is very apparent sitting directly in front of the monitor. I don't know if Bill Gates had this same Windows problem or not but to-day I was able to correct the whole thing in about 40 minutes.........with a ladder & some Windex. And you thought I was talking about Microsoft Windows eh. Nope, I was talking about our dirty sun room windows. Had been a few months since spring cleaning so out came the squeegee, paper towels, ladder, garden hose, & a bottle of Windex. Checkers ended up getting wetter than the windows again because she loves it when Dad & the big garden hose monster get after her. Windows are so squeaky clean now the birds are looking extra, extra, colorful. We are experiencing a big thunder storm at the moment too. TIGER LILY

It was music to my ears to-day when I heard Kelly say, "maybe we shouldn't take the bicycles with us this year." We have strapped, roped, tied, & tarped our 2 bicycles onto the back of the motorhome for the past couple of years hauling them all the way down into the southwest & back. Our total riding time on those bikes in 2 years might have been one hour. The bicycles take a real dirt beating on the back of the rig with road grime, dust, salt infested roads at times, & water, really making a mess out of them. They are nice bikes & it always bothered me to see them aged way beyond their years. I could understand taking them if we were going to a flat road RV Park & sitting in one spot for 6 months but with our boondocking ways there isn't always level enough surfaces to ride them so I'm glad we will be leaving them home this year. Just one less thing to worry about & it should shave off a few pounds for the motorhome carrying weight as well. REFLECTIONS IN THE SUNROOM WINDOW

Some of you may remember a month or so ago when I was trying my hand at designing a Bayfield Bunch business type card in the Windows XP Paint program. (no, we are not in business) Just thought it might be nice to have a simple little card to hand out to folks when we meet them in our travels. Kelly's son has a graphic's business in Cambridge called, FLORENCE SIGNS so we emailed Ben the design I had come up with & he formatted it to fit a standard business card format. He then forwarded it to a printing company called BCT in Waterloo for printing. We received the finished cards a few days ago & were very impressed & totally pleased with how well they came out. Not just your standard cardboard card because these seem to be laminated somehow so won't bend or suffer from dampness or water. Very nice cards. We had to kind of laugh at the quantity of cards we ordered though. Kelly said we'll be long gone off the planet by the time all these cards are ever used up at our rate of meeting people. The whole Bayfield Bunch is going to have to live for another hundred & fifty years if we're going to hand them all out. OUR BAYFIELD BUNCH CARDS

I sometimes go on a bit much about the traveling RV lifestyle but I was reading another RV'ers blog to-day & he has taken the time to research some of the great lifestyle quotes that have stood the test of time & put all this traveling wanderlust into perspective. My feelings exactly!! Be sure to check out Howard's blog at RV-DREAMS JOURNAL. FRONT YARD FROG POND.....THAT GREEN STUFF IS NOT SLIME, IT'S DUCKWEED

Thunder is rolling across the skies at the moment with heavy rains bending low the long lanky branches of our sunburst locust tree outside our sunroom window. Winds are swaying the tall white pines. Relaxing ambient music on the stereo with the overhead fan wafting down a gentle breeze on my keyboard. Max is asleep on the couch in the living room, Cora is hiding from the great thunder monster under the computer table & Checkers is curled up beside my chair waiting out the storm. Many birds outside are flitting through the raindrops from feeder to feeder & Kelly is quietly stretched out in her recliner reading one of her many books. Aw yes, all is well here to-day in the life of The Bayfield Bunch:)) A COZY LITTLE PLACE TO SPEND A RAINY DAY

GROANER'S CORNER:(( This verbal exchange took place between Winston Churchill & Lady Astor many years ago......She said, "If you were my husband I'd give you poison."He said, "If you were my wife, I'd drink it."

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

A DAY OF PUTTERING & SUPPER AT THE DOCKS

OH OH, THE WORLD HAS TIPPED OVER..............OR, REFLECTIONS IN A POND:))

To-day was basically a repeat of yesterday in that I spent most of it at home still working on our computer move project. Mainly it was just a matter of getting everything put back to-gether in some reasonable semblance of order. I even turned my bed around to make sure I wouldn't get up on the wrong side of the bed anymore!! Now how's that for consideration:)) Kelly just worked the morning so we spent some time hanging a couple new curtains this afternoon. I usually run out of patience with that sort of thing but I managed to hang in there for the duration. MOUNTING A CURTAIN ROD THIS AFTERNOON

Our neighbor-lady Monica across the road took us out for supper to-night. We don't see Monica a lot because she is quite a traveler herself so she thought it would be nice to get to-gether for a bite. There's a nice place beside the Bayfield Harbor called, The Docks, so that's where we headed. I had heard they put up a good burg & fries so that's what I had & yes, it was very good indeed. Monica hadn't been into downtown Bayfield for awhile so after supper we took a drive around the village. This is truly a beautiful little place & it's no wonder people come from far & wide to visit here. There are no buildings over 2 stories high & those few buildings are on the main street itself. The cozy architecture of all the homes & cottages is well worth the drive here to see. And then there are all the beautiful yachts & sailboats in the harbor. Very creative, very colorful, & very Bayfield. THE DOCKS....FORMALLY KNOWN AS, THE HARBOR LIGHTS

Had some interesting comments on yesterday's blog as Jerry over at OUR LIFE ON WHEELS mentioned about family seldom responding to his blogs at first. We have noticed the very same thing. When I first came across this blogging thing I figured it would be a nice way to keep in touch with friends & family & maybe exercise a little creative writing bug I've always had. I was obviously excited about the idea but unfortunately I mis-judged others enthusiasm. For some silly reason I assumed folks would be interested in our travels but it soon became apparent that was not always the case. I had one good friend tell me outright...."I don't do blogs!!" Oooops, sorry. That one knocked some of the excitement stuffing's out of me for sure!! Other family members are getting up in years & not quite as computer savvy so I sent emails with simple instructions how to put our Bayfield Bunch icon on their desktops. But nope, they just didn't seem interested!! Kelly has a wonderful bunch of kids & I thought for sure they would all be wildly interested in our adventures. Wrong again!! I guess I just have to put myself back in that age group again & ask myself if I would have been interested in where my parents were & what they were up to. Probably not because I was too wrapped up with my own life at the time without caring much about older people!! MONICA & KELLY CHECKING THE MENU.....FORTUNATELY WE GOT HERE BEFORE THE CROWD

Probably 95% of people who follow our blog now are total strangers from far & wide & I'll bet the majority of that 95% are RV people which afterall makes sense. It's basically a travel blog so there is a thread of commonality there. But, I have also noticed something else these past few years. RV folks understand RV folks & home folks alike because RV people were once homebodies themselves. However, it seems many home folks don't understand that wandering nature RV folks have & are puzzled why someone would want to live in box about half the size of a railroad car. As like any groups of a feather, there is an underlying understanding & bonding of people on the road. There is a coming to-gether of thoughts, plans, & ideas. People tend to look out for one another & it's no more evident than right here on the internet. Oh yes, there are personality conflicts & mis-understandings like anywhere else but as a whole RV people seem to care & as a rule are friendlier. One of the main reasons for that could very well be the mobile lifestyle itself. Kelly & I usually don't stay in one spot long enough to get on anyone's nerves & vice versa. There are people out there who don't like dogs so we have a tendency to keep to ourselves. We don't get involved in campground politics or group personality problems. We don't belong to any groups or organizations although we were once Escapee members & might consider joining again at some point. By flying solo it keeps our people stress levels down to a manageable level as well. Yes, there is a definite downside to traveling like we do but that's another blog topic for another day. A VIEW OF BAYFIELD'S HARBOR FROM THE PATIO AT THE DOCKS

Anyway, just a few of my thoughts to-night on why we like the wandering gypsy style RV life while we're on the road. And remember, we are all different folks with different opinions & we all have lots of room for improvment. And besides, you can't catch me long enough to stay mad at me forever anyway:)) COLORFUL BUFFET TABLE

GROANER'S CORNER:(( We are born naked, wet, & hungry.....then things get worse!!

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

THE CABLE GUY DOES IT RIGHT

OUR LITTLE MOTORMOUSE LOVES WATCHING ALL THE BIRDS, SQUIRRELS, & CHIPMUNKS, AS WELL

Waited most of the morning for the cable guy to show up & install a new cable feed into our sunroom. I figured he would have to go under the unit or along the baseboards with many twists & turns but when he showed up it didn't take him long to de-bunk my theories & simply run a brand new cable from the exterior box right round the outside of our unit & through the sunroom wall to the computer. No fuss, no muss, no bother. Job was done in about 20 minutes & he was gone on down the road. Sure pays to have things done right!! LOOKING FOR SOME TASTY BUG SNACKS.....DOWNIE WOODPECKER

Had a mobility van run to Stratford & back this afternoon so that was a nice couple of hours spent motoring through our rural scenic countryside. Southwestern Ontario is very much agriculture so the land is dotted with many farms having acres & acres of crops like corn, wheat, oats, & varieties of beans, just to mention a few. Years ago pigs & chickens were visible on the farms but that has all changed now & you never see chickens or pigs outside anymore. Dairy & beef cattle dot the landscape along with herds of sheep here & there. Very picturesque farm like settings everywhere. I'VE GOT THIS RED BELLIED WOODPECKER OUT OF FOCUS BUT I'LL GET HIM WHEN HE COMES BACK

Right now I'm sitting in our sunroom about 12 feet away from our concrete birdbath watching 2 Blue Jays having a huge shouting match at each other over who's going to take their nightly bath first!! Several people have commented about not getting any computer stuff done if they were sitting here in a setting like this & you know what....they are right. I find myself typing for a bit & then sitting for lengths of time just watching all the birds outside. Four chipmunks were putting on quite a comical show awhile ago & I sat for a long time watching all that. We are truly fortunate people to have what we have. WON'T BE LONG & I'LL BE ROUNDING UP THE POND FROGS & MOVING THEM TO DEEPER WATERS FOR THE WINTER

To-morrow morning I will get busy putting things back to-gether in the house because right now I'm kind of surrounded by a big mess with furniture scattered about willy nilly. This has been a disruptive computer move so things have to be re-arranged & put back into place. But, I don't mind because it's the kind of creative stuff I like doing anyway.

SHE LOVES SNOOZING IN THE SUNNY SPOTS

On the way back from Stratford this afternoon I was reflecting back on my nearly 6 years driving a mobility van & the different places that job has taken me. I am in & out of care facilities, medical clinics, nursing homes, hospitals, dentist & doctor's offices, retirement facilities, optometrists offices, etc. Most of the people I have in the van are elderly & they are always in wheelchairs or scooters. No matter where I have gone I've always been totally impressed with the care these people receive. I hear bits of conversations as I'm walking down halls, I see people being attended to & looked after & I hear the kind words spoken by staff to patients & residents. I know elder abuse goes on but I've never ever seen a hint of it. Just the opposite. I really take my hat off to all the gals working in those facilities because it certainly is not a mentally or physically easy job for them. MY SHUTTER SPEED WAS TOO SLOW FOR THIS FAST MOVING HUMMING BIRD BUT MAYBE NEXT TIME

Years ago when my Dad was dying of cancer I was also extremely impressed with the care & caring he received from the ladies coming to his home. It was the VON (Victoria Order of Nurses) that came & what a bunch of fine dedicated ladies they were. We always hear so much bad stuff all the time in the news & so many media horror stories about health care, elder abuse, neglect, etc that I just thought I'd add my 2 cents worth from the other side for a change......................:)) DOWNIE WOOD PECKER

And a word of welcome to the folks who have recently joined as Bayfield Bunch followers. (43)Nice to have you folks aboard & I hope I'm able to keep things interesting enough to hang on to everyone. I think all bloggers look forward to comments, emails, & followers, to give them inspiration, direction, & purpose. Without all the positive feedback from people I'm sure a lot of blogs just kind of dry up & blow away in the wind. Thanks folks & as long as your still interested.....I'm still interested:))

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Why was 6 afraid of 7? ...................because 789 (seven ate nine)

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

SURPRISINGLY, THE COMPUTER MOVE WENT WELL:))

OUR NEW COMPUTER STATION:))

Another sticky day as the humidex climbed once again & turned people like myself into walking buckets of paste. No problem for people with dry skin but for those of us with oily skin, humid days are not a nice thing!! OH OH.....I'M ABOUT TO GET ER STUCK REAL DARN GOOD!!

I didn't waste any time getting at my computer station move this morning & Kelly didn't waste any time making a few phone calls to make arrangements for back-up. Figured I would buy a 50' cable & hook it onto the existing cable & then run the cord along the bedroom floor, around some corners, out the door, down the hall, around some more corners into the sunroom, around some more corners & finally ending up somewhere behind the computer. Or, I could try to run the cable straight across the width of our unit underneath through a spider infested cob webbed crawl space. That would mean dynamiting a hole in the floor somewhere behind the computer to bring the cable up. Kelly knew better & quickly phoned the cable company & they said they would re-route the cable PROPERLY for $20.00. The cable alone would have cost me that so for sure we'll have the cable company run a proper line to the sun room Tuesday morning. And for sure they will do a much better job than I ever could have. STUCK......GOING TO HAVE TO DO ME A BIT OF THINKING HERE

MANEUVERING THE DESK INTO PLACE.....GOOD THING IT'S CARPET ON THE FLOOR

Before leaving for work this morning Kelly told me not to try & move the heavy computer desk on my own. She said to wait until she got home from work later in the day, so I knew I had to work fast to get that desk moved & set up before she got home later. She had reminded me of all the trouble the 2 fellows had trying to get it in when they delivered that desk about 6 years ago. Doorways in these mobile units are much narrower than an ordinary house. Only 24" to be exact & the width of the computer desk was exactly 24" plus a wee smidgeon. Well, didn't take me long to get the desk totally wedged two thirds of the way through the doorway. I had to reach deep into my mechanical male mind & call up some superior brain cells to put to-gether a smattering of higher reasoning exclusive to all us guys.......brute force!! Broke a piece of door molding but I 'got er done:))' CHECKING OUT THE SYSTEMS BEFORE SHOVING THE DESK BACK INTO PLACE

The rest of the move went pretty smooth & I was able to get the computer, printer, sound system, web cam, etc all moved & set up again long before Kelly got home. Even got the hanging overhead lamp installed. In fact, once I had everything up & running & looking good, I took some pictures & sent them to the head cheese herself. Figured it would ease her day if she knew the job was done & she didn't have to come home to a big moving mess. I like when things work out well like that:)) I am now sitting here at the computer in the sun room watching the birds flying around with one re-curring thought going through my mind over & over. Why didn't we do this years ago when we first had this sun room put on!!!!!!!!! Ohhhh, the workings of the human mind...............:()
KELLY'S ON THE PHONE WITH HER MOM & DAD

All the above photos were taken with a 28mm wide angle lens so the sunroom actually appears bigger than it really is.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( You know your old when you're on vacation and your energy runs out before your money does.

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

NEARLY 7 YEARS IN ONE SPOT.....IT'S TIME TO MOVE THE COMPUTER

IT'S QUITE A VARIETY OF BIRDS WE HAVE BEEN ATTRACTING

Another very humid day so the AC was kept busy again. We're so glad we decided to put central air in 3 years ago. Never seemed to mind the humidity but these last 3 or 4 years either the humidity is getting worse or we're just not as able to tolerate it anymore. Probably a little bit of both. HUMMINGBIRD FLITTING AMONGST THE FRONT YARD FLOWERS

It was a good morning for a motorcycle run so I headed up into the Goderich area again, picked up a few things at Wally World, cruised around some nice back roads & headed home.

TOOK THE BISBEE KIDS FOR A SPIN ON THE MOTORCYCLE THIS MORNING

Spent the rest of the day inside where it was cool thinking of poor Kelly working over at Deerpark in the heat but at least she got to remain in the office most of the day. THOSE LITTLE HUMMER'S SURE HAVE LONG BEAKS

I've had to take down some of the bird feeders because the Grackles were just plowing all the birdseed out of them onto the ground. I'm kind of thinking there must be a better way of doing things out there so the old wheels are slowly turning in my head working on a plan to build myself some kind of foolproof bird feeding station. I first of all need something with a large flat roof to keep the rain out of the feeders so that's where the thought processes are starting. Building stuff is not my thing but I have been known to surprise myself on occasion. THE POND BOSS

We have had the computer set up in the same room ever since we moved here nearly 7 years ago. It's been on my mind for quite awhile to move it into our sunroom so this afternoon I began that little project. Right now our computer faces a wall in a bedroom with 2 small windows. In the sunroom we will be able to sit at the computer with big windows on 3 sides & a view of our front yard pond & all the birds coming & going to the feeders. I will have to re-route the cable for our internet so will have to pick up a 25' length of cable in the morning. If all goes well I should be able to type to-morrow night's blog & watch the birds at the same time. Should be a nice change from the darker computer room.......& I love change. I'm thinking I may even be able to set up my camera/scope right beside the computer as well. Awwww yes, it's good to have the creative juices bubbling again..............:)) GOT A CORNER CLEARED OUT FOR THE COMPUTER DESK

GROANER'S CORNER:(( The more I learn about terrorism the more I understand the phone company!!

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

HOT, HUMID, & A HUMMER:))

AT LAST.....A HUMMINGBIRD:)) (click to enlarge)

Saturdays are busy days for Kelly at Deerpark Lodge so she was out the door early this morning. Humidity had rolled into the area Friday & to-day turned out be another cooker. The humidity really draws out the mosquitoes & biting flies so I didn't get far with the dogs on our walk this morning before the bugs drove us out of the forest. It just kind of turned into a low energy morning & I sat on the front porch with my camera watching the antics of all my bird pals coming & going to the feeders & bird baths. It's quite a pecking order they follow & I can also tell you it's really hard to get a humming bird to sit still!!. RED BREASTED MALE GROSBEAK

Had a mobility van run this afternoon so that made 3 this week. At this fast pace I might even be able to make enough money this summer to actually buy a whole tank of gas for the motorhome by October. Guess I shouldn't complain because at least I have something. There are a lot of people out there right now with no employment at all, not even part time. Kelly phoned to say she saw Stella to-day for the first time since she went missing a couple weeks ago & it was quite obvious that Stella was a happy dog to be back with her owners again. She had been picked up by someone in a black SUV & luckily 2 small children had seen it happen. When Kelly made up all the 'Stella Is Missing' posters she put the children's description of that dark colored SUV on the poster. Kelly distributed those posters far & wide & went to a great effort to make Stella's disappearance known throughout the community. We think this was a contributing factor to Stella's eventual return. Stella's picture & the car description were everywhere & finally Stella's owner got a call from someone saying, "I have your dog & am willing to return it." A meeting was arranged in Clan Gregor square here in Bayfield & Stella was returned to her rightful owner. We think the pressure was just too great for this person who may originally have thought they were just picking up a stray mutt off the street. Anyway, it has all worked out well in the end & Stella was once again racing around over at Deerpark Lodge to-day just as happy as can be. Yaaaaay Kelly:)) Yaaaaay Stella:)) And Yaaaaay to all the folks in Bayfield who were keeping an eye out for her:)) STELLA:))))))

It was nearly a year ago to the day that I made a very big mistake with my motorcycle that could have ended up costing me a whole bunch of money but thanks to the keen eye of a young gas station attendent in Goderich I was spared that fate. You can read about my big mistake......HERE.NOTICE THE TINY FLY ON THE LEAF TO THE RIGHT....NEVER SAW IT UNTIL I CROPPED THE PHOTO IN PICASA

GROANER'S CORNER:(( You know your getting old when you try to straighten out the wrinkles in your socks and discover you aren't wearing any.

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

THE DAY I MOOSE SALUTED THE OLD NORTH WIND!!

A LITTLE FRIEND ALONG THE MORNING TRAIL

It was RICK'S spaghetti sauce that saved the day for me this afternoon. Kelly had sent an email last night telling me to take a plastic container out of the freezer to-day around noon because that was going to be our supper to-night. It was around 2 P.M. that I sat down at the computer to catch up on a few blogs. As I was reading Rick's blog about fixing & mixing spaghetti sauce I had this uncomfortable feeling there was something I was supposed to remember that had to do with food. Oh no!! Kelly could be home any minute & that plastic container was still in the freezer!! I zipped out to the kitchen, filled the sink with super hot water & plopped the frozen container in there. Checked it about 20 minutes later & it was still frozen solid. Oh no, what to do!! Noticed the micro-wave had a defrost setting so I had to hurriedly get creative with a bunch of microwave numbers & about half an hour later I saw some good serious soggy signs in the container of veggies. Put the container back in the hot water & left it there until Kelly rolled in the driveway about an hour later. Quickly drained the water & set the container on the counter..........no problem & supper went off without a hitch:)) Thanks oh great spaghetti master!! HERE'S AN INTERESTING LITTLE FELLOW IN THE FLOWER GARDEN

Had a question about the black thing sticking up on top of my telescope lens. That large black lens I've been using with my camera is first & foremost an astronomy telescope. That device on the telescope contains a small battery which projects a small laser like red dot onto the center of that rectangular glass portion. When looking for objects in the dark night sky it can be difficult to find a specific area. By looking through that finder device you just align that red dot with whatever your looking for in the night sky & that automatically aligns your lens with the object making it easier to locate things. If it wasn't for all the tall pine trees surrounding us I would be making a lot more use of this telescope at night......but:(( I ADDED THE LITTLE RED DOT IN PAINT SHOP BUT THAT IS WHAT YOU BASICALLY SEE AT NIGHT

The American southwest is notorious for it's big winds & we have sure found that out first hand over these past few years. We were boondocking in the desert about 6 miles south of Quartzite, Arizona back in January of 2008 with continous winds sweeping in from the north each night. It was really reeking havoc on our sleeping & making me extra irritible.....if that's possible!! I blogged about that big wind & my coyote theory the following night & mentioned that in the morning I had gone outside & totally 'Moose Saluted' that old north wind just to let him know what I thought of his nightly antics. Wasn't long & I had some emails asking what a moose salute was so rather than trying to explain it I took a picture of myself demonstrating the moose salute & put it in next days blog. Here is that blog about the wind and...............the Moose Salute!!

From January 14th, 2008
The big wind gusts finally let up last night around 9:30 only to return around midnight with reinforcements. I don't know if that is what woke me up or if it was our border collie Checkers growling like crazy. Next thing I heard were the coyotes & it sounded like there was a herd of them right outside the door somewhere having some kind of a convention. Yips, hoots, yelps, whines, cries, & barks.......they had it all. I think there is probably an old Indian legend around somewhere that says it is the panting breaths of many howling coyotes that cause the mighty winds to come sweeping across the sleeping desert floor in the dead of night.
When I first went outside this morning I noticed the wind had finally abated so without further ado I proceeded to put our awning down & clipped on the camouflage netting. Then, just to be a smart ass I poked my head around the end of the coach, stuck my thumbs in my ears & gave that big old north wind a good old fashioned Canadian Moose salute. Well, you know what happened!! Within half an hour I was scrambling like nuts to get the awning retracted & ended up chasing our Canadian flag across the desert floor after having it being blown right off the flag pole. That wily old wind had returned my Moose Salute with a vengence & he's been chasing my butt all over the southwest ever since........!!

GOOD OLD CANADIAN MOOSE SALUTE

GROANER'S CORNER:(( It's not how you win or lose, it's how you place the blame!!

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