COLD TEMPERATURES, ICY WINDS, & SNOW, FORCED ME TO CLEAN MY ROOM TODAY:((

OUR FORESTED PINE TREE TRAIL IS FILLING IN NICELY

With this mornings mid 30's temps it was an icy wind that bundled us up & moved us quickly around the morning trail. Was surprised to see the Goose family still on the pond. Usually Mama & Poppa move the little guys during the night along a creek & through a small scrubby pine forest to a neighbouring farm with a larger pond & other Goose families. They were only on the smaller Park pond here for one day last Spring & then they were gone. It's about a quarter mile journey for the little family.
  

Must have been a quiet night in Dreamsville because I did not wake up feeling all worn out for a change. Seemed to have about a half dozen extra energy units available so figured I had better put those units to work before they drained away on me. Outside activities were out of the question & especially so when I saw snow showers coming down. Today was the day to declare war on my room. Yes, I am one of those fellows who is lucky enough to have my very own room with all my very own stuff. Astronomy posters & maps on the wall, camera gear & old electronic stereo equipment stacked up on dressers. As well after returning from Arizona a month ago a fair bit of stuff ended up being temporarily dumped into my room so the war was on!!

 

PEEK-ABOO I SEE YOU

 

First to go was all my stereo equipment that has not been used for about 20 years. Great equipment at one time but is now all out-dated. A twin deck Teac recorder, amp, & Teac Equalizer, etc. This was the equipment I made all my many countless hours of tapes & CD's on back about the mid 80's in pre-computer days.  Tapes & CD’s I still listen to right up to this very day.  It was finally time to just get all that stuff out of my room along with a bunch of other unnecessary clutter I have been hanging onto. Also time to get all those dust bunnies out from under my bed, change my whole room around, & harvest the potatoes that have grown up out of all the dust on everything. Vacuuming, sweeping floors, doing laundry & washing dishes I am ok with but dusting is something I just hate doing. Couldn't open my bedroom window on windy days for fear of being lost in a dust storm right in my own room.  But it’s all done now & I should be good for another couple years.  Yes, it is always good at this age to wake up with extra energy in the morning. Can't wait to head for bed tonight in……….my clean new room:))

THIS PERIWINKLE IS AN EXCELLENT GROUND COVER & WE HAVE LOTS OF IT

Despite the Winnie Wagon being a 2011 it still has a new vehicle smell to it just like the newer Sunseeker did. With only a little more than 11,000 miles on it I don't think it had been used a lot. The London dealer told us the previous owner had stored it inside.  We could find no wear & tear on this vehicle either on the inside or the outside. Nothing. Looks just like the day it came out of the factory. I think we have been very fortunate once again to have been in the right place at the right time & were quick enough to recognize & take advantage of another good deal. Of course credit goes to Kelly for her persistence in finding Winnie in the first place. She also found our Arizona house & our Jeep. I found our Hyundai Santa Fe & Motorcycle years ago. We both found the Damon together & both independently found our previous blue Mini-Van on the same day. By the way, with the addition of the 10 cylinder Ford engine in the Winnie Wagon we are now a traveling 22 cylinder family. 6 in the Jeep, 4 in the Santa Fe, & 2 in the Motorcycle. Maybe it's about time we invested in a gas station……or an auto insurance company.

JUST CHECKING OUT ANOTHER GROANER’S CORNER DOWN THERE

GROANER'S CORNER:(( An older couple is lying in bed one morning, having just awakened from a good night's sleep. He takes her hand and she responds, "Don't touch me." "Why not?" he asks. She answers back, "Because I'm dead." The husband says, "What are you talking about? We're both lying here in bed together and talking to one another." She says, "No, I'm definitely dead." He insists, "You're not dead. What in the world makes you think you're dead?" "Because I woke up this morning and nothing hurts."

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

4 NEW BABY GOOSES ON THE POND, OR WOULD THAT BE GEESES…..HEAVENS TO MURGATROYDS!!

 

OUR NEWEST CANADA GOOSE FAMILY

Bottom dropped out of our temperatures these past couple days & we struggled to make 44F by this afternoon.  Looks like Sunday may be even colder & wet to boot.  Kind of a cool welcome for the 4 new baby Geese on the pond this afternoon.  Pheebs & I headed out for a walk & on approaching the nest we walk by every morning I noticed both Mama & Poppa Goose walking the short distance from the nest to the pond.  Walking beside them were the pair of Mallard ducks that have remained near them this past week.  And tucked right in behind Mamma Goose were 4 fuzzy little baby Gooses.  Or would that be Geeses?  Ok, so it’s Goslings.  But they still look like little Gooses.  The Mallards took to the air splashing down a short distance away while Mamma, Poppa, & the kids slid gracefully onto the pond.  Well, the little guys kinda ker-plopped into the pond.  One very proud looking family indeed. 

 

NOTICED ON OUR MORNING WALK THIS MORNING PAPA GOOSE WAS STAYING UNUSUALLY CLOSE TOO MAMA GOOSE ON THE NEST

Noticed a couple fellow RV Bloggers are in an area now that Kelly & I really enjoyed back in the Fall of 07. GOOD-TIMES-ROLLIN & OH, THE PLACES THEY GO! have been traveling around the Bryce Canyon & Cannonville area. I first traveled through this part of Utah just over 20 years ago & of course it immediately became another one of my all time favorite places. In 07 Kelly & I hiked WILLIS CREEK SLOT CANYON, climbed GROSVENOR'S ARCH, drove the scenic road from CANNONVILLE TO BOULDER & BACK, & hiked our way down into BRYCE CANYON. Those were great days for us & our first trip in our new to us Damon Motorhome. Not often we stay at RV Parks but we did stay at a KOA in Cannonville for a few days while we explored the area. Only 2 rigs in the whole Park & the other folks coincidentally turned out to be a fellow Canadian couple from London Ontario just an hours drive from Bayfield. They too were on a maiden voyage with their truck & Cardinal 5th wheel. We met them again a few months later in Ajo Arizona. Hi to Mike & Maureen out there if your still reading:))

THIS WAS MY FIRST GLIMPSE OF THE BABY GEESE THIS AFTERNOON AS THEY HEADED FOR THE WATER

 

 

 

And what about that phrase, ‘Heavens To Murgatroyds’?  Well, that was one of SNAGGLEPUSSES'S 3 catch phrases.  Remember the other two…..Exit stage left & Exit stage right.  Wonder how many folks remember some of those likable cartoon characters from the good old television days of yesteryear.  I do:))

 

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A guy comes home completely drunk one night. He lurches through the door and is met by his scowling wife, who is most definitely not happy. "Where the hell have you been all night?" she demands. "At this fantastic new bar," he says. "The Golden Saloon. Everything there is golden. It's got huge golden doors, a golden floor, the works, even the urinals are gold!" The wife still doesn't believe his story, and the next day checks the phone book, finding a place across town called the Golden Saloon. She calls up the place to check her husband's story. "Is this the Golden Saloon?" she asks when the bartender answers the phone."Yes it is," bartender answers. "Do you have huge golden doors?" "Sure do." "Do you have golden floors?" "Most certainly do." "What about golden urinals?" There's a long pause, then the woman hears the bartender yelling, "Hey, Duke, I think I got a lead on the guy that peed in your saxophone last night!"

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

MR. CHEAPSKATE!!

Ever gone to the store to buy something & then just ended up having a cheapskate fit when you got there? Happened to me again this morning. Cold wet rainy day so figured I'd better get myself out of the house for a awhile to ward of those gray day blues. Had a few things on my grocery list & wanted to pick up a 50' non kinking garden hose at Walmart. Also on that list were a few additional things for the Winnie Wagon. That meant another cruise through Gadget Gulch. I never know when I am in cheapskate mode until I actually find what it is I am looking for. Standing in front of the shelf my mind goes to the sticker price first. And this is where I find out & get my first indication that I am locked in cheapskate mode. Looking at the garden hose this morning my mind immediately begins to rationalize & doubt itself. Do I really, really, need this new hose?  Seemed like such a logical idea just a day before.  But why spend all that money when the existing hose I have had for years still works but drives me batty because it kinks all the time? Can't I just be more patient with the old hose I have & just keep the money in my pocket? No I can't!! Yes I can!! But the new one won't kink. Ya but the old one still works. Yes I can. No I can't.

HADN’T REALIZED KELLY HAD TAKEN A PICTURE OF ME WASHING THE RIG’S ROOF THURSDAY UNTIL I UPLOADED MY NIKON PICS TODAY & REMEMBER ME TELLING YOU ABOUT THE HIPPY FLOWERS ON THE BACK OF KELLY’S CAR A FEW POSTS AGO……WELL THERE YA GO:))

Same thing looking for a light weight full length mirror to go just outside our bathroom door in the Bago. Found one but justified not buying it because of it's white frame. Ok, that was justifiable but what if it had had a frame of acceptable color. Not a likely purchase because I was firmly entrenched in my cheapskate mode. Even if Walmart would have had a super sale on something offering 2 for the price of 6 I wouldn't have budged. My Gadget Gulch cruise was a mere formality. Looked at some stuff, looked at the sticker prices............and left the store empty handed.

<<< GOLDEN PRIMROSE MIXED WITH PURPLE PERIWINKLE

By the time I reached the supermarket it was very debatable whether I was even going to get myself to part with a few dollars for a jug of Cranberry juice. Looked at the sticker price & had quite a tussle with myself. After all I had just spent X amount of dollars on gas to drive the short distance from Bayfield to Goderich. Then of course there was the wear & tear on the tires, oil used, & strain on the windshield wipers. Yep I was definitely in heavy duty cheapskate mode alright but knew I had to justify those auto expenses. Left the grocery store with 1 jug of Cranberry Juice, (I needed two) one quart of milk, (should have got 3) a 6 pack of 4 oz Yogurt made by the Acme Cleaning Company with last year expiry dates. (hey, they were cheap) & a small bag of Oatmeal because it was probably the cheapest eatable thing in the whole store. Who knows, on my next shopping trip I could just as easily come home with half a dozen pairs of socks I don't need, 14 bags of Brazilian birdseed, & 3 jars of Dill pickles which I hate. But remember that two for the price of six sale? Yep, sometimes them stores can catch me in a real spending frenzy. Never know what mode I'm in till I get there though.  No wonder the smiley Walmart greeter gives me the big two thumbs up sign when I walk through the door:((

 

FORSYTHIA & MARSH MARIGOLDS

  

A WEE WALK AROUND OUR FRONT YARD WEDNESDAY EVENING AFTER PUBLISHING MY POST

Nice to see the Rose Breasted Grosbeaks in our front yard again.  I had been watching for them & spotted 3 today.  Also had a Cowbird at the feeder.  Aside from some Cardinals it is the Blue Jays this year that are the prominent ones around our feeder station.  Followed closely by Red Wing Blackbirds & a smattering of Grackles.

 

ROSE BREASTED GROSBEAK & A COWBIRD

TWO MALE GROSBEAKS WITH A FEMALE GROSBEAK

And a Bayfield Bunch welcome to RICK ISNOR for becoming our latest Blog Follower.  A fellow Canadian working in Halifax Nova Scotia with a desire for he & wife Jamie to retire & travel to a warmer climate in true RV’er fashion some day.  Aw, tis a dream many of us have been so fortunately happy to have come true.

HEY QUIT ROCKING THE BOAT WILL YA!!

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A cop pulls over a guy and says, "Sir, I need you to breathe into this Breathalyser for me." Guy says, "I can't do that. I'm asthmatic and if I do that I'll have a really big asthma attack." "Okay, then I'll need you to come down to the station with me and I'll have to do some blood work, just to make sure." "Sir, I can't do that either. I'm a haemophiliac and if I do that I'll bleed to death." "Okay, fine. Then I need a urine sample from you." "I can't do that either, sir. I'm sorry, but I'm a diabetic and if I do that my sugar will get really, really low." "Okay, then why don't you step out of the car and walk this white line for me," the officer says. "I can't do that either, officer." "Why not?" "Because I'm drunk."

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

NOT MUCH TODAY, MAYBE TOMORROW……………..

Our expected overnight rain never happened & we ended up with another beautiful warm & sunny Spring day. Just amazing how Mother Nature bursts forth in all her Spring finery every year at this time.

Not a good day for my hip but I was able to get up on the rig's roof this morning with a bucket, a garden hose, & a scrub brush.  Time for a good cleaning. That fiberglass roof sure is much easier to clean than our Damon's rubber roof was. Just a little bit of soap & water & it ended up bright & shiny looking like a brand new roof. I like the Gel-coat finish RV's come with nowadays. Long way from those older aluminum sided rigs of yesteryear.
 
EASY TO SEE THE DIRTY PART & THE CLEANED PART

I don't have a lot to write about today. This hip problem pretty much kept me grounded after I finished cleaning the Winnie Wagon’s roof. I'll see how things go tomorrow.

GROANER'S CORNER:(( One Sunday a cowboy went to church. When he entered, he saw that he and the preacher were the only ones present. The preacher asked the cowboy if he wanted him to go ahead and preach. The cowboy said, "I'm not too smart, but if I went to feed my cattle and only one showed up, I'd feed him." So the minister began his sermon. One hour passed, then two hours, then two-and-a-half hours. The preacher finally finished and came down to ask the cowboy how he liked the sermon. The cowboy answered slowly, "Well, I'm not very smart, but if I went to feed my cattle and only one showed up, I sure wouldn't feed him all the hay."
---
-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

KELLY GETS OUR DAY STARTED OFF ON THE RIGHT FOOT

TRACKED DOWN A RED TRILLIUM TODAY FOR A GUEST IN OUR SHOUT BOX…NOTICED IT THIS MORNING & IT WAS RIGHT IN OUR FRONT YARD

Kelly got our day started off on the right foot this morning & it set the pace for the rest of our day. After our morning walk she decided to have one last go at that home entertainment center problem in the rig. About 5 minutes later with a DVD in the player she had Roy Orbison not only singing in surround sound but on the big flat screen TV as well. Problem seemed to have had to do with one of the in house receptacles & a power bar. Luckily Kelly had the patience to switch plugs around & for some unknown reason she hit upon the right concoction of plugs working in the right combination of receptacles. It was as simple as that.  We both immediately perked up knowing we not only did not have to drive all the way to London but we finally had our great sounding home entertainment center working. And working well.  Yaaaaaay Kelly:))  But don’t forget, & like I’ve said many times before…….I’m pretty darn good myself at taking the garbage out sometimes.

By the way, for any Roy Orbison fans out there I would suggest you pick up this double CD set entitled, 'Black & White Night'. Excellent production qualities & he sings all his songs just as he originally sang them. The session was done in black & white & features a great collection of friends & quality musicians backing him up. Bruce Springsteen, Bonnie Rait, Jackson Browne, KD Lang, Tom Waits, Jennifer Warnes, J.D. Southern, Elvis Costello, T Bone Burnett & others. If you have a good sound system you will enjoy hearing & seeing Roy Orbison sing all his old hits. What a voice that man had & what a trip down memory lane from back in the days when the word talent really meant something.  And this DVD was probably recorded not long before his death……………………..

SHADES OF GREEN
We spent a fair chunk of our day happily puttering in the rig. We both had a definite spring in our step today as we discussed how much we enjoy this Winnebago & how it just feels right to both of us. Just like the Damon did when we first bought it back in 06. I wasn't long in getting myself up to Canadian Tire in Goderich this morning to have me a cruise through Gizmo Gulch looking for gizmos to jazz up our Ford's dash a bit. Yep, got the proverbial RV dash compass & visor mirror for starters. Kelly & I always add our own personalities to whatever house we live in or whatever vehicle we drive. Kelly even put hippy flowers on the back of her Santa Fe, so see, it's just not me. Well OK, so I got a lime green frog on my Jeep dash & Garfield the attitude cat sitting on the back spare tire.  Oh ya & an orange Orangutan on my motorcycle.  No, we will not be doing any painting in this rig but you can bet your boots our interior will definitely end up with a South-West flavor again. Now where can I hang up that string of Cactus lights...Hmmmm:))

A VERY ENJOYABLE DAY JUST DOING SOME RELAXING RV PUTTERING
Don't know how many RV's may left in our future but I'm hoping this one runs well for us & remains trouble free for many years to come. We are definitely needing a big break from all this RV wheeling & dealing, buying, selling, importing, trading, etc. etc. Not our cup of tea in the first place & we've been involved in this grind since way back last winter when we first decided it was time to sell the Damon & get ourselves a newer & smaller rig.

No immediate travel plans yet but I have my fingers crossed we can pull something together before too long. Nothing major but a 3 or 4 day getaway up into Ontario's Bruce Peninsula would be nice for starters. Been quite a few years since we have been up that way & there is some pretty great scenery along the way. Light Houses, fishing boats, sandy shores, sunken ships, Lake Huron ports, Georgian Bay Islands & rock strewn shore lines. And even almost a small (very small) mountain or two. Getting myself all revved just sitting here typing about it.

ALWAYS NICE TO SEE MARSH MARIGOLDS EVERY SPRING
Kelly slipped over to Deer Park Lodge this afternoon to discuss her semi-retired role & less hectic schedule at Deer Park Lodge this coming summer season. With recent health concerns her natural workaholic tendencies are just going to have to be somehow reined in & curtailed.  More relaxation & less work.  We need to get ourselves back to our good old boondocking ways:))

PHEEBS LOVES MEETING UP WITH HER BEST PAL DEXTER ON OUR MORNING WALKS
We called Aunt Jean in Sarasota Florida this morning to see how she made out getting home last week. Trip went fine but the wait in Baltimore was a bit of a stretch. Tuesday she was back on the golf course again & played a full 18 holes on one of the largest courses in the area. I think she might have even wrestled a few Alimagators along the back 9 as well:))

WHITE MAGNOLIA

And a bit of a shocker in our extended Blog Land family today. But I will let Roxanne & the many comments she received over at the GOOD LUCK DUCK  tell you about it. All the best to you & Annie as you go your separate ways in search of new horizons, new adventures, & new beginnings.  By the way Roxanne, I tried living in my Volkswagon once & I lasted about 6 hours……………

PHEEBS FAVORITE PLACE IN THE WINNIE WAGON:))

GROANER'S CORNER:(( At Duke University, there were four sophomores taking Organic Chemistry. They were doing so well on all the quizzes, midterms and labs, etc., that each had an 'A' so far for the semester. These four friends were so confident that the weekend before finals, they decided to go up to the University of Virginia and party with some friends there. They had a great time, but after all the hearty partying, they slept all day Sunday and didn't make it back to Duke until early Monday morning. Rather than taking the final then, they decided to find their professor after the final and explain to him why they missed it. They explained that they had gone to UVA for the weekend with the plan to come back in time to study, but, unfortunately, they had a flat tire on the way back, didn't have a spare, and couldn't get help for a long time. As a result, they missed the final. The professor thought it over and then agreed they could make up the final the following day. The guys were elated and relieved. They studied that night and went in the next day at the time the professor had told them. He placed them in separate rooms and handed each of them a test booklet, and told them to begin. They looked at the first problem, worth five points. It was something simple about free radical formation. Cool, they thought! All at the same time, each one in his separate room, thought, "This is going to be easy." Each finished the lengthy problem and then turned the page. On the second page was written: For 95 points………………. Which tire?
-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.