RE-FOCUSING OUR FOCUS IN ORDER TO GET OUR EYES UN-CROSSED

OUR FAVORITE SMALL LAKE STOPPING SPOT IS STILL SHEDDING IT’S ICE

Cold but sunny start to our day & how nice to see all the ice & snow finally melted off our pine forest trail first thing this morning.  Sure makes for much easier walking.  Knew it would be awhile before the day warmed up so figured it was a good time for Pheebs & I to crack on the Jeep’s heater & slip ourselves on up to Goderich for a few things then take a few country roads home.  We split a Burrito at McDonalds before heading out of town.

Countryside is still looking a little bleak but with today’s warming sun & nice big fluffy white clouds setting off a deep blue sky it was nice to be outside with some scenery going by.  Because of icy winds we only made one brief stop for a few hasty Goose pics.  We were home before noon.

 

PADDLING PAST AN ICE PATCH & MOVING ALONG IN STEALTH MODE

With temperatures slowly rising by early afternoon I was able to work away at removing ice from our back gate & it is now finally open for the season.  That open gate enabled me to get our wheelbarrow into our backyard whereupon I commenced the back yard clean-up.  Also took Jeepers back seat out & replaced it with our normal summer wooden platform configuration with Pheebs bed on top.  We are slowly working our way towards our summer set-up.  Maybe tomorrow I will start hauling out some lawn furniture & figurines.  Well that’s if it doesn’t snow of course.

And hey by golly it looks like after 7 months Annie and the Furballs have returned to the great American South-west.  Might want to drop on over to Annie’s place & see what she’s been up to & how she felt about having just spent her whole winter in Wisconsin………..

 

Another fair chunk of our day was spent on-line looking at vehicles & our focus shifted away for a bit from 4 door mid size trucks to something else.  Been looking at some Jeep Liberties & a whole lot of Ford Escapes.  Many favorable reviews on the Escapes & we noticed the prices are far more reasonable on 4x4 SUV’s than the trucks but then I saw a Ford Explorer 4x4 mid size truck that really caught my eye.  We have both looked at so many 4-wheelers lately & read so many vehicle reviews today we’ll have to find an Ophthalmologist who makes house calls & have him/her come to the house, un-cross our eyes, & somehow get us back in focus again.  As if we were ever focused in the first place eh…………………………

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A pipe burst in a doctor's house. He called a plumber. The plumber arrived, unpacked his tools, did mysterious plumber-type things for a while, and handed the doctor a bill for $600.  The doctor exclaimed, "This is ridiculous! I don't even make that much as a doctor!"  The plumber waited for him to finish and quietly said, "Neither did I when I was a doctor."

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Two intrepid explorers met in the heart of the Brazilian jungle. "I'm here," declared one, "to commune with nature in the raw, to contemplate the eternal verities and to widen my horizons. And you, sir?"  "I," sighed the second explorer, "came because my young daughter has begun violin lessons."

‘PRICE NOT NEGOTIABLE’ SO OUR HANOVER DAKOTA SLIPS AWAY:((

IT WAS JUST KIND OF A LAZY DAY AT OUR HOUSE

The hands on my time piece had not yet reached 8 a.m. & I was happily outside raking up pine needles in our driveway.  A quick glance at our outside thermometer told me why I was out there, it was 70F:))  Winds in the night had brought in a temporary fast moving warm front melting away the bulk of any ice & snow still remaining in our front yard & side driveway.  Figured I had better take advantage of warmer temps & continue my yard clean-up.  Within hours the temperature dropped to 40F.  This evening sitting at my computer looking out our sunroom windows I cannot see a single trace of snow left anywhere on the ground.  Nice:))

The thought of replacing our Jeep Wrangler at some point had been in the back of my mind for awhile but the thought of what to replace it with had not manifested itself until one day in Wickenburg when we drove over to have a look through the Habitat For Humanity store.  Walking across the parking lot with no thought in my mind whatsoever about buying or selling vehicles it was the design of a red tail light on a white pick-up truck that caught my eye.  How nice to see a tail light with some design & contour to it rather than the standard flat plastic look.  It did give me cause for a second glance as I walked by.  Ten minutes later heading back across the parking lot the truck was still there & it was those same tail lights which again caught my eye & I mentioned to Kelly I thought it was a nice looking little truck.  We stopped, walked over & had a closer look at it.  Name on back said it was a Dodge Dakota Laramie.  Decal on rear fender said it was a 4x4.  And by golly it even had 4 doors.  And that’s when the light bulb came on & started the wheels rolling.   Soon as we were back to Congress an hour later we were both on our computers looking up Dodge Dakotas as well as other used mid sized trucks.  The more we thought about mid sized 4x4 trucks the more it just seemed to make perfectly logical sense that this would be the right type of vehicle to replace Jeepers with if we should decide to do so. 

‘STOP BUGGING ME WITH THAT CAMERA WILL YA DAD’

I know some folks have suggested a 4 door Jeep but those newer Jeeps are financially waaaaaay out of our reach.  We are looking for something in the same price range we can sell our Jeep for.  And from a phone call this morning it looks like the Hanover Dakota’s asking price is not negotiable so I’m afraid that deal has now slipped away so we will resume our hunt for Jeeper’s replacement.  Too bad because I had taken a liking to that truck.  At least we finally had ourselves a close up look & hands on with a Dodge Dakota.  Now to find the right one at the right price.  Can’t believe how many black & dark colored mid size trucks we have come across since looking on-line back here in Canada.  Obviously a lot of folks like darker colored vehicles further north but Kelly & I sure are not of that preference.  We will be looking for a light gray or silver like the Hanover Dakota, white, or a light tan color.  I’m thinking we may be looking for a long time……………………………..

Not a darn thing I can tell you about the rest of our day.  Had the temperature not plummeted this morning I’m sure I would have been outside doing stuff & taking some photos etc.  Of course I’m never stuck for Photos with the Pheebs around:))

OFF TO LA-LA LAND AGAIN

GROANER’S CORNER:(( I love the outdoors, and because of my passion for hunting and fishing, my family eats a considerable amount of wild game.  We eat so much wild game, in fact, that one evening as I set a platter of broiled venison steaks on the dinner table, my ten-year- old daughter looked up and said:  "Boy, it sure would be nice if pizzas lived in the woods."

A COLD RAINY DAY’S HOUR & A HALF DRIVE TO HANOVER ONTARIO & WHY DID WE GO TO HANOVER YOU MIGHT ASK…..HMMMMMM

MOST OF OUR SNOW IS GONE BUT OUR FRONT YARD IS STILL LOOKING PRETTY GLOOMY

Okay, back on an even keel again folks & I’ve even managed to swoosh those occasional self doubts out the door once again so let's see what's been happening around here in the meantime.  Several months ago while still in Congress we began talking about replacing our Jeep with another vehicle.  Nothing mechanically wrong with the Jeep but with changing needs & preferences we felt it was time to maybe make a change.  But what would we replace little Jeepers with?

KELLY & I DID A LITTLE ROAD TRIP TODAY & IT TOOK US THROUGH SOME MENNONITE TERRITORY

Our Jeep does not have A/C & with another hot humid summer approaching I do not want to be driving around in stifling heat again if I did not have to.  Maybe humidity doesn’t bother some folks but as reader’s know it sure has bothered me these past few summers.  Also as any Jeep Wrangler driver knows it is a high step & leg lift getting either in our out of a Jeep & with my current legs problem lifting my leg up over that high lip has become increasingly difficult.

‘NO’ WE HAVE NOT BOUGHT THIS 2007 DODGE DAKOTA ST 4X4 BUT WE ARE LOOKING AT IT AS A POSSIBLE REPLACEMENT FOR JEEPERS

Not a lot of room inside a 2 door Jeep Wrangler & if we go for groceries we always have to leave Pheebs home because with half a dozen or more bags of groceries in the back of a 2 door Wrangler & Pheebs riding along we could end up with some very squashed bananas by the time we get home & maybe a meat package or two slightly tampered with if you know what I mean.  Also no room to carry something of any size whether it be a big chunk of desert driftwood, a player piano, half a dozen bags of peat moss or a baby Elephant.  And I’ve always had problems with where to safely put my cameras in the Jeep’s small front seat area.  Another drawback is no ventilation in the back for Pheebs.  No roll down windows & no vents.  On rare occasions if we have a couple people in the back it has been a real pain moving those 2 front Jeep seats forward & back.  And it is even a bigger PITA for people to try & get in our out of a Jeep Wrangler from the back seat.  Leslie & Peter will understand that one.

BUNDLED UP AGAINST TODAY’S ICY WIND & RAIN KELLY CHATS WITH SALESMAN BEN FARLOW AT HANOVER CHRYSLER

My very first car was a stick shift 4 on the floor 1961 Volkswagen Beetle & I have loved being a gear jammer ever since but again with my legs I can see where at some point operating a stiff clutch could eventually cause me some problems.  I have had lots of ‘automatics’ before so I know buying our next vehicle with an automatic transmission is probably a good idea.  Jeeps are notorious for poor gas mileage & a bumpy bouncy ride so anything else has to be an improvement on that.   Might sound like I am doing a bit of Jeep bashing here but I’m not.  There is no such thing as a perfect vehicle & sometimes we just have to adapt to our changing conditions. 

THESE LARGE WHITE DIALS ARE A HUGE BONUS FOR AGING EYES LIKE MINE

I have loved our 2006 Jeep Wrangler TJ Sport right from the day we bought it & out of all the 40+ (or is it 50+ now) vehicles I have owned this Jeep has been my all time favorite bar none.  Maybe not real practical for a lot of applications but it has always been a blast to drive & it has been totally reliable & durable.  With it’s short wheelbase, high clearance & 4x4 abilities we have seen many things in the South-west we never would have seen & that is precisely why we bought it in the first place back in June of 2010.  But if we do decide to replace the Jeep what will we replace it with?  What kind of a vehicle can still take us out into the desert to places we would like to go & moderate mountain roads we would like to climb?

ROOMIER INTERIOR & EASIER ENTRY FOR ME WOULD BE A DEFINITE BONUS PLUS THIS PARTICULAR VEHICLE IS VERY CLEAN INSIDE

First, whatever we replace Jeepers with has to be 4 wheel drive for sure & has to be towable 4 wheels down.  No tow dollys!!  We need & want more room inside a vehicle complete with some kind of reasonable back seat.  Also want a cargo space of some kind.  Better gas mileage & a smoother ride would be nice as well.  And if for whatever reason we wanted to drive to Florida or Arizona without the Motorhome we want a vehicle we can comfortably do that in if need be.  Cruise control & power windows would be nice especially to open a rear window for Pheebs.  Also want a vehicle capable of towing a small enclosed utility trailer, etc.  So what kind of a vehicle would cover all our needs & wants then?

WE WERE RELIEVED TO FIND THIS SALESMAN NOT AT ALL PUSHY OR OVER THE TOP RIDICULOUSLY FRIENDLY

Guess by now judging from the photos you know what we pretty much have decided on.  A small size 4x4 pick-up truck with 4 doors & a short box outside cargo area.  We have been going through ads for 2 months now looking at Chevy Colorados, Nissan Frontiers, Dodge Dakotas, Honda Ridgelines, GMC Canyons, & Toyota Tacomas.  And we have been looking at lots of them, reading many reviews good & bad.  Like I said there is no such thing as a perfect mechanical vehicle & they all without exception have their flaws, faults, & weak points.  We ruled out the Honda Ridgelines pretty quick when we found out they cannot be towed 4 wheels down plus the prices for used Ridgelines was prohibitive as were for any older Toyota Tacomas.  Seemed to be a lot of mechanical problems with the Nissan Frontiers & we knew parts for them were going to be more expensive than North American vehicles.  Canyons & Colorados come with smaller 4 & 5 cylinder engines & I read some complaints about them being underpowered.  Of all the small trucks I liked the looks of the Dodge Dakotas best but they have a record of front suspension problems.  Both Dakota’s & Ford Rangers are no longer in production but there are plenty of Dakotas still on the road.  After reading many reviews we kept coming back to the Dodge Dakotas.  They come in V-8’s & V-6’s & this particular Dakota is slated for front end suspension work in the next couple days.  Aging parts are being replaced as part of the overall safety inspection.

All mid size truck ads we looked at the vehicles had well over a hundred thousand miles on them with some over the two hundred thousand mark but Wednesday Kelly found a low-miler on-line at a dealer in Hanover Ontario.  Today we took a drive to Hanover (hour & a half one way) to have a look at a 2007 Dakota with 88,000 miles.  This truck had all the necessary things on it we were wanting & the light silver gray color was totally acceptable.  It’s a clean truck, no rust because it has been undercoated, well maintained, has it’s service records & was originally sold at this same Chrysler dealership by the same salesman we talked to today.  It’s second owner traded it in for a larger Mini-Van to accommodate his growing young family & it was the same salesman who re-sold it again so he knows the truck well. 

In the past we have had 3 full size pick-up trucks (Dodge Ram, Chevy Silverado, GMC Sierra) & I have had 3 small pick-up trucks.(2 Mazdas & a Ford Ranger)  The 07 Dodge Dakota we took for a test drive today had a V-6 engine in it & I was surprised at the torque & power it had.  Had I not known it was 6 cylinder engine I would have thought it a V-8.

Soooooooo are we going to buy this truck??  Maybe, maybe not.  It is a decision we will have to pour over for the next few days.  If we do will we trade in the Jeep??  No, we will sell the Jeep privately.  We know we can get far more for the Jeep than any dealer is going to offer us for it.  By the way Jeepers has about 119,000 miles on her, runs great, & has no known mechanical issues we know of. 

So that was the reason for our cold rainy day drive to Hanover Ontario & back.  We did cruise through half a dozen car lots in Listowel Ontario on our way home just to see what they had but smaller 4x4 4 door trucks are hard to find regardless of make or model.  They are generally snapped up pretty quick.  The Dakota we drove today was just listed several days ago.  So there you have it, that’s what has been happening here on our side of the street & I think old Blabberfingers here did pretty good at not mentioning any of this for the past couple months.  Oh, & what initially kicked off our interest in small pick-up trucks all of sudden you may wonder.  Well I’ll tell you that tomorrow night if I don’t forget of course but I will tell you now that it all started in a Wickenburg Arizona parking lot way back in February…………….:))

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A window salesman phoned a customer. "Hello, Mr. Brown," said the sales rep. "I'm calling because our company replaced all the windows in your house with our triple-glazed weather-tight windows over a year ago, and you still haven't sent us a single payment."  Mr. Brown replied, "But you said they'd pay for THEMSELVES in 12 months."

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Short and baby-faced, my buddy Wiggins had trouble being taken seriously in the Army. A mustache, he assumed, would fix that. He was wrong.  "Wiggins!" bellowed our drill instructor after spotting the growth during inspection. "What's so special about your nose that it's got to be underlined!!

MAYBE A LITTLE MORE LOOKING OUTWARDLY & A LITTLE LESS LOOKING INWARDLY METHINKS

A SUSPECTED NEIGHBOR’S CAT DROPS BY TO SEE IF THE ‘FROG POND DINER’ IS OPEN FOR THE SEASON YET

Big cold winds came in the night driving temperatures down & making our outside morning barely habitable but I did manage to get in about half an hours yard work before the equally as cold rain began around 8:30 lasting into late morning.  Just no getting around the fact it was not one of our better weather days.  Thursday is looking grumpy as well then our temperatures begin to soar as the weatherman calls for a few warm sunny days.  If my posts are sounding more like weather reports I guess that gives you some idea where my interest challenge is sitting at right now.

 

NICE LOOKING LITTLE FELLOW & DID YOU KNOW WE WERE CAT PEOPLE BEFORE WE WERE DOG PEOPLE…YEP IT’S TRUE:))

Close call for Peter & Bea’s dog Molly when she was recently attacked by a Coyote.  You can read about it here on Peter’s blog, American Traveler.  A close call indeed & it happened on a golf course.  And the Furry Gnome has captured himself a few more nice frozen waterfall photos up here in Ontario’s Beaver Valley.    The folks over at CC and Dixie recently spent a couple weeks in California’s Mojave National Preserve where Kelly & I were awhile back & they have themselves some fine photos of the area.

AND INDEED WARMER TEMPERATURES HAVE BROUGHT OUT OUR CARDINALS CREST

 

“AND JUST DON’T THINK YOU ARE THE BIG BOSS OF THIS FEEDER STATION BECAUSE YOU ARE ALL RED & STUFF!!”

Figured with the inclement weather it would be a good opportunity to pull the Jeep into the carport this afternoon & do a good clean-up of the interior.  Lots of South-west desert dust inside with enough dog fur to knit a couple sweaters.  Good thing we have new Shop-Vac.

<<< NICE TO SEE OUR LITTLE UPSIDE DOWN NUTHATCH’S BACK AGAIN

It is in times of occasional inactivity mixed with a small dose of disinterest & a touch of boredom that I sometimes look inwardly for writing inspirations & oft times by doing so I land myself in a big pot of uncomfortable soup at the end of the day.  I go to bed at night & thrash around a bit wondering why I sometimes write the things I write.  Have noticed I definitely do sleep better having gone to bed after having written things of lighter fare.  Those days when I have things going on, places traveled to & from, usual or unusual things I may have encountered or seen.  Things which spark one’s creative imagination.  Yes, it is those days I most enjoy writing about.  Maybe a little more looking outwardly & a little less looking inwardly just might do the trick methinks.   Something for me to work on & maybe even go out on a limb & take time to talk to a few other fellow Humanoids along the way here & there.  Now how’s that for a thought………………………:))       

A COUPLE OF RATHER REGAL LOOKING DARK EYED JUNCOS (IF SOME OF MY BIRD PHOTOS APPEAR A BIT GRAINY IT IS BECAUSE OF OCCASIONAL LOW LIGHT CONDITIONS )

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Doug Smith is on his deathbed and knows the end is near. His nurse, his wife, his daughter and two sons, are with him.  He asks for two witnesses to be present and a camcorder be in place to record his last wishes, and when all is ready he begins to speak:
"My son, Bernie, I want you to take the Mayfair houses."
"My daughter, Sybil, you to take the apartments over in the east end."
"My son, Jamie, I want you to take the offices over in the City Center."
"Sarah, my dear wife, please take all the residential buildings on the banks of the river."
The nurse and witnesses are blown away as they did not realize his extensive holdings, and as Doug slips away, the nurse says, "Mrs. Smith, your husband must have been such a hard-working man to have accumulated all this property".
Sarah replies, "Property? .... the jerk had a paper route!"

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- 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.

WELL IT’S THAT BLOGGING TIME OF YEAR AGAIN……..

OUR RESIDENT CANADA GEESE COUPLE ON THE PARK’S POND STILL WAITING FOR ICE TO MELT

Our rains did not materialize overnight nor did they come today as predicted.  Took advantage of that no rain factor, hooked up our utility trailer & with Pheebs help hauled 3 full loads of raked up pine needles to our Parks recycling area.  That took us till about noon & that was it for the day.  Time to rest my legs again.  Tonight as I post this we are  under a freezing rain watch for Wednesday morning.  Hey, maybe that won’t happen either.
 

ME & MY PAL WORKING HARD THIS MORNING
Not what one would call a blazingly nice sunny day but temperatures remained above freezing meaning we ended up with a little more bare ground at the end of the day than we had at the beginning of the day & at this time of year that is always a good thing.

AND TOTALLY FOR SURE I KNOW THIS TO BE A MALE ROBIN >>>

In my March 23rd post I had mentioned about something going on with the coloring in my photos.  Colors & densities were not appearing as I had edited them.  In a comment Kevin suggested a possible reason & a fix for that which I followed through on & it appears to have worked.  I had meant to share that fix for anybody with similar problems but had forgot.  Thinking about it today I was able to re-locate Kevin’s comment & here is what he had to say::   Your photos are being adjusted by Google+'s "auto enhance" program because most people have google+ and blogger linked together now.  Fortunately, you can turn off the auto enhance feature.  Go to your Blogger dashboard, and in the top right corner click on your little photo to find where it says "View Profile" or "Account Settings".  Then, on the left hand side where it says "Profile", click on that and scroll down to the "Settings" and click on that. Then, scroll down to "Pictures and Videos" and you'll see where you change the setting for "Auto Enhance" to Off.  Problem solved. :-)

I’M GUESSING THIS FOOTPRINT IN THE SNOW IS THAT OF A WILD TURKEY OF WHICH WE HAD JUST SEEN 2
And hey ‘Kayak Attack’ thanks for all those JIF Peanut Butter cups.  I have them stashed under my pillow in case I have myself a midnight snack attack:))

DARK EYED JUNCO

RVing like most anything else is a continuous unending learning experience whether your a Snow Bird or a Full-timer but I think the lessons learned come just a little harder & faster for Full-timers due simply to the fact that yes, they live in their rigs 24/7.  Case in point is this post by Jodee entitled: Some Things I Learned.

Well it’s that time of year again & I am once more into my my annual blogging conundrum woes.  How can I possibly keep this blog interesting enough to hold readers attention when most of my days will be spent right here at home & the surrounding area for the next 6 months again.  Always fearful of the repetition trap it’s a real stretch after 9 years of blogging to come up with fresh new thoughts & ideas.  I started with Microsoft’s ‘My Space’ back in the Fall of 2006.  Some may suggest just blogging maybe once a week or a couple times a month but in reality that doesn’t work for me because of one very simple factor.  Memory.  If I don’t write my thoughts daily I have little chance of thinking back a couple days or a week to what I was doing or thinking & I have very little interest in fighting with myself trying to remember this & that.  It is today & tomorrow’s world my mind lives & writes in.  Anything that happened yesterday is old news & it’s hard for my mind to keep yesterday’s news current.  If I didn’t like writing & photography so much I likely would have given this up years ago.  I have thought long & hard at times trying to think of maybe a new blog format, a different writing style, new areas of thought, or maybe deeper issues. (no not religion or politics) 

I have no serious intentions of giving up the blog but I do have my moments from time to time.  Besides, if I gave up my blog then just what the heck would I do with myself every night.  TV is not an option.  My blog is a creative outlet for me & to give it up would take away my incentive each day to get out in this big beautiful world & hunt down photos.  I love the hunt, that’s the best part for me.  Plus I enjoy communicating with readers through my daily writing as well.  It is the easiest & most comfortable way I know for me to stay in touch with folks nowadays.  I wasn’t always like this you know, there was a time when………….well, maybe that’s something for me to consider writing about sometime because I know there are others out here just like me.  I did once live a rather different life than I do now.  Not saying it was better…………..just saying it was different. 

A BLACK CAP CHICKADEE PECKS AWAY AT A BRANCH

GROANER’S CORNER:(( When my husband and I showed up at a very popular restaurant, it was crowded.  I went up to the hostess and asked, "Will it be long?" The hostess, ignoring me, kept writing in her book.  I asked again, "How much of a wait?"  The woman looked up from her book and said, "About ten minutes."  A short time later, we heard an announcement over the loudspeaker: "Willette B. Long, your table is now ready."

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- 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.

GOT A START ON THE YARD CLEAN-UP, HEMMINGWAY, PLUS PHEEBS & I HEAD FOR THE BEACH

LAKE HURON SHORELINE

Despite patches of crunchy snow along the shaded forest path we did make it all way round our walking trail this morning.  It is but the first of many walks we will do along this wooded path over the next 6 months.  We could tell Pheebs is just sooooo happy to be home as she’s constantly on the run sniffing this & chasing that.  She seems to know she doesn’t have to worry about getting cactus stickers in her paws.

NORTH OF GRAND BEND LOOKING SOUTH ALONG LAKE HURON’S FROZEN SHORELINE

SAME SPOT LOOKING NORTH…AND TO THINK KIDS WILL BE SWIMMING HERE NEXT MONTH

Weather forecast is for rain beginning tonight & lasting until the end of the week.  That’s going to be a long time stuck inside so with today’s sunshine & warming temperatures I figured Pheebs & I had better get out for a couple hours this afternoon & enjoy some scenery while we could.  Our travels took us southeast over to the town of Exeter then west to Grand Bend on Lake Huron before swinging north for home again.

SAW THIS SMALL BIKE GROUP ON THE BEACH IN GRAND BEND

 

THOUGHT THEY WERE JUST BIKE ENTHUSIASTS UNTIL I GOT CLOSER & SAW THE BACKS OF THEIR JACKETS

 READING CLOSER I’M NOT SURE JUST WHAT THESE ‘CHICKS’ WERE…ENTHUSIASTS OR A BIKER GANG

Our warmer day melted enough snow around the yard by late afternoon that I was able to begin raking up leaves, pine needles, & small branches.  I know it isn’t everybody’s cup of tea but Spring clean-up is Spring tonic for me.  Just love getting outside & getting at it.  Have always enjoyed taking something that is a mess & making it look nice again.

I’m still having a little problem with my blog photos not looking just quite right yet.  Kevin from Travel with Kevin and Ruth mentioned a fix in Blogger/Googles settings which I did & I’m convinced it helped my problems with errant colors & densities.  Had to uncheck a box that was allowing Blogger/Google to enhance photo colors.  Just bugs me when these companies meddle in things they have no business meddling in.  Now if I can just figure out why my photos are appearing in my blog on the grainy side as if someone threw a hand full of sand on them.  Most of my photos are clear & crisp when I place them in my blog post but when my blog publishes & I look at the photos they are no longer sharp.  It seems this is something that just started a few months ago as well. Any ideas??

Had myself a chuckle when Craig from Merikay's Dream sent an email directing me to read an Ernest Hemingway quote in a blog called, In Pursuit Of Idle Pleasures.  Craig said, You have some things in common with Ernest Hemingway.  Here is Hemmingway’s saying: “When spring came, even the false spring, there were no problems except where to be happiest. The only thing that could spoil a day was people and if you could keep from making engagements, each day had no limits. People were always the limiters of happiness except for the very few that were as good as spring itself”. ~Ernest Hemingway.  Well I guess I sure do have something in common with Mr. Hemingway alright………………. 

GROANER’S CORNER:(( There was a gentleman in the hospital bed next to me. He was covered with bandages from head to toe. I said to him, "What do you do for a living?"
He said, "I'm a former window washer."  I asked, "When did you give it up?"
He replied, "Halfway down."

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William Tell was not only a great patriot and a great archer, he was also a great cook.  One day, after he had prepared a new dish for his friends, he said, "I think there is one or more spices missing. What do you think?"  Their answer was, "Only thyme, Will Tell!"