SUN & CLOUD, A BIT OF RAIN, AUTUMN COLORS, & SOME GREAT ALBUQUERQUE NEW MEXICO HOT AIR BALLOON FIESTA LINKS

THIS LOCATION IS LESS THAN A MILE EAST OF OUR PARK

 

NOPE, NO COLOR SATURATION ADDED TO THESE PHOTOS, THAT COLOR IS ALL MOTHER NATURES DOING

Had it not been for a cold rainy drizzle this morning Pheebs & I might have considered a short drive but with no sun & knowing how muddy gravel roads would be it was a no brainer to stay home & work away at getting ourselves organized for the trip ahead a week from Saturday.

Half an hour after writing the previous paragraph this morning old Sol broke through our pine trees lighting up our front yard & with that Pheebs & I were out the door for a short half hour drive on a couple paved roads near our Park.  Just long enough to grab a few photos before the cloud cover closed back in & began dropping some more moisture on us.  We were quickly back home & into the house whereupon the drizzle stopped & the sun came out again.  The rest of the day followed that kind of weather pattern. 

HEADING EAST OUT OF OUR PARK THIS MORNING

 

WE MADE SURE TO STAY ON PAVED ROADS FOR OUR SHORT DRIVE THIS MORNING

Carried a few more things out to the rig & backed our utility trailer into the carport for the winter.  We're making our way down the check-list getting things ticked off.  And I even got myself a load of laundry done in there somewhere too. 

AN AUTUMN REFLECTION IN THE ROAD’S WATER PUDDLE & YOU CAN SEE SOME OF THE TREES HAVE ALREADY LOST THEIR LEAVES

Question in our Shout Box a few days ago asked, Did your barn photos originally start as a request from your old friend Marie J?  I noticed back in early summer the Furry Gnome guy from Seasons in the Valley had an interest in old barns & had a few photos in some of his posts.  I had been thinking of starting an old barns album for quite awhile & after seeing his post I began posting a few barn photos of my own here & there.  My good friend & one time Supervisor from the Town & Country mobility van company I drove part time for a few years ago dropped by the house one day & we got to talking about photos & stuff.  Marie has always enjoyed taking photos of old barns as well & suggested I should do the same.  Well that just kinda verified the whole idea so I began my OLD BARNS photo album in earnest.  Below is a 300mm telephoto shot I took today & that barn on Bayfield River Road is nearly a mile away. 

YOU CAN ACTUALLY SEE THIS BARN IN THE PHOTO ABOVE WHICH HAS A LONG RUNNING WHITE FENCE

In case anyone missed Nina’s truly informative & must read posts on the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta you can catch them here by clicking these links.  If your hoping to attend the Fiesta some day be sure to save these links for future reference.  ABQ BALLOON FIESTA 1 - FIRST IMPRESSIONS………ABQ BALLOON FIESTA 11 - TIPS ON RV CAMPING & ATTENDING THE EVENT……….ABQ BALLOON FIESTA 111 - CREWING & FLYING.

LOOKS LIKE THIS CORN CARRYING AGRI-MASTER HOPPER HAD AN OOPSY:((

ABOVE IS WITH SUN & BELOW IS WITHOUT

ALL OF TODAY’S PHOTOS WERE TAKEN WITHIN 3 MILES OF WHERE WE LIVE

Also with some really great photos from the ABQ Balloon Fiesta is Lynn over at WINNIE VIEWS & I see she had a tour of Chris & Cherie’s latest bus renovations.  We had a tour of that TECHNOMADIA bus with the old renovations last winter in Borrego Springs California.  You can find both Winnie Views & Technomadia on our sidebar:))

THAT’S A LITTLE COUNTRY CHURCH IN THERE & THE ROAD I AM ON IS CALLED TIPPERARY LINE…ABOUT 2 MILES FROM OUR HOUSE AS THE CROW FLIES

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A young preacher was asked by the local funeral director to hold a grave-side burial service at a small local cemetery for someone with no family or friends. The preacher started early but quickly got himself lost, making several wrong turns. Eventually, a half-hour late, he saw a backhoe and its crew, but the hearse was nowhere in sight, and the workmen were eating lunch.  The diligent young pastor went to the open grave and found the vault lid already in place.  Taking out his book, he read the service. Feeling guilty because of his tardiness, he preached an impassioned and lengthy service, sending the deceased to the great beyond in style.  As he was returning to his car, he overheard one of the workmen say: "I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years and I ain't never seen anything like that before."

‘YA-HOUIE LOOIE’ WE’RE GOING TO ARIZONA:))))))))))

Dressed warmly against a cool mid October wind it was a quiet & cloudy morning walk around our pine tree trail.  Computer weather map showed rains had missed us & gone north up around the Bruce Peninsula.

FIRST THE WAITING ROOM

AND DON’T THESE EXAMINATION ROOMS JUST KINDA GIVE YA THE SHUDDERS

<<< WAITING

Surrounded by dark November looking storm clouds we made our way to Clinton Ontario shortly before 9.  Kelly had decided to come with me to my 9:10 a.m. Doctor's appointment.  I think she may have been worried I might not tell her everything the Doctor might have said to me.  Had us a 20 minute wait before my name was called & into the examination room we went.  Dr. Bukala entered about 5 minutes later.  I watched the expression on his face as he reviewed my PSA results on his computer screen.  For about 3 weeks now I had been waiting for this exact moment.  The next few words out of this man's mouth would decide whether we would be going to Arizona this winter or not & it would decide in which direction my medical future was headed.  His first words were, "I see the PSA levels have risen a bit."  It was the 2 words 'a bit' that I hung on because I thought they had risen quite substantially according to what we had read on the internet.  At least he said ‘a bit’ & not…..'dramatically'.  He went on to say there was no cause for alarm & he said some things after that but I don't remember what it was because my mind had already spiked ahead thinking about our travel plans to Arizona.  Both Kelly & I did have some questions for Dr. Bukala which were answered satisfactorily & my next check-up appointment is scheduled for mid April of 2016. 

 

JUST A FEW PHOTOS FROM AROUND THE OUTSIDE OF OUR HOUSE TODAY

ANOTHER COUPLE MONTHS & OUR FROG POND WILL BE FROZEN OVER

OUR FRONT YARD BIRD FEEDING PLATFORM ON THE RIGHT

 

NOTICE HOW THE FALLEN PINE NEEDLES CREATE GOLDEN PATHWAYS

 

OUR STREET ON THE LEFT & OUR DRIVEWAY ON THE RIGHT

Well needless to say we were both feeling very relieved driving back to Bayfield.  There was a 50/50 chance I could have received unfavorable news this morning & I had prepared myself for that just in case.  In the past weeks I had purposely kept our Arizona winter travel plans out of my mind.  Did not want to get myself psyched up for a big let down.  The personal reward was greater this morning than had I 'assumed' everything would be totally fine.  A realistic mind does not work like that & I much prefer to be as honest with my reasoning as possible.  Maybe not an agreeable way of thinking for everyone but it is my preferred way to deal with myself. 

 

First thing I did when we arrived home was to dig out our 'RV loading check-list'.  With only 11 days to departure we had a lot of things on that list to check off from now till then.  After-all we had just lost 3 weeks but here's the upside of the down-sided 3 weeks.......with only a week & a half to go we're going to be excitedly busy & I like that kind of busy excitement because it makes the time go fast.  Kelly immediately busied herself on the telephone arranging travel insurance, internet & cable TV off for the next 6 months as well as our land line telephone.  Re-newed our Coach Net roadside assistance program as well.  Always a lot of things to do for Snow Birds changing nests every 6 months.  And I knew for sure we’d be leaving on October 24th when I saw Kelly carrying an armful of clothes out to the rig:))

 

LOTS OF AUTUMN PINE NEEDLES EVERYWHERE & THESE NEEDLES WILL ALL BE PART OF THE SPRING CLEAN-UP

I’M SO HAPPY TO BE LOADING THE RV RATHER THAN HAVING TO GET IT WINTERIZED

Depending on weather in the West I'd still like to see if we can make it to & spend some time in the CAPITAL REEF NATIONAL PARK & Moab areas of Utah before heading on down to our house in Arizona.  In order to arrive in the Capital Reef/Moab area we will take the Cheyenne-Laramie route to Rawlins Wyoming & drop straight south from there down into Colorado & then West to Utah.  It was one year ago today we traveled that very same route from Rawlins to Colorado then Utah on our problem plagued southern 2014 trek.  That day we drove from Rawlins Wyoming to Monticello Utah.  The following day we made it to Congress Arizona.  It had been a long grinding trip for us & I remember how totally exhausted but exuberantly happy we were to at long last reach our cozy little adobe ranch style house in Arizona.  Oh Dear & now we have decided to sell it.  Oh well, we'll deal with all that when we get there.  Just another chapter in our ever changing  lives………………

Looks like Monday's gloomy 10 day weather forecast has already been moderated for our area with less rain & more sunshine than previously thought.  Pheebs & I just might get out for a few more gravel runs after-all.  And I did update my OLD BARNS, SOME NEW ONES & A FEW SHEDS ALONG THE WAY album with my latest photos taken this past Sunday.  Latest barn photos are always at the beginning of the album so you don’t have to go through the whole works to find the most recent pics.  Over 90 new barn photos.

ON THE SIDE OF OUR WOODSHED

GROANER’S CORNER:((  The little boy was late for Sunday school and the superintendent, seeing him slip in, detained him and asked him the reason. The boy shuffled his feet uncertainly for a moment, then blurted out, "I started out to go fishing instead, but my dad wouldn't let me."  The superintendent beamed broadly. "A wise father," he said. "He was quite right not to let you go fishing on a Sunday. Did he explain why?"  The little boy nodded. "Oh, yes sir. He said there wasn't enough bait for the two of us."

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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.

WITH OVERCAST SKIES & PREDICTIONS OF RAIN THIS WEEK OUR BEAUTIFUL AUTUMN DAYS ARE ALREADY NEARING THEIR END:((

Just another unbelievably beautiful Autumn day here in Southern Ontario & it is these days I consider to be the very best weather days of the entire year.  No bugs & insects in the air, no humidity, no uncomfortable hot & no uncomfortable cold.  For me the countryside is scenically at it's peak.  Autumn creates a magic all it's own & will always be my favorite time of year. 

SAW THIS LITTLE WOODPECKER OUTSIDE OUR SUNROOM WINDOW THIS MORNING

 

TECHNICALLY THESE BLUE JAY SHOTS ARE NOT THE BEST BUT I ENJOYED THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN THESE TWO AS ONE OFFERED THE OTHER SEEDS….I HAVE ALSO OBSERVED THIS WARM TYPE OF BEHAVIOUR BETWEEN A CARDINAL COUPLE WE HAVE HERE AS WELL

Kelly & I busied ourselves  gathering up & putting into storage the last of our lawn ornaments.  Pheebs & I took half a utility trailer load of yard waste to our recycling area.  Cut our grass for the last time this year & we put the cover on our outside air conditioning unit. Raked up some pine needles but they were falling faster than I could rake them so gave up on that.  Get em in the Spring.  Especially wanted to finish up the last of these outside things today because according to the weather people our wonderful Autumn days are about to come to an end & the long range forecast is calling for a week & a half of overcast skies with rain forecast for a number of those days.  Not so good for Pheebs & I & our country road tours.

DECIDED TO ADD ALL OF SUNDAY’S BARN PHOTOS TO MY EXISTING ‘OLD BARS’ ALBUM & I WILL DO THAT TUESDAY SO DAVE & SYLVIA WHEELER ON WOODHAM ROAD KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR THAT BECAUSE I JUST MAY HAVE SNAPPED A PICTURE OF YOUR BARN…THANKS FOR YOUR LOVELY EMAIL:))

Tonight's photos are a smattering of pictures I took the past few days while Pheebs & I were out cruising around the countryside.  Just curious things we saw along the way including right here at home.  And thank you to everyone for your kind words regarding my photos.  You guys are the best…………….:)) 

ALL PHOTOS WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE WOODPECKER & BLUE JAYS WERE TAKEN FROM THE JEEP’S DRIVER’S SEAT

REMINDS ME A BIT OF OUR FIRST RV BACK IN THE LATE 90’S ONLY THIS ONE IS EVEN SMALLER I THINK

 

AN ANTI-WIND TURBINE SIGN & A FANCY MARTIN BIRDHOUSE

LOOKS LIKE AN EARLY 50’S DODGE TO ME

In my Sunday post Linda A commented “It's so very beautiful in your 'neck of the woods', I don't know how you could find November depressing”…….. Yes it is very beautiful right now but as winter approaches & temperatures begin to drop all those gorgeous Autumn leaves will begin to fall.  Gusting North winds & cold biting rain will strip them bare & soon all trees & shrubs will be devoid of their leaves.  Dark branches like gnarled fingers will fustily reach for the sullen sky.  Flowers will die & dark overcast skies will cast a gray pall over the land.  It is not a time of much sunshine.  These are the days of late October & the month of November in our part of the country & it is definitely depressing for many of us.  How nice when the snow finally comes to cover all that gray with a coating of white.  Days are sunnier in December & with the month end festivities ahead November moods are soon left behind…………………….. 

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A woman was talking to her friends about her husband who had passed away.  When her husband was on his death bed, and he told her that he had three envelopes in his desk drawer that would "take care" of all of the arrangements. Well, he died shortly thereafter, so the wife opened the drawer and there were 3 envelopes just like he said. On the first envelope it said "for the casket". There was $5,000.00 in the envelope, so she bought him a very nice casket.  The second envelope said "for the expenses" and had $4,000.00 in it so she paid all the bills from the funeral.  The third envelope said "for the stone" and had $3,000.00 in it. She then held her hand out to her friends and said, "Isn't it beautiful!!!"